5 Ways Farmers are Maintaining Sustainable Food Systems

Natalie Landes has been a Communications Team Intern at Plant With Purpose over the past several months. As an International Development student, she has been able to connect our work with farmers around the world with some of her past experiences, namely a study abroad experience in Costa Rica, studying sustainable community development in rainforest communities. As food systems play an important role in our mission, Natalie relates this to her time in Costa Rica.

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People across the world are kept alive by a delicate web of farming practices, but what actually goes into maintaining productive, sustainable food systems? 

This summer, I’ve had the pleasure of joining Plant With Purpose as a Marketing and Communications intern. This position has brought together so many of my personal and academic passions, including sustainable agriculture and International Development. As an International Development student, I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel and witness community development first hand. Before beginning my role as an intern, I spent the month of May studying sustainability, tropical agriculture, and development in the cloud rainforest of Costa Rica. 

This trip not only grew me academically and spiritually, but also painted the work of Plant With Purpose in a new light. Seeing lives changed through watershed management, soil health, and community empowerment made me so inspired to be a part of Plant With Purpose. It excites me to know that Plant With Purpose’s partner farmers – like the farmers I met during my studies in Costa Rica – are seeing life-changing results.

In Costa Rica, I joined twelve other college students on a three-week research trip across the country. We traveled over 800 miles, meeting with farmers, scientists, and educators who specialize in tropical agriculture. Our homebase was a farm between Poás and Barva, the two volcanoes that cradle Costa Rica’s continental divide. Here, the headwaters for the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean flow, and the decisions of farmers affect everyone downstream. I was blessed to catch a glimpse into the lives of these farmers and learn the techniques they use to live in harmony with their surroundings. 

In my time there, I noticed five recurring practices that are used to keep sloped-land farms healthy and productive, that are also present in Plant With Purpose’s approach. These, in turn, contributing to sustainable food systems.  

Practice 1: Know the soil

Did you think soil was simple? The truth is, the complex soil components on a plot of land determine which crops will survive and thrive. Farmers test for pH, drainage, and the presence of decomposers on their plots. Additionally, the balance of soil macronutrients can help farmers determine which crops to plant. In Costa Rica, there is a stark difference between the volcanic soils of the highlands and the oxidized soils of the lowlands. Mountain farmers do best when planting high-altitude coffee varieties, brassicas, and greenhouse-grown hydroponic crops. On the other hand, sugarcane, pineapple, cassava, and bananas are the work of lowland farmers. 

Adding back nutrients to the soil is of utmost importance, especially in areas with heavy rainfall and topsoil erosion. Farmers use cover crops, crop rotation, and intercropping to help maintain soil fertility throughout the year. Many of the farmers I met use legumes for cover cropping and intercropping, as this species symbiotically fixes nitrogen with the help of soil bacteria. Planting legumes alongside other field crops keeps nitrogen levels up, and reduces the amount of synthetic fertilizer required. As a plus, farmers are left with beneficial by-products like peas, alfalfa, and ice cream beans (my personal favorite!).

Practice 2: Work with the rain

I’ve never met anyone who can predict weather patterns better than farmers — and with good reason! Without water, there is no harvest. It’s tedious work to plan fertilizing, sowing, growing, and harvesting around rainfall. In many tropical areas, the rainy season is becoming less and less reliable. I met a coffee farmer named Jose David who runs a family-owned enterprise called Cafe Rualdo. He struggled to adequately fertilize his soil over the past few seasons, because the first rain has come earlier than expected. To combat this uncertainty, the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture installed a meteorological measurement system on his property which tracks precipitation and UV levels. This information is relayed to Jose David and surrounding farmers, allowing them to maintain water-smart, sustainable food systems amidst ever-changing weather patterns. 

