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Content for Glorieta

Page history last edited by Tom Johnson 15 years, 7 months ago

Content for a two-day Kickoff Conference will be held at the Glorieta Conference Center.

 

 

 

Project poster title: Getting enough to eat today?  How about tomorrow?

 

 

 

Project: Models for small-scale sustainable agriculture project

 

 

 

Background: The hurricanes that hit Cuba in mid-September destroyed tons of food in the countryside, food that will never reach the 75% of Cuba's population living in cities.  With winter approaching, the Cuban government called for rapid action in urban planting area to plant "short-cycle crops" to "ensure food as soon as possible."

 

                    * Under highly variable conditions like this, how can we know what are the best crops to plant and where? 

                    * Should they be stored locally or quickly distributed around the nation?

                    * What would we do in New Mexico if a similar disaster were to hit?

 

 

Objectives:

 

  • To build a NetLogo model(s) illustrating the possibilities of small-area farming, a generic optimization model that could be loaded with data relative to conditions anywhere in the world. This work is inspired the work already being done in Cuba's cities and by our intent to conduct some Applied Complexity workshops in Camagüey, Cuba in February 2009.[1]
    • Possibilities for optimization objectives:
      • Maximum production
      • Most efficient production
      • Most efficient distribution
      • Resource cost compared to importing food (from rural area or distance). i.e. centralization or de-centralization of production/distribution
      • Balance between labor force and consumption and possibility of creating jobs
      • Production of healthiest foods
      • Use of methods with minimal environmental impact
  • Which has greater utility, mono crops or multiple, simultaneous plantings or variations of both relative to growing season? What are leading factors impacting this question?
  • How does one best coordinate acquisition of needed resources before planting and distribution of crop at harvest?
  • Relative importance of storage and distribution infrastructure?

More information:  See http://smallscaleagr.notlong.com 

 

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