GLOBAL - SINGAPORE HAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST VERTICAL FARMS using a closed loop hydralic system that consumes very little energy. It is claimed to be 10 times more productive per square foot than conventional farming.
SEEDING CITIES - By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster? (Creative Commons attribute)Visionary ideas about controlled environmental agriculture challenge what many see as inevitable - within a decade cities and the countryside will not be able to support growing populations.
David Brewer, a farmer in Dallas Oregon lives with the reality of a dry climate and droughts. He started keeping his head down.
His idea was that if he feeds the soil the soil will feed him using practices such as direct seeding. It turns out he is right. His successes are coming forward including "bigger and better crops.
Singapore was a signatory to the international Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) resulting from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. That year, the Singapore Green Plan was launched to provide a framework on biodiversity conservation. Nineteen nature areas (terrestrial and marine) were recommended. In 2003, the Singapore Green Plan 2012 was launched to better address conservation issues. In 2006, the National Biodiversity Reference Centre, under NParks, was established as a focal point for biodiversity conservation.
COMMUNITY - Parque de la Papa or Potato Park is a 22,000-acre, farmer-led potato preserve located in Cusco Valley in the Peruvian Andes where six Quechua communities have banded together to grow more than 600 native breeds, which come in all shapes, sizes and colors, from purple to yellow and red, in the region where potato cultivation began.
REGIONAL - France has shown before that development includes nature as a project. Bourdeaux apparently is ambitious about growing into a major city and bringing in nature in the process. The city's ambitions are a part of a drive in many cities in France to reverse biodiversity loss through inter-regional cooperation.
The thought behind the intention is that cities not only can provide ecosystem services, they can generate higher biodiversity during an era when rural areas are increasingly dominated by not only industrial agriculture but other large industries.
The City's project, "Bourdeau 55,000, will rely on five teams representing inter-disciplinary approaches to a "post carbon" era. Author John Thackara says on his blog, "Doors of Perception" that he hopes, given the history of Paris and its post-Kyoto vision, that "Bordeaux 55,000 makes it past the drawing board."
Desert lands cover the earth and viewed by many as desolate areas. In reality, they are vast seed bank that unless destroyed maintains a viable plant system. The Saguaro cactus for instance is a living storage tower that might hold hundeds of liters of water. Many desert plants may stay underground until conditions are right for them to bloom.
Since the 1980s, Monsanto has been world leader in genetic modification of seeds. It more than 674 biotechnology patents, any other company according to USDA data. The large corporation will do anything defend and gain patents at the expense of small farmers.
California along with the rest of the world, relies on inadequate farming practices when it comes to water and soil use. For example, In terms of water, building up supplies in good years to deal with bad years has not happened. we have an aging water system that cannot adjust to climate change.
A Cornell study reported that soil is “being swept and washed away 10 to 40 times faster than it is being replenished( Lang 2015)
There is a general agreement that California, a state that is green yet its ancestory includes a lot of desert, has to change its habits.
Practices like precision farming are useful in terms of analyzing local soil quality, and rainfall over time and providing information on the right crops to plant given certain conditions.
The use of big data can also help ensure the optimal use of scarce resources.
Companies such as FarmLogs provide publicly available data systems for farm analysis, along with specific information derived from field machinery.
The drive to employ big data is solidly in the marketplace but there are free or low cost resources available for smaller farmers.
However many small farmers are wary. They believe that big data is too easily co-opted by interests such as Monsanto.
There also is the question of whether or not big data will steamroll diversification efforts. The bottom line is who will own this data and how much will it cost.
Readings
READINGS LIBYA: The largest irrigation project in the world History of the Green Revolution VIDEO: History of the Mondragon Cooperative