Miguel Altieri: "The drought is here to stay ..."

16/04/2015

Miguel Altieri is an Agronomist from the University of Chile, an Agro-ecology academic at the University of California and was invited by Indap to the International Seminar "Agroecology and Sustainability for Peasant Family Farming", which he held on March 25 at the GAM offices. , in Santiago de Chile.

"The drought is here to stay, the models of climate change predict that Chile and the entire Mediterranean area will reduce by an 50% its rainfall, also in the amount of snow", Said the academic and agroecology expert, adding:"The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) realizes that their predictions are happening much faster than they thought".

Professor Altieri argues that we must see how farmers will adapt to this new reality, because of the fact that torrential rains come untimely "does not mean that the drought does not continueo ".

Reinforces his thesis by calling for early prevention, making big decisions, implementing a forward-looking and strategic view, both in the country and in the region, from the State and from the private initiative, for the big ones crops as for small farmers.

"In Brazil, they implemented one million cisterns to collect rainwater ... the water harvest must be implemented"Ensures the academic urgently.

It proposes that if the farmers, through agroecological management, increase the 1% of the content of organic matter, that is, recycling the guano and incorporating it into the soil, this would amount to a dam of many thousands of liters of water.

"10 tons of compost per hectare would be a considerable saving of water"He warns.

Agroecology is a new way of farming and is based on local knowledge. The most effective vehicle is the "peasant to peasant", Where the most advanced share the experience and knowledge with the most backward. At this point he takes advantage of calling for a return to the uses of "creole seeds"In large and small crops, because they are"more prepared for periods of drought"And they are more resistant to dry years.

The teacher exemplifies this production alternative with successful state experiences in Brazil, Cuba and other local achievements at a Latin American level, both state and private initiative.

A vehicle to extend this way of facing the new agriculture may be Indap or other official institutions, or NGOs, but the main vehicle - the professor maintains - is to conform "peer networks".

It draws the attention of those attending the International Seminar, among whom was the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Furche, highlighting that “farmers control 20% of the land and produce 70% of the food, however, the large agricultural industry controls 70% of the land and produces only 30% of the food because they mainly produce biomass, bioplastics , biofuels and the like. Those who produce the food are the peasants", Emphasized the academic.

Government plan against drought

Regarding the Government's plan to combat the drought and which contemplates an investment of US $ 170 million, it states that this "It is not fighting drought but mitigating the effects of drought. What you have to do is see how we are going to produce with this reality".

In the government plan, it is planned to build 19 large reservoirs in the 2024 year, and to promote the realization of desalination plants in Copiapó, the Choapa Valley, Limarí, Petorca, La ligua, and Azapa. It also includes the incorporation of micro-desalination plants in Valparaíso, Coquimbo, Maule and Bío Bío, and infiltration of groundwater and the construction of deep wells.

Likewise, the installation of geomembranes will be carried out to avoid losses in the water accumulation and conduction systems.

Professor Altieri, recognizes the value of the initiative and the great economic and technological investment that lies behind it, but insists that the concept of "must be internalized in the peasants and in all the actors linked to agricultural production".harvest the water", Occupying all means, either through reservoirs, wells or the roofs of houses to capture and allocate it to irrigation or other human needs. "Do not depend so much on high-cost technology", He emphasizes, and calls for exploration in silvopastoral systems, in reforestation so that water is not lost through evaporation, in molchi (which is to place a layer of straw on the crops to avoid evaporation of the water) and in many other initiatives aimed at "water harvest".

But above all, Professor Altieri calls the attention of the State in the regulation and ownership of vital resources for agriculture, ensuring that "water and seeds must remain in the hands of the peasants, because they are the ones who feed us" .

Miguel Artieri is a Doctor in Entomology at the University of La Florida, and if we consult his name on the web we find several pages of books, publications and collaborations regarding agriculture and its sustainability over time. The book AGROECOLOGIA "Scientific bases for a sustainable agriculture" is highlighted, which he made together with S. Hecht, M. Liebman, F. Magdoff and R. Norgaard in 1999. It gives the guidelines for a careful management of agroecosystems without causing unnecessary or irreparable damage to the environment, simultaneously with the effort to combat pests, diseases or soil deficiencies. The titles such as "Agroecology and sustainable rural development in Latin America" are repeated; "Agroecology and development"; "Agroecology: the scientific basis of alternative agriculture", among dozens of works of authorship or in conjunction with other authors, who have been quoted hundreds of times for articles, theses, reports or reports like this throughout the world.

Source: Blueberrieschile.cl