From devastated fields being brought back to life, to community gardens thriving as food cooperatives, a revolution is growing in countries across the continent.
The climate crisis, conflict, and the dominance of multinational corporations producing industrial-scale production for export are driving small-scale agriculture and farmers to promote small-scale farming, protect biodiversity, and eliminate the need for traditional chemicals and expensive fertilizers. The concept of agroecology has become popular, including the adaptation of methods.
The Guardian spoke to five people who love greener, better food.
Asmerash Dagne, Ethiopia
In just one year, a farm with just two lonely coffee trees was transformed into a lush green space with a rich variety of crops, all of which served as a mini-ecosystem. Fennel protects salad leaves from pests, and sweet potatoes store moisture in the soil. Asmerash Dagne, who trains farmers in agroecology in Ethiopia, says that soon neighboring farmers were coming to his house to discover the secrets.
An environmental activist with a background in science, Dagne believes in the importance of a balanced environment that does not require excessive pumping of water, pollution or the need for expensive chemicals or energy supplies. He says fertilizer shortages due to inventory delays caused by the war in Ukraine have shown farmers how vulnerable they can become if they don’t adapt.
Askelash Dagne supports agroecological methods that conserve water and eliminate the need for farmers to use chemicals and fertilizers. Photo: Kaamil Ahmed/The Guardian
“Big companies provide seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and that becomes a business. The government tells farmers, ‘You need to use this, you need to do it this way, to get better food.’ I will tell you. But we already have existing customs that are passed down from generation to generation,” he says.
Dagne is proud that by collecting rainwater, the farmers he works with no longer have to pump water for irrigation. The traditional method is employed using a system of intersecting trenches.
Over time, water percolates into the soil, increasing groundwater and helping crops grow, he says.
“Feedback from farmers is that these methods are productive. They can feed their families. They can eat a more diverse range of foods. The soil is rich in organic matter. They are resilient and are less affected by drought seasons because they can hold water for a long time,” he says.
Themba Chauke, South Africa
In Limpopo, in northern South Africa, everyone ate what they could grow. Supermarkets are now at the top of the list for convenient and long-lasting produce. But it costs money, and Themba Chauke saw many of her neighbors go into debt simply to support their families on low wages.
“We also learned a lesson in producing our own food during the pandemic, as people were told to stay at home and had no access to food,” Chowk said.
Chauke was active in community radio for the Tsonga tribe before moving on to creating community gardens that provide education and space for people to grow high-quality food.
Themba Chauke promotes community gardens in South Africa to train people how to feed themselves. Photo: Karmil Ahmed/Guardian
They mainly use traditional farming techniques, but with some improvements, from growing only one crop a year to growing crops such as spinach, tomatoes, cabbage, and onions during the winter. There is a shift towards growing cash crops.
He says everything is planted together and through traditional intercropping methods, some crops keep pests at bay while others enrich the soil, helping the garden thrive.
Suka Moteane, Lesotho
Beans have always been a staple in Basotho kitchens, but Suka Motean noticed they were steadily being replaced by meat and fast food. Her people even forgot their recipes.
Despite being a chef, she did not know how to prepare the dishes she had been accustomed to from an early age, and her education at a culinary school in South Africa focused on European cuisine. So she decided to document what was at risk of being lost.
Chef Suka Motean, trained in European cuisine, has dedicated her career to documenting Besotho’s food culture. Photo: Karmil Ahmed/Guardian
Today, Moteane serves these dishes himself and encourages others to do so, and although they are central to Basotho culture, they are not purchased in supermarkets, which stock shelves with supposedly superior imported products. They source their ingredients directly from farmers who grow crops such as beans and sorghum.
“Sorghum is thought of as something for the poor. Some people still think that way. That’s what we’re fighting for,” she says.
She sees progress and believes promoting Basotho culture will help preserve traditional crops and allow local people to grow them.
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“We used to see farmers holding bales of sorghum and corn until it rotted. Now they can sell just about anything. So there’s a change, and it’s only going to get better. There is a possibility.”
Stephen Katongole, Uganda
When Stephen Katongole’s father returned to Uganda in the early 2000s after decades abroad, he planted coffee trees on the family’s previously abandoned farmland for commercial production.
Despite having no farming experience, Katongole took over the land 13 years ago when his father became too old to manage it. He realized that the old ways weren’t working. While coffee distributed in the commodity market brings little profit to producers, specialty coffee grown through agroforestry will be more successful.
Stefan Katongole argues that farmland should be returned to its former forest form. Photo: Karmil Ahmed/Guardian
Katongole has slowly transformed its vast rows of coffee trees into more diverse spaces that coexist with other plants. He says monoculture (large farms producing a single crop) should no longer be seen as a solution.
“We have to try to imitate what existed before we entered this system. We have upset the balance between nature and what we are doing. So from me ‘s advice is to try as much as possible to imitate an already existing forest by planting trees.
Edie Mukiibi, Slow Food International
The drought showed Edie Mukiibi the drawbacks of industrial-scale farming. He was a participant in a trial encouraging farmers to invest in maize varieties said to be drought-resistant with the help of marketed fertilizers. Then there was a drought and they lost everything.
Mukiibi grew up learning traditional farming methods, but was taught at university that technology and large-scale farming were the answer for Africa.
He now opposes “large-scale farming” and promotes more proven and diverse farming methods.
Slow Food International president Edie Mukiibi calls for a backlash against international companies that claim to put profits first. Photo: Karmil Ahmed/Guardian
Mukiibi is farmed in Uganda and is currently the chairman of Slow Food International, which promotes more sustainable production and consumption around the world.
He said there was a challenge, with major agricultural companies insisting that agroecology could not be implemented at scale. He believes this message is undermined and unwelcome, and that the agroecology movement is enjoying success across Africa.
“I have traveled to more than 30 countries in Africa and met with farmers in local communities, and many have expressed fear and anxiety about not being able to keep up with seed systems controlled by large corporations,” Mukiibi said. say.
“It is very important not to lose the argument, because then we are entrusting our future to corporations and their intention is not to feed anyone.
“It is to feed their income streams, stamp their control over food, and dictate who should produce what and when.”
