Four Ways Mexico's Indigenous Farmers Are Practicing the Agriculture of the Future

Indigenous communities are combining traditional knowledge and new technology to improve food production for its people. For example, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma partners with the startup Symbiotic Aquaponic that uses fish and plants in water to grow traditional foods like corn, pole beans, and squash. It can be expensive to get started, but the system uses less water than industrial agriculture and provides key nutrition for members of the tribe.

By returning to indigenous varieties of crops, farmers can increase ecological diversity and reliance to climate change. In India, hundreds of farmers in the state of Odisha have been returning to indigenous crops, like millet, vegetables, and tubers. In contrast to the high yield varieties of seeds provided by the government, heritage crops prove more resilient to changes in climate, water shortages, and local pests. Using heritage crops also reduces the need for pesticides, helping to restore ecological balance in the region.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the fragility of the U.S. food supply chain, yet for indigenous led-operations there has been little interruption thanks to practices that rely on shorter supply chains that "work with local ecosystems, not against them." In Virginia, one farmer is using the lessons from this traditional knowledge to create a small-scale farming collective.

Emerald Garden farm in Colorado is a microgreens hydroponic farming operation that is using a comprehensive approach toward conducting business. From experimenting with new practices to reduce food waste to diversifying partnerships to enhance crop development, the owners have successfully scaled the initial operation and are providing food for fine restaurants as well as grocery stores a local school district and potentially hospitals.

Mountains are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and a mountain city in India is finding sustainable solutions in traditional agriculture. Women overwhelmingly make up the farming workforce in Uttarakhand and are using a number of ways to combat the effects of the temperature increase. These solutions include bringing back an ancient grain, finger millet, to appeal to new tastes and dishes, storing seed banks of traditional varieties, and opening a cafe serving local food using the ancient grains to attract outside visitors.

In Papua New Guinea, agroforestry--an old method of farming that more closely mimics natural ecosystems--has provided the Gildipasi community with diverse crops and greater food security. And in a boom for wildlife, the practice has allowed the community to set aside 4,940 protected acres of forestland, as well as a marine protected area, over the past two decades.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization provides some pretty grim predictions for the future of global food stability if modern, monoculture farming practices continue to degrade land, spread pesticides, and destroy natural habitats at their current rate. A revival in the "ecology of one" mindset is bringing many farmers, like Ryoseok Hong in South Korea, back to more natural, traditional methods of agriculture which place greater value on community relationships and farm-to-table transparency, as well as biodiversity and preservation of the greater ecosystem.

In colonial times, diets and agricultural work in Kenya focused on corn and rice, alongside produce grown elsewhere. Health-consciousness is now restoring nutritious local fruits and vegetables to Kenyan tables, in part by teaching horticulture students in university.

The Mvskoke 4-H Ocmulgee Club, in collaboration with Oklahoma State University and MCN Food Distribution, teaches Muscogee (Creek) Nation students hands-on pecan tree planting and food sovereignty skills rooted in Mvskoke cultural tradition.

Indigenous communities in Nepal use traditional earthen storage bins called dehari—made from locally available clay, husk, and dung—that naturally regulate temperature and moisture to protect grains and seeds from extreme heat, pests, and floods without electricity. The success of this food-preservation method has increased local food security and seed diversity across smallholder farming communities.