El Niño and Continuing Drought

Here in Western Province, Zambia, the farmers are experiencing a second year of drought which is having a serious impact on their crops. Rain that should have fallen from January through April has fallen in March – too late to save the crops planted in November and December. The changing weather has made it more and more difficult for farmers to know when to plant their crops and is also making them question whether they should be planting maize.

The growing of maize in Western Province has, to a large extent, replaced the planting of more traditional and drought resistant crops such as sorghum, cassava and millet. When Zambia received its independence in 1964, the government began to encourage the growing of maize as a way to make Zambia not only food independent but an exporter of maize.  

In the seventies the government made the growing of maize even more attractive by providing seed and fertilizer. However, many areas are not suited for growing maize. Poor agricultural practices such as lack of crop rotation, inadequate fertilizing practices, and ploughing, plus the change of weather patterns, has further led to failed or poor harvests. 

World Renew is encouraging farmers to return to growing traditional crops and to incorporate improved techniques in their farming. 

World Renew is encouraging farmers to return to growing traditional crops and to incorporate improved techniques in their farming.  World Renew’s agricultural workshops emphasize two practices: Conservation Farming and the Ripper. The ripper is an implement that can be used in place of a plough to rip a seam in the field without turning the soil. This preserves existing moisture in the soil and allows additional moisture to collect along the plant roots.  

Conservation Farming is a farming method that encourages crop rotation or intercropping (growing nitrogen rich plants such as cow peas between the rows of maize or sorghum) as well as composting by placing foliage along the base of the plants or making a ‘green tea’ from the compostable material including animal dung and then applying it to the plants. 

The workshops have been held at schools and all farmers in the area have been encouraged to attend. They have responded to these invitations with enthusiasm. It was great to be able to witness the success at the Adonsi School which used both techniques, but it was also disheartening to know that these techniques were unable to save some crops from the drought.

Bush Travel in Mwandi District

One of the challenges included in our work in Zambia is the need to travel in the region’s bush country. The eleven villages and nine schools where we conduct monthly food distributions are located in an approximately 100 kilometer radius from our home/office in Mwandi town, located in Mwandi District. 

The region is bisected/bordered by one paved road (Highway 10 or “the tarmac”) which leads to Sesheki, a town located 60 kilometers to the West, and Livingstone, 100 kilometers to the East.  This stretch of tarmac is notorious for its huge potholes that require 5 kilometer slow-downs every three to four kilometers in order not to bounce off the road.

Another road forms the border on the east side of the district and has been ‘upgraded’ with a mix of clay and gravel which becomes extremely slippery in the rain but full of hardened ridges when it dries.   Toni can record over 25,000 steps and 20 flights of stairs on her Fitbit while sitting in the back seat of the Ford Ranger travelling this road!  

World Renew provided two vehicles for its transportation needs: a 2015 Ford Ranger and an older Toyota Hilux. Both are equipped with four wheel drive; a feature we often need. Once we turn off the tarmac we enter the ‘bush’ where the villages can be reached via a network of sand tracks designed for ox and donkey cart travel rather than motorized vehicles, much less our supply vehicles which deliver the food. Navigating this maze of roads has proven to be a considerable challenge as they may include huge mud puddles, virtual ‘rivers’ of water, tree stumps, fallen trees and sand traps.