Is this the Future of Global Food Systems?
-
0:03 - 0:06DIF
Disruptive Innovation Festival -
0:08 - 0:11Leontino Balbo
on the future of global food systems -
0:15 - 0:20Some people get intrigued
about how I see the next step. -
0:21 - 0:25I do not see anything,
the nature tells me what to do. -
0:27 - 0:30What am I?
I am an observer. -
0:31 - 0:35I believe that the further you want to go,
-
0:35 - 0:38the less you have to take with you.
-
0:38 - 0:44That's what I do. I develop a technology,
I profit from it and I go to the next one. -
0:44 - 0:49And we leave, to allow
everybody else to profit from that. -
0:49 - 0:52My name is Leontino Balbo Jr,
-
0:52 - 0:57I'm an agronomist and a executive
at Balbo Group in Brazil. -
0:59 - 1:03Balbo Group is composed
by three sugar mills: -
1:03 - 1:08two in Sao Paulo State
and one in Minas Gerais State. -
1:08 - 1:10Lots of change were done
-
1:10 - 1:15until we totally change the profile
of our company and our business. -
1:15 - 1:21We switched 20,000 hectares
of cane sugar plantation -
1:21 - 1:25from conventional production technology
-
1:25 - 1:29into revitalizing agriculture.
-
1:29 - 1:34This results from this new type
of agriculture were so good -
1:34 - 1:39that we became the biggest supplier
of organic sugar in the world. -
1:39 - 1:43We export to 64 countries,
and now we also supply -
1:43 - 1:47neutral organic alcohol
for the cosmetic industry. -
1:50 - 1:56My grandfather started working
for the King of Coffee, Mr. Schmidt, -
1:56 - 1:58a hundred and ten years ago.
-
1:58 - 2:03He had 12 children, which also
worked for the German boss. -
2:03 - 2:10Since the beginning, they were used
to face the soil and farm challenges, -
2:10 - 2:14which made all things easier for me.
-
2:14 - 2:18When I arrived here I started
working as an agronomist. -
2:18 - 2:25In the second week I couldn't accept
the cane burning, all those things, -
2:25 - 2:28so I started to burn the cane,
to cut it by hand, -
2:28 - 2:34to drop it in the soil, to dirty it
and then to take it to the mill, -
2:34 - 2:38where we used to need four million liters
of water per hour to wash that cane. -
2:38 - 2:44If we harvest that cane green,
we wouldn't need that much water. -
2:44 - 2:45Something inside me said
-
2:45 - 2:50that we should find
a cleaner way of producing. -
2:50 - 2:57I proposed the Green Cane Project,
aiming to improve the production way, -
2:57 - 3:02to take the cane to manifest
its ecological potential. -
3:02 - 3:06We're going to to lower the environmental
impact of the production, -
3:06 - 3:11while at the same time
reducing the production's costs. -
3:11 - 3:13It worked so well
-
3:13 - 3:17that this mill was the first one
to harvest green cane in Brazil, -
3:17 - 3:21and then our example was followed
-
3:21 - 3:25by 90% of the cane groves in Brazil.
-
3:25 - 3:29Deep transformation is easier to happen
-
3:29 - 3:33in a family business
than in other kinds of big companies. -
3:33 - 3:36The next step after green cane harvests
-
3:36 - 3:41was that I decided to eliminate
the chemical fertilisers, -
3:41 - 3:45and then I decided
to abolish the pesticides. -
3:45 - 3:49I didn't know how to do it
and I was a little confused, -
3:49 - 3:54so I decided to go inside
a forest to relax my mind. -
3:58 - 4:03I opened myself to the nature wisdom,
-
4:03 - 4:08and suddenly I started seeing
inside the forest, like an infographic. -
4:08 - 4:15I saw the birds, the insects
and everything was interconnected. -
4:15 - 4:20There was a very sophisticated
system of communication, -
4:20 - 4:24and I realized that all of those insects
-
4:24 - 4:28were not attacking
the plants of the forest -
4:28 - 4:31but the same insects
used to attack the canes. -
4:31 - 4:32So, why?
