It is astounding to see the variety of healthy-looking crops being grown year-round in a village within the Simalaha Community Conservancy in Zambia. Previously, farmers within these rural villages would typically only be able to plant a drought-resistant variety of maize and sorghum to secure food for their families during the dry winter months. Now, alongside healthy crops of maize, there are ripe and juicy tomatoes, beans and other vegetables ready for picking. All of these crops have been grown using environmentally friendly conservation agriculture methods.
In the past, farmers within Simalaha Community Conservancy used traditional, labour-intensive and land damaging agricultural practices. During periods of drought, which is not uncommon in the region, crops would fail forcing the community to turn towards natural resources as their main source of food. Peace Parks Foundation and partners have been working together with Simalaha communities to enable food security and balanced nutrition through variety in their diet. At the same time, this lessens the pressure on natural resources, allowing for the restoration of the environment.
Peace Parks has also provided communities with treadle pumps, a human-powered suction pump that is used for irrigation. It is designed to lift water from an existing water source, such as a borehole or river, and deliver it straight to the crops without the need to carry heavy buckets of water over vast distances. Being less reliant on rainfall to water crops also means farmers can grow crops year-round. You can watch how the treadle pumps work here.
Employing conservation agriculture methods such as crop rotation and diversification of plant species, assist farmers in achieving a greater yield whilst using smaller and less invasive spaces. It also leads to producing healthier crops. Having a greater yield not only means that there is more food to put on the table, but the excess is sold in markets and the communities benefit from the profits. Peace Parks has assisted with training over 1500 farmers in conservation agriculture.
The Peace Parks team chats to a local contact farmer from the community to see how conservation agriculture has helped improve the quality and quantity of the yields, as well as his quality of life. He explains that due to the improved access to water in the village, farmers are now able to tend to their crops without having to walk kilometres to get to them.
Peace Parks is proud to see how conservation agriculture methods have been utilised to help small farmers and communities like this. This aligns with goal 2 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in an effort to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
