Oct. 17 - IFS - Integrated Farming Systems

Now that a certain sense of routine has been established the work I came to do - connect students with each other & new ideas - is easier to meld with my day-to-day interests & activities. Feeling more comfortable walking around my immediate neighborhood, knowing when folks are out, allows me to take pictures for the GlobalConnext wiki about the value of water here, for example, very early in the morning before anyone begins to queue up to fill their containers @ the public pump. It's been a rewarding past few days, starting to feel in the groove, spending time researching more about what I've already experienced & linking it to the learning labs I'm creating for students.

IFS were my main focus today, comparing the Indian "Integrated Farming System" to other sustainable food systems in the US, UK & Sweden. The organic farm we ate at in Santineketan was an IFS, so I picked up some literature about them there:

"Integration is achieved by placing one or more living elements from the following categories in the right proportion & at the right time & place -

1. Cultivated & self-growing perennials & semi-perennial plants
2. Cultivated & self-growing seasonal & annual plants
3. Domesticated & wild small & large animals
4. Cultivated, nurtured, & wild insects, micro-organisms, reptiles, etc.
5. Cultivated, trapped & self-growing aquatic organism & plants
6. Domesticated or nurtured wild birds

Conventional farms require more and more external inputs to produce less and less quantities of food, fodder, fibre, etc. A short dry spell or sudden heavy rain causes much loss to farmers.

Integrated farming systems are designed to increase productivity and reduce the vulnerability of gardens and farms.

Integrated farm management involves careful assembly of various productive elements in such proportion that waste from one element becomes input for the other and the natural character of the chosen bird/animal/insect/plant are mutually compatible. Most integrated systems have a bio reactor, such as a bio-gas plant or a pond, or a compost/vermicompost unit.

IFSs are especially appropriate for small farmers in tropical regions as the climate is variable, sizes of holdings are small and the investment capacity of farmers is low."

All this information was on the packaging of four postcards, made from recycled paper by artisans at a shop called Alcha in Santinketan, further extending the IFS connection to the local community & economy.












This image, taken from the USDA site, outlining a simulation currently being examined, holds the same basic model from India, albeit with more complex machinery pictured. (And less authentic integration with the surrounding environment)













Both examples reminded me of the tour we took of a dairy barn near Jordo, Sweden, where food, waste, milk, calving, crops & human interaction were all tracked & calibrated through a computer, sending, automatically, whatever was needed to optimize living conditions for all organisms within the system - from monitoring the temperature of the composting pile to assure best health for decomposers to milk consumption of the surrounding population so the farm could make cheese with the remaining milk.










The need for innovation & collaboration is clear in this concise examination on the global food reality & how a simple technology can make substantial difference.
http://ht.cdn.turner.com/cnn/big/world/2011/10/16/gps-what-world-food.cnn.ipad.qtref.mov



Now, for the real questions of the day. One - am I capable of finding enough folks who believe, as I do, that there is more in common with these three linked examples than most recognize and/or respect. Too often the commonality gets lost amidst how each culture's ideas & identities are perceived, rather than what insights may be gained from the other. And, two - if I can't find them, am I capable enough to convert them to the idea, even if it means setting aside long held stereotypes or misperceptions?