French-style farming is the answer! Mais Oui!

Well, I'm casting about all over the place in my researches around the problem of how farmers can maintain volume and cosmetic quality in agricultural production, whilst not causing both short and long term health problems for farm workers and residents, given that the technology in use - mist blowers have a drift distance of, some researchers suggest - 5 kms

(The researcher in question here, is the mother of a 17 year old boy in the Cape winelands who contracted Hodgkins Lymphoma, received chemotherapy, and is now sterile - so she has been researching what she believes to have been the cause of the problem).

A first option seems to be to favour low impact farming methods that reject preventative pesticide usage, which is obviously, (as it sells more product), favoured by the pesticide industry. Preventative pesticide usage means you spray even when you dont have the problem, by rote, eg in 2 week cycles, and the whole farm gets treated as identical.

Very successful farmers (such as a viticulturist who is one of the top ten wine makers in the world- who is willing to take part in a conference here - cue Toursim group, in the Helderberg region), favour pro-biological farming, which greatly reduces pesticide consumption, saving farmers money. But of course bad news for pesticide vendors, so we can expect squeals of well orchestrated protest.

Farms are sectioned into small units and are monitored fpr specific pests, and then the small segments are individually sprayed, if neccessary. The soil is made complex to enhance plant strength. Roundup for example is avoided (which simplifies soil structure, as well as being carcinogenic). Natural predators are part of the picture, impossible when whole regions are sprayed with, for example, an organophosphate.

Preventative pesticide usage is the norm in America but is not practiced in the vast grape growing regions of France, evidently, where 80 % of grapes are grown using pro-biological, low or minimal pesticide usage methods.

Tiny Villages everywhere

The reason for this is easy to understand by glancing at maps of rural Southern France, dotted everywhere with tiny hamlets and villages, every kilometre or so.

The pesticide drift problem that has become normalised in South Africa, would mean that most rural people would live in a pesticide cocktail.

I think that Van Niekerk Bruwer should rush off to France now to see just how they do it, on a study tour, and bring the answers back to the village!

And I'm prepared to contribute towards his air ticket to help make the fact finding trip possible! I'm sure others would help too!

Lets make the slogan - 'The meditterranean magic of the Riebeek Valley' become more than just a catch phrase.