Agriculture Experience

Agriculture Experience



ECHO Global Farm

    ECHO is a knowledge hub for development practitioners around the world. Above is a picture taken of the ECHO Florida farm. ECHO has several locations across the world. I decided to do a virtual trip of ECHO in North Fort Myers, Florida. The picture is sourced from "echonet.org". After watching the virtual trip of ECHO Global Farm, I was able to observe a few things. 

    One personal observation I was able to encounter during this virtual trip is the duck in tilapia system. This system relies on duck manure to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton which is being eaten by the tilapia. It is integrated into a sustainable farming system and reduces the costs for feeding livestock which can be a struggle for farmers to find income. In Robertson, it would be referred to as organic agriculture. The duck tilapia system does not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, it relies on biological approaches. "They use biological methods of controlling weeds and insect pests and techniques of crop rotation that prevent soil from becoming exhausted without the need for applying massive amounts of fertilizer. They may use manure recycled from the same farm." (p. 225)


The second observation I encountered during this virtual trip is all the different planting on the farm. During the virtual trip, there is a tropical fruit species tree that is said to provide a lot of nutrition, dwarf mango orchid, organic rice, banana trees, and even peanuts. In Robertson, this would be called organic farming. Organic farming is growing crops using environmentally healthy methods that “conserve soil and water and optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of plants, animals, and people” (p. 239)


    And lastly, the third observation I encountered was the zero-graze system. This system is used to get the animals off the ground so they are not interacting with their feces. It reduces the amount of worming for goats and helps goats from being destructive. "A similar pattern applies to land and energy consumption. Grazing and growing animal feed account for 75 percent of all agricultural land." (p. 236) The zero-graze system is also a system that can be used to prevent e. coli. Without the system, animals would always be found In their feces and live in their digestive tracts.

Reference:

https://echonet.org/

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