This old geezer debunks all conventional wisdom on farming

[Arcadian_Dreamer]

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His name is Masanobu Fukuoka, he is a Japanese farmer who promoted something he termed "Natural farming" which is completely at odds with how humans have practiced farming through the ages. His four principals of farming are:

1. Do NOT till.

"...according to Fukuoka, the soil cultivates itself. There is no need for man to do what roots, worms, and microorganisms do better. Furthermore, ploughing the soil alters the natural environment and promotes the growth of weeds. Therefore, his first principle was: No ploughing or turning of the soil."

2. No Chemical fertilizers or prepared compost.

3. No Weeding.

4. No pesticides.

His results are impressive. He never flooded his rice fields and got better yields than his neighbors who did. Just goes to show most of what we think we know for a fact in farming is wrong and outdated. You don't need mechanization, financial institutions to feed
a country. Bigger farms are not more efficient than small farms nor will they lead to food security. At certain point it becomes a whole philosophy of life, eff the world and its conventions, no one knows shit. You have to discover truths for yourself, this man did it his own way.

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I know this is an old topic but it's still 100% relevant today
The schools have done permanent head damage to most folks
People don't stop to ask themselves; why should I farm coffee, or tea, or potatoes or whatever, sometimes taking loans, buying toxic fertilizers that degrade the soil, only to make losses most of the time and gnash teeth bitterly yearly.

I love what the King of Thailand (I believe) did. He told his subjects to farm for domestic food self sufficiency FIRST before thinking about commerce.
If the small scale farmer can self-sufficiently feed his family, he might find that he doesn't even need to risk commercial losses.

The biggest benefit of farming for me has been building a wide open piece of land that had nothing on it into a thriving homestead replete with retirement home, beautiful mingi tall, green leafy trees, a fire-pit, all run off-grid 100% on solar and with water storage aplenty. I find myself craving to road trip the farm every single weekend. I dug a 1 acre pond some time back and we do some boating and fishing on it. There's nothing more relaxing than that, I tells ya. My own little kingdom escape from a harsh, hostile world in which most people are unhappy in, material prosperity notwithstanding!. Farming turned into more of a hobby than an enterprise.





Then there's something about food roasted on an open flame at night while chatting with friends or fam.. You create memories that will never leave ya. I never experienced such peace, contentment and enjoyment in all the years I spent in the materialistic West. That's one huge advantage Kwiinya has over the West. There is a joy in simplicity. Low tech life in nature is good for the soul. With Safaricom now offering 5g remote routers and Starlink available for all, it's easy for you to bring the world to you wherever your farm/ranch is. The honey I take to folks when I'm back in Nairoberry always gets good reviews. The fresh produce I donate too.

It's funny when I hear some youngsters talk with such passion about wanting to go abroad as if it were heaven. For those of us who've been there and done that, we crave the opposite. Reminds me of something I will never forget that I heard Mike Sonko say on TV a couple of years back. He said something to the effect that (paraphrased) "Life is full of contradictions. You many be flying into JKIA returning home after being fed up with living abroad for decades. Meanwhile someone else is boarding the same exact plane back seeking to run away from their country." Everyone has their path. Stay in yours! There's no wrong or right in such matters. Just pursuing what's best for yourself during the different phases of your life.

Ni hayo tu