…farmers embrace CA as ‘the future of farming’
“I tell you, within a considerably short space of time, there will never be a person going hungry in this area” he says as his hand digs-in before reemerging a few second later with a modest scoop of pearly granular seeds of white maize from the recent harvest. The grains are so rich and evenly fluffy that they dazzle and create a near-halo glow across the room, as they reflect rays of the mid-day sun bounced off the small panels of a solar system in front of the house powering phones charging inside, reached through a cracking rich wooden door.
Makoatsa Monka is a proud Area Chief of Mphosong in Leribe, situated just a stone’s throw distance from Pitseng which-backed by Mahobong in the immediate back-creates a town feeling, with a couple of businesses for the green dark valleys of the sideline.
The maize which is in his storehouse, is among a couple other silos of grain which form the chief’s food arsenal residual from the recent harvest. The deposit is meant to ensure that food security is guaranteed for all of the Mphosong residents, regardless of social and economic statuses.
Ramonka shows off a harvest that was gleaned from the Conservation Agriculture production following the training provided by the APPSA project implemented by the Department of Agricultural Research.
“These grain deposits come in handy whenever there are incidents of abject poverty for some of the residents. As we all know that the chief’s place is the ultimate go-to place for those in need, it is from these that we get to ensure that no one household goes to bed on an empty stomach when there has been a harvest in Mphosong,” the chief says gleefully.
It is no wonder there is a Sesotho adage which goes ‘Phiri e jeoa moreneng’ (loosely translated to mean that a hyena-or animal killed during hunting, is delivered to the chief’s homestead). The idea is so that the chief can evenly distribute the meat among his subjects in accordance with their need so that the destitute do not have to go begging in order to feed their families.
Chief Monka quickly points out that the silo containing the white maize is what remains of efforts indicative of their acceptance and readiness to adapt to new and resurfacing developments in their food production. It was for this reason that they readily practiced what they had just learned around Conservation Agriculture (CA) as opposed to the traditional Conventional Farming (CF) from a recent training organized by Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) implemented by the Department of Agricultural Research through the financial support by the World Bank (WB).
The training was offered by the National University of Lesotho (NUL), conducted by Senior Lecturer in the faculty of Agriculture Dr Brian Muroyiwa between 15 and 19 April 2024. Dr Muroyiwa has been with the university since 2017 and began working specifically on the project after the university was approached in 2019 to partner on a project for agricultural research.
Senior Lecturer in the faculty of Agriculture, Dr Brian Muroyiwa
APPSA is a regional project supported by the World Bank (WB) which originally started in three countries (Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia), and has now extended to Lesotho and Angola. The first phase entailing the initial three countries was launched in 2013 and officially closed in January 2020, while Angola and Lesotho joined the APPSA Project in 2019 and are expected to implement the project until 2025.
It aims to increase the availability of improved agricultural technologies in participating countries in the SADC region through establishing regional centers of leadership on commodities of regional importance, supporting regional collaboration in agricultural research, technology dissemination, and training and facilitating increased sharing of agricultural information, knowledge, and technology among participating countries
Lesotho is focusing on horticulture-based farming systems and will establish a Horticulture Regional Centre of Leadership, and the CA training for farmers is fulfillment of the initiative whose main objective is to develop plant materials of high economic value which will exhibit desirable traits and also promote technology transfer through strengthening of institutional linkages both locally and regionally.
Chief Monka says he is proud to be the leader of such enthusiastic and visionary people who are so committed to food production, that they will stop at nothing to realise it. It is for this reason therefore that he was part of the training which was held for 30 of his people.
“I was introduced to the idea by our District Agric Officer who came in the company of APPSA officers. Their brief explanation was enough to buy me over hence it was easy to communicate with all the village headsmen throughout the stretch of the Mphosong valley to organize each village’s best farmer to attend a training.
“The training introduced us to a hitherto, new approach to farming, which is cheap yet very productive, and which we received very warmly. I have great admiration for the people of this area and have no doubt that the message is being spread around, hence we all look forward to the coming Summer Cropping season,” he says as he walks across the courtyard of the chiefly homestead from the storehouse to the office.
The Chief points out further that portions of land have already been solicited throughout the area by those who are ready to showcase the different approach to food production and security.
It is farmers like Mosotho Phala, a 46-year-old family man, who were party to and fully embraced the training which introduced them to the new approach.
The resident of Pontšeng which is but a fraction of the 10-village-Mphosong area with an estimated average population of 5000, adds that there is no doubt the new method is a guaranteed option for them because it is “the greatest economically viable farming system.
“It requires minimum input with a better yield than the traditional tilling method, while ensuring preservation and conservation of the soil and moisture. It is a tried-and-tested way which can be utilised by anyone because all it requires is the zeal to put in the work, without any expensive modalities like having oxen or a tractor,” Phala says.
He adds however, that he is aware that change might not make sense when it is first introduced but encouraged more farmers to embrace the new method in order to increase their produce.
Dr Muroyiwa describes the new method as actually nothing new but merely an age old and sustainable agric method highly recommended especially in the era of the climate change scourge.
He says CA is based on three principles being crop diversification, zero tillage and permanent soil cover, and differs a great deal from conventional farming “…where we disturb the soil and farm every other year”.
“There was a drought in the first year and the CA yields appeared far better looking because they were capable of surviving harsher conditions,” Muroyiwa says adding that the training followed a baseline survey which had identified farmers in Mphosong among those not yet very exposed to CA but who were interested in learning about it.
30 farmers were engaged 20 of whom were women and 10 of them men inclusive of prominent persons such as chiefs, community councilors and lead farmers.
“They loved it a lot because we saw amazing feedback, where we realized that farmers are aware of climate change and ready to adapt. While most were not really aware of the practice they were so enthusiastic and ready to learn more,” he says.
“We practiced both methods and compared the yields, where it goes without saying that CA yielded the best results, for instance, I harvested two bags more, of food richer for far less work, from a lesser plot under CA than one which was ploughed under CF” adds Phala.
CA is a sustainable farming approach that focuses on enhancing agricultural productivity while protecting and improving the environment. It involves reducing tillage or avoiding plowing to maintain soil structure and health, which helps prevent erosion and promotes water retention.
Keeping the soil covered with crop residues or cover crops protects against erosion, improves water infiltration, and supports soil biodiversity, while rotating different crops improves soil health, reduces pest and disease pressure, and helps maintain nutrient balance in the soil.
These principles work together to enhance soil fertility, increase water use efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve resilience to climate change, making CA an important approach in sustainable agriculture.
Meanwhile, Dr Muroyiwa points that the project was implemented in the three districts of Mafeteng, Quthing and Leribe in the initial round which is running until next year. He says he is very confident that there is a bright future ahead for CA especially in Mphosong in the Leribe district. This is because the elite farmers with whom the project was begun have committed to continue spreading word about in order to reach out to all farmers
“Beyond the project we expect that the lead farmers will continue training others, and since this knowledge was shared with scientists, we hope that they will provide backstopping in order to revive memory ensure that the practice continues and that more and more farmers are reached,” he says further pointing out that growing fodder for the animals was encouraged as opposed to setting the animals onto fields after harvest as this is part of behaviours disturbing the soil.
He says they hope to continue the trainings and emphasised the need to hold them way ahead of cropping season and to also provide learning materials for future reference and further information sharing.
“We are very grateful to APPSA,” Chief Makoatsa adds as indicates that they have learned a lot and hope for positive influence to their livelihoods and that many households will be more food secure.
