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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org, OWL-OldWaysLiving@yahoogroups.com
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Traditional agriculture methods could help
  • Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:10:02 -0600


(Reuters) - Traditional agriculture methods could help protect food supplies
and make agriculture more resilient to the effects of climate change, a
report by the UK-based International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED) said on Monday.
LONDON | Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:06pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/31/us-food-climate-idUSTRE79U01A20111031?feedType=RSS&feedName=GCA-GreenBusiness&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FUSgreenbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Green+Business%29

Traditional knowledge, rather than modern methods, has helped indigenous
people in countries like China, Kenya and Bolivia to cope with extreme
weather and environmental change, the report said.

"Policies, subsidies, research and intellectual property rights promote a few
modern commercial varieties and intensive agriculture at the expense of
traditional crops and practices," said Krystyna Swiderska, senior researcher
at the IIED and lead author of the study.

"This is perverse as it forces countries and communities to depend on an ever
decreasing variety of crops and threatens with extinction the knowledge and
biological diversity that form the foundations of resilience."

Traditional methods include using local plants to control pests, choosing
crop varieties which tolerate extreme conditions such as droughts and floods
and planting a variety of crops to hedge bets against uncertain futures.

Policymakers agree that agriculture needs to be adapted to cope with rising
temperatures, variable rainfall and extreme weather events to ensure future
food security.

However, government policies have largely overlooked long-established
agricultural practices in favor of intensifying production through modern
methods, the report said.

Next month, governments will meet at a U.N. climate summit in Durban, South
Africa, to work on securing a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions and
climate aid for developing countries.

"They must have traditional knowledge firmly in their sights and begin
discussing how to reform intellectual property rights in agriculture as a
main concern," the report said.




  • [Livingontheland] Traditional agriculture methods could help, Tradingpost, 10/31/2011

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