-
4:32 - 4:37I started observing what used
to happen inside that forest, -
4:37 - 4:41and one by one, exemple
by example I learned, -
4:41 - 4:46I started transferring
them to agriculture. -
4:46 - 4:52There are lots of useful
information in the nature -
4:52 - 4:57that we can use to create the basis
of a new production system, -
4:57 - 5:03which is less impactant,
more rational and more efficient. -
5:04 - 5:09We can observe the design,
totally healthy leaves -
5:10 - 5:16and the reason is the focus here,
we do not put too much focus on the crop. -
5:17 - 5:21The focus is in the environment
and in the ecosystem as a whole. -
5:21 - 5:27The result of that is the ecosystem
itself takes care of the crop. -
5:27 - 5:29We don't fertilize the crop.
-
5:29 - 5:34We feed the soil life and then
it takes care of the cane, -
5:34 - 5:39about its nutrition and its
immunological system. -
5:39 - 5:43And we don't have one eaten part,
one bite, no problems -
5:43 - 5:46and no disease in our cane,
in 20,000 hectares. -
5:50 - 5:55Ecosystem revitalizing
agriculture is an agriculture, -
5:55 - 6:00but at the same time provides
all conditions for the crop growth -
6:00 - 6:04with no plagues and diseases problems,
-
6:04 - 6:07but at the same time
-
6:07 - 6:13providing to the environment
the most important environmental services, -
6:13 - 6:16like preserving the water,
-
6:16 - 6:19improving and keeping soil fertility,
-
6:19 - 6:23bringing back the fauna biodiversity
-
6:23 - 6:28and absorbing carbon from other
activities of the economy. -
6:30 - 6:34One of the most interesting results
-
6:34 - 6:37of implementing
the revitalizing agriculture -
6:37 - 6:40is the radical change
of the soil structure. -
6:40 - 6:45It was recovered in a such high level
-
6:45 - 6:48that the soils are even reaching
-
6:49 - 6:54a soil fertility class higher
than we had in the world -
6:54 - 6:57before men started
disturbing the environment. -
7:03 - 7:10This is a naturally structured rich soil,
-
7:10 - 7:16and it retains four times more
water than a conventional soil, -
7:16 - 7:21in a way that we produce 20%
above conventional production -
7:21 - 7:22without any irrigation.
-
7:22 - 7:29And the best thing is that this
soil helps the water lifecycle. -
7:31 - 7:38It has the capacity of infiltrating
and storing water in six times -
7:39 - 7:44in a way that the water is enough
for the crop, to evaporate, -
7:44 - 7:50to be transferred to the clouds
and also to supply the aquifer. -
7:50 - 7:55Some measurements showed
that the fresh water here, -
7:55 - 7:59in the farms, streams
and rivers increased 30%. -
8:00 - 8:07Besides becoming more fertile
and providing much better yields, -
8:07 - 8:12the soil was rebuilt
by the activity of fungus, bacteria -
8:12 - 8:15and hundreds of different
species of insects. -
8:15 - 8:19and it now presents a resilience.
-
8:19 - 8:22Recently researchers discovered
-
8:22 - 8:27that the fungus act
as a natural Internet in the soils. -
8:27 - 8:33They are translators of the different
ways of communication -
8:33 - 8:39among vegetables, bacterias
insects and so on. -
8:50 - 8:56Ninety percent of the machinery
didn't fit in what we were doing, -
8:56 - 9:00so we started studying
what were the soil demands. -
9:00 - 9:04Then we started customizing
here, in our workshop, -
9:04 - 9:07with our mechanics and electricians,
-
9:07 - 9:13equipments like tillers and harvesters.
-
9:17 - 9:23In order to provide and guarantee
that this soil is biodiversity friendly -
9:23 - 9:27our harvesters are equipped
with metal tracks -
9:27 - 9:30which pressure over the soil is 9 psi.
-
9:30 - 9:36In the same way, those trucks are equipped
with ultra-high rotation tires. -
9:37 - 9:41We choose about 20 psi of pressure.
-
9:41 - 9:45This guarantees the soil
is not going to be compacted -
9:45 - 9:50and that under the stretch
there will be enough comfort level -
9:50 - 9:54for all life forms
which promotes the soil rebuilt. -
9:59 - 10:03While the machine harvest the cane,
-
10:03 - 10:07it spreads 20 tonnes
of trash over the field, -
10:07 - 10:10twenty tonnes of trash
per hectare in a year. -
10:10 - 10:15And this trash provides soil
comfort for the life forms -
10:15 - 10:18which reconstructs the soil.
