海角大神

This is a guest article by Devon Jenkins,聽SRI technical specialist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

It doesn鈥檛 have to be like this.

California isn鈥檛 doomed to a future of scarcity. I know this because I鈥檝e seen a glimpse of what it could be鈥攊n Africa.

First things first, though. In early February I got off a plane from Ithaca, N.Y., leaving behind two feet of snow to see fruit trees blooming and seals swimming in Santa Cruz鈥檚 Monterey Bay. California, the vision of paradise that has lured generations, including my parents and grandparents, seemed to welcome me back with open arms.

Was this just an illusion?

Earlier this month, media outlets reported that every family in California will have to reduce its water use; agriculture and business and industry and households are all vying for diminishing slices of the same pie.

California has long been ahead of its time, and the current drought is more than just California鈥檚 problem. Climate change makes us question the very notion of progress鈥攃an the world really handle all of us? Can we hold on to the quality of life that California is so famous for? And can that dream still come true for other parts of the world?

The answer is yes. A qualified yes. We can make agriculture more productive and reduce water use at the same time. We can make our houses and yards greener, more abundant, and less wasteful at the same time. We can actually make our quality of life better in the process, but we need a new vision to make this happen. California, a global symbol of innovation, is the perfect place to lead the world in realizing this progress.

But in our current ecologically-challenged world, who are the real innovators?

Interestingly enough, rice farmers in Africa and Asia. Beginning in the mid-1980s,聽聽in rice farming spread from Madagascar to over 55 countries, largely in Asia and Africa. By focusing on soil and individual plant health, farmers dramatically increased rice yields, despite using 90 percent less seed and鈥攜es鈥�. These remarkable results were the outcome of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). With SRI, farmers don鈥檛 flood their fields; instead, planters set seedlings聽far apart, and organic matter and integrated pest management replace synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

SRI isn鈥檛 going to fix California鈥檚 water problem, and adapting it to industrial rice farming in the Sacramento Valley wouldn鈥檛 be easy. SRI does, however, point us in the right direction to address the 80 percent of California鈥檚 water used in agriculture.聽, SRI already increases yields while reducing聽water footprint. Better yet,聽, including corn, wheat, sugarcane, and garden vegetables. And it鈥檚 just one of many approaches that show us we can both reduce consumption and live with abundance, as long as we base our choices on an understanding of nature.

While techniques like SRI could help the Central Valley reduce its water footprint, the past week has taught us as well that farming communities aren鈥檛 alone in needing to address this challenge.

In Sonoma County鈥檚 rolling coastal range, places like the聽point to another such solution: permaculture. Using smart design, based on observation of nature and combined with an ecological and humanistic ethic, permaculture allows us to create functional, resilient, and abundant spaces for water in harmony with natural systems. Translated to urban and suburban yards, permaculture lets us聽, turn wastes into assets, and聽.

Critics might dismiss both SRI and permaculture as too small in scale and not ready for the big time, but doing so would miss the point: SRI shows us that agriculture can be聽, and permaculture demonstrates we can design yards, neighborhoods, and cities that are abundant and responsible. Perhaps more importantly, both of these approaches can help us shift our way of thinking from scarcity to dynamic abundance.

Any biological system has its limits. To exist within these limits, and to do so comfortably and in abundance, will take a new way of living. Systemic lifestyle changes won鈥檛 happen by simply adapting SRI to large-scale rice farming in the Sacramento Delta. It will happen block by block, yard by yard. It will happen in the hearts and minds of Californians of all walks of life, from all parts of the world. It will happen when all of us鈥攆armers, ranchers, office workers, parents, children, and spouses鈥攕tart seeing this crisis as an opportunity to build something better.

Climate change will impact every place on Earth. Some will face droughts, others extreme storms, floods, heat, and even cold鈥攂ut all must adapt. SRI and permaculture are just two of many creative paths forward, showing us that a life lived in greater harmony with natural systems isn鈥檛 one of scarcity, but abundance. And what better place to do this than in California?

Perhaps it鈥檚 time we started paying more attention to African farmers.