At Farmers Farm, we know that if we want a future in farming, we can’t just reduce our impact on the land. Farming sustainably is not enough. We must go a step further and try to return the majority of resources used to the soil.
Intensive crop and livestock farms, while responding to a model of high productivity, are devastating for the environment and human communities. They abuse and overexploit natural resources, serving only the demands of the market and benefiting large agro-industrial companies (seed and pesticide producers, importers, food distributors, meat integrators, etc.). In addition, they also lapidate the options for sustainable development of rural territories.
In the case of small farmers like us, the environmental impact is minimal. We live and work in the countryside, attentive to the needs of the territory.
Many of the agricultural practices that our farmers have carried out all their lives can be included in regenerative agriculture. Such as manuring, grazing their crops, irrigating naturally according to rainfall, or tending their own beehives. In general, regenerative agriculture is many different processes with a single goal: to stop environmental devastation and reverse the damage caused by industrialized farms.
Anita La Cortijera’s goats grazing among her olive trees
What are our motives for promoting regenerative agriculture in our crops?
Modern industrial food production is at the root of many of the environmental and health problems we face today. In tune with the AlVelAl initiative, we at Farmers Farm want to combat these problems by regenerating our most valuable assets: soil and water.
1_ Regenerative farming has many benefits, and the one that has the greatest impact on human health is the improvement in the quality of the food we eat. Because in regenerative agriculture no chemicals, such as pesticides, are used. All food is produced organically and ecologically. In addition, as it is committed to crop diversity, it also increases the nutritional value.
2_ Another reason for choosing regenerative agriculture is the fight against climate change. Industrial food production emits 26% of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for global warming. Regenerative crops not only greatly reduce this percentage, but also try to retain carbon dioxide in the soil. Regenerative compost, cover crops and/or perennial plants are generally used so that the bare soil is never exposed.
3_ Along these lines, one of the fundamental pillars of regenerative agriculture is to deal with drought. Precisely, the aim is to increase infiltration and retention of rainwater in the soil through vegetation covers, ditches and ponds. In the Granada Geopark area, which has an average rainfall of 300 mm per year, it is vital to curb runoff and minimize desertification.
4_ As any regenerative farm must protect nature in addition to producing crops, it is important that it tries to contribute to biodiversity. For example with grassland regeneration and the integration of grazing. Livestock, which must be organic and respect animal welfare standards, is a very enriching element in regenerative crops, because it increases soil organic matter.
5_ And finally, regenerative agriculture contributes to the development of local rural economies. And more so in the case of our farmers, taking into account that many of their crops are located in the Altiplano of Granada, an area classified by the European Union as depopulated and disadvantaged.
We do not need more reasons. All of us who are part of the Farmers Farm project are thinking about re-creating the future with a regenerative culture as a base.
