– Swiss agronomist turns monoculture into organic farming:
Born in 1948, the son of a farmer from canton Thurgau emigrated to South America in 1982. Götsch started his career as an agricultural sciences researcher at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich. After he moved to Brazil, he took over an abandoned cocoa farm in Bahia in the northeast of the country. The soil was deemed degraded beyond hope and the earth was burnt. It was basically worthless.
But Götsch managed to make the Olhos D’Agua farm flourish again.
He had entered a bet that his system would work and in return was given the 120-hectare farm.
After only five years, he succeeded in creating a level of biodiversity at Olhos D’Agua comparable to an untouched rainforest. His farm produced as much cocoa as other farms in the neighbourhood. Such work has brought Götsch widespread respect and attention in Brazil.
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