Impact Investor and Advocate of Sustainable Agriculture Discusses the Benefits of a Kenyan Farmer’s Organic Farming Techniques
New York, NY (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- On July 31, impact investor and advocate of sustainable agriculture, Philippe van den Bossche, discusses the benefits of Mzee Benson Kinyua’s organic farming practices.
According to a July 25, 2013 article published on People’s Daily Online, entitled, “Feeding Kenya through organic farming,” Mzee Benson Kinyua, a local farmer in Rongai, Nakuru country in western Kenya, strategically selected his farm’s location to be covered by trees, away from the sun’s heat. He explains it was part of a conscious plan. “I depend solely on the environment for food, and so I have to protect it.” Kinyua practices organic farming, relying on “simple, low-cost, environmentally friendly agricultural techniques.”
Kinyua has been using organic farming practices, which prohibit the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, since 2004 after undergoing training at the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF).
His use of compost manure as a fertilizer alternative enriches the soil with key nutrients necessary for plant growth. He says, “This enables my farm to withstand erosion from intense floods and winds that previously destroyed my crops.”
Organic farming practices have also protected his family from the harmful effects of pesticides. Consumption of pesticides used in conventional farming can cause cancer, birth defects and damage to the nervous system. The International Labor Organization links pesticides to “more than 40,000 deaths yearly, affecting mostly children.”
Philippe van den Bossche, an impact investor and advocate for sustainable agriculture, discusses the benefits of organic farming practices: “It increases soil fertility, controls pests and diseases, improves ground water quality and is financially beneficial for the farmers who utilize it,” he says. “As people become more educated about organic agriculture, they will be made aware of the health and sustainable environmental benefits that coincide with these practices.”
Philippe van den Bossche is an impact entrepreneur, impact investor and Chairman/ Owner of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA), a leading organic agricultural consulting and manufacturing company located in Middlefield, Ohio. AEA provides consulting services and specialty nutritional materials to farms throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. van den Bossche is an advocate for organic farming and agriculture.
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Philippe van den Bossche, Philippe van den Bossche, http://www.growbetterfood.com/, +1 (855) 347-4228, [email protected]
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