Tuesday September 11, 2019 was our Marco de Boer’s first big reNature stage performance. He was one of the presenters at the Pratodomundo Seminar connected to the temporary exhibition on the future of food. The page is only in Portuguese. The exhibition Pratodomundo runs till October 20, 2019 and is set up in five sections:

• The Future of Food
• New Agricultural Frontiers
• Food Technologies
• Food for Tomorrow
• Health and Society

The subjects are presented in a playful and interactive way with lots of fun animations. Even though it is a very serious subject it give you hope we can manage the challenge ‘how do we feed 10 billion people?, also a subject concern at the TFF Summits reNature was attending.

At the seminar, multiple people presented their organization efforts to make it possible to feed the world. reNature was part of Table 1 about new agricultural borders

Together with:
Ana Santos – from the Center for Multicultural Education, an organization from Rio de Janeiro that works with urban agriculture in Complexo da Penha. The organization bets on the practice of cultivating agroecological foods in confluence with popular culture and art as a way to resist in the city.

And

Alex Alves – Aquaculture and Fishing Development Center / Cedap (Santa Catarina)
Cedap helps Santa Catarina aquaculture farmers, public managers and the productive chain in the state to develop technologies, policies and infrastructures that are sustainable and compatible with Santa Catarina’s geographical profile.

Here is Marco de Boer’s full transcript of his part.

Hello, Thank you for having me here. I am a bit nervous.
But I promise you : You will not forget this moment.

Because I am here to bring you a future.

A future for your children, your children’s children.
A future for 10 billion people.

You might think: isn’t that a bit too bombastic, too much drama?
Who is this man?

… Well,

I am Marco de Boer,
A modest yet true believer in Agroforestry.

I am the second man and founder of reNature,…

… a fast growing organization with 20 plus agroforestry experts, more than 350 volunteers, and over 30.000 followers on social media.

We are at the table of internationals and multinationals talking about changing food production.

Why? I will tell you.

Two years ago I haven’t even heard of Agroforestry.
From the moment I met Felipe Villela and heard about this agricultural system I was in.

The reason is simple.

Since 1950 all agriculture was focussed on optimization by the square meter, focussed on profit alone.

With a little thinking everyone understands that:

• A field with millions of the same plant all demanding the same nutrition puts too much pressure on the soil.
• Millions of plants with the same DNA in a miles radius makes them super vulnerable for pests.
• Mass production of one type puts pressure on the price.

A bit strange that this is how we produce our food?

We are not a radicals. We are realists.
We are not here to protest. We are here to change.

I think we all know that nature has a natural balance when it comes to prosperously growing and successful producing leaves, flowers, and seeds.

We don’t have to tell a sprout how to find light,
We don’t need to tell a tree where to find water,
We don’t need to tell a flower how to attract a bee,

That is why Agroforestry is the solution..

Let me quickly explain what Agroforestry does for those who -like me before- don’t know. It is agriculture and forestry in one.

Agroforestry mimics nature by using detailed knowledge of each plant, shrub and tree.

We help farmers to grow from monoculture to polyculture.

Agroforestry comes with a lot of benefits such as::

• Ecosystem services
• Social Impact
• Food Security
• Economic Resilience.

reNature’s goal is to make agroforestry mainstream. Want to know how?

With creating awareness

Watch the Amazonia video on youtube.

With talks like at TEDx and Rabobank.

With ChangeMakers 

Special organized immersive events in which you can learn about agroforestry and help setting up farms.

We have two coming up: one ChangeMakers event in Indonesia and one in the Amazon.

With developing Model farms with planting systems that match the local situation, drought, climate zone, soil condition, all this around the farmers main cash crop.

Here south of Belem Brazil where we planted a regenerative agroforestry cotton plot.

A model farm is around 1 hectare. This way the farmer does not have to change everything but is able to learn how to plant and maintain an agroforestry system.

Or here in Careaçu, we planted a regenerative agroforestry coffee.

We research, design, implement and monitor these agroforestry systems. To make sure we learn from each planted system we have a partnership with Embrapa Solos.

And this is a white pepper model farm for Verstegen Spices in Indonesia.

Designed by Preta Terra this will create a shadow forest for the white pepper to thrive.

This is a look into the future of this plot. The rows recreate the forest while providing shadow for the white pepper that is planted in between.

These systems cannot be easily copied. Each system is designed for a specific crop matching the local conditions.

And, last but not least, with setting up Model Schools

To make a more enduring impact reNature develops model schools. This way we will reach large communities for a longer period. The model schools are a sort of knowledge hub.

We are currently planning three model schools two in Indonesia and one in Mexico.

Each model school will contain a nursery through which plant systems are available for local farmers.

In the past year we have been asked to help, advice, build and support many projects. With a total surface of so many hectare.

We cannot change the world on our own. There are over 30 projects waiting for you.

We focus with our projects on six main commodities.

If you are in cotton, coffee, soybean, cocoa, livestock, palm oil, or rubber…

I will be wearing this reNature t-shirt. Talk to me and Let’s create that future together.

We believe we can do this. This our message to you: Our mission as mankind should be to reNature.

Thank you