| The promise is the same everywhere. Buy our | | | | similarly deep root crop which mines the deep |
| patented seeds at twice the price of others, | | | | minerals in sub soil. A government which will |
| buy our chemical fertilizers and pesticides | | | | subsidize small scale agriculture will make |
| and you will prosper like the government | | | | strict conditions. A gardener must produce |
| subsidized American farmers. These corporate | | | | twice the food his family requires, so a |
| parasites know how to sell in any language. | | | | partial failure allows his family to eat. |
| The cost of the promised prosperity which | | | | Crops sprayed with a mixture of kelp or |
| seldom occurs without government subsidy and | | | | seaweed and fish emulshion are drought |
| requires annual borrowing, as with American | | | | resistant, insect resistant (few insects eat |
| farming, is more than a poor farmer can | | | | fish or kelp), disease resistant and yield |
| afford. But corporate greed convinces him to | | | | more plant and fruit than anything corporate |
| gamble his future and his life on false | | | | agriculture will ever have to offer.Build |
| corporate hope.Working hand in glove with the | | | | raised gardens close to the house or shanty |
| corporate scum are the local money lenders, | | | | where it is natural to keep a close eye on |
| sometimes taking 5% interest per month and | | | | them. Make them any length and four feet |
| sometimes the entire harvest if drought or | | | | wide, waist high. Fill the bottom half with |
| floods do not beat Mr. Moneybags to the | | | | sand or stone, the top half or one third with |
| harvest. India could not have chosen a worse | | | | topsoil and compost. Build with brick, block |
| model to modernize its agriculture than | | | | or stone which will not wash away with heavy |
| American corporate farming, which has already | | | | rain. Use either a square foot method or |
| destroyed more value than it has produced, | | | | third meter, in the case of a one meter wide |
| excluding corporate profits of course, | | | | bed. The idea is an easy reach from each side |
| because corporate balance sheets are all that | | | | to the center of the bed. By growing food and |
| matter in this world. Raped lands and | | | | high value cash crops in these raised beds, |
| environments be damned.People and the people | | | | one has purchased one time flood insurance. |
| in government especially, easily lose sight | | | | Small pipes at the bottom of these beds allow |
| of the fundamental importance of agriculture | | | | the bed to drain by gravity. The soaked soil |
| to the total national economy. A nation which | | | | will drain. If the rain is severe or |
| does not feed its people is forever dependent | | | | prolonged, spread inexpensive covers over a |
| upon the good will of people who cannot be | | | | sturdy frame above the plants in the bed. In |
| trusted. Even the rich nations have boarded | | | | Winter or cold weather, clear plastic covers |
| this leaky boat and they will pay dearly for | | | | will heat the bed and prevent crop freeze |
| so doing and are already paying dearly, in | | | | overnight. The thermal mass of such elevated |
| terms of food quality, environmental damage | | | | beds acts as a thermal flywheel, maintaing |
| and disease.If a nation is to have healthy | | | | desired temperatures.As each gardner is |
| people, requiring a minimum of medical | | | | growing twice the table food required by his |
| attention, it must have health producing | | | | family or more, let the surplus be split. |
| food, not the plastic the corporations peddle | | | | Half for fresh seed and half for the local |
| in the name of high yields and damage | | | | market. The independence and security the |
| resistance. To have health building food, | | | | regular production of surplus food engenders |
| grow in rich organic soil 100% chemical free. | | | | cannot be valued in currency. This is |
| In the story I read, a 31 year old farmer | | | | private, personal, life and health insurance. |
| borrowed $9 for a bottle of pesticide which | | | | Cash crops should be both common and coveted |
| he drank to kill himelf. So the manufacturer | | | | medicinal herbs and spices. There will always |
| made five dollars to create a widow and two | | | | be a free market for such. Wisely chosen |
| small fatherless children. Congratulations on | | | | herbs and spices may be dried and shipped |
| your keen business acumen, corporate | | | | around the globe at very high profits. Trends |
| parasite. Win - lose marketing at its | | | | in rich countries will always tell you how to |
| finest.Indian government must discourage all | | | | harvest the most cash from a square foot or |
| farming and switch to organic gardening to | | | | third meter of crop.Square Foot Gardening is |
| continuously enrich the soil upon which a | | | | now so highly developed, one can grow five |
| combination of subsistence and high value | | | | times the crop volume with the same resources |
| cash crops are grown. Competing with | | | | wasted in conventional farming and gardening. |
| government subsidized, environmentally | | | | Any nation not using this method is wasting |
| destructive, disease producing corporate | | | | resources and labor. Harvest humanithy for |
| agriculture is like running a marathon on | | | | record profits and growth, not chemicals and |
| your hands and knees. You might finish the | | | | scarce resources. Outlaw the corporate |
| race but you will win no prize. We are | | | | confidence men and the local money lenders. |
| talking about a sustainable foundaion for a | | | | Teach your rural populations sustainable |
| national economy. It deserves more thought | | | | agriculture and become the dominant economic |
| and planning than where to build the next | | | | power of the New Age. The wisdom to do so is |
| chemical disaster.To have rich and healthy | | | | among your people. When you end farming, you |
| soil as a foundation for prosperity it is | | | | end farmer suicides.Ed Howes sought and |
| essential to compost mineral rich plants and | | | | found, knocked and entered. Now he sees |
| manures, green and vegetariabn animal wastes. | | | | things differently. To see more of what he |
| The best source of mineral rich plants are | | | | sees, please visit or do an author search |
| seacoasts. The next best source is former | | | | here at Ezine Articles. |
| cotton fields planted in alfalfla or a | | | | |