At the dawn of the glorious month of October, a significant event for continental agriculture took place. The Latin American and Caribbean Ministers of Agriculture Conference was held in Costa Rica under the auspices of IICA, and Rattan’s masterful presentation was the guiding framework. Lal, a 79-year-old Pakistani who is considered the “scientific godfather of soil”, winner of the 2020 World Food Prize, argues with clear arguments the value of a fertile and living layer of soil, which took hundreds of years to form until it supplies humanity with nutrients, but it can disappear if not handled carefully. He precisely developed that agriculture is an infallible tool for overcoming hunger and dealing with the scarcity left by climatic phenomena, recommending the “greening” of hot cities, not only with trees, but also with colorful community and family gardens.

This path of hope is more sustainable in densely populated cities in equatorial areas favored by small variations in temperature during the day, but with high illumination and occasional rains, which are easy to supply with domestic irrigation in case of absence, a typical example is the son par Guayaquil, where the effectiveness of small crops in backyards, abandoned parks, avenues devoid of greenery, communities that produced vegetables and greens, a plan led by the municipality at a time of an immobilizing pandemic and political demonstrations that closed access to the supply of markets and squares. With these picturesque buildings, miraculously grown between ballast and asphalt, it was possible to cover the daily needs for fresh vegetables, plantations of short-lived species capable of supplying large populations with the vitamins and minerals that the human body requires. .

The essence of the fight against hunger and peace goes hand in hand with agriculture and that which takes place in populated areas occupies a prominent place., which reduce violence and raise the spirit towards good deeds and solidarity. It is essential to stop soil degradation by preventing its deterioration due to poor cultivation treatment. Master Rattan Lal says that when the soil gets sick, the plants also suffer, and with them the people who feed them, from the lack of micronutrients, proteins and vitamins, the characteristics of unhealthy substrates, are reflected in the impoverishment of food and societies, to the extent that “if the health of the soil deteriorates , both the environment and people are deteriorating”, they are interconnected.

Many proclaim that the solution is in the laws, but in Ecuador there are many of them, from the Constitution itself with an entire article on the protection and rights of nature, to especially the soil (Art. 409), in special regulations concerning ancestral territories, guaranteeing biodiversity on which we are proud of, in environmental codes, in regulations; However, they are not implemented, we were fruitful in proclaiming them, but there was no courage and strong political will to apply them. (OR)