Article and photos by Dr Saskia von Diest
Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology
Stellenbosch University
I
n March 2013, I started a postdoctoral research project at
Stellenbosch University to investigate the idea of intuitive
farming. The project falls within the
original research section of the research project Future-Proofing
Food: Linking sustainable food production with national conservation
targets, and receives funding from
the National Research Foundation
(NRF). The main aim is to “reinvigorate current agricultural practices”. To meet this objective, radically innovative approaches are
needed to address current challenges in the agricultural sector.
The modern approach to farming
uses mainly cognitive (intellectual or
mind-based) methods, i.e. methods
rooted in scientific methodology,
Fig. 1. Cycle of synthetic chemical use leading to decline in soil health
and newer, more effective technologies are constantly being developed
using this approach. However, it
has led to a cycle that causes rapid
decline in soil health (Fig. 1): Pesticide and herbicide applications have
reduced our beneficial soil microbes
and organic matter, so plants are
not able to take up and use as
many naturally available nutrients in
the soil. Farmers then have to use