Practice 3: Get ahead of erosion

S.A.L.T of the earth has a whole new meaning! It’s no secret that farming on sloped land comes with its own set of challenges. Costa Rican farmers implement Sloped Agricultural Land Technology, or S.A.L.T., to keep nutrient-rich top soil from flowing downstream. A few of these techniques include strip cropping, in which rows of crops are alternated perpendicular to the hillside, and terracing, in which fields are layered like a staircase up a hillside (think rice patties!). 

We also saw agroforestry displayed throughout many hillside farms, in which tree roots help to lock soil in place. My personal favorite technique was living fences, in which drought-tolerant tree branches are propagated along the contour of a slope. The branches take root, holding soil in place and doubling as protection against animals. Not to mention, these fences look beautiful out in the countryside. Erosion management is at the forefront of Plant With Purpose’s work in watershed communities, as trees do an excellent job of holding soil in place. Maintaining soil integrity not only helps farmers turn a better harvest, but also prevents catastrophic disasters like mudslides and flash floods. Watershed management is a win on all sides: improved harvests, economic gain, and a lower risk of natural disasters. That’s the power of Plant With Purpose’s watershed approach!

Practice 4: Use chemicals responsibly

In tropical ecosystems, biodiversity is at full force, which makes managing insects, fungi, and bacteria more challenging. Additionally, many tropical soils and hydroponic systems require additional fertilization, which often come in the form of synthetic fertilizers and mineral salts. One of the most common shifts Purpose Group members adopt after going through the Plant With Purpose’s Seeds of Change agricultural curriculum is to shift away from chemical fertilizers to more organic material. In Costa Rica, the farmers I met strive to operate as “organically” as possible, using minimal amounts of herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. This helps them appeal to a wider range of consumers, and also protects the health of surrounding wildlife, waterways, and people. 

As an alternative to widespread spraying, farmers opt for integrated pest management systems, which combine biological controls with the occasional chemical intervention. This includes introducing beneficial insects which fight off pests, planting pest resistant crops, disrupting pest development, and spot treating affected plants with pesticides. The team and I visited a few leading researchers in this field at both the University of Costa Rica and CATIE. Ecologists, farmers, and government agencies work together to develop strong, resistant crop varieties through generations of breeding. Additionally, certain members of the animal kingdom (like parasitic wasps) can be released in order to control the population of harmful insects like scale bugs. I met several farmers who grow their crops within greenhouses, which function as a protective layer against larger pests. Overall, it was enlightening to witness several healthier alternatives to chemical inputs. 

Practice 5: Empower the next generation

Within many of the family farms and homesteads I visited, I noticed all members of the family, young and old, contributing to daily operations. Educating the next generation on sustainable farming practices is important, especially in a time when many people around the globe are becoming less connected to the land. We visited a family-operated cacao farm in San Clemente, just outside of Limon on the Caribbean coast. Here we met Don Pedro and his nephew Benjamin, who took over the cacao groves after their older relative retired. Despite pursuing his degree in music at the University of Costa Rica, Benjamin returned to San Clemente in the summers to help get the farm back on its feet. It was inspiring to see generational knowledge be passed down to younger family members, while also hearing about Benjamin’s love for music and life in college. This transfer of wisdom aids in maintaining sustainable farming practices for generations to come. The work of Plant With Purpose not only benefits farmers, but also their spouses, children, and neighbors. Adopting efficient practices can spur economic growth, allowing more members of a community to pursue their dreams. This can look like attending university, starting a small business, or expanding operations. Throughout my internship, I have been inspired by the success stories of so many Plant With Purpose partners, and the economic and spiritual renewal they have found along the way. I believe that empowerment fuels development, and Plant With Purpose’s commitment to community empowerment is truly changing lives.

After spending three weeks in Costa Rica, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of practices that allow farmers to operate within sustainable food systems. The attention to detail, reverence for creation, and respect for neighbors downstream are clearly evident in the choices of the farmers that I met along the way. Using this coursework as a contextual backdrop has made my time at Plant With Purpose even more valuable. The three-part model of environmental restoration, economic empowerment, and spiritual renewal champions partners all over the globe, paving a path toward abundance while contributing to sustainable food systems.