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June 25th, 2008
10:59 am - Doom and gloom for Somalia's rainfed cropping
I have been doing a bit of reading. It appears that rainfed cropping in Somalia is pretty much a lost cause. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (2001) report, Farming Systems and Poverty describes the sorghum agropastoral farming system as such:This farming system occupies 198 million ha (8 percent) of the land of the region, generally in the semiarid zone of West Africa from Senegal to Niger, and in substantial areas of East and Southern Africa from Somalia and Ethiopia to South Africa. It has an agricultural population of 33 million (8 percent) and their density is modest, but pressure on the limited amount of cultivated land is very high. Crops and livestock are of similar importance. Nearly 22 million ha are used for crops – 12 percent of the cultivated land in the region. Rainfed sorghum and pearl millet are the main sources of food and are rarely marketed, whereas sesame and pulses are sometimes sold. Land preparation is by oxen or camel, while hoe cultivation is common along riverbanks. The system contains nearly 25 million had of cattle as well as sheep and goats. Livestock are kept for subsistence (milk and milk products), offspring, transportation (camels, donkeys), land preparation (oxen, camels), sale or exchange, savings, bridewealth and insurance against crop failure. The population generally lives permanently in villages, although part of their herds may continue to migrate seasonally in the care of herdboys.
The main source of vulnerability is drought, leading to crop failure, weak animals and the distress sale of assets. Poverty is extensive, and often severe. The potential for poverty reduction is only moderate. Agricultural growth potential is also modest and presents important challenges. ( Read more... )
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
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June 20th, 2008
05:05 pm - Why don't Somali farmers plough?
The NGO I am working for has spent the last three years training Somali farmers about 'improved agricultural technique' for their sorghum. What's this about? Well, namely telling farmers that they should plough their land and sow the seeds a row. Why? This is meant to improve germination of the sorghum, and enhance growth by 'bringing the nutrients out'.
So for three years, the NGO workers have gone out and trained farmers. Some adopt the methods, but many don't. The activity is a failure, and farmers don't want to fund it anymore. So in my last visit, I asked one of the NGO workers why they don't plough their land. The answer? "They don't have camels to plough the land with". In fact, they tell me, "Farmers know they should plough the land. And if they had camels, they would definitely plough!".
Aha! A tiny oversight of ours. No animals mean that they have to do so by hand and hoe. It's a long and tedious exercise. And mind you, this is not high-value crop like rice or wheat, where there can be 4 - 6 metric tonnes per hectare yield. This is sorghum. The yield is about 0.3 - 0.4 metric tonnes, less than a tenth the yield. Not really worth getting the hoe out, if you ask me. And how much can one work on with hand and hoe anyway?
We are humbled by our misdiagnosis of the problem. We thought it was a lack of knowledge, but it is a lack of draught animals. But now what next? We can't go around giving away camels! They cost about USD300-500 each, depending on size and age of the camel. It's too expensive, and will lead to local jealousies. An option is oxen, but still, they cost about USD150 each. And oxen aren't as hardy. Unlike camels and goats, they can't eat the prickly native shrubs and need sorghum leaves as fodder, nor drink the salty water in the wells. Thus, they are more likely to get sick and die in a drought.
I've been sitting here wondering what we can do. Each option gets struck off the list as impractical, too expensive, too sensitive, too inappropriate, too something or other. Any ideas, brains trust?
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/smileys/confused.gif) befuddled
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October 18th, 2007
06:58 pm - Of rice fields
My friend, Delphine Brun, takes photos worthy of coffee table picture books and iconic postcards. These are two she has recently taken of rice farmers in Aceh planting padi.
Rice is grown in Nias too, though I have to say, it rarely looks as beautiful as it does in this photo. A friend of mine from FAO told me that rice farmers in Nias tend to not be able to irrigate enough in the dry season. Why? Because they don't have good irrigation infrastructure. Also, they can't afford to buy fertilisers. And rice farmers don't have access to traction here in Nias. In Nias, they do all the work by hand, whereas in Aceh, they have buffalo.
