Prime
Change in food production
Michael J. Ssali
What you need to know:
- Many industrialised countries use heavy machines to produce food and in the process contribute to greenhouse emissions and disappearance of local food cultures and traditions.
One of the problems that have come with large scale food production systems is loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and environmental degradation.
Many industrialised countries use heavy machines to produce food and in the process contribute to greenhouse emissions and disappearance of local food cultures and traditions.
Indiscriminate use of pesticides and herbicides has resulted in the disappearance of many traditional vegetable varieties and edible insects.
However, a number of farming communities in Africa and other parts of the world have come to realise that the desire for fast profits should not force them to abandon their traditional farming systems and indigenous knowledge since they need to sustain their traditional food crops, livestock, and edible insects.
A few weeks ago, Mr Edie Mukiibi, a Ugandan agronomist and educator in food and agriculture who is also the vice president of Slow Food International started a European tour of conferences and public meetings sharing his views about international food politics and the importance of the sub-Saharan perspective. Slow Food is a worldwide network of local communities formed to counteract the disappearance of local food traditions and the spread of the fast food culture.
According to a statement from Slow Food International Press Office, Mukiibi has visited and addressed conferences in the Netherlands, where he attended a conference on organic agriculture and sustainable development goals at Wageningen University.
Later he went to Italy where he attended the World of Coffee conference in Milan on Saturday June 25 before going to Germany where he attended the World Organic Forum.
In one of his speeches Mukiibi has told his audience, “From where I sit in Uganda, smallholder farmers across the country are increasingly using agro-ecology to revive and protect our heritage foods, preserve ancient knowledge and promote sustainable practices. In doing so they are also delivering more diverse and nutritive diets for their families and local communities. They show us that we can repair the relationship between people and nature and can help us tackle food insecurity.”
Edie Mukiibi has had a lot of experience working with local organic farmers in Uganda where he has been the Executive Director of Slow Food Uganda. He was also instrumental in the development of One Thousand Slow Food Gardens in Africa besides coordinating the overall growth of the Slow Food network in Eastern Africa.
Mr Michael Ssali is a veteran journalist,
