The vast majority of those struggling to feed their families are small-scale farmers in developing countries. Despite their hard work, they have trouble producing good harvests due to issues such as desertification (soil degradation), climate change, and inaccessible markets.
In an effort to drawn attention to the critical issue of soil degradation, the UN designated June 17 as The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD). The focus this year is “attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems.”
World Renew is committed to helping small farmers feed their families and earn extra income through sustainable agriculture practices that protect and nourish the land. Our work through local partners in Mozambique is just one example.
Mozambique has over 2,500 km of coastline, access to one of Africa’s largest freshwater lakes, and vast areas of fertile farmland. In many areas, however, increasing variability of rainfall is causing alternate disasters of floods and drought. These elements are making it hard for many farmers to produce good harvests and make enough to provide for their families. Poor soils and improper spacing used in traditional farming methods have led to low corn yields.
World Renew, with funding from the Canadian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) supports a rural livelihoods program in four different regions of the diocese.
In Lasifa, a small village situated along the shore of Lake Malawi in Mozambique, World Renew is working through its local partner, the Diocese of Niassa, to help farmers learn new farming methods that can help them increase their yields.
Agnes is one of the participant farmers experiencing positive change as a result of these new agricultural methods.
Agnes joined a “Life Group” of farmers who were also willing to learn and experiment with new agriculture methods. She began experimenting on her group’s demonstration plot, where they could practice conservation farming methods for growing maize, and also started planting improved varieties of peanuts and sweet potato for multiplication.
Eventually, Agnes took what she learned from the group’s conservation farming plot and started to experiment on her own. She turned her corn plot into a small experiment comparing the traditional way of planting corn (on ridges and mounds) with conservation farming methods. On one plot she used mulch that was also weeded. The other plot was mulched but not weeded.
When Agnes compared the results, it became very clear to her that weeding is an essential practice for good corn production!
Even after a year of heavy rains and flooding, the conservation farming methods have greatly improved Agnes’ harvests and the harvests of those in her farming group. She is looking forward to receiving more training and support—not only in new farming methods, but also on improved ways of selecting and storing seed for the next season.
Matilde, who also belongs to the farming group, is one of the project “adeptos” (a Portuguese word for animators or extension agents). She is responsible for training members in new farming methods, animal husbandry, composting, and other project activities.
Matilde has received specialized training in nutrition. Wherever she travels, she is quick to point out to farmers the abundance of nutritious food that could be grown to provide health and nutrition to their families. As a mother herself, the positive benefits of nutritious food on a family are especially important to her.
For Matilde, training is only as good as what you put into practice. Whenever food is prepared at a training event or meeting, she ensures that the menu is well planned, taking every opportunity to demonstrate practically what good nutrition looks like and that it can all come from local sources close to home.
Matilde and Agnes’s success stories are excellent examples of the transformation and strength taking place in Mozambique as a result of World Renew’s sustainable livelihoods programs. Investing in healthier soil is investing in a better future for farmers and their families.
Celebrate The World Day to Combat Desertification with a gift to World Renew’s sustainable agricultural programs at worldrenew.net/sustainableagriculture.
Note to Canadians: World Renew is working with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank on “The Good Soil Campaign” – a nationwide advocacy initiative aimed at encouraging the Canadian Government to continue its long history of fighting global hunger by increasing its foreign aid funding to assist small-scale farming. Join us!