Agriculture, or farming, is the simplification of nature's food

webs and the rechanneling of energy for human planting and

animal consumption. Huh? You may ask. To simplify,
agriculture involves redirecting nature's natural flow of the food
web. The natural flow of the food web is-the sun provides light
to plants. Plants convert sunlight into sugars which provide
food for the plants(this process is called photosynthesis). Plants
provide food for herbivores (plant-eating animals, i.e., sloths)
and the herbivores provide food for carnivores (meat-eating
animals, i.e., jaguars). Decomposers or bacteria, break down
plants or animals that have died. Nutrients from the plants and
animals go back into the soil and the whole process starts anew.

Rice in Indonesia. Photos by Rhett Butler

What happens with agriculture is that this web is interrupted.

Instead of having herbivores eat the plants, the plants are
protected for human consumption. This means that not only are
plant eating animals excluded from the food web, but also
carnivorous animals and even decomposers. However, if a
farmer is planting corn to feed their cattle, the cattle eat the corn
to fatten up and then are eventually slaughtered for human
consumption. Even though a herbivore (cow) is eating the plant
(corn) the web in interrupted when the cow is killed for human
consumption.
Are there different types of agriculture?
Yes. There is conventional agriculture and sustainable
agriculture (agro-ecology).
Conventional agriculture, most commonly practiced in the
United States, usually involves the following criteria:
 altering or changing the natural environment (removing trees, tilling the soil, installing an
irrigation system, etc.
 mono-cropping, or planting one crop (ex: only corn is grown in a plot).
 the crops grown are nonrenewable- after harvesting, the plot is bare again and requires
cultivation (tilling and plowing of the soil), fertilization, planting, irrigation (watering),
and harvesting all over again.
 diversity is eliminated in order to maintain uniformity
 using insecticides and pesticides to keep insects and animals from eating the crops; these
chemicals are not only poisonous to insects, animals and humans, they also pollute
ground water, streams, rivers, and oceans.
 using inorganic fertilizers to provide nutrients to the soil
  a lot of energy and work for the farmer to maintain this unnatural farming system; nature
is more aligned with diversity (it wants to be wild), rather than controlled and uniform.

What are the effects of conventional agriculture?

 since the plot is stripped of its natural environmental features, the plants are vulnerable to
disease, high herbivore predation, and soil erosion.
 a decrease in bio-diversity means many animals lose their habitat and either relocate or
become extinct.
 after harvesting, the plot is empty, leaving the soil bare and prone to soil erosion.
 the use of insecticides and pesticides pollutes the environment on many levels: the soil,
streams, creeks, rivers, underground water sources, well water, the ocean, and even the
air. When these chemicals are ingested (eaten) or inhaled, they can poison animals and
people. This poisoning can cause severe illness and even death.
 crop disease, drought (no rain), fire, or heavy rain-fall can destroy a crop, thus causing
severe economic hardship for the farmer and even the consumer because when the
quantity of a crop is low (when the supply is low) the price is increased.

Sustainable agriculture (agro-ecology) uses ecological principles to farm, hence the prefix
agro- to farm and ecology- the science of the relationship between organisms and their
environments. Agro-ecology involves:

 maintaining the natural environment and using ecological principles for sustained
farming practices
 poly-cropping, or planting many crops together (ex: planting rows of corn, bean, and
squash together rather than in separate plots, like in mono-cropping)
 since many plants are planted together, and each one has a different harvesting period, the
plot is never bare. This reduces soil erosion.
 diversity is maintained and even increased over time
 a diverse system of plants may attract several species of herbivores. Some of these
herbivores like to eat specific kinds of plants. Predator species usually do not have a
preference for which herbivores to eat. This predation keeps the herbivore population in
check, thus reducing predation of any one crop.
 Plants- such as citrosa, are natural insect repellents. This eliminates the need to use
insecticides.
 nutrients from each intercrop plant provide different nutrients to the soil, thus increasing
its fertility (ability to sustain life).
 less energy is required from the farmer because the agriculture system sustains itself

What are the effects of sustainable agriculture?

 using ecological principles increases bio-diversity. Not only are animals' homes salvaged
(saved), but the natural ecological system protects itself (sustains itself) from soil erosion,
severe herbivore predation, and crop disease.
 since insecticides and pesticides are not used, pollution and the harmful effects of
ingesting these poisons are not an issue
 since each intercropping plant supplies a different nutrient to the soil, less or (even no)
fertilizers are added to the soil
 this type of agriculture is aligned with nature and uses the principles of nature to sustain
itself (there's nothing better than that!)
 farmers experience less or no economic loss with this type of agriculture system because
the natural environment protects itself from crop disease (due to diversity of species), soil
erosion (benefits of intercropping plants with different harvesting periods), flooding (the
intercropping plants absorb heavy rain-falls), droughts (the intercrops provide moisture
 and shade for each other), and fire (extra moisture and shade keeps plants from drying out
and becoming more susceptible to fire).

