Eco-agriculture: A review of its history and philosophy

To know the historical and philosophical background of a movement is to know something substantial about its validity and potential effectiveness as well as why it advocates what it does. £co-Agriculture is an ecological rather than an industrial approach to food and fiber production. It emerged in the 1930s partly in response to observed natural phenomena and partly in reaction to the dominance of mechanism and specialization. Today, a sophisticated system of farming, it offers farmers an alternative to increasing dependence on petrochemical inputs. £co-Agriculture minimizes adverse environmental effects and promotes soil conservation and construction. Soil is viewed as a complex and living entity and considered the prime capital asset of a nation. £co-Agriculture is fundamentally an holistic system. Its basic premise is that all facets of creation are intimately interrelated and that there is an intrinsic harmony to the natural order which is governed by certain laws. Man's role is that of the 'faithful steward' and-in the person of the farmer-nature's partner. Agriculture is seen as creative rather than mechanistic because it is fundamentally a biological and living process rather than a technological and industrial one.