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Organic |
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Organic Farmers Innovate: An Austrian Experience |
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All over the world, farmers use their traditional knowledge and experience to improve their farming systems. The combination of local knowledge and continuous experimentation can lead to adaptations, innovations. Thousands of grassroots innovations presented in the Honey Bee database are a vivid proof to the existence of the intensive process of farmers’ experimentations in India as well as to the significance of the communication processes within the farming community.
Even today, scientific research is rarely based on indigenous concepts and farmers’ local needs. This can result in inaccurate diagnosis of agricultural problems and creation of technologies that neither meet the needs of the farmer nor are suitable for their production environment.
Healthy crops on healthy soils
Last century in Austria, in the twenties itself, pioneer farmers had already started practicing bio-dynamic farming, as defined by Rudolf Steiner. After the Second World War, some farmers were concerned about the negative effects that synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, as well as intensive crop and livestock production had on their soils, crops, farm animals, or even on human health.
A well known “organic pioneer” in Austria is Helga Wagner. She got to know about organic farming in the year 1945 and became convinced that “healthy crops” can only be cultivated on “healthy soils”. She started an intensive experimentation activity to find the best way of compost elaboration. Until today she holds regular courses for farmers about how to improve natural soil fertility. Another major emphasis in the early organic movement in Austria was the breeding of locally adapted crop varieties. The members of the organic farmers´ association “Erde & Saat” (established in 1988), for example, started producing their own seeds in order to be independent of hybrid crop varieties.
Self-harvesting–An example of organic farmers’ innovation in Austria
“Self-harvesting” is an example of an innovative concept of direct marketing developed by the organic farmers and consumers in Austria. The concept works well in urban or peri-urban areas where consumers have easy access to the self-harvest-fields. The agricultural plots are ploughed by the organic farmers, who also fertilize organically and sow/plant the seeds/crops. These plots are later divided into sub-plots (2) of 40-160 m2 and handed over to consumers for one harvesting season. Consumers pay a rental fee to the farmer and are responsible for clearing of weeds, irrigation and harvesting. To establish this kind of organic farming, farmers had to experiment with new crop rotations, manure regimes, crop species and varieties, as well as with new ways of interaction with consumers.
Compost turning machine
Fast, efficient and labour saving composting methods depend on the use of a turning unit – a vehicle fitted with a device to turn the windrows of composting material, to fluff the material, thoroughly mix it, and provide air to the piles. Nowadays, machinery to turn the compost is available; however, these machines are very expensive, require a significant capital investment in single-application equipment and are usually not available to small scale farmers. That was the reason why several organic farmers started building these machines on their own, experimenting with diverse tools, trying different size, speed and number of the turning units, various transportation possibilities etc, while maintaining minimum expenses. E.g. one Austrian farmer built a compost turning machine, which suited exactly his needs. The 2.5m wide machine consists of a self welded frame, which contains two spiral metal rollers, by which the compost is turned over. The frame is located on a trailer and is hydraulic controlled to enable comfortable transportation of the machine. A concrete block, built on the trailer keeps the machine steady. While working, the trailer is carried with a tractor, and the turning power comes from the tractor’s shaft.
Organic farming has spread worldwide, and yet maintained its basic principles. The research team, based in Austria at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU) is conducting an international research project about organic farmers’ experiments in Austria, Israel and Cuba.
Read the full article at www.sristi.org |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 18(2):4 & 11, 2006 |
