tors, became more fertile every year; rarely was there incidents of soil degra-
dation. ese diseases named soil salinity, soil
compaction and monoculture
disorder are all results of modern Western chemical farming. Only recently
did scholars of the West start talking of “sustainability” but what more evi-
dence of sustainability is there than the history of our people’s survival?
Since the 1960s, when the entire Korean people were infatuated with
anything “modern” and started replacing everything with anything from the
West, I objected to the exploitative nature of chemical agriculture and
started promoting Natural Farming. Like many
other people who opposed
government policy at that time, I too was accused of being an anti-govern-
ment criminal, communist, fanatic idealist or a simple psycho. I organized a
group that speciically studied the way to saving
cost and getting high yield
at the same time. I searched for an alternative to the conventional chemical
agriculture and started to teach farmers of the knowledge. I began my own
demonstration farm in 1965; dug into the soil and arduously worked for
this cause. is method gradually came to be called “Natural Farming” and
it continued to develop through the years. Knowledge I gained from travel-
ing to and fro Japan numerous times also played a vital role.
I believed that farming should not harm the nature. I believed so since
the time where nobody knew of concepts such as “natural degradation” or
“environmental protection.” en the task
for me became how to achieve
good results in an environmentally-friendly way without using hazardous
material. I developed many inputs such as indigenous microorganism, fer-
mented plant juice, oriental medicine plant tonic, lactic acid bacteria input,
natural calcium, natural phosphorus to mention a few.
I believed that farm-
ing should not promote the commercial capital’s enslavement of farmers. I
was ever asking “How can farmers be more than mere consumers? How can
farmers farm without needing money? How can farmers make effective in-
puts with cheap and easily available material?” My life was in devotion to
solving these questions.
at was the spirit of Natural Farming. Now, it is my utmost pleasure to
see the same spirit being inherited and developed by Youngsang Cho of
JADAM. Youngsang Cho, my son, has worked for a long time with me
ULC영어본문.qxp_레이아웃 1 2016. 2. 19. 오후 6:39 페이지 15
and understands the bone marrows of Natural Farming. After studying
chemistry in university, he chose a life on the soil, raised plants and ani-
mals himself and trained himself to become an expert in both theory and
practice. I wish to express my, perhaps wildly outdated, pride, thanks and
respect to my son who, at a time when even the progressive people did not
know the value of eco or farming, audaciously jumped into the country-
side, into the farmers.
Youngsang Cho has established “JADAM” in 1991 and has successfully
led the organization for over 20 years where members now count nearly 60
thousand. JADAM constantly interacts with the member farmers through
the internet;
providing information, guidance and answers through smart-
phones or other devices. His slogan is “ultra-low-cost (ULC).” In
JADAM method, almost all inputs are made by farmers themselves. This
phenomenally saves costs. He has now officially announced that it is pos-
sible to prepare pesticide and fertilizer at 100 dollars an acre (0.4 ha) per
year. I believe this is the direction that can benefit farmers and bring hope
to farming. There are two ways to make profit: to increase revenue or to
reduce cost. The latter is safer and more logical for the farmers; too many
farmers put themselves in danger of bankruptcy by investing large sum of
money and trying to sell at a high price. JADAM organic farming is, just
like Natural Farming that I pursued, friendly for the planet, empowering
the farmers and is ultra-low-cost (ULC). Another very important thing is
that
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