The compañera Rosa Pineda lives from her own agroecological project in
El Encinarejo (Córdoba). Hermisenda Huerta Natural was born in 2012"loaded with illusion, energy, seeds and vegetables". We approachAndalusian lands to learn about their way of life, closer to nature andan example that family farming is a real alternative, both as aprofession for people, and as a possible solution to world food. ----Question: Tell us about Hermisenda and what the project consists of.---- Answer: Hermisenda is an organic garden located in the Guadalquivirvalley and on the banks of this river, in Encinarejo de Córdoba. We area worker cooperative because, even though we are only two people, webelieve that it is the legal form that best suits our project.We are dedicated to the cultivation of vegetables and fruitsorganically, we combine our vegetables with aromatic plants to enhanceboth plant and animal biodiversity.The distribution of the production is done in short marketing channels,that is, directly to the consumer. Weekly we prepare baskets of variedvegetables and take them to various distribution points. These pointsare local businesses that collaborate with us to facilitate delivery andminimize expenses.Q: Therefore, you work in the primary sector, one of the sectors mostaffected by the recent economic crises and in recent times have been theprotagonists of some state mobilizations, with the rise in inputs astheir main demands. How does it affect you and what do you think about it?A: This question could take up the entire interview. I try to summarizeit in one sentence: the mobilizations that are promoted by largelandowners, by agribusiness, with intensive farming techniques thatgreatly damage the environment, do not include the entire primarysector, nor do they interest us, nor do we feel identified in any oftheir claims.The rise in inputs affects depending on the use you make of them. Theagro-industry is dependent on oil and its derivatives, as well asphytosanitary products, more aptly called agrochemicals, or nitrogenfertilizers, fertilizers. World crises, such as the current war inUkraine, mean a rise in input prices that is suffered by those who makeabusive use of them, such as agribusiness.These are not times, nor is there time, to talk about the rise in oilprices or how it affects different sectors, it is time to work on realalternatives that crack the capitalist system that devours us anddestroys the planet's resources, which are finite.We use natural inputs and minimize the mechanical labor that we do withmachinery. We try to adapt crops to environmental changes so as not toforce their development and so that they do not require additionalcontributions of any type of input.Q: Ok, but to feed the world population it is necessary to produce tonsof food. Do you think it is possible that projects like yours can beexported to other places and can facilitate feeding on a planetary level?A: Of course. Agriculture has been practiced as a family livelihood formore than 10,000 years. Our project is nothing new, quite the contrary,it is one of the oldest professions, which over the years has beentransforming and evolving with the passing of societies, with a markedtransformation in the 50s and, especially, in the 1960s with theindustrial revolution that brought about the introduction of machineryand then pesticides to the fields, which culminated the idea of maximumland productivity by radically eliminating ecosystems.According to the FAO report "The world state of agriculture and food",there are more than 570 million farms in the world, considering farms tofarms of less than one hectare and their management is individual orfamily. In other words, family farms are the dominant form ofagriculture in the world and produce more than 80% of the world's food.It is evident that these data may seem contradictory if we look, forexample in Spain, at the active population dedicated to agriculture,which is barely 6%. Therefore, it should not be surprising that Spainfeeds itself on imports and that feeding the planet depends on world trade.The problem is not the production of food by territories. Already in the60s we were told the story of the "green revolution", which was going to"increase food production and prevent deaths from hunger in the world",and we already know that this has not happened. According to the FAO,one in three people is in a state of "food insecurity" and at anenvironmental level it has led to the contamination of seas, rivers,aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the degradation of territories, theemission of greenhouse gases, etc., contributing massively to thecurrent climate emergency situation we are facing.Food waste on a global scale accounts for a third of production, so wecan firmly say that the problem is the distribution of food, resourcesand wealth.When we eat, we ingest food, but also pesticides, labor rights, dignity,life and death in reality, because excessive consumption feeds thecapitalist system, which is the great threat to the continuity of life.Q: As they say, for global problems, let's act locally. Are you incontact with other similar projects? Would a federation of projects thatwould enable a person to consume responsibly be feasible?A: Yes, we are in contact with similar projects, although less than wewould like. We participate in El Ecomercado de Córdoba where variousproductive projects set up an ecological market a month in the city, butthere are few agroecological projects of small farms like ours in theseparts. During these 10 years we have seen how initiatives were born andfaded that, despite the enthusiasm and effort, it was difficult tostrengthen.A union of projects to facilitate responsible food consumption is viableand there are currently several that offer this possibility. Now, theanswer to your question is complicated if we refer to consumption for adecent, balanced, sustainable and accessible diet. In order to explainit better, we focus on the consumption of vegetables in the peninsularterritory, where barely 10% of the useful agricultural area is dedicatedto organic farming. And despite being very small, it is the country thatallocates the highest percentage in the EU and the fifth worldwide. Themain crops in Spain are the olive grove, cereals and nuts and, althoughthe data fluctuates, 80% of the production is exported. So we canconclude that there is no availability of a balanced, sustainable andaccessible diet, basically because they are not cultivated in aproportionate way to be able to offer a varied and sustainable diet toits population, therefore we remain totally dependent oncommercialization on a global scale. .But you will tell me that in specialized stores and even in largestores, we have access to organic fruits and vegetables. Well yes, youare right, but it is necessary to contextualize, because we do not wantthis access to be negligible, or even only for a social minority, right?We want the whole of society to be able to choose how it eats and forthis a radical change in agricultural, commercial, environmental andeducational policies is necessary, to favor the cultivation of seasonaland local vegetables and fruits.For me it is inconsistent to consume organic tomatoes in February. It istrue that these tomatoes will not carry pesticides, but what is theecological and water footprint they support? Can this be calledsustainable consumption? Well no.We can associate to have a more responsible consumption individually,but this requires an effort and militancy that is sometimesunaffordable. And together with the possibilities that green capitalismoffers by filling its stands with Bio products, initiatives for changebecome more complicated.In recent years we can read in large stores "consume responsibly","consume local and ecological", offering products from all over theglobe with the organic seal. We have to be very clear that feedingourselves is an individual act, but the way we do it can be a collectiveact and one of social transformation. We have recently seen how thestates, the big oil magnates and multinationals, met in Egypt, in Cop27with the main objective of reducing emissions so as not to exceed 1.5º Cof temperature in the pre-industrial era.The capitalist system is to blame for the agony of the planet, there areno measures to alleviate its effects, it is necessary to deconstruct tobuild new consumption systems that are respectful of the environment andpeople. When we eat, we ingest food, but also pesticides, labor rights,dignity, life and death in reality, because excessive consumption feedsthe capitalist system, which is the great threat to the continuity of life.https://www.cnt.es/noticias/entrevista-a-rosa-pineda-es-necesario-deconstruir-para-construir-nuevos-sistemas-de-consumo-respetuosos-con-el-medioambiente-y-las-personas/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten