Can we continue farming like we do?

Arabale and field vegetable farmers have faced a continuous rat-race for over more than 4 decades now. To keep their business running they have implemented a cost price strategy. The result is that food is ridiculously cheap and the margins of farmers are still low. They keep up by getting bigger with more area and heavier machinery leading to sub-soil compaction. Yes, some farmers manage to implement an added value strategy, but most are dealing with the continuous question of how to lower their cost price. Next to this, farming is facing another rat-race. That is the one where farmers get less and less chemicals to protect their crops while society is increasingly opposing to using pesticides. On the long run, farmers will not keep up not withstanding the danger of climate change to food production. We need a radical change in producing our food. We need new cropping systems. Systems that are not depending on chemicals while producing enough food. It is possible if we apply ecological principles to food production and in that way stimulating biodiversity in our soils and our fields. Agroforestry, strip farming and mixed cultures are good examples of these new systems. And, yes, they will need light weighed robots to support these systems so that our soils keep productive on the long run. But changing to these new systems is not easy if your financial situation does not allow you to invest. We should embrace these new systems as a society and make sure that the food they produce is getting more financial return to farmers. We should end these rat-races.