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Swiss farmer and researcher From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ernst Götsch (born 1948) is a Swiss farmer and researcher working mostly in Brazil. He has advocated for an ancient system of climate and biodiversity-friendly sustainable farming techniques known as syntropic agriculture.[1]
Ernst Götsch | |
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Born | 1948 |
Academic work | |
Institutions | FAP Zürich-Reckenholz Instituto de Tecnologia Intuitiva e Bioarquitetura |
Götsch was born in 1948 in Raperswilen, Switzerland and moved to Brazil in the early 1980s, establishing himself in a farm in Southern Bahia. Years before, he had decided to quit a research job on genetic enhancement at FAP Zürich-Reckenholz.[2] He has been dedicated to giving lectures, courses and consulting to publicize knowledge of his approach, which has now been dubbed 'syntropic agriculture'.[3] He has taught agroforestry at The Intuitive Technology and Bio-Architecture School.[4]
Götsch has achieved renown due to the results of his methods, evident in the successes of his farm Olhos D’Água.[5] The farm has been visited by Brazilian government agencies that carry out environmental control. It is considered notable because the land was previously considered hopelessly degraded by the farming community, and in a few short years, has been restored to levels of biodiversity and productivity that compare well with untouched forest regions in the Amazon region.[citation needed]
Götsch's work in Latin America on models of agroforestry has led to the conversion of large tracts of degraded land into productive and diverse agroforests.[6][7] He has developed a new technique of rapid recovery of poor soils by imitating existing patterns in nature in which carefully selected species of plants – a consortium of species – are placed at a given spacing and orientation, introduced in a predetermined sequence, and are heavily pruned during their growth period at regular intervals. In the space of a few years, he has converted over 1200 acres of degraded land in Brazil into a productive rainforest that produces premium cacao, among other things.[8] His students and some businesses are now implementing the same techniques combining commercial and ecological interests.
Some key principles of his approach include:[citation needed]
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