This is not, however, some ivory tower dialectic: despite the astonishing changes that science and technology have made to human society, civilisation is still as utterly dependent on agriculture as at any other time in history and there is little indication of the sun setting on agriculture any time soon. The conclusion of the Ag-assessment was that “Farming is at a crossroads” and that “business as usual is not an option”: farming can not continue down the industrial path, it has to turn to the ‘alternative’ paradigms such as agro-ecology and organic agriculture.
The most substantial of this recent criticism came from the ‘International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development’, the closest thing agriculture has to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The dominant form of agriculture during this time, called industrial agriculture, as it attempts to mimic the production line processes of the industrial revolution, is now increasingly being called into question. The last century has been one of great turmoil for agriculture, and human civilisation as a whole. but for the sake of brevity I will use agriculture and farming as proxies. To that end it is also clearly meant to be a stimulus to further discussion and debate, not the final word.Īlso a quick clarification: I will use the terms agriculture, farming, farms and farmers in the broad meaning i.e., they include all the primary industries e.g., horticulture, forestry etc. This is a big and audacious aim, so, as this is one lecture, not a whole degree, I will not be able to delve into detailed arguments, only touch on a few topics, some controversial, leaving you to fill in the gaps. Its aim is to paint a picture of agriculture in the widest sense and context possible, and look at a few key issues, as a means to explain and explore the ideas that underpin the Future Farming Centre and therefore what needs to be done, to ensure the future prosperity of agriculture, and therefore society as a whole. This lecture is something of a hydra, it is part science, part philosophy, part politics, part history lesson, and part acknowledgement of a few of the giants on whose shoulders we all stand. Thank you and welcome to the launch of The BHU Future Farming Centre and this lecture ‘A New Agricultural Testament’
#GRANDPERSPECTIVE MISCELLANEOUS USED SPACE MP4#
Video of slides and audio high quality MP4 (102MB) A New Agricultural Testament Video of slides and audio low quality MP4 (41MB) Microsoft Powerpoint of lecture including both slides and text (in speakers notes pages) (20MB) The text formats do not include the opening by Tom Lambie, while the audio and video recordings do. Information about and recordings of the launch is avalible in a range of formats. The FFC was launched on the 31 October 2011 at Lincoln University, with a public lecture titled ‘A New Agricultural Testament’ and an official opening by Tom Lambie, Chancellor of Lincoln University, organic farmer, former National President of Federated Farmers and Commissioner at Environment Canterbury.
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