ANCIENT WHEAT VARIETIES AND FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGES FOR A TRANFORMATION TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT AGRICULTURE: Are ancient wheat varieties a relevant resource for the current agricultural system?

Abstract

The current wheat production is associated to concerning negative socio-environmental externalities, such as soil degradation and water shortages due to the implication of chemical inputs, irrigation, and marginalization of the role of farmers. In this context, traditional wheat cultivation has been put forward as a sustainable alternative, from its agronomical management to bakery techniques. As per the literature review, ancient wheat varieties have been defined as autochthones varieties developed before Green Revolution. Indeed, they were designed in a period where chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and fungicides didn’t exist, and therefore varieties were functional to so-called “organic agriculture”. Ceccarelli (2016), when referring to such crops, defines their main characteristics as being specifically and locally adapted, rather than covering a wide range of adaptability. The cultivation of ancient wheat varieties was kickstarted in the 1990s, as a counter- reaction to Green Revolution, and its results, intensive agriculture and related severe impacts on the environment and communities. This research aims to investigate whether this wheat crop meets demands for environmentally and community friendly agricultural practices. The research question – How can ancient wheat varieties contribute to the transformation of the current agricultural system towards a more sustainable and resilient agriculture based on a non-hegemonic epistemology? – will be answered through multiples methodologies, with the attempt to represent knowledge on the topic from an inclusive point of view. First, literature review is applied in order to provide a socio-historical analysis of wheat cultivation. Secondly, the research focuses on participatory methodologies, with the objective of understanding motivations and limits of farmers involved in the cultivation of autochthone / ancient wheat varieties. In the end, the research will try to fill the knowledge gap in terms of farmers knowledge about ancient wheat cultivation and assess potentialities of those varieties as a more sustainable crop, according to the three main dimensions of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. Research, as a product of participatory methodology and literature review, suggests that autochthone wheat varieties are indeed a sustainable crop under these three different conditions. Moreover, because this wheat is usually treated in stone mills, it keeps its nutritional and healthy components of flours, such as antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Nonetheless, this specific type of cultivation presents obstacles, such as lower productivity, and a higher risk of enticement. Yet, these are often overcome by local farmers, motivated by a strong attachment to their cultural and territorial identity, by performing adequate soil preparation and using evolutionary population, which guarantees stable productivity. In this sense, the role of farmers is central in the switch to more sustainable agriculture. Overall, what is requires is a philosophical paradigm shift from anthropocentrism, to a more ecocentric perspective, mainly so that we are able to recognize seed agency and capability to adapt as a resource for climate challenges we will face in the future and recognize farmers’ work as the guardian of biodiversity and resilient cultivations in a perspective of developing more sustainable production system.