Decisions about agriculture should be made in the outdoors, under trees and with the people whose livelihood it is to farm – not with suits in boardrooms.

Whenever policy makers gather to make decisions on agriculture, Linda Nghatshane and fellow members of the Nelspruit Agricultural Development Association in South Africa get frustrated.
Their frustration is not about the purpose of the meeting, but where the meetings are always held – nowhere near the farms.

God is not making any new water. It will not rain anymore in the Limpopo Basin.

Rodger Phiri is a wealthy man. And the most amazing thing is that he made his money through farming.

While many farmers across Africa have struggled to survive because of bad harvests, drought and bad quality of seed, Phiri is one of the few exceptions.

“The government subsidy programme in Zambia is a success,” Phiri declared.

Phiri, who is also president of Peasant Small Scale Farmers Association in Zambia, explained that government has been giving farmers 50 percent seed and fertiliser subsidies.

The Limpopo river basin located in Southern Africa, is covered by South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. This river could be an important irrigation tool for surrounding farmers if its water level wasn’t that unpredictable.

Water supply in this 1750 kilometers large water body is unpredictable in terms of duration and amount which is a serious obstacle to agriculture in the regions it covers.

Farmers could be losing tonnes of crops every harvest just because no one has bothered to tell them …

Delegates at FANRPAN’s annual regional policy dialogue speak to Zenzele Ndebele about livestock and greenhouse gas emissions.

 

 Livestock and Greenhouse gass emissions: Play Now | Download (104)

Across Africa, farmers have noted the effects of climate change, including rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns; but the explanations of these processes and what can be done about it has largely passed them by.

Though by no means the leading cause of global warming, rural communities are partially responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases through deforestation, slash and burn farming and other activities. FANRPAN director of communications Francis Hale says “they feel the pinch, but at the same time, cannot explain the processes.”

“In Mozambique, agriculture is essential for economic growth, because the sector employs 80 percent of the labour force.” – FANRPAN Chair Sindiso Ngwenya

From Cape Town to Cairo, Nairobi to Accra, the climate change story is not reverberating on the streets.

It is a story echoing in international conference rooms of five star hotels and in the boardrooms of elite non-governmental organisations. The few bureaucrats who understand the issues don’t usually come out of their boardrooms to debate the subject. And hence, the man on the street is completely out of the picture.

In the days ahead, the one million hectares of fertile land along Lake Malawi and the country’s major rivers will be irrigated and cultivated in prepartion for the abundant harvest it will produce.

At the same time silos are being built across the country to ensure a steady supply of maize throughout the year.

Government also aims to find a quicker method for distributing seed, fertiliser, and harvest without the usual delays caused by bureaucratic red tape.