Blink:

Environmentalists’ latest “buzz du jour” associated with the transformation to a sustainable and fair food system globally will be the adaptation of agroecology – the application of ecological processes to agricultural/farming production. To make it happen, they believe it will take more government policies/incentives to elevate the transition.

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I agree, but concerned the global transition to agroecology, balancing the connectivity between plants, animals, humans, community socio-economic and environment conditions will be a very slow, time-consuming process. Why am I being cautiously pragmatic? Threefold:

1. The adoption of agroecological practices will require a significant amount of government assistance to educate and train farmers’ knowledge in this subject area. That will take a considerable amount of investment and regulations.
2. Lobbyists representing capitalist agribusiness will flourish to obstruct policy makers.
3. The pernicious side of mankind represents a speedbump. Specifically, the subset of humans who surface during natural disasters (now the climate crisis) to capitalize on the situation to make a dollar. Example: A recent Reuters News exposé revealed, some climate finance/funds have gone towards projects which have no connection to climate change, thus are not directly reducing global warming and its impact – airport expansions, a love story film set in the Argentine rainforest, retail chocolate and gelato stores, etc.        

Instead of solely relying on government policies and subsidies, I believe an important factor (a.k.a. wildcard) in a successful agroecology movement will be technological innovation a topic I have addressed before Innovative Planetary Technology. One area which piques my interest is precision agriculture – the utilization of AI driven data to help farmers grow more crops with fewer resources to maximize yields and minimize spending. Regenerative farming is an eco-friendly sustainable approach to agriculture which has recently gained significant attention; specifically the importance of soil management. Numerous technology companies have surfaced (e.g., Soil Scout) planting wireless sensors to monitor real-time information like soil moisture levels and other environmental factors which affect crop growth.

There are many innovative solutions on the table for a #planetfirst food system transformation. Understanding/embracing agroecological farming principles combined with innovative planetary technology is a great place to start the adventure. However, I remain cautiously optimistic. We need to be patient, thus realize we will experience the growing pains and learning curve associated with the transformation. All aboard. Time to move forward

Tomorrow is Now!