HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — From old fertilizer methods in Zimbabwe to new greenhouse technologies in Somalia, farmers across the African continent, heavily dependent on agriculture, are looking to the past and the future to meet the climate change.
Africa, which has the youngest population in the world, is faced with the worst effects of global warming while contributing the least to the problem. Farmers are scrambling to make sure the booming population is fed.
With more than 60% of the planet’s wasteland, Africa should be able to feed itself, some experts believe. Yet three in four people on the continent cannot afford a healthy diet, study finds report last year by the African Union and United Nations agencies. The reasons include conflict and lack of investment.
In Zimbabwe, where the El Nino phenomenon worsened a drought, small farmer James Tshuma has lost all hope of harvesting anything from his fields. It’s a familiar story across much of the country, where the government has declared a $2 billion state of emergency and millions face hunger.
But a vegetable garden of green vegetables grows in a small garden that Tshuma, 65, keeps alive with organic fertilizer and homemade fertilizers. Objects that were once thrown away have become priceless again.
“This is how our fathers and ancestors nourished the land and themselves before the introduction of chemicals and inorganic fertilizers,” Tshuma said.
It applies livestock droppings, grass, plant residues, small animal remains, tree leaves and bark, food scraps and other biodegradable items like paper. Even animal bones that are dying in increasing numbers due to drought, they are burned before being reduced to ashes for their calcium.
Climate change is exacerbating much of the long-standing problem of low soil fertility in sub-Saharan Africa, said Wonder Ngezimana, associate professor of plant sciences at Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology in Zimbabwe.
“This combination forces people to reconsider the way things were done in the past, such as recycling nutrients, but also to mix them with modern methods,” said Ngezimana, whose institution studies the combination of traditional practices with new technologies.
In addition to being rich in nitrogen, organic fertilizers help increase soil carbon and its ability to retain moisture, Ngezimana explained. “Even if a farmer puts synthetic fertilizers in the soil, he risks suffering the consequences of a lack of moisture as long as there is a drought,” he said.
Other moves toward traditional practices are underway. Drought tolerant milletsSorghum and legumes, staples until the early 20th century when they were supplanted by exotic white corn, have taken up more and more space in recent years.
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