-
10:21 - 10:24The production model
is pretty much closed and circular. -
10:24 - 10:29We harvest the cane, take it
to the mill, where it's processed, -
10:29 - 10:34then we have the production
of alcohol, sugar, electricity and so on. -
10:34 - 10:40Then we take back
all the organic waste products. -
10:40 - 10:46We take them back to the field
and they are used to feed the life forms. -
10:46 - 10:50So, in a way we have a closed cycle,
-
10:51 - 10:53and nothing is lost.
-
10:54 - 10:59Here we can see another important
stage of the management. -
10:59 - 11:02We are seeing vinasse's application.
-
11:02 - 11:07Vinasse is a very
important organic fertilizer -
11:08 - 11:14and we use the vinesse, which is rich
in organic matter and nutrients -
11:14 - 11:18to boost the soil and life forms activity.
-
11:18 - 11:23Here we integrate sophisticated
harvesting technologies -
11:23 - 11:25with natural practices.
-
11:25 - 11:33This is the current concept of modernity
for me, not the opposite. -
11:33 - 11:38We don't need to have everything
artificial, synthetic or electronic. -
11:42 - 11:47Our production environment
became a lot more resilient. -
11:47 - 11:53The weather has been much more
unpredictable than it used to be before, -
11:53 - 11:58but now we can get more tonnes of cane
-
11:58 - 12:01per millimeter of rain.
-
12:01 - 12:07Compared to 30 years ago,
we more than doubled, -
12:07 - 12:13and compared to 10 years ago
the efficiency increased in 15%. -
12:17 - 12:23One of the main concerns when we started
was how we would measure the results. -
12:23 - 12:27and then I went after idoneus institutions
-
12:27 - 12:31like Embrapa, University of São Paulo,
University of Campinas, -
12:31 - 12:38and I looked for specialized people
in soil fertility, fauna biodiversity, -
12:38 - 12:43water resources, atmosphere,
CO2 release and so on. -
12:43 - 12:52We have lots of publications and studies
about how the soil fertility evolved here, -
12:52 - 12:55how biodiversity evolved here, and so on.
-
12:55 - 13:00Just as an example, after a whole year
of organic production, -
13:00 - 13:03besides compensating all our releases,
-
13:03 - 13:09we extracted 45,000 tonnes of co2
from other economic activities. -
13:09 - 13:14So we are not just just carbon
neutral, we are carbon sink. -
13:18 - 13:25We do not analyze water and soil anymore,
because the ecologists taught me -
13:25 - 13:32that the best way to compare the results
-
13:32 - 13:35is using biological indicators.
-
13:35 - 13:39For instance, we have some
insects and some animals here -
13:39 - 13:44that are extremely demanding
in terms of environment comfort. -
13:54 - 13:58We have 340 species
of superior vertebrates, -
13:58 - 14:02mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians,
-
14:02 - 14:10which means more than 50%
of the natural parks in São Paulo state. -
14:11 - 14:14And these are astonishing news,
-
14:14 - 14:18because they break the scientific paradigm
-
14:18 - 14:21that monoculture is bad for biodiversity.
-
14:22 - 14:25What is bad for biodiversity
is the management, -
14:25 - 14:28the way you do, and not what you plant.
-
14:34 - 14:40The soil change was not the last thing
that happened here, it was the first, -
14:41 - 14:46but one of the last things
was how the soil change -
14:46 - 14:52and this different agriculture method
impacted the business model. -
14:55 - 14:59Since the first day, 19 years ago,
-
14:59 - 15:05when we started to sell our certified
products, we never have a loss -
15:05 - 15:09There were profits every year,
-
15:09 - 15:16because the price is constructed
over the basis of the sustainability. -
15:16 - 15:20In order to define the prices,
-
15:20 - 15:24we consider how much costs
the social, the environmental -
15:24 - 15:28and economic aspects of this business.
-
15:28 - 15:31This is a total different relationship
-
15:31 - 15:37among all the actors
participating in the value chain, -
15:37 - 15:43from the grower to the industrial
food manufacturer, -
15:43 - 15:45because in conventional food chains
-
15:45 - 15:49what happens is the gross margin
-
15:49 - 15:52remain 90% of the grow margin,
-
15:52 - 16:00with that actor which keeps
the key resource of the food chain. -
16:00 - 16:05Sometimes it's the logistic,
or the financial capital, -
16:05 - 16:12sometimes it's the clients and so on.
