29 June 2010
Take a drought-prone area with inhabitants who rely on subsistence farming, throw in an increasingly unpredictable climate and what do you get?
Failed harvests, hungry people living in poverty who no longer feel in control of their lives and dwindling hope.
It’s a set of circumstances becoming all too apparent in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland South province, one of the driest in the country.
Finding ways to cope with such conditions is increasingly important and in one small corner of the province, the local church is leading the way.
Tearfund church partner River of Life and other local churches runs the Ebenezer Training College, which aims to equip a new breed of farmer in Zimbabwe with the skills to not only survive, but thrive.
Some 47 per cent of Zimbabwe's population is under-nourished. Photo: Eleanor Bentall/Tearfund
Good results
Set just beyond the boundaries of a national park in a stunning landscape studded with towering rocky outcrops, the college teaches techniques for cultivation which produce more food using less land but making the most of natural resources.
It sounds too good to be true but at Ebenezer the results are clear in the acres of fields growing maize, tomatoes, onions, peppers, sugar beans, and sweet potato, to name a few.
The programme is called Foundations for Farming (FFF) but is also known more widely as Farming God’s Way or conservation farming.
So how does it work?
With water being scarce, instead of ploughing, the students are taught to dig holes to plant their seeds, thus retaining moisture in the soil.
They then use dead plant material as mulch to form a protective layer around the budding plants, not only shielding the soil from the baking sun but also preventing weeds from growing.
Students learn to make and use compost for their crops. Photo: Eleanor Bentall/Tearfund
Reaping rewards
Weeding is one of the most time consuming and back breaking jobs a farmer who uses traditional methods has to do, so the mulch layer helps free up his or her time for other work.
Training is also given on making compost - using old crop stalks, chicken or goat manure, dead leaves and other waste - which the farmer can use to bring on the growth of their crops.
It’s a way of working that is reaping rewards for poor farmers without livestock, bringing them good yields which not only feed their families but often produce surpluses which can be sold to pay for other needs, such as school fees.
The college teaches that FFF work needs to be done in time, to a high standard, with no wastage - and with joy.
Pastor Stephen Manhanga, one of the college’s tutors, said, ‘One of the principles we teach is that you don’t need to plough to make something grow.