Diaries of a global farmer

In an act of irony, the last large trees along the road to Lusaka, capital of Zambia, give shade to sacks of charcoal. Power shortages in the country have an ecological impact as well as an economical one. People need to cook their food, so charcoal sales are booming.

When we first arrived, I was excited to acquire a solar oven, hoping it would make a substantial contribution toward Zambia’s problem of deforestation. It has its place, but not during the long rainy season.

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Charcoal isn’t the only thing sold along this busy highway. Two young men lounge in the tall elephant grass, selling live turkeys cowering in willow cages. High stacks of sweet potatoes, pyramids of bright red tomatoes and olive squash lie on feed sacks or rickety tables under makeshift roofs of ragged plastic.

Sometimes it’s only a basin of peanuts on an upturned pail. Always someone sits patiently nearby, waiting for customers. Farmers further out are envious. Market access is one of the biggest problems of small scale farmers in more remote areas. Poor or non existent roads, heavy rain, reliance on public transport and little money for it, truly limit their market options.

The struggles of these farmers were brought home to us once again when we did the second crop tour of the maize plots in Mpongwe. As we stood around the last field, one elderly farmer asked about the right way to apply urea fertilizer as top dressing. They had strewn it by hand on top near the plant, and so lost valuable nutrients into the air.

Soil incorporation means a major input of labour. They make a hole with a stick, drop in the fertilizer (measured as one coke bottle cap per plant) and cover it.

Another problem is selling maize at the right moisture level. When they take it to the miller, he will often say it is too moist and dock the price. How can they know his tester is really honest? They don’t. And it might not be. How can they measure their own moisture? We offer to bring them our tester next time we come. But that won’t stop the miller from claiming the corn is too moist.

The rains had been good, so most of the plots look promising, even though they were all seeded later than is optimum. Even the two we were most concerned about may yet return a slight profit.

The old man from Kawumba plot was anxious that we should come to see the field he was responsible for. His pride in his work and infectious enthusiasm is a real source of inspiration for the others. The district agriculture extension officer was to be with us, but unfortunately had to go to a family funeral; a far too common occurrence in this country. We had hoped to create a stronger link between the agriculture office and the local farmers.

Near one plot a man was pounding fresh maize kernels, while an old woman sieved the pounded flour. I felt myself back in Abraham’s days. Some, who have seeded early, are now harvesting the first cobs for maize flour. Others will wait another two months before their cobs are ready.

In contrast, driving to Lusaka a day later, we see huge expanses of corn and soybean fields, the irrigation pivots at a standstill until the harvest is over and the wheat is planted end of April.

Robert has the pleasure of riding on a Case IH combine harvesting soybeans, a first for him. It is a beautiful crop. The next day they will start on the corn. It is these farmers that made Zambia into a net exporter of agriculture commodities.

In an era where globally farms are getting bigger to survive, how can we hope to help the small scale farmers? Do they have a place in the global agricultural marketplace? Are they able to contribute to the world food market? Or are we just here to help them grow enough to feed their families? These are questions we struggle with.