Rethinking the world, one small farm at a time

How can we help societies achieve more resilient agriculture in the face of geopolitical disturbances and climate change? Why do we continue to propose agricultural systems based on globalized commodity markets as the only way to feed ourselves? Why continue to subsidize models that destroy soil fertility, ecosystems and put our health at risk? 

Macdonald Campus graduate Maude-Hélène Desroches, BSc’02, and partner Jean-Martin Fortier, BA’02,—owners and operators of Les Jardins de la Grelinette—have attempted to address these and a multitude of other questions through their book, Le jardinier-maraîcher.

Research for the book led them all over the world and inspired them to share their farming methods in the hopes of helping others succeed in their vegetable micro-farming projects. The current conflict in Ukraine, which is wreaking havoc on the country’s agricultural landscape, is a situation that necessitates this kind of technique sharing, to assist farmers in dire situations to get back on their feet.  

“It has always been close to my heart to present solutions, teach how and provide tools rather than denouncing what is wrong, but after more than 100 days of an abominable war, beyond human horror, we see looming the specter of starvation and skyrocketing prices of basic foods here and elsewhere,” explains Fortier. “We have to face the facts: the current food system is not sustainable.”

Read the full article (in French) at La Presse.