Pronalife is an organisation that has dedicated itself to carrying out agriculture in line with ecological principles; we believe that this is the most sensible way to invest in a positive future.
Ecological agriculture, biological agriculture or eco-agriculture are terms used when foods and other agricultural products are produced using nature-friendly production methods and taking into account our understanding of ecology and environmental protection. Ecological farmers use no chemical pesticides, mineral fertilisers, growth promoters or genetic engineering.
Ecological plant production
Ecological plant production uses no monocultures or synthetic chemical products such as fungicides, herbicides or insecticides; neither does it use artificial fertilisers, growth regulators, antibiotics or genetically modified agents or products.
Instead, nutrients are introduced into the soil purely by the application of manure, liquid manure or green compost, where possible from the farm’s own resurces, and ecological methods of tackling pests and weeds (mechanically through targeted harrowing, or thermally by burning them off).
Special growing methods including eco-farming or permaculture attempt to bring cultivation methods closer to the way in which plants grow in the natural world; the aim is to use the absolute minimum of foreign agents and also, for instance, to work the soil without ploughing in order to preserve the living organisms in the soil and to attain the greatest possible yield at harvest time.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a concept that aims to create cycles that work in the long-term (sustainable) and that are similar to those in the natural world. Originally developed for agriculture, it has meanwhile grown into a philosophy that is also applied to areas including energy production, landscape design and the creation of social (infra)structures.
The fundamental principle underpinning permaculture is to manage all resources economically and in a socially sustainable way.
In the mid 1970s two Australians, Dr. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, developed some new ideas on setting up agricultural systems aimed at ensuring a long-term supply of food more effectively than the prevalent industrial/conventional growing methods.
Mollison and Holmgren coined the term permaculture for their new philosophy. The term came about by combining the words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture’.
Further information can be found at: http://www.permakultur-institut.de/800.2/index.html
