Right around the time a barrel of oil was around $150 USD I stumbled upon an article from an "expert" saying that the solution to resolve hunger was to give more money to poor countries in order to buy more tractors and more agrochemicals! So wrong! Then a thought popped into mind: " Do something! No matter what! Anything is better than nothing! ". Mission: increasing awareness of hydroponics and aquaponics as key tools in fighting hunger around the world.
Roger Pilon, Editor
Hello everyone! How I got into hydroponics is a long story...let's just say that it involves a lot of tedious farm work as a child, unsuccessful 'dirt' gardens of my own and a near electrocution from a semi-submersible hydroponic pump. I've learned that hydroponic gardening is the only way to garden for me and I've been working at it for several years now. I've built ebb/flow, nft, Mittleider, wick and passive systems and I'm always on the lookout for the easiest and most efficient means of hydroponic gardening...If you have questions, I would be more than happy to answer them...
Internet Enabled Small Scale Producers Marketing to Both Global and Local Markets: [The World Bank refers to this as "Glocal"]
Desk of Jac Smit April 18 2008
Kenya Case in Point:
The UK Department of International Development [DFID] reports that 500,000 smallholder farms are producing for the world developed country market. And that at the same time, on the same farms, they produce for their households and community.
In many cases the small scale farmers have succeeded in the International fresh produce market when and where the large scale operators have failed.
Lydia Njuguna of the Kenya Horticultural Development Programme reports that 200 small scale farmers have established a 'growers group' in Kinangop Kenya. Each farm, often of less than an acre, grows more than a dozen crops. The export portions of the farm are rotated with crops for local consumption [export, French beans family, yams].
Edwin Mgenge, the exporter's representative, visits the field and selects the crop for the next day's shipment. Next morning bicycle bearers pedal crates of just-picked to the 'growers group warehouse' for sorting and packaging. A short time later the exporter's truck shuttles the fresh produce to the airport for same day delivery to London, New York and Tokyo.
These small-scale producers live with little or no electricity. They work their fields with hand tools and apply a small fraction of the fertilizer and insecticide used by large-scale so-called modern large farms. Studies find that their net negative footprint despite the 'food miles' is less than that of the most advanced North American mono-crop practice.
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