Masanobu Fukuoka: l'agriculture du non-agir

Wu Wei: non agir (ne rien faire qui contrecarre la nature)

Europe:

(...) Several years ago, I travelled around Europe. It seemed to me that Europe was very nice and beautiful, with lots of nature preserved. But three feet under the surface I felt desert slowly coming in. I kept wondering why. I realized it was the mistake they made in agriculture. The beginning of the mistake is from growing meat for the king and wine for the church. All around, cow, cow, cow, grape, grape, grape. European and American agriculture started with grazing cows and growing grapes for the king and the church. They changed nature by doing this, especially on the hill slopes. Then soil erosion occurs. Only the 20% of the soil in the valleys remains healthy, and 80% of the land is depleted. Because the land is depleted, they need chemical fertilizers and pesticides. United States, Europe, even in Japan, their agriculture started by tilling the land. Cultivation is also related to civilization, and that is the beginning of the mistake. True natural farming uses no cultivation, no plow. Using tractors and tools destroys the true nature. Trees’ biggest enemies are the saw and ax. Soil’s biggest enemies are cultivation and plowing. If people don’t have those tools, it will be a better life for everything.

Since my farm uses no cultivation, no fertilizer, no chemicals, there are many insects and animals living there within the farm. They use pesticide to kill a certain kind of pest, and that destroys the balance of nature. If we allow it to be completely free, a perfect nature will come back. (...)

Somalie, Ethiopie:

(...) I think it is better to send seeds to people in Somalia and Ethiopia, rather than sending milk and flour, but there isn’t any way to send them. People in Ethiopia and Somalia can sow seeds, even children can do that. But the African governments, the United States, Italy, France, they don’t send seeds, they only send immediate food and clothing. The African government is discouraging home gardens and small farming. During the last 100 years, garden seed has become scarce.

(...) The African governments and the United States government want people to grow coffee, tea, cotton, peanuts, sugar – only five or six varieties to export and make money. Vegetables are just food, they don’t bring in any money. They say they will provide corn and grain, so people don’t have to grow their own vegetables. (...)

Entrevue complète: http://www.context.org/iclib/ic14/fukuoka/
Greening The Desert
Applying natural farming techniques in Africa
An Interview With Masanobu Fukuoka, by Robert and Diane Gilman

One of the articles in Sustainable Habitat (IC#14)
Originally published in Autumn 1986 on page 37
Copyright (c)1986, 1997 by Context Institute