Food production is essential for human survival. And also in agriculture, the concept of sustainability arrived with new visions of how to increase the reduction of crops guaranteeing the health of the soils. Agriculture is one of these new approaches. And, as Francisco Ferreira, president of Zero – Sustainable Terrestrial System Association, says, there is no consensual or regulated definition of “regenerative agriculture”, it has points in common with concepts already in use. This is the case of improving soil health, optimizing resource management, contributing to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change, improving the quality and abundance of water resources, improving biodiversity (including that of the soil), improving the physical and the carbon content of soils and improve the circulation of nutrients. But the big difference, adds the environmentalist, lies in the implementation of “rational practices such as the minimization of external inputs, polycultures, minimum soil mobilization, crop rotation, the use of compost and organic manure and the cultivation of vegetables perennials”.
Although it is something similar to organic farming (which is already regulated within the European Union), “it has a lot of convergence with conservation agriculture and practices associated with permaculture design and agroecology “. In this regard, Zero has a very firm position, defending an agroecological approach, that is, mobilizing transdisciplinary knowledge and adopting ethical and democratic principles to design fully sustainable food systems, assuming that they are inseparable from other aspects of society and ecosystems – including the human health and climate stability.
562hectares
Terramay, located in the municipality of Alandroal, occupies an area of 562 hectares and aims to be self-sufficient .
Terramay, located in the parish of Rosário, municipality of Alandroal, is a good example of this “new” approach to agriculture. The 562-hectare property was purchased in 2018 by Thomas Sterchi and the De Brito family, with the owners assuming the aim is to be self-sufficient (to the extent possible).
The approach defended by David de Brito, agriculture director at the estate, is based on the premise “soil to soul”, in which production is seen as an integral part of a larger project, in which the Soil health has an influence on the quality of life of animals and humans.
And one of the ways found to guarantee this “health” has to do with not doing intensive crops, so as not to deplete the soils. This implies not only the rotation of crops through the various plots, but, more than that, planting complementary crops next to each other. Having leeks next to lettuces, for example. Have the chards next to the cabbages and close to some absinthe. It has been proven that certain crops alongside others serve as a protection against pests (although the opposite is also true).
The various tests carried out allowed us to verify that, normally, aromatic herbs are a good defense, hence there is always some grass planted in the middle (or close to) the various crops. Interestingly, and sometimes, this proximity can also end up influencing the taste. Anna De Brito, co-founder and director of tourism at Terramay, mentioned the harvest of tomatoes that had chilli next to them and that when she tasted them they were spicy.
To understand the complementarity of cultures and ensure the survival of the tables, planting is done in stages. There is a greenhouse, where the seeds are planted, and about 15 days later they go through an adaptation zone to the climate. In this way the rate of “survival” is much higher.
In addition, other precautions are taken. David De Brito says that they only buy seeds that are not genetically manipulated and that all crops are planted in places suited to their needs. The director of Terramay gives the example of carrots that need a more sandy soil. To this end, the entire property was mapped right from the start.
Terramay works under the concepts of polyculture within the polyculture and of different times and different spacing (planting). Planting at different times (for example, planting a field of potatoes just 15 days after the first planting) to, among other things, prevent pests, adapt to the soil, avoid climate change… as it allows to have a prolonged production in time. On the other hand, the company transfers the principles of proximity of cultures used in the vegetable garden to extensive production. The planting of a potato plot is followed by a garlic plot. Then again potato, alternating with a plot of onions, potatoes, coriander… basically a plot of land is made up of several alternating crops that prevent the exhaustion of the soil and simultaneously try to prevent the appearance of pests.
But Terramay goes further. The holistic way of looking at the primary sector means that the estate uses its own production to feed the residents, who currently consist of Mertolenga cattle, Pata Negra pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, horses and the two bigeyes. Malhadinha and Rambo. And then you have to take advantage of the role of “cleaning” and fertilizing the animals that populate the estate. These roam freely through previously defined plots and rotate along the estate. That is, they eat the weeds and clean the land (at the same time as they fertilize it) and when it is already properly cleaned (care is taken not to let the existing weeds have a visible root) they move to another plot. In this way, the soil never reaches the state of desertification (pigs, for example, are excellent at depleting the soil).
6,000Carbon
In 2021, the property sequestered 6,000 tons of carbon and has the Agricert certificate that it is an organic farm .
Desertification is a real problem and one of the ways that David De Brito found to combat it (or try to alleviate it) was to opt for indigenous breeds whose numbers were decreasing (not yet to the point of extinction) and that could withstand the thermal amplitudes of the region. One of the choices fell, for example, on serpentine goats and merino sheep. Animals that are fed with what the farm produces. Either when they are “walking” around the estate or because they eat the crops that are “left over” from the day’s harvest.
This holistic approach not only guarantees the quality of what you produce (and what you eat) but is also environmentally friendly. As David De Brito says, Terramay not only received the certificate given by Agricert to ensure that the farm is organic (production and animals) but also that it sequestered 6,000 tons of carbon last year. In other words, the regenerative agriculture practiced not only guarantees the quality of products and animals, but also ensures the good health of the soils and contributes to the decarbonization of the country. And it may, in the very near future, bring new sources of income. Yes, because it will be possible to “sell” the carbon credits.
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