Creating suburban ecological zones
Primary agricultural production in Central Europe’s flatland regions is carried out by
intensive, conventional farming permitting only one type of crop to be grown on
large, dedicated surfaces. The resulting loss in variety and biodiversity has had
adverse consequences on
both
the
environment and the
quality and nutritional value of such agricultural production. In addition, the presence
of heavy mechanisms or potentially dangerous substances makes growing
areas and their immediate surroundings unsuitable for recreational or educational
activities.
The AgroKruh (AgroCircle) system provides a unique solution to these problems and
helps promote sustainable, locally-sourced production and consumption. A wide
range of vegetables, herbs and flowers is grown on relatively small areas with the help
of fine technology eliminating all use of pesticides or chemicals. Recreational or
educational activities can be conducted on the growing fields or in their immediate
vicinity. The areas have great potential to become suburban recreational zones with
locally-sourced restaurants, parks or sport fields.
This ecological cultivation of vegetables has numerous benefits for individuals,
farmers as well as the society. The nutritional quality of the vegetables, which are
always locally sourced, is incomparable to that of vegetables produced by
conventional techniques, often also shipped long distances. A form of communitysupported agriculture, the AgroKruh system creates conditions for an
economically sustainable operation of small family farms and allows customers to
develop a long-term relationship of trust with their local farmer. The zones can be
used as a means of recreation; they are especially suited for families with children,
many living in neighbourhoods composed of large blocks of flats from the soviet era.
An AgroKruh farm also provides ideal conditions to facilitate education in matters of
sustainable development and environment protection, either on an ad hoc basis or in a
more formal way, such as by school group visits. In addition,
all negative impacts on the
environment
left by
conventional planting
are
gradually removed by the use of this environmentally-friendly technology.
A pilot farm has been set up in the Bratislava region in 2006 (a video of the
technology,
made
in 1995,
can
be
found
at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYrJ0BJ4Qak.)
The
pilot
project clearly
confirmed the effectiveness of the system in both technical and environmental terms.
The technology currently replaces about 70% of traditional hand work (with plans for
full automatisation already available), but is of the same or higher quality. The
machines are powered by extremely low-consumption electrical motors, with the
potential to use solar energy as the sole source. Moreover, the combination of the
production of bio-vegetables and agro-tourism has produced particularly good results
in terms of its economic viability.
In order to create a large network of suburban ecological zones in Central Europe,
further research is necessary. An international project coordinating the simultaneous
operation of these zones would be an ideal platform to share experiences and
responses to the system in different central European regions. This would enable to
provide further guidance and would improve starting conditions for farmers wishing
to create AgroKruh eco-zones.
In order to set up pilot projects in suburban areas in various Central European
countries we are looking for partners, preferably municipalities or towns, who would
cooperate
with selected local
farmers
to
create
green,
ecological zones for their residents (either on private or leased land). It is proposed
that model ecological zones would be created in each participating country. Each farm
would then focus on selected issues and share the information obtained and possibly
analysed with academic institutions of the country (universities or research institutes)
to the other participants in the project. At a later period, the supervisors of the
pilot projects will have the opportunity to become coordinators of a network of ecozones in their country.
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