About the system AGROKRUH
For those, who decided 20 years ago, to produce organic vegetable
there have been basicly two possibilies either use some existing machinery,
or work manually. Existing machinery used in intensive mass production in
agriculture, was not acceptable, simple because it is not possible to solve
any problem with a means which created it. Specialised machinery, for organic
farming, known as gantry technology, operating in direct lines was too
expensive and not effective. Mr Slinsky decided to develop his own machinery.
He accepted the principles of gantry technology but he fixed one end of the
gantry and created AGROKRUH (circle).
Now we have machinery wich does exactle what we need in production of
organic vegetable. It is a noiseless, not producing smell, stationary technology
fulfilling up to 70% of the tasks necessary for the production of bio-vegetables in an
automatic robotised regime. The technology enables the production of bio-vegetables
at relatively low operating costs not only in accordance with the respective laws of
the Slovak Republic and the European Union, but is able to do more in quality
of organic products. This technology markedly improves the quality of the cultivated
soil, especially in that it does not become hypertrophied and that no undesirable
change of soil bacteria takes place. The soil acquires, step by step, the qualities of
mellow forest soil. The method enables the production in areas with limited water
resources, because irrigation is done with water beams aimed directly to the root
system of plants rather than with spraying.
A gantry of agrokruh is on one side attached to a fixed joint and on the other
side it has an electromotor propelling a wheel. The arm can be mounted with almost
complete set of implements, appliancies used in vegetable production. Thanks to
the rotation of the arm, the implements move on a spiral from the outer side of the
circle towards its centre. Its operation is very simple and highly effective. Our row is
spiral.
The circle as the basic shape used in the production of bio-vegetables, is an
optimal and natural shape. The project we are finishing now, assumes the
preparation of an area suitable for 15 circles arranged in triads. Every triad will be
served by one facility which will move between the joined centres of the circles. Thus
the production of bio-vegetables on 15 circles will require only 5 gantry facilities.
The centre of every circle is served by water and electricity.
The use of agrocircles will improve the quality of the cultivated land which will
naturally increase the crops without degradation of other environmental elements.
Focusing on a local group of vegetable consumers will have a positive effect resulting
from a community supported agricultural production. Technology allows a
production of wide variety of vegetable kinds and which is useful for
agrotechnical reasons and also supplies the consumer with complete offer of
vegetable products growable in respective area.
Let us be more precised about the question, what are the differnces while
using method with a comon tractor or agrokruhs gantry:
Quality and structure of soil
The applience is hanging on a gantry and soil is not compacted, ramed by
wheels of tractor and aplliance. The soil is not ploughed but spade is used
instead. The emchanised spade does not turn the soil what is advantage for
needed bakteria in soil.
As a feriliser a compost of worms and extracts of sapropel is used. The soil
becomes more and more better quality for the environment ( can ceep more
water and other factors ) and of course also for growed vegetable.
Irrigation
The water is dirested in beam tothe root rathetr than sprying it. Than
we need less water to irrigate the plants as by spraing, and also do not
make leafs wet, which can insrease probability that plants will be damaged by
fungus decease
Nutritian quality of vegetable
Vegetable, which is growed up in agrokruh is growed up without use of
chemicals, can be consumed from 6 to 12 hours after crop, the variety of the
offer of the farm is large. Al this makes this kind of food more valuable than
vegetable from intensive farmin and supermarket. The accesibility of fresh
and tasty vegetable can change the gastronomical habits towards eating more
vagetable
Structure of farms in the new EU countries
Now a days structure of agricultural farms in some new EU countries (
Slovakia , for sure ), is a result of transformatioan of comunist agriculture.
There are large farms, privatised former cooperatives, and than allmost nothing
or smal quantity small farmers. Continuity of farming was interrupted for to
many years. More and more of those few small farmer give up. To survive in
competition with large farms is very difficukt. Agrokruh offers the possibilities
for them in aplaces, where vegetable can be grown. Consumer accept higher
price and the technology aloows also comine a production of vegetable with
agrorourist activities. It is possible that a family having arround 5 ha could
live from from a farm, It could possibly increase number of small farmer and
create a new working places.
Environmental influnces
Continuing processin the soil wit AGROKRUH technology changes the negative
influence of ploghing, stops degradation. The soil will be able to keeep more
water, fladings can get less. The trajectories of movement of technology are
allways exactly the same. It gives the posibillities to join a field with a
meadow, a sporting place,
Natural swimming lake etc. From point of view of funktion and esthetic as
well comletrle new possibilities how to shape a farm
Social a psychological asspects
Consumer assisted agriculture assumes other atttuides from consumer
towards the farmer and vice versa. The contact is not any more one way and
anonymous. The consumer will have possibilitie to be present at the activities
on farm, without disturbing the farmer and being negativly influensed by
chemicals. Naighbor farmer from systém AGROKRUH is not competitor but
somebody I can allways ask to help in methodology, becouse everybody does
have his pown permanent cleints. The most important problem for farmer is
produce not to sell. This would rather help to fasten then destroy a farmers
chances to continue and make prosperity.
The project we are talking about is materialized in the cadaster of Hrubý
Šúr village, which is about 30 km off Bratislava - the capital of the Slovak Republic.
The area in question occupies 15 ha (150 000 m2) is on the bank of Malý Dunaj (
Small Danube) river. Approximately one half of the area consists of fields and the
other half comprises flooded forest. There is an older house in the area. The
functional solution of the area remains without changes, but is supplemented with the
possibility of building a natural housing estate that has been approved by local
authorities. The area in question (15 ha) is in the ownership of supplier of the
project.
Ing Peter BALAŠOV
Predseda Občianskeho združenia Živý prameň ( Podpora ekologického
pestovania )
Konateľ spoločnosti AgroKruh s.r.o.
tel +421 905 658537
email balasob@upcmail.sk