THEWORLDOF NEWHOLLANDAGRICULTURE
Agriculture around theworld.
Did you know….?
I
n
biodynamic agriculture
a farm is regarded as
a “self-sufficient living organism”. The farming
method is based on the anthroposophical
principles of Rudolf Steiner and originated in 1924
when the famous scholar was approached by a group
of farmers concerned about the degraded conditions
of their land. In response, Steiner gave a series of
lectures discussing the close connections between
care for nature and human beings and gave some
practical examples of how to restore vitality to the
soil. So how does it work? Essentially, biodynamic
agriculture advocates crop rotation to promote soil
fertility and humus formation, and uses preparations
based onmanure or plant compost to avoid polluting
the environment while improving the quality of food
and human health.
The term
“heroic viticulture”
is used to
refer to wine-growing in extremely difficult
conditions, namely areas where the terrain
slopes bymore than 30% and at an altitude
higher than 500 metres above sea level. The
method uses cultivated terraces organised in
small sections which allow the unique qualities of the
area to be fully exploited and encourage the use of
techniques that are compatible with local traditions
and theecosystem.Oneof thebest knownexamples is
theValtellina, anAlpine valley innorthern Italy, where
wine and heroic viticulture boast a long tradition, as
seen in the writings of Leonardo da Vinci and Italian
poet Giosuè Carducci. These vineyards in northern
Italy are set amongst the rocks and breathtaking
landscapes and are cultivatedwithpassion, sweat and
toil - a true labour of love!
Bhutan
, a small Asian country nestled between
China and India, aims to make its
agriculture
100% organic
within the next five years. In
order to achieve this it has replaced the
calculation of Gross National Product
with the concept of Gross National
Happiness, a new vision that
gives the highest priority to the
mental and physical well-being
of the community. As part
of this effort, the country
has banned all chemical
fertilisers in farming.
Organicandregenerative
agriculture
combines
age-old farming practices
with modern technical and
scientific knowledge. With
this approach, farmers
identify the best processes
to keep the soil healthy and
rich inminerals andmicrobes.
Proponents of the technique
23
claim that only by using this method is it possible to
produce healthy food at an affordable cost.
In the year 2000 there were a total of 86 countries
using
organic farming methods, whereas today
the number has risen to 170
, with a total of
78
million hectares
of land cultivated in this way.
Worldwide, Australia has the largest area devoted
to organic farming, with 17.2 million hectares; India
is the country with the largest number of organic
producers at 650,000; the USA has the biggest
market for organic food, totallingmore than24billion
euros; and Switzerland boasts the highest per capita
consumption of organic produce, with about 210
euros per year.
Partners
XX - n. 34 - 06.2015
Thismagazine is distributed
free of charge.
Editor-in-Chief
Massimiliano Tripodi
Editor
Elisa Fulceri
Publisher
NewHollandAgriculture
a brand of CNH Industrial
Contributors to this issue
GoncaloCarvalho
CaterinaCattaneo
FedericoCondini
LiviannaCurri
ClaudiaDeCicco
AlbaDobi
SaraDurand
GiuliaGiovanardi
Lionel Gleyroux
Maria Laura Iascone
Carlos Jimenez
Joanna Kajkowska
ManuelaMarengo
FrancescaMusolino
LorenzoNeri
Lien Pyfferoen
Barbara Prossen
Sara Sebastinelli
Jimmie Vestergaard
Editorial Coordination
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