FARMING AT 14,000 FEET

(photo album)

Rick Exner

Sometimes it’s hard to predict where an idea will take you. This summer I found myself visiting with a farmer as her sheep and llamas grazed just below the snow line in the Andes mountains of Perú. What idea took me there? The thought that farmers in different countries have things to be talking to each other about. I found myself there at 14,000 feet above sea level because people at Iowa State University and people in Peru hope that PFI farmers can help that conversation take place.

PFI is participating in a project that establishes links between ISU and La Molina Agricultural University, located near Lima, Peru. That relationship encompasses teaching and research, and it functions through the ISU Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture (GPSA) and a corresponding sustainable agriculture center at La Molina. A further goal of the project is a relationship between sustainable farming organizations in the two countries. This is consistent with the grassroots approaches often favored in sustainable agriculture and the realization that a good way to reach farmers is through their organizations.

Nevertheless I had some explaining to do when I met with my counterparts in that country. Their picture of U.S. agriculture is of giant farms, expensive technology, and commodities that depress the prices their own farmers receive. If Peru’s mountain communities and coastal agricultural areas are to remain populated, they must find their own models for farming and feeding the country. What could we in Iowa possibly contribute?

Quite a bit, I believe. Sustainable farmers here know that what works on their farm doesn’t necessarily “cut it” on the farm just down the road, let alone in another part of the world. “Adapt, don’t adopt” was a familiar phrase to me before I ever heard it in Peru. Fundamentally, PFI farmers are pursuing farming systems and food systems that provide a good quality of life for their families, strengthen their communities, and protect the environment. That is the agenda in Peru as well.

What could they learn from us? PFI farmers are developing markets that reward sustainable, community-based agriculture. There is great interest in this topic in Peru. PFI farmers are adept at evaluating production practices and technologies through on-farm research and observation. Peruvian farmers are also asking questions that call for on-farm evaluation. And Practical Farmers of Iowa is a “learning community” where information is freely shared. This is an aspect of PFI that farmers in many parts of the world can relate to.

How do we start learning from each other? Simply transporting a Peruvian farmer to Iowa, with our strange language, food, and customs, might not accomplish the communication we seek. Instead, we will help organize a farmer-to-farmer exchange for producers within Peru. In 2003 farmers from the highlands, the coast, and other areas will spend several days visiting each other’s communities and learning from each other. PFI will participate in that traveling conference, and we will share what sustainable farming means to us in Iowa. This approach should make it possible for Peruvian farmers to learn on their own terms and for us to contribute as appropriate.