Konkuk University, Seoul · October 5–7, 2016

Natural Science Farming Symposium 2016

A day of talks in Seoul, then two days on the farms. 23 talks, three languages. Master Cho's students from ten countries showed what natural farming did on their fields, from Afghan potatoes to Hawaiian macadamias. Every talk is translated, checked line by line, and boiled down to what was tested and what happened.

Read what it all adds up to →

Also on the record: Hilo 2015

Topics microbes soil economics pigs poultry rice history corn food scale disease feed health minerals protectors reproduction Clear

2 talks on “vegetables”

Chang-pyo Lee ·South Korea ·26 min

Neorganic Rice: Same Yield, Higher Price, Up to 3x Profit

Chang-pyo Lee of World Vision Korea reports on 'Neorganic' farming (natural farming plus no-till, mulch and compost) in World Vision projects in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. In Vietnam, rice yielded the same as conventional at lower input cost, and a higher selling price gave two to three times the net profit; chicken and herbs also earned more, while lettuce, broccoli and pigs fed no protein earned less. Ethiopian seed potatoes yielded more at all three cooperatives, and Sri Lankan families gained food access and diet diversity, though their yields were not significantly different from non-participants.

Found Vietnam rice: same yield, 11,000 vs 6,500 VND/kg, 2.3–3.3 times the net profit

economics microbes pigs potato poultry rice

Jegatheesary Gunasingam ·Sri Lanka ·20 min

Sri Lanka: Classes Alone Failed, Small Groups Worked

A World Vision Sri Lanka staff member reports on a 2013–2015 project, funded by World Vision Korea and KOICA, that brought natural farming (which she calls 'neo-organic') to 600 farm families in Vaharai, a war-affected coastal division. After a year of training only a handful of farmers had taken it up; small groups, close follow-up and training the government agriculture instructors turned it around. The final evaluation shows wide use of homemade fertilizers and pesticides, more home gardens and water access, and weekly chemical-free vegetable markets, but no yields, costs or incomes.

Found After one year of training, only a few farmers had adopted; both transcripts heard 'only two'

economics health microbes soil training vegetables