Ecological Farming, Panacea For Food Insecurity

The practice of ecological farming is the only way to feed the ever growing population of  the world, a German farmer, Virich Meyer has said.

Meyer said this when a group of Journalists from Africa and Asia visited his 42-hectare Domane Hochburg ecological farm in Freiburg’s Black Forest located in the South-west part of Germany.

According to him, ecological farming is a form of agriculture that ensures healthy practice by protecting the soil, water and climate as well as promoting the biodiversity.

He said this form of agriculture did not contaminate the environment with chemical  inputs or genetic engineering like conventional or traditional agriculture.

Meyer however urged farmers especially those from Asian and African countries to look beyond traditional farming and embrace ecological farming to address hunger in their continents.

“ The future for agriculture in the world is ecological farming; it is a higher way of practicing agriculture and a way of going back to how our ancestors were doing it.

“This type is different from conventional way of farming, but ecological farming  relies on and protects nature by taking advantage of natural resources,’’ he told  the  Journalists.

He noted that natural resources such as biodiversity, nutrient cycling, soil re-generation, pests, if integrated into agro-ecological systems, could ensure food for all and for future.

According to Meyer, it is against the practice of ecological farming to administer vaccines on animals noting that the best environment is needed for the animals to be productive.

The farmer said the benefits of ecological farming included the ability of communities to provide food for themselves and ensuring a future for healthy farming and food to people.