Greetings! You and your colleagues sound like well-meaning folks;
however, I would like to offer some cautionary advice. Please
understand that I support first-world to third-world interaction
as a positive and potentially beneficial experience for all involved.
However, Wendell Berry has written about the agricultural practices
of native peoples in both the U.S. and South America. Two of the
groups he wrote about, which seem relevant to this situation, were the
Hopis and native Peruvian farmers. The Peruvians have successfully
farmed steep hillsides for several thousand years and the Hopis used to
use a cachment system to retain and divert water at the bottoms of gullys
during flash floods in the desert southwest. (I think Berry wrote about
the Hopis, I may be wrong, but it was a tribe in the desert southwest).
Anyhow, it seems ethnocentric to approach a rural population in another
country with the intention of giving them what we call "sustainable
agriculture." I hope that your friends would consider their first
priority to be simply observing the daily agricultural practices
employed in the area (perhaps for thousands of years!) and then consider
offering suggestions which may improve the local food system. Any
sustainable agriculture practices which work in North America might not
be entirely suitable for use by a rural/native/third-world population
in South America. It would depend on their system as it presently
exists and on available resources. (eg: Tractors would be useless if
no diesel fuel is readily available or if the farmers are too poor to
buy it). Also, if your friends will only be there for three weeks it
may be useful for them to remember change is difficult, especially
any change offered by outsiders. These people have some sort of system
in place and, quite understandably, they may resent interference in and
criticism of that system.
Admittedly, I am a skeptic because the historical record is not very
favorable when it comes to Westerners bringing their "great ideas" to
third-world populations and, in some cases, this assistance has caused
populations to suffer more after having been helped than before. What
will be the indirect consequences of your friend's assistance?
Since Nicaragua is in Cental America (?), why recommend irrigation?
Is there a problem with sufficient rainfall in this particular area?
What are the rates of topsoil formation in Nicaragua in this area?
Is the area steeply sloped or flat bottom-land in a valley? What is
the saline/mineral content/distribution in the local water supplies?
I think that these are important questions and I hope your friends take
the time to find out some of the answers. Irrigation is an easy solution
to a complex problem. The indirect consequences of irrigation could be
worse than not having irrigation.
In the western U.S., irrigation is widely practiced. However, in the
west, irrigation is also problematic in that, in many cases--not all,
irrigation is not the most efficient means of using water resources.
It is my understanding that the depletion of large aquifer reserves
in the U.S. will be/is a (future) problem that has gone unrecognized
by most. (eg: Ogala aquifer levels have dropped in the last 20-30
years--check current research on this topic for additional information).
In the west, irrigation has also resulted in local power struggles over
water--who has it, who needs it, who controls it, and how much it will
cost, etc.
My greatest concern with regard to irrigaiton is that is can result
in topsoil depletion. Even in places with healthy topsoil, irrigation
can negatively impact topsoil due to the runoff which occurs. In "The
Environmental Sourcebook," 1992, Edith Stein stated that topsoil
erosion is "seven times the rate of natural soil formation." She
gave the following estimate as the amount of soil eroded by wind
and water -- "2.7 and 3.1 billion tons of soil from U.S. cropland
every year." Additionally, in an article entitled, "Achieving Soil
Sustainability," from The Journal of Soil and Water Conservation,
1992, pp. 156-7, Joe Friend made a strong claim that soil is not
renewable within our lifetime. He views soil formation as a
geologic process which occurs on a geologic time scale. He also
gave a figure which I found astonishing -- that the process of
natural soil formation can take 150 years to develop one inch of soil.
Masanobu Fukuoka has written two books, "One-Straw Revolution," and
"The Road Back to Nature." It is my understanding that his view
incorporates the use of interplanting, mulching, and legumes (to
promote natural nitrogen formation in the soil). He calls his system
"do nothing" farming, although he has been criticized for the labor
his system requires. But, this system (or aspects of it) may be
useful for the farmers in Nicaragua.
Also, Bill Mollisen and David Holmgren developed a sytem called
"permaculture," a system which is "people intensive . . . with long
term aims of improved productivity and lower energy consumption,"
which I have quoted from an article by Gillman and Grimaux, entitled,
"Utopia as Judgement," Ceres, Vol. 24, 1992, pp. 15-23. Mollisen
and Holmgren wrote a book together entitled, "Permaculture One," and
Mollisen went on to write a second book entitled, "Permaculture Two."
Also, I think that there is a representative of this view which is
a subscriber and who could provide you with additional information.
Additionally, dryland farming techniques, which include some of
Fukuoka's practices -- mulching and intercropping/interplanting --
have been successfully used for thousands of years. In the
Mediterranean, in ancient Rome, intercropping was practiced by Roman
farmers (Prof. Bliquez, Lectures for CLA 320, Fall 1995, UW). There
has been a resurgence in interest in the use of dryland farming
techniques, and I believe that there are some very informed specialists
in this area which subscribe to this list as well. Dryland techniques
attempt to use natural rainfall in combination with other approaches
in order to grow crops without irrigation or, it irrigation is
necessary, with the application of responsible and limited irrigation
practices.
Finally, I viewed a documentary on PBS this last year, and I do not
recall the title of the program, but it showed Chinese farmers that
cover their fields with rocks. Yes, rocks. Water resources are
scarce in this particular area of China, so farmers prepare planting
beds and cover the soil surrounding plants with rocks in order to
preserve and to maintain moisture in the soil. The rocks are carefully
raked into place for the planting of seedlings and are raked away in
order to amend the soil as needed. I do hope that the Nicaraguan
farmers do not face such severe water shortages, but I cite this story
in order to demonstrate that with care and ingenuity farming is possible
in even the most difficult environments.
Peace, P. F. Ellis, Senior, Philosophy, Univ. Of Washington
(future small-scale organic farmer, too)