Agriculture - ECHO Global Farm

Echo Asia
 ECHO Global Farm has many unique areas that display effective and efficient methods for farming in unique regions of the world. ECHO also has its own solution for feeding livestock. One of the critical issues of modern agriculture is the amount of grain produced just to feed livestock: "Forests are cleared to grow single crops, often grains such as corn and wheat used in processed foods or to feed animals in CAFO’s" (Agricultural Field Experience Objectives). ECHO solves this issue by feeding their livestock, specifically, pigs, foraged plants with only one cup of grain each day. In this way, they demonstrate that it is feasible to raise pigs without having to destroy so much forest.

As I mentioned earlier, ECHO has several areas for different regions of the world. One area that caught my eye was the mountain area. In the mountain area, there are two parts, the terraced part and the SALT part which are sloped plants that mimick terracing. These plants can be used for foraging animals or other things. Specifically, these plants are "the Napiergrass and Leucaena" which help prevent erosion of the land (ECHO Virtual Field Trip). This preservation of the soil helps farmers grow other plants without the risk of erosion. It may be economically beneficial to plant cash crops, but it is more worthwhile to plant plants that will prevent erosion since that means agriculture can be more permanent.

ECHO harbors love for the middle-sized and lower-sized farmers. These farms are "owned by individual farmers or families, as opposed to corporations, and exemplify the traditional view of farmers" (Robertson, 225), ECHO's several regions display the different farming patterns for low and mid-sized farmers all over the world. ECHO has the mountain, monsoon, and highland regions amongst others. They display the different ways to efficiently and effectively farm in these areas. ECHO also sends volunteers to work with people in these different regions of the world to find the best methods to farm in these areas. ECHO's ultimate goal is to improve the lives of farmers and the whole world through teaching how to farm better. A sustainable society is a prosperous society, and we cannot become a sustainable society if we continue to farm for solely economic gain while throwing nature off to the side.


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