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Alternative Agriculture Success Stories in the U.S. September 18, 1998 Farmers around the U.S. are switching from conventional pest
management practices, which are heavily reliant on pesticides, to
profitable alternative agricultural practices that substantially
reduce pesticide use, according to a new report by the Natural
Resources Defense Council. "Fields of Change: A New Crop of
American Farmers Finds Alternatives to Pesticides" looks at 22
farmers from 16 states who produce a wide variety of fruits,
vegetables, grains, cotton and dairy products. As recently as 15 years ago, all of these farmers relied
extensively on pesticides to manage insects, weeds and diseases.
In many cases, pesticides were applied prophylactically or on a
calendar basis without regard to the level of pest pressure or
presence of natural controls. In response to economic,
environmental, health and/or ethical concerns, each of the farmers
profiled decided to experiment with alternative practices. Most of the farmers in the report began their transition to
alternative agriculture on a small scale, practicing on a portion
of their acreage before expanding. With experience, they have each
developed localized, economically viable pest and farm management
methods that have led to substantial reductions in synthetic
pesticide use, ranging from 10% to 100%, depending on the crop and
type of pesticide. Two-thirds of the farmers have reduced one or
more synthetic pesticide types between 50% and 100%. Close to 30%
of the farmers produce all or a portion of their crop or commodity
organically, without the use of synthetic pesticides and
fertilizers. According to the report, all of the farmers made the conversion
from conventional pest management systems to alternative pest
management systems while maintaining and in many cases improving,
the profitability of their operations. "The motivations to change
were strikingly similar among the farmers we surveyed. They wanted
lower production costs, less soil erosion, incomes that could
withstand fluctuations in markets and regulations, reduced health
risks from toxic chemicals and less water pollution from farm
runoff," says Jennifer Curtis, author of the report. The report
notes that these farmers managed to change their systems despite
significant government, market and cultural barriers. Each farmer can identify at least one person or program that has
helped them reduce pesticide use. Many of the farmers have found,
for example, that hiring an independent pest control advisor (one
without an economic interest in pesticide sales) has been critical
to their success. Others received help from neighboring farmers,
non-profit education organizations, university researchers and
local extension agents. That report points out the biologically-based pest management
projects make up less than 0.5% of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) research and education budget. USDA spent
about US$132 million directly or indirectly on Integrated Pest
Management research in 1997, roughly 7% of the total agency
research and education budget of US$1.9 billion. Only about 1% of
30,000 agricultural research projects supported by USDA were
pertinent to organic farming, and only 0.1% were explicitly
focused on organic farming. NRDC proposes increasing funding for USDA's sustainable
agriculture research and education program by US$50 million over
the next five years. Since 1988, funding in this area amounts to
less than US$11 million, barely 0.5% of USDA's total research and
education budget. In addition, NRDC advocates a US$38 million
funding level for research on organic farming methods and systems. "There is a tremendous untapped potential for alternative farming
methods to reduce pesticide use in U.S. agriculture," said Curtis.
"The challenge is to break down walls and the stigma in industrial
agriculture that prevent farmers from knowing about and using
biologically-based pest control methods." Copies of the report are available from NRDC, Publications Dept.,
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011 for US$14 plus US$3.00
shipping. Make checks payable to NRDC in U.S. dollars only. Source: NRDC press release , July 22, 1998. "Fields of Change,"
NRDC, 1998. |