Which type of agriculture practice do you think is better for the environment and
ultimately ourselves? Before you answer, here are some interesting facts:

Okay, so which agricultural practice is better? Did you say sustainable agriculture? I can't
hear you ...say it louder, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE! You're right on the money, in more
ways than one.

Corn field in Colombia

So, you've heard the term slash-and-burn agriculture and you're wondering what this is?

This is a type of unsustainable agriculture. It occurs in rain forests where the soil is poor in
nutrients. Remember, most of the nutrients are "locked" in the leaf litter, plants, and trees. The
soil gets its nutrients from the leaf litter and plants. Farmers who practice slash-and-burn
agriculture know that the nutrients are "locked" in the vegetation. This is why they slash (cut)
and burn the trees, plants and leaves. The ashes from the burned vegetation provide nutrients to
the soil (fertilize the soil) for the planting of both staple and cash crops. After a few years, the
soil loses its nutrients and the farmers migrate (move) to another piece of forest to clear and burn
a new plot of land for planting.

Staple crops are plants that farmers can live on: manioc, plantains, bananas, sweet potato,
pineapple, chili pepper, and others.

Cash crops are crops farmers can sell for money: sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, etc.

Is this type of agriculture harmful to the environment?

It can be if farmers raise cattle on an agriculture field that has just been farmed for 2 years (the
maximum fertility of a slash-and-burn agriculture field). This can be a death sentence to the soil,
since the cattle remove the last traces of fertility from the soil.

Should we blame these farmers for the deforestation of forests?

No. There are many complex factors which play into the deforestation of forests. We've already
learned about logging as a major factor, but we havn't discussed the international, national, and
local factors. One reason why these nomadic (traveling) farmers practice slash-and-burn
agriculture is because they have no other means of employment and thus survival. They must
plant crops to eat (to sustain their lives) and they must make money (by selling cash crops). If
the government provided job opportunities for these farmers, maybe they wouldn't have to resort
to this type of subsistence. What do you think?

An upside to slash-and-burn agriculture:

According to Kricher, a study in Costa Rica demonstrated that slash and burn does not, in the
short run, degrade the soil. Researcher cut, mulched, and burned a site that contained patches of
eight- to nine-year-old forest and seventy-year-old forest. Before the burn there were
approximately 8,000 seeds per square meter of soil, representing 67 species. After the burn the
figure dropped to 3,000 seeds/square meter, representing 37 species. Mycorrhizal fungi survived
the burn, and large quantities of nutrients were released to the soil following burning. The
remaining seeds sprouted, and vegetation regrew vigorously on the site (Kricher, 1997, p. 177).

What's agriculture like in Costa Rica?

Bananas are Costa Rica's number one export. This has been a blessing, in that, it has provided a
lot of money to the country, but it has also created some problems. From a social perspective,
the job opportunities in the banana plantations have enticed poor people from Nicaragua to
immigrate to Costa Rica. This has caused tension between the Costa Rican farmers and the
Nicarguan people; both groups wind up competing for jobs (working in the banana plantations).
From an environmental perspective, the banana plantations cover 245,440 hectares of land, all of
which used to be tropical rain forests. Supposedly, the climate is "perfect" for growing bananas.
In addition, rivers have become terribly polluted with blue-plastic bags. These blue bags are
used to cover the bananas while they are growing in the plantation fields. The Sarah Piqui River
often has blue bags everywhere!

What about shade grown coffee?

Yes! There is a wonderful organization called CAN (Community Agroecology Network) which
helps local Costa Rican farmers grow coffee in a sustainable way and earn more money per
pound of coffee.

How does CAN do this?

The co-op basically cuts out all the middle-men who take money from the farmers as the coffee
moves from the field to the market. When this happens, more money is left for the farmers. In
fact, farmers earn even more money through this co-op than they would through conventional
Fair Trade.

How do these farmers grow their coffee?

All of their coffee is shade grown and they maintain the natural, bio-diverse environment to grow
their coffee. They also use sustainable planting practices such as intercropping and cover-
cropping. In addition, no insecticides or pesticides are used and farmers practice reforestation as
well.

How can we support these farmers?

Easy! If you want to learn more about the co-op, check out their web-site at
www.communityagroecology.net. In fact, one of the CAN communities is located in Agua
Buena, Coto Brus; just south of Manuel Antonio. If you'd like to order coffee, just print out the
form on the web-site and send it in or order on-line. In no time, you'll receive a large bag of
aromatic, organic, Costa Rican coffee at your door-step. It's the best coffee ever! This is a great
gift for your parents or relatives who must have that cup of coffee in the morning.