It’s Time to Emphasise the Purpose of Farming 

You must have heard time and again that millennials want meaningful careers that help make the world a better place. Often that interest is funnelled towards jobs in CleanTech, non-profits, the environment or the arts. But farming is an overlooked industry with incredible potential to help improve the world.

However, its possibility and essentiality is being recognised by investors globally with investment in AgTech firms reaching $16.9 billion in 2018, up 43% from the previous year. Even advocates like Kimbal Musk (Elon’s brother) and Bill Gates are getting in on the AgTech game, investing and driving solutions for sustainability without compromise.

Farmers are stewards of the land, with huge potential to restore damaged ecosystems and restoring plant and maintaining soil, plant, animal and human health by employing sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. As the world grapples with the effects of climate change, the next generation of farmers has a pivotal role to play in correcting the mistakes of the past.

Organisations like the sustainable soils alliance have tapped into this ethos by promoting their focus on long-term care of the soil, land, green energy and biodiversity. They’re walking the talk, providing information and direction to produce food with a conscience and farms with a future.

Somewhere along the line we started to devalue farmers and take them for granted, but it’s hard to think of a career that’s more important for our collective survival.

Feeding the planet and us isn’t simplistic or base, it’s multifaceted, complex and sophisticated. Farmers are the original experimenters, hackers, makers and problem-solvers; they’re biologists, chemists, engineers, entrepreneurs and inventors.

Perhaps if we talked about them like that, young people would be inspired to continue their legacy, and proudly bring the field into the future which is where we aim to be. EDL has developed a multi output product range with food waste and nutrient recapture being central, and circular utilisation of the nutrients presenting an impressive opportunity to step away from extractive practices, to restorative ones, with their organo-mineral fertiliser Thallo®.