We had a long debate about whether we should introduce buffalo or machine tractors for traction. Buffaloes need to be fed. People need to know how to look after them. But their manure produces fertiliser. And they breed. Tractors don't breed. But they don't need to be trained and fed and housed. But they use expensive petrol. And if they break, you need spare parts.
In the end, we decided it was a complex issue. And left it at that.
( And another photo behind the cut for the bandwidth challenged )
Current Location: Nias, Indonesia
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October 16th, 2007
05:53 pm - Of Nias rubber
Being an aid worker allows one to obtain most unusual spheres of knowledge. I now know more about rubber cultivation and tapping than I ever thought I would know.
Did you know that there is a certain angle that you are meant to tap rubber at? And it is meant to be tapped at a certain depth, taking a certain amount of bark each time? And one should tap one-sided, not two-sided. And from the left (up) to the right (down). And did you know that you get twice as much if you tap every second day compared to if you tap everyday -- giving the same total amount? Latex flows best in the mornings, and worst when it is hot or when it rains. Well, I didn't know any of these facts. Frighteningly, many of the rubber farmers we are training don't know these facts either.
Then for the non-technical and more human side of things. Rubber farmers in Nias tend to be smallholders. That is, farmers who own typically one hectare (up to three hectares) of land. Not the large plantations you see in places like Malaysia. Women and children tend to be the rubber tappers in Nias, whilst their husbands and fathers tend to seek off-farm earnings. Overall, rubber farmers here tend to be poor people.
Yet, rubber is regarded as quite good money. Latex is sold here as 'cup lump' -- yep, coagulated lumps of rubber straight from the cup. Cup lump is the least processed and least profitable form of rubber at Rp. 6,000 - 7,000 (USD0.60 - 0.70) per kg. Most farmers say that there is a fall in purchasing power parity of rubber versus other goods. One women in Gidö reported that three to four years ago, one kilogramme of latex could purchase one jumba (equivalent to 1.4 kg) of rice. However, this is not the case anymore. Now, one jumba of poor-quality rice costs Rp.10,000, whereas farmers receive Rp. 6,000 for one kilogramme of latex.
Current Location: Nias, Indonesia
Current Mood: befuddled
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February 9th, 2007
12:26 pm - Slash and burn
Ten years ago when I studied anthropology, I read about slash-and-burn agriculture of the Indonesian uplands. It struck me as being a very interesting compromise between being a hunter-gatherer and a sedentary farmer. Now that the rainy season is over in Nias, I finally get to see it in action, a mere 100 metres from where I live!
Over the past few days, I have been observing previously scantily forested areas being cleared and burnt. And sweet potato and bananas being planted in its place. Some trees are left behind, but not all of them. It took me a while to realise that this is what it was. The coin only just dropped this morning as I saw ash spread around to fertilise the newly planted sweet potato.
The thing that puzzles me is this -- I thought (or so my textbooks told me) that the clearing is done by men, and the planting by women. But as I have observed, women have been doing both. And elderly women at that! I wonder what the deal is here. Do younger people and men go off for cash work leaving the elderly for subsistence farming? I know that many rural areas suffer this. Is this just more of that?
Current Location: Nias, Indonesia
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February 7th, 2007
07:27 pm - Rubber values
In our attempt at helping out rubber farmers (who are amongst the poorest primary producers on Nias), we have been distributing rubber grafts to rubber farmers free of charge. Each farmer got about 120 of them. From this, we are hoping that they replace their existing varieties with this high yielding variety.
In some of our villages, we enlisted the assistance of the kepala desa (village chief) in distributing the grafts for us. Simply because there are hundreds of farmers and our staff are pressed for time.
Today, we found out that one of the kepala desa has been charging farmers Rp.50,000 (equivalent to USD5, or a day's wage here) to simply get their grafts from him. In part, this has been our fault. We had not set up enough checking mechanisms to make sure such fraud does not occur. But still, I could not believe the audacity of the kepala desa! When confronted by one of our staff, he was deeply embarassed, and promised to return the money.
Next week, we start our cocoa seed delivery. Based on lessons learnt, we have put in three checking mechanisms. *sigh*.
Current Location: Nias, Indonesia
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