I saw the challenges of agriculture throughout my childhood in the worried eyes of my parents. Despite their incessant work, they often pulled the devil by the tail.
Like so many farmers right now, they were stuck in a globalized agri-food system that thrives on exploiting people as much as the environment.
This time, however, the agricultural world is in crisis everywhere at the same time and climatic extremes are aggravating its precariousness and darkening the horizon.
It is more urgent than ever to support them in a real agroecological transition which is profitable for them and which ensures our food security locally.
It is time to ensure our food sovereignty.
Without food, nothing is possible
We forget that cultivating the land is the most important job in the world. The one on which all other human activities depend.
It is when we fear running out of food that we realize its full value. Like during the pandemic.
Have we already forgotten?
Cheap for whom?
We want cheap food, but we waste a lot of it. The average Canadian household throws away more than 140 kg (309 lbs) of food per year.
This represents more than $1,100 in the trash or compost each year.
Even though the cost of groceries has increased significantly, it is to the benefit of large companies.
Farmers saw the selling prices of their products fall, while interest rates increased, as did inflation, labor shortages and administrative requirements.
In Quebec, net agricultural income fell by 49% last year and debt jumped by 139%. No wonder so many farms go bankrupt, regardless of size.
Prepare for worse
Experts expect agricultural production to decline in the coming years due to increasingly frequent episodes of drought and extreme heat combined with cycles of heavy rains causing flooding.
All this in a global context where the population will increase!
Solutions?
This week, another study demonstrated the benefits of agroecological practices in terms of resilience to climate extremes and food security.
Published in the journal Sciencethis compilation of 24 studies conducted in 11 countries on 2,655 farms indicates that agricultural diversification strategies bring significant social and environmental benefits without reducing yields.
Reducing or even abandoning pesticides and chemical fertilizers, crop rotation, planting windbreak hedges and vegetated riparian strips are all long-known practices that should be generalized. As is local agriculture.
To achieve this, we will need to provide more support to our farmers, both through government investments that will allow them to get their heads above water and through our consumption choices.
It’s also time to register for organic baskets. You can become a partner of a local organic farm by paying in advance for your share of the harvest for the next season.
It’s one of the most beautiful ways to support those who feed us while taking care of the environment.