How can you promote agroecological farming practices while reducing pesticide use?

Vejo que um conjunto de 5 fatores podem dar uma virada na prática agrícolas agroecológicas, s?o elas: - a redu??o gradativa de uso de pesticidas químicos; - a introdu??o do uso de defensivos agrícolas organicos alinhados com a introdu??o de predadores naturais; - o uso de técnicas de plantio de agroflorestas alinhados a alta produtividade;? - a educa??o de colaboradores envolvidos com a produ??o e dos próprios consumidores; e por fim, - o aumento dos incentivos fiscais para os produtos organicos

Excellent points. Hard to sell. We live in a rural area and are an anomaly because of our sustainable practices. We won’t stop! My health improved when we started growing “wisely” and we acquired a few customers from out of the country that shopped organic produce in the big cities. As they rotated out, the replacements didn’t realize the value of clean food. We will not stop! Our greatest need is more local resources for our farmer’s market. Having to drive 2 hours or more means we have to add to our price BUT, we still price below the big cities! Now to keep on educating!

I think it has to be a systemic change that has to be supported by different actors. On the one hand, we are talking about changing culture and traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation. So we need: 1. Awareness-raising campaigns to spread knowledge, highlight the benefits and point out the dangers of continuing with business as usual 2. Give time for sustainable change - this can start with a gradual phase-out of pesticides, giving sellers, buyers and suppliers the time they sometimes need to adapt 3. Invest in R&D to develop new products until there are only green products to sell 4. Combining the use of control products with other solutions, accelerating change, extending the chain involved and creating new jobs

We actually utilize most of the above. Nets ended up trapping beneficial birds and snakes so we only did that once. More education is the key. It needs to go beyond specific social media and our local (2 hours isn’t local, but as close as we can get) sustainability experts need to reach out and provide more workshops and publications. I know it takes resources to do this but all positive change comes with a cost/benefit factor. The area we live in is over 75% economically restricted. Diabetes in children and adults is rampant. Education programs need to be provided to schools and school gardens need to become the norm.

Our area is dominated by a group of massive producers that have a singular focus - the bottom line. There are no other sustainable/organic farmers close to us. As in politics, the big guy typically wins. We won’t quit!

There are so many opportunities to agroecological farming practices and reducing pesticide use: - Improved biodiversity - Increased soil health - Decreased climate change vulnerability of plants & complete ecosystem - Better for human health (pesticides are linked to many diseases and can directly interact with our hormones, which could cause hormonal issues and even infertility in humans and other animals) While monoculture farming with pesticides may produce higher yields in the short term, have we considered the long-term consequences of continuing this practice?

These are excellent suggestions. We were not aware of them. Your final survey analysis does not allow for more than a yes or no. Life is not black and white. We need more options to respond appropriately.