Gideon Lungu: Working Toward a Goal

Every farmer we work with begins by assessing their basic household food needs. This assessment works more or less the same for everyone: add up number of people and multiply by recommended consumption. The trick to making this an effective tool in the fight against hunger is to teach and empower the farmers to do this assessment themselves - and when no one is around to remind them.

In practice, the Food Security Self Assessment catches on rather easily and becomes second nature once the farmers realize how useful it is for setting goals. And of course, how useful goals are in achieving success.

After self assessment and goal setting, the farmers begin to ramp up the productivity and conservation strategies that we teach them. Not every strategy is new to the farmers. Many farmers will adapt their existing methods to meet their goals as well. 

As an example, we teach farmers about composting. Some farmers have never tried it before, but most have practiced composting in some form or another. The method is well understood, but the impact is often not quantified and targeted at predefined objectives.

Irrigation is the same way. The basics are understood by most farmers, but irrigation is not applied in an integrated, systematic way to an overall plan that is leading the farmer toward food security.

Gideon Lungu, from Chigonthi irrigation project, has a garden that receives runoff from fields above. This garden has always been a place for Gideon to irrigate vegetables, but it never provided a significant amount of food until he laid out a plan toward a goal based on his Self Assessment.

Now this garden is a stopgap between rainy season and dry season. By using the residual moisture provided by the runoff, Gideon can grow maize in the entire garden several months into the dry season. The method is very useful when the rain has been unevenly distributed throughout the season. As yields are effected by erratic rainfall in the upper fields, Gideon's garden still receives a steady runoff. As the runoff dries up, Gideon begins drawing water from shallow wells.

Techniques like Gideon's runoff garden provide a smoothing effect to spikes in food supply that are caused by unpredictable shocks like erratic rains, pests, and illnesses in the farmer's family. Farmers who use such techniques are not as worried about any one particular crop; their risks are spread out over multiple seasons, and they can specifically mitigate the major risks to any particular season by using the right strategies in subsequent seasons.

Recognizing Outstanding Farmers

As the rainy season is winding down, preparation for irrigation is ramping up. But as we have noted in years past, many farmers don't wait for the end of one season to start in on the next. They farm year-round. This is exactly the result we are looking for! This month we are recognizing two outstanding families for their leadership in planting early and often.

Zude and his family are busily harvesting their tobacco (which is the first rainy season crop to be harvested so that it can dry in the shade). But Zude knows that the tobacco market will not meet his family's needs for much longer. He has decided to plant a large irrigated garden - big enough to feed everyone in the house and fund some home repair, medical, and health needs. He has shown good leadership, not just by planting early, but by also planting beans between his rows of maize. This will ensure a better balance of protein in the diet, and it increases watering efficiency for the beans when the maize is tall enough to provide shade.

Another great leader this year is the Toyoyo family. They are new to irrigation, but have impressed their fellow farmers with their hard work and discipline. The family is often the first to the gardens in the morning and last to leave. They know that time spent working on their crops is not wasted.

By spending more time in the garden, they are able to do more than just weeding and watering. They reduce pests by clearing brush from the hedges, and they carefully control diseases by removing any signs of infection from the field before it spreads. This saves them money on pest and disease control chemicals - making for a healthier crop overall.

They have also planted onions next to their maize garden. Onions are an important ingredient in most local stews and vegetable dishes. Demand is always high, but supply dips during the early winter, exactly when the Toyoyo's crop will be ready for sale. Good planning!