1. Under what conditions can agriculture succeed in lifting people out of extreme poverty? Particularly those households with limited access to productive resources.
A person or family living within extreme poverty, even here in the USA with the addition of a home garden can provide the necessary vegetables and fruits to sustain their health. In the case of a collaborative community garden, some of the labor may be shared. This is especially helpful for the aged, frail and disabled population who have limited physical capabilities, within the region or community. There is also a food bank method of redistributing food items, although here in the USA where I live, it is usually foods which have been processed, making it easier to store for longer periods of time before using the items. This means the food has been canned, frozen, dried and air-tight sealed. In many cases there is a loss of nutrient value, although in some cases such as dried herbs, the nutrient value may be increased.
2. What is the role of ensuring more sustainable natural resource management in supporting the eradication of extreme poverty?
- Firstly, the soil needs to be nourished not stripped and devoid of all the biotic life contained in this portion of the ecosystem. In the last two decade, research has revealed that we are more biotic cells than human cells at a 9:1 ratio. This means when herbicides such as glyphosate are used to reduce weed populations, this glyphosate can and does enter our body systems and alter the patterns of growth. [See https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180322181335.htm]
- Clean safe drinking water is the second matter at hand to support the eradication of extreme poverty. Poverty can be associated with lack of productive activity. This may be related to lack of clean and safe drinking water, to cleanse the body systems after heavy or even light exercise takes place, albeit digging a hole, harvesting a crop, or carrying safe water to plants. When plants are healthier, they tend to attract fewer pests and diseases. When farmers are drinking fresh safe water they tend to get more work done, think more clearly and enjoy life more.
3. Can those without the opportunities to pursue agricultural production and to access resources such as fish, forests and livestock find pathways out of extreme poverty through these sectors?
You may be referring to people who are disabled, mental or physically incapable of managing agricultural production. Yet there are plenty of jobs and work to be done around the entire food chain. Jobs like nutrition education, training in food harvesting, cleaning and storage. Or teaching methods to cook and serve healthy meals for all ages. The challenge may be to encourage a living wage for these peripheral jobs, as well as the ones doing the actual farming, crop management, etc. These are economic changes we struggle with here in the US as well. There are farms and farmer who cannot afford to eat their own crops, as the work to feed the supply chain, not their families first. We have a ways to go in our economics to generate living wages for all people who work, regardless of whether actually observed and paid for
4. What set of policies are necessary to address issues connecting food security and extreme poverty eradication in rural areas?
Our current administration in the White House is struggling with recognizing the rural populations and their unmet needs. For instance, rural health care is often left behind due to the cost of transportation to and from a hospital or clinic, leaving this population to self-medicate. This is one of the areas hit hardest by opioid addiction, as there are few ways to deal with the physical pain of performing strenuous labor, often for long hours under a hot sun or in a snow storm. Yet we all benefit from the work of these farmers and their families. We need to be certain that those are serving us and served as well.
5. Can you share any examples of experiences that succeeded in reducing (or eradicating) extreme poverty through an agricultural pathway?
Several years ago, a women who was a professor at our local university in the area of social justice, saw a way to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in our county. Dr. Hossfeld conceive and created a Community Farm Association comprised of farms on the peripheral or our city limits. She began to organize the farms to advertise their crops online, take orders and then the farmers would deliver the packages of produce to the drop-off site, where the city shoppers would come and pick them up. This worked well and then the restaurants began to source their menu items from the farms. While the good Dr. has left us, the program is shifting in ways yet uncharted. We will see what the next generation will do.
A final note I would like to address today. More and more research is coming forward to demonstrate the impact of using glyphsoate herbicides in our farming and lawn cultivation to elimenate weeds. Just this past month a study from Indiana Univerity and published by Science Daily, came forward with results of the effects of glyphsoate [Roundup] in pregnant women. It was found that the presence of glyphosate in the urine shorten the pregnancy of 90% of the study population. Here is that link for your edification:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180322181335.htm
Also, we have a microbiolgist who has crafted a spore biotic which will survive both areobic and anerobic environments allowing it to reach the duodenum and small intestine where it will be able to preform it regenerative properties on the human biome. See Wikipedia for more information and/or contact me with any questions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Microbiome_Project
Thank you.
May you and yours..Be In Good Health,
Laura L. Dawson, MAOM, Dipl.Ac., L.Ac.
Sra. Laura L. Dawson, Dipl.Ac., CEO