-
16:12 - 16:18But in sustainable
food chain or value chain, -
16:18 - 16:24this margin is more equitably
distributed along the chain, -
16:24 - 16:27because this connection happens.
-
16:34 - 16:40Surely we can't apply it instantly
in nine million hectares of sugarcane, -
16:40 - 16:43but the same principles can be applied
-
16:43 - 16:48to other crops, charts,
planted forests and so on. -
16:48 - 16:53The system has not a recipe
like in the conventional, -
16:53 - 16:55where there's a pack you must use.
-
16:56 - 16:59You can do it in thousands
of different ways, -
16:59 - 17:03because you are talking
about natural principles. -
17:03 - 17:04If you observe the nature,
-
17:04 - 17:09you are going to see thousands
of different ways of doing it, -
17:09 - 17:13reaching the same objectives,
vegetable and animal production. -
17:16 - 17:20I think that the biggest difficulty
is not teaching people -
17:20 - 17:23how to do one operation,
the change and so on. -
17:23 - 17:28I think that the challenge
is how to change people's mind, -
17:28 - 17:34because men emancipated themselves
from the natural rhythms, -
17:34 - 17:40so we lost a big important
part of ourselves, -
17:40 - 17:45which is the capacity of perceiving
ourselves in the environment. -
17:47 - 17:54The nature is teaching us
the lessons we didn't have before, -
17:54 - 17:57and we must learn very quickly
-
17:57 - 18:03that there is an intelligence coordinating
what happens in the nature. -
18:11 - 18:13We have to convince all people,
-
18:13 - 18:18no matter if they are organic producers
or conventional producers, -
18:18 - 18:23to have a more systemic vision
-
18:23 - 18:26of the whole, of the farm,
-
18:26 - 18:31of the business
and especially about the role -
18:31 - 18:33of the human being in this planet.
-
18:44 - 18:48My long-term vision
for this production method -
18:48 - 18:52considers a consciousness expansion.
-
18:52 - 18:58What we did in 20,000 hectares
is just the tip of the iceberg. -
18:58 - 19:04I foresee that we can, for instance,
take back, switch garbage -
19:04 - 19:09from the big cities
to the agriculture ecosystem. -
19:09 - 19:14And in the same way we did here,
we can feed the life of the soil -
19:14 - 19:17with all the waste products of the cities,
-
19:17 - 19:21closing the cycle, turning it circular.
-
19:22 - 19:28I foresee a wide range of application,
because since is based on a principle, -
19:28 - 19:34we can find housands of different ways
of getting the same result.
- Title:
- Is this the Future of Global Food Systems?
- Description:
-
Leontino Balbo Jr has developed an approach to organic sugar cane production with the potential to disrupt the whole agricultural sector itself.
In 1986, Leontino began experimenting with "ecosystems revitalising agriculture", a new approach that he believed could increase crop yields, reduce pest numbers and restore natural capital, all while reducing reliance on natural resources.
29 years later, Leontino’s sugar cane farm, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has enjoyed unprecedented success with his work becoming a paragon of regenerative agriculture. A hypothesis has transformed into measurable results, with Leontino claiming to be able to produce higher yields, while not raising production costs, using only one third of the resources and providing a swathe of environmental benefits.
--
The Disruptive Innovation Festival (DIF) is an online platform which aims to shift mindsets and inspire action towards a circular economy. It invites people to share disruptive ideas and stories on a number of topics and attracts a worldwide audience, sparking critical conversations and participation through a combination of live interviews, films, and podcasts.
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The DIF is curated and published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a UK based charity, which was launched in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by world record breaking sailor Ellen MacArthur. Since its creation the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, establishing the circular economy on the agenda of decision makers across business, government and academia. With the support of its Core Philanthropic Partners SUN, MAVA and People's Postcode Lottery and Knowledge Partners Arup, IDEO, McKinsey & Company and SYSTEMIQ.
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- Duration:
- 20:02
Laura Franco Henao edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? | ||
Andrea Pilenso Siqueira edited English subtitles for Is this the Future of Global Food Systems? |