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Khyn Yap
Joined: Mar 2, 2003
Posts: 7 (view all)
Poster Rank:
Soft-spoken
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Gender & Age: Male & 35
Country: Philippines
Province/State: Negros Occidental
City: Talisay
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[Poll] No To Bt Corn and GMO's in The Philippines!
May 5, 2003 - 07:34 AM
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No to GMO's!!!!!
While other nations reject the introduction of GMO into their Market, the Philippine Government is still pushing for the use of GMO's in the agriculture industry.
As of now members from the Philippine Greens are on Hunger Strike for 3 weeks now and yet our government do not have a clear stand on GMO. Our farmers do not need GE crops! what they need is education and training on organic farming.
What is your stand on GMO's?
increase crop yield (farmers)
(1 votes for 50%)
increase of profits (GMO manufacturers)
(1 votes for 50%)
there will be side effects on human health (Consumers)
(0 votes for 0%)
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ken hargesheimer
Joined: Jul 10, 2004
Posts: 4 (view all)
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Country: United States
Province/State: Texas
City: Lubbock
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organic farming
July 10, 2004 - 03:18 AM
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GARDENS/MINI-FARMS NETWORK
USA: TX, MS, FL, CA, AR; Mexico, Rep. Dominicana, Côté d’Ivoire, Nigeria,
Nicaragua, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Haiti, England, India
Workshops in organic, 0-tillage, permanent bed mini-farming and mini-ranching worldwide in English & Spanish
Minifarms@aol.com + minifarms.com
Member: TX Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association
Proven Practices for Farms and Ranches
These are based on worldwide research, the internet, international agriculture magazines, experiences teaching agriculture in the USA and in other countries, experience of farmers in those countries and in a demonstration garden. They are ecologically sustainable, environmentally responsible, socially just, economically viable, humanely managed and Biblically based. Applying the following, the world's farmers and ranchers can produce all the food the world will ever need. There is unlimited, documented proof. Compared to traditional methods, it will double the yields and reduce the labor by half. This is so successful that it stops the farmer migration from the rural areas to the cities.
1. Open mind.
2. Willing to make changes [in the field & pasture]
3. Restore soil to its natural state [Contamina-tion: lead, pesticides, insecticides, inorganic fertilizers, etc. Takes up to three years to restore.]
4. Maintain healthy soil [produces healthy crops which have few or no diseases or pests]
5. Maintain 5% or more soil organic matter.
6. Maintain plant diversity [with crops and green manure/cover crops]
7. Use low or no external inputs
8. 0-tillage [no digging, no plowing, no cultivating. 72,000,000 hectares in 2003 worldwide.]
9. Permanent beds [minimize walking in the beds]
10. Permanent paths [for working in the beds with hand tools]
11. Sloped-land [beds on the contour. no barriers: grass, trees]
12. Tools [Hand and power hand]
13. 12-months production [Economically feasible in nearly all climates and countries.]
14. Organic certification [only if market demands it]
15. Organic fertilizers
16. Organic disease control.
17. Organic herbicides.
18. Organic pesticides.
19. Biological pest control.
20. Perennial weeds [Control or eliminate using specific crops and controls]
21. Soil pest [Control or eliminate using specific crops]
22. Soil PH [correct by adding organic matter]
23. Attract beneficials [bats, birds, insects, toads]
24. Protect pollinators [bees, wasps, yellow jackets]
25. Protect soil micro-organisms and worms
26. No water runoff.
27. Soil always covered.
28. Use mulch/green manure/cover crops.
29. Feed plants through the mulch.
30. Compost [use organic matter as mulch or compost it]
31. Drip irrigation [Use pressure system or imported bucket drip kits -US$12 or made by farmer -$3]
32. Pump water [foot or hand pump]
33. Seed [open-pollinated. no hybrids or GMs]
34. Crop rotation.
35. Inter-cropping
36. Strip-cropping.
37. Windbreaks/Shelterbelts
38. Grass/forage-based livestock.
39. Small livestock in pens over beds
40. Miniature livestock [cattle, horses, pigs]
41. Holistic animal health care.
42. Purebred/crossbred livestock.
43. Alternative marketing [people want to buy local, buy fresh, buy organic]
44. Value-added products [increases profits]
45. Agri-training [train others]
46. Transportation [bicycle, bicycle trailer with interchangeable units: animals, passengers, tank, cargo, selling]
47. Protect wildlife, native plants, streams, riparians, ponds, wetlands, virgin forest, etc.
48. Imitate nature. Most farmers fight nature. ¡Nature always wins!
Mini-Farming Workshops
Most people in most developing countries are working in agriculture. They need help to reduce their labor, provide better food for better health and increase their income. Ag workshops helps people help themselves economically. Many are hungery and/or suffering from malnutrition and there is no excuse for that. They have land, water and labor; all they need is knowledge.
Every farmer in the world should use the following. There is unlimited, documented proof it works. I teach:
A. Organic: Reduces inputs to nearly zero. Organic fertilizers, etc. restores/maintains a healthy soil. Little or no compost making.
B. No-till: No plowing, no digging, no cultivating; only planting and harvesting. After two or three years the yields can double while reducing the labor by half compared to traditional farming. One farmer can farm ten acres alone using hand tools only [Honduras]. Stops migration from the countryside to the cities because it restores profitability to farming. Reduces cost by 30% the first year on larger farms [Argentina].
C. Permanent Beds: They were used 2000 BC in Guatemala, Mexico and many other countries. Because 15% to 20% of the land is in permanent paths/tracks that saves 20% of the seed, fertilizer, irrigation water and labor but yields will be higher.
D. Mini-ranching: Use moveable pens over beds growing forages, etc. or cut and carry or use rotational grazing.
No technique yet devised by mankind has been anywhere near as effective at halting soil erosion and making food production truly sustainable as no-tillage (Baker , 1996)
Marketing: The farmer’s market is first choice, in most situations, for selling what the farm produces. Other possibilities are: on-farm stand, pick your own, community supported agriculture, restaurants, supermarkets, etc.
Bucket drip irrigation should be used to produce food during the dry season and in areas of low rainfall: Chapin kit [US$12] or a drip line made locally from tubing [US$3, Nicaragua]. Both irrigate by filling a five gallon bucket each morning and each evening from a stream, pond or well. Two Chapin kits will irrigate all the vegetables needed by a family of seven during the dry season [Kenya]. A US$15 drip kit returns $20 per month to the farmer [FAO study].
Hillsides: Can be used on steep hillsides which many subsistence farmers must use. In Honduras [Aug 99] I saw beds on 73º slopes with no erosion from the flooding rains of Hurracane Mitch. No grasses, rocks or trees used.
Winter Production: Extend the growing season to twelve months.
Seeds for new crops: The farmers are more interested in this than anything I do. There is no profit in corn, rice, beans, coffee, pineapple or bananas except by alternative marketing. I take open pollinated seed for many new crops.
Hand tools: I take samples many of which they have never seen: planting hoe, digging fork, hedge trimmers, hand clippers, loppers, weed cutter. A blacksmith can make many of them.
Workshops are practical and how-to. I take reference books, videos, order free magazines [English, French, Spanish, Portuguese] if there is a library/office. I demonstrate the bucket and DIY drip irrigation, tools, make a no-till bed. Funds must be provided:
Speaking/Workshops Schedule 2004: Mexico, 12 June; Uzbekistan, 16 July; Nigeria, 18 Oct.
Ken Hargesheimer
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