Agro-ecology is when a farmer uses the environment to practise farming. This practicise can easily put a stop to the use of agro-chemicals.
Healthy farming leads to healthy food consumption, which can be a solution to the wanton abuse of dangerous farm chemicals.
Farmers can plant different crops that complement each other. For example, crops that are known to chase away particular pests can be intercropped with those that can be attacked by those vectors.
Agricultural production can substantially affect the functioning of ecosystems, both positively and negatively.
Growth in global food production over the past half century has required trade-offs between ecosystem services, resulting in an overall decline in the supply of services other than food, feed and fibre.
Misuse of agrochemicals has impacted soil fertility, water quality, air quality and causes greenhouse gas emissions which are not good. In addition, pesticide filtration into soil and water harms animal and human health.
The misuse is mostly attributed to irresponsible behaviour of farmers and agrochemical sellers and large government fertiliser subsidies that lead to chemical overuse.
Healthy farming
Mix tobacco leaves, neem tree leaves, kawunyira (smelly herb), redpepper (kamulari) and liquid soap to keep off any or most of the pests that attack vegetables.
For fertilisers, use compost manure, mainly from dung or poultry droppings from chicken.
To keep the plants ‘healthy’ use a concoction of herbs including kamyu (a hairy climbing herb that itches when one touches it) neem trees, ash and urine.
While industrial farm chemicals kill pests, these biological concoctions only scare them away.
We need these pests because they play other ecological supportive roles and eradicating them from the soil eventually degrades the soil natural system.
