Development & Aid, Environment, Europe, Headlines

ENVIRONMENT: Farming in Harmony with the Cosmos

Francesca Colombo *Tierramérica

MILAN, Italy, Jan 11 2005 (IPS) - Sweeter apples, greener lettuce and purer milk; honey without sugar and wine that doesn’t cause inebriation or stomach acidity; carrots that stay fresh for more than two weeks.

These are just some of the products of what is known as biodynamic agriculture, crops that grow without degrading the soil, without synthetic fertilisers or pesticides, following the natural cycles of the cosmos.

In Italy there are some 400 companies dedicated to this activity, with 5,000 hectares among them and revenues of around 27 million dollars a year – a modest portion of the market compared to conventional farming. Their output represents just five percent of Italy’s total, in part because biodynamic farming entails higher production costs.

Those who practice biodynamic farming use humus – partially decomposed organic material – to fertilise the soil, and are inspired by age-old agricultural techniques.

”One works in a closed cycle, because plants are self-sufficient and healthy organisms. This helps restore the fertility of the soil. The biodynamic farmer lives in harmony with nature,” Marcelo Lo Sterzo, agronomist, consultant and professor of forestry sciences, told Tierramérica.

This technique was developed in Germany beginning in 1924, based on ”anthroposophy”, the holistic philosophy of Austrian Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), which encompasses the influence of the cosmos on plant and animal life, as well as guidelines for the relationship between humans and the rest of nature.

One of the basics in soil use is crop rotation, and planting and harvesting are organised and planned in accordance with the lunar and planetary calendars.

The technique ”yields clean products” and provides its own fertilisers with natural substances, which are ”more nutritious for the plants,” and favour both root absorption and photosynthesis, Mario Bavio, representative of the Biodynamic Association for the northern Italian region of Lombardia, said in a Tierramérica interview.

The agricultural firm Cascine Orsine, based in Pavia, Lombardia, cultivates 350 hectares under this method. It produces milk, beef, cheeses, cereals, rice and flour, with special machinery and involving five times more human labour than comparable conventional farming operations.

”Our main product is milk. We take care of the soil and the cows. We don’t saw off their horns, we give them special feed, and if they become ill we treat them with homeopathic medicines. They sleep on straw, because that is what is natural,” Cascine Orsine owner Aldo Paravini told Tierramérica.

Biodynamic farmers maintain that if one respects the land, the quality of the seeds and certain natural cycles, the cosmos will have a positive influence on their crops.

For example, they believe that cultivation has better results if it is done when the moon is at its farthest point in orbit from the Earth.

”Fifteen years ago we began working with this technique, which is in keeping with our philosophy of life,” says Marco Rossi, owner of Verdealloggio, a small biodynamic beekeeping business on six hectares of land in Giove, central Italy, where they produce honey and honey-based cosmetics.

”Our bees do not feed on sugar and they are not forced to over-produce. The hive is located in a special place, far away from noise and from people. We even use non-toxic paint for the hive walls,” he explained to Tierramérica.

The proponents of biodynamic farming argue that it is the most advanced form of an environmentally sustainable development model, the highest level of attention to product quality and that it goes beyond organic farming practices – also referred to as biological or ecological agriculture.

Ninety-five percent of biodynamic products are sold fresh, and the rest are cosmetics, cotton fibre, or hemp.

Biodynamic farming is subject to three quality control certification processes, conducted by the Demeter Association, an ecological group that encompasses 3,000 farmers from 40 countries, the Swiss biotechnology association Swissbio, and the European Union, in the context of the bloc’s regulation 2092/91 on biological agriculture.

Two-thirds of Italy’s biodynamic farm output is sold to northern Europe, United States, Canada and Japan. The prices are, on average, 50 percent higher than conventional agricultural products.

This is due to the fact that start-up costs are three to four times greater, but biodynamic farmers say that after two or three years of work, the ratio changes dramatically. Because they don’t use synthetic products – like chemical fertilisers and pesticides – their costs are ultimately 40 percent lower.

* Francesca Colombo is a Tierramérica contributor. Originally published Jan. 8 by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.)