Comparison
between modern and alternative agriculture
It is necessary to
point out the chief characteristics of modern
agriculture by ways of comparison ( See
also Table )
Modern agriculture
is developed in the West or industry-based
society which relies heavily on science ( Nature
and Society ) and requires that scientists and
technicians alike play dominating role while
local farmers who are without such knowledge are
to be trained and advised on how to work. Modern
agriculture emphasizes the taming and the
exploitation of nature, new technologies, be it
chemicals, machineries and inseparable linkage
between capital-based investment , local and
transnational entepreneurs with
profit-orientation and preference for monopoly in
the background.
Modern agriculture
has brought with it many negative impacts. The
production of healthfood, export of agricultural
products, ever-inceasing dependence on imported
technologies and international market , price
fluctuations in world market, competition in
price and efficiency. All these factors
ultimately spell live and death for small scale
farmers. Over cultivation at the same time has
serious environmental impacts -toxic chemicals in
the soil, the forests, the rivers and the seas
are polluted to the point of endangering the
lives and the very existence of the whole
population The culture and the way of life of the
rural people are fast disappearing and may be
lost for ever.
Alternative
culture as its name suggests does away with new
production elements such as chemicals, energy
consuming machines, while gives more
consideration to environmental costs, close
interdependence between man and nature, and
sustainability of the ecosystem . Alternative
agriculture embraces the concepts of forest
agriculture, comprehensive agriculture, natural
agriculture, folk culture and so on. The
aficionados always maintain that the failure of
modern agriculture lies in that the empirical
nature of its science fails to incorporate local
wisdom. As such, agriculture is not only a
partial knowledge (Klopenburg 1991) but also a
social and cultural construction (Redcliff 1989)
that happens to have played important
socio-economic, political and historical roles.
Table : Comparison of
concepts of modern and alternative agricultures
| Concepts
of Modern Agriculture |
| System of concentrated
producing units : |
| - Land and capital intensive |
| - Monopoly of producing,
processing and marketing companies |
| Dependence on External
factors : |
| - Large producing units made
depending on technology |
| - Energy capitals and other
producing factors. The nature of
dependence grows more intensified with
time |
| - Centered around science,
technicians, experts and advicers. |
| Competition : |
| -is a full-fledged business |
| -Attaches great importance
to timeframe, productivity and profits. |
| -Minimize human labour |
| -Has no specific commitment
to local culture |
| Transcendence over Nature
: |
| -Man is separated from
nature and lives in isolation from
nature. |
| -Natural resources are for
man to take; |
| -Recycling as a possibility
to combat against environmental
deterioration is overlooked. |
| -Employ man-made system to
control and subjugate nature |
| -Overuses of chemicals and
artificial fertilizers. |
| Intensification of
Production of Processed Food : |
| - Concentration
Highly-Specialized Production |
| -Narrow bio-based production
and concentration of single crop |
| -Go for one type of plant or
crop in any given season |
| -Plants and animals are
raised kin separation from on another |
| -Single set of standards for
all productions |
| -Emphasize specialization |
| Compartmentalization of
Science and Technology : |
| -Give no consideration for
other costs |
| -Short-term interest is more
important than long-term interest. |
| -Exploitation of
nonrenewable resources |
| -Inordinate application of
science and technology |
| -Consume huge natural
resources to maintain growth. |
| -Attach great importance to
wealth, comforts and consummerism. |
| Alternative
Agriculture : |
| Diffused Production : |
| -Production, processing and
marketing are diffused to cover
communities, localities and regions. |
| -Ownership or control of
lands, recources and capitals are
concentrated to owners who are in the
minority |
| Self-reliance : |
| -Production units are small
and do not depend on heavy caitals nor
modern technology |
| -Depend on knowledge, skills
and local wisdom. |
| Sense of Belonging to
Community : |
| -Agriculture is at once a
way of life and a way of doing business. |
| -Give importance to
sustainability, sense of common
well-being, quality of life and
traditional values. |
| -Agriculture is meaningful
to life and spirit as labour is. |
| -Enhance cooperative effort
and the spirit of brotherhood. |
| Sense of Interdependence
Between Man and Nature : |
| -Man is part of nature and
his life is nurtured by nature. |
| -That nature has meanings
and importance are self evident. |
| -Life cycle is complete with
creation, growth and decay |
| -Man adjusts himself to
nature and learns to live with nature. |
| -Production is based on
continued improvement of soil quality. |
| -Food quality is already
provided by nature and requires a minimum
of processing. |
| Diversity : |
| -Diversity of plants and
crops under cultivation |
| -Rotation crops and the
principle of interdependence between
plants are practiced. |
| -Farm animals and crops are
raised together. |
| -Production pattern suits
the locality. |
| -A holistic approach to
knowledge including science and
technology |
| Sense of optimum : |
| -Give considerations to all
types of cost and impact. |
| -Short- term interest and
long -term interest are on even par. |
| -Dependence on and
utilization of renewable resources, while
preserve the nonrenewable. |
| -Limited reliance on science
and technology |
| -Ordinately consume and
exploit resources with thoughts fro the
generations to come. |
| -Give importance to the
search for the meaning of life and the
way to self sufficiency and the style of
life that is not tied down to
materialism. |
It may be surmised
that through out history, man has accumulated
agricultural knowledges, types of plants and
animals, farming mehtods, resource management,
caring of plants and animals and this knowledge
has been accumulated over millennium both by the
word of mouth and the written word. Science and
the role of scientists in society have been a
recent phenomenon. From the point of view of of
socio-politics, the growth of science, the rapid
adoption of
new knowledge ,
technicians and modern agriculture supported by
economic and political power of the capitalist
system, have done much to marginalize local and
traditional knowledge.
One argument which
cannot be easily dismissed is the agricultural
areas owned by the majority of the farmers all
over the world are infertile and the success or
failure of farming are at the mercy of the
precariousness of natuare. In such circumstance,
the knowledgels and wisdoms of local farmers are
most relevant. Modern agriculture is likely to
work well in the areas where soil conditions are
highly favourable and not vulnerable to the
flimsiness of the climates. However such lands
are hard to come by Chambers et al 1986
It is to be noted
that the ethics and values of local farmers
cannot be said to be superior to man in other
professions. In many instances, the traditional
knowledge of local farmers does not always fit in
with the alternative agriculture. All too often,
local farmers go for short- term profits and by
doing so have brought about serious environmental
damages. Alternative agriculture is not confined
in mere knowledge and techniques but also to
values and attitudes. Alternative agriculture has
so far been accepted by individual farmers,
localities and groups who attach great importance
to targets, values land believes, supra naturals,
kinships, simplicity, self- reliance and family
ties.
Alternative
agriculture is a by -product of the new social
consciousness, such as environment awareness,
disenchantment with modern agriculture, sense of
interdependence between man and his environment,
sustainabiltiy concept, the need to debunk
scientific knowledge and the roles of scientists,
the newly emerging roles of non governmental
organizations and public volunteers as outlined
by imminent social critics.
One is to accept
that the culture of farming is an expression of
the interrelations between man and nature, it
seems to follow that modern agriculture which is
bent on subjugating nature is but one narrow
meaning which has led to a host of problems. Our
endeavour to reexamine the meaning and man’s
relationship with nature under the framework of
alternative agriculture is timely and necessary.
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