Diaries of a global farmer - February 1, 2008

Kitwe, Zambia: January 29, 2008: The sun is shining! Quick – grab the laundry, to hang in the sun. The only ‘dryer’ here is solar powered, and there hasn’t been much of that lately. Other areas of Zambia continue to report flooding. Mud houses have collapsed, schools and clinics are flooded, and crops devastated.

Here in the Copperbelt province we are still doing fine, but farmers are worried that if the rains continue like this that could change.

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We are now comfortably established in our little two room apartment on the outskirts of Kitwe. The first month’s rent and a good supply of groceries was provided graciously for us by the Bukuumo Multipurpose Cooperative, the other farm cooperative we are working with here. The generosity of the Africans overwhelms us. Often having little themselves, they have made a big effort to make sure we are happy and comfortable. We have come to give, and are given to. It is very encouraging in a land where so often the hands are held open asking for more.

Bukuumo Coop has plans to build a large poultry layer business. When we left Zambia last April we expected them to be able to move onto 56 hectares of farm land within the next two weeks. Just 15 kilometers outside the busy copper mining city of Kitwe, and along the main highway to the gaping market of the southern Congo, it was a prime location. We must have forgotten we were in Africa. It has been discouraging for them, with major setbacks. The owner placed unreasonable demands, so that parcel was dropped. Another was found close by, and all seemed well, until the map showed that what they had really bought was in a different place and at first seemed unsuitable.

They are still dealing with the authorities on that piece. They have retrieved most of their money, but it seems that the land should be theirs anyway. It was crown land and now the title is in their name. Land issues are diffuse here and difficult to understand for us Canadians. In the meantime they made a down payment on a third plot, to which they have already moved on site. We are a little concerned about all these deals. Now that we are here and have been briefed in person, it begins to make more sense. But there are still many questions we need answered before another installment will be given them as a loan. These are issues we will be working on with them in the next days.

The chairman, Mr. Mate, will be gone for the next few days. He is growing tree seedlings privately, which are in high demand from the mining companies for reforestation. A year ago he began growing Jatropha seedlings, a shrubby tree which is supposed to be the biodiesel plant of the future – while still in Switzerland, we were told they were building a big plant there to produce biodiesel from Jatropha grown in Africa.

Together with another partner he is going ‘up north’ to plant a large field with pine and eucalyptus trees. He was very frustrated last night because the truck which was to carry his seedlings to the land was not available – that is, the promised driver was nowhere to be found. This is a common occurrence when trying to do business in this country. People may turn up or they may not.

Last week the government put out its budget for 2008. Only a small paragraph in the paper concerns agriculture – what is new? Small farmers are happy that they have decided to continue the fertilizer subsidy program for small scale farmers. VAT (similar to GST) has been reduced 1.5 percent to 16 percent.