“There were conventional seeds, but not agroecological ones. So we organize a network of producers to produce them”, says Alex Edleson biodynamic farmer and coordinator of Constellation. From Merlo, San Luis, the agroecological seed store stores, analyzes and markets the basic input from biodynamic producers across the country to change the hybrid model of transgenesis and chemical inputs in agribusiness.
Biodynamic agriculture is a practice that understands the fields and the planet as a complex organism. It is an approach that confronts the logic of agribusiness, rescuing ancestral knowledge about the cosmos and its influence on crops. According to the glossary of the National Agricultural Census (CNA), this form of production emphasizes the interrelationship between soils, plants and animals, treating the whole as a balanced system and avoiding, as far as possible, external interventions. The CNA informs that, in the country, 408 establishments are registered that operate in this way. How to continue expanding this production? The initiative called Constellation is part of these experiences.
Constellation is an agroecological seed company based on coordination, storage, analysis and marketing in Merlo, San Luis, but the network includes biodynamic producers from Córdoba, Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Salta, Tucumán, Río Negro and Neuquén. They have a laboratory where they carry out the diagnosis of the germinative power and viability of each species.
Constellation’s goal is to solve a pending problem: to have agroecological quality seeds for those who grow it. “There were conventional seeds, but not agroecological ones. So, we organized a network of producers to produce them”, explains Alex Edleson, coordinator of the organization and biodynamic producer at La Carretilla farm, located in the San Luis de Los Molles region.
The collaborative seeding project is accompanied by the Association of Biological-Dynamic Agriculture of Argentina (Aabda). through your Web page, Constellation offers seeds at prices in pesos, in a context where agricultural inputs are dollarized. “We are an Argentine startup and our goal is to strengthen the agroecological movement from the beginning,” says Edleson.
— How did the Constellation come about?
—It was an initiative of biodynamic producers. The word “constellation” refers to the biodynamic agriculture perspective of seeing nature as a whole and the influence of the cosmos on Earth. But it also names the constellations of human relationships. Our vision is to generate a collaborative seed industry where all actors in the chain, seed producers and users, are participants.
—What characteristics does biodynamic production have?
—We understand nature from a global perspective. There are vital forces that are in constant process: we focus on these processes. It is not the same to pay with urea as with an organic fertilizer, but it is also not the same as paying with a preparation that is produced on the same farm, through the symbiosis of legumes or animals with local manure. There is attention to processes and relationships and this affects the quality of products. One of the most important principles of biodynamics is to understand the Earth as a living organism, with a history, and that as humanity we are participants in this co-evolution. The natives rescue this vision of the force of nature, the spirits of nature and working with the elements: earth, air, fire, water. It is an ancient wisdom that is not based on simple superstitions, but on thousands of years of experience.
—What other contributions does biodynamics make to the transition to agroecology?
—What biodynamics also brings, which is a great tool for agroecology, is the language of images: the Earth as a living organism is a great image. Another image is the farm or property as a living organism. We can analyze and separate things, but the gesture we need to take a holistic view is how we bring them together in our consciousness. Here the image is a great ally. Behind the image of the farm as a living organism we can understand that a living organism has organs, each one fulfills a function and is autonomous but at the same time interdependent, it only makes sense in relation to other organs. From this image we can think about how a biodynamic farm should work. Farms also have an identity: one is not the same as the other. Not only by the constitution of the mineral, the soil, the plants, the animals, the climate and the atmosphere in that particular place, but also by the human beings who inhabit it, by the interrelationships and by the organization of people.
—What differences would you make between biodynamics and agroecology?
—Agroecology is a broader term that encompasses several approaches, such as regenerative agriculture, for example. Biodynamics’ focus on the forces of nature affects the way we work. We use preparations that, in addition to all the agroecological practices of working with microorganisms and crop rotation, also include the force field. For example, in fertility: in conventional agriculture you use urea, in organic farming you replace the urea with a seaweed fertilizer. And biodynamics would look to solve fertility within the same farm. Within agroecology we understand that the plant feeds on microorganisms and other relationships that occur in the soil. But if we expand the vision even further, we can include the entire cosmos. The moon’s influence on crops is more popularly accepted, but all astral bodies have some bearing on Earth.
-For example?
—One of the main influences is the moon. The first trimester and the last trimester are best known. But the moon, like the sun, goes up and down in the sky for a month, so it has an ascendant and a descendant. When the moon sets, it is said to be descending. At this moment, in the plant, the forces are low. It is the right situation to do transplants, to promote rooting.
“You spoke of ancient knowledge. How has this knowledge survived over the years?
— What we commonly know are the constellations of the Zodiac through astrology. These constellations are particularly important because in the sky there is a band of stars through which the planets, the sun, the moon travel. All astral bodies are always passing in front of these constellations and each constellation transmits a quality, a force to the Earth. This wisdom has been consolidated through the experience of thousands of years.
—Why is this vision an advance against agribusiness?
—There is a very important genetic erosion of biodiversity. Many plant varieties have been lost and more are lost each year. This has to do with the advancement of agribusiness and the concentration of the seed market, with few companies that manage it. We have lost the habit of producing our seeds because of the advancement of technological packages that commit us to dependence on hybrid or transgenic seeds. Even within organic farming, many farmers use hybrid seeds or buy seedlings made from hybrid seeds, seeds that cannot reproduce. We promote food sovereignty and biodiversity against dependence, which causes us to lose variety because we always continue to buy what companies offer us. For this, we rescue, develop and offer new varieties, always with open pollination (reproducible). They are not hybrid or genetically modified seeds. Each person who buys them later can continue planting them. And they are also nutritionally superior.
—Why is it ‘an ethical issue’ for you to promote these varieties?
— Because we have to counter a trend from the last century of market consolidation and loss of biodiversity. It is a commitment that we have with society and the environment to offer an alternative.
—One of the arguments used in favor of the technology package is to improve yields and reduce costs. What do you think?
— We tend to privatize the profits, but we socialize the costs. If we analyze the social and environmental costs of the technological package of conventional agriculture, we will see that it is much more expensive. Soil degrades rapidly; so every year it is necessary to maintain or continue to use inputs in these systems, while in the agroecology or in biodynamics over time these inputs are reduced. It may take longer, but an organism is generated that regulates itself and does not require as many inputs. People are used to buying seeds of the conventional model. We work with other quality and respectful relationships. We work cooperatively, we don’t just talk about price, but about value. We seek to value the work of the producer of this agroecological quality. Those who ask us the most are those who make their own vegetable garden. But we are also committed to reaching larger producers and generating trust, for us it is essential to know how the seed did afterwards. We have quality controls, but we also want to know how these varieties perform in different areas of the country.
— What thoughts do you have on the first genetically modified wheat seed and the debate over its approval?
—It is an absurdity mobilized by business interests and not by the interests of people, the land and the environment. It’s a very sad development in an agribusiness system and it really is a threat to the culture. Agriculture was replaced by agribusiness, culture was eliminated in favor of industry. This only strengthens dependence, continues to pollute the environment and health. It is not a short or long term solution. In relation to this, I also want to say that it is very easy to say “no”, but we have to go out and resist building alternatives. It is all too easy to criticize monoculture, but we are all responsible for monoculture based on our conscience. If we say that “a tomato is a red, round fruit and nothing else”, we are participating in monoculture. We must be, more and more, judicious consumers and farmers, who respect and sow biodiversity. When we understand that the tomato has a thousand shapes and colors, we will be cultivating biodiversity, not only on earth, but in minds.