ireland charities in third world countries

Youth 4 Change 2005

Youth for Change 2005/06: Agriculture and Intercultural Dialogue It’s our common heritage

What is it all about?

Agriculture was born as long as 10,000 years ago and it remains as important today as it was then. The early days of agriculture saw hunter-gatherers settling together in groups and the domestication of wild crops and animals. As this process continued society began to change. Some community members specialised in producing food, others concentrated on inventing ways of spinning and weaving, smelting and casting of bronze, baking bricks, shaping clay on potter’s wheels and writing. As a result small villages grew into towns and eventually into cities. The FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN) chose the above title this year in order to examine the continuing importance of agriculture in the world today and to celebrate the ongoing contribution of different cultures to global agriculture.

What is agriculture?

In 2000 FAO figures showed that 2.57 billion people – 42% of the world’s population - depended on agriculture, hunting and fishing or forestry to live. The benefits of agriculture go far beyond just adding to a countries economy. Agriculture helps to shape landscapes, to conserve soil, to produce oxygen and to conserve Biodiversity. For the worlds poor, agriculture is their life. Access to food is only assured if they produce it themselves or have the money to buy it, and in rural areas the most likely place to earn money is in the agricultural sector.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF!

Gorta works mainly in Africa. Pick one African Country that you are interested in and see if you can find out some information on it such as:

How many people are involved in agriculture in that country (what is the figure for Ireland)?

What agricultural products are produced there?

Where did those products originate? (there may be some hints below)

This is a real challenge and maybe your teachers could help you out.

What is intercultural dialogue?

Intercultural dialogue takes place every time people from different cultures meet and listen to one and others ideas. In agriculture this can happen in a number of ways: through travel and migration, through meetings, and through international organisations in which people from different cultures come together and exchange ideas. Dialogue between developing countries facing similar food and agriculture problems makes perfect sense. Cooperation in the form of sharing experience and technologies has resulted in the transfer of many solutions suited to local conditions. For example a pump designed for irrigation in Bangladesh is now popular in Africa.

GORTA AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE

Gorta recognizes the importance of intercultural dialogue in the developing world and in particular focuses on assisting our different partners learn from each other. The story of a simple thorny tree known as Prosopis will show this:

Originally Richard, Gorta’s projects officer, was asked by one of our partners in India to help his community to get rid of a tree they viewed as a nuisance. It was thorny, it was difficult to handle and it was everywhere. However research showed that while some countries were concentrating on getting rid of it, an equal number were working on using it to their benefit.

The Benefits of Prosopis

It grows in poor soil - this is very important as areas with the poorest soil quality are usually the areas where the poorest people are living

The flowers from the tree can be used to produce the best quality honey

The leaves from the trees improve the soil quality

Timber from the mature trees is excellent for making furniture

The wood from the trees can be transformed into charcoal

The seed pods are used both as animal feed and to make a form of flour

Originating in South America, Prosopis has travelled far and wide. However the knowledge on how it can be used has often been left behind. With increasing intercultural dialogue this is changing and in areas where Prosopis is plentiful like in Tamil Nadu in India and in many parts of Africa people are beginning to learn from each other how they can make best use of this abundant natural resource.

HOW AGRICULTURE AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE WORK TOGETHER

Although the domestication of wild plants and animals occurred independently in many parts of the world, the history of agriculture is full of examples of important intercultural exchanges.

Interestingly agriculture and dialogue between cultures have been intimately connected from very early times. Increasing agriculture meant that there were now reliable sources of food. This in turn led to growing populations and eventually to migration. These migrants brought with them many of the agricultural techniques that they had learned at home. Throughout history the intercultural movement of crops and livestock breeds have revolutionised diets and reduced poverty. Indeed the storey of the potato crop in Ireland forms part of this history.

EXAMPLES FROM HISTORY

Potato: The potato plays a leading role in most Irish households. We have all been brought up on boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, Roosters, Kerr pinks etc. But where do you think potatoes came from? Would it surprise you to hear that the Incas were the first civilisation to rely heavily on potatoes due to its ability to thrive in the harsh high Andes region of South America? It was the Spanish that brought the potato plant to Europe in the 16th Century and two centuries later it became a staple food in Ireland. After the Famine blight resistant potato strains were also brought from the Andes.

Coffee: When you smell the aroma of coffee do you ever stop and think where it has come from? Brazil? Columbia? You would probably be right. But where did coffee originate? In fact it was Africa that gave coffee to the world and now it plays a major role in Latin American agriculture.

Two others you might want to check out are Camels and Goats. Where do you think they came from?