Farming For All Eventualities

Beatrice Gona's fields are situated in the Chibombo district of Zambia. Beatrice's livelihood depends solely on farming, so the introduction of new farming methods to deal with climate change is vital for her family. She says these methods are proving to be reliable, but that it is important to follow a policy of mixed farming to cover all contingencies because climate change still poses a very real threat.

Beatrice cares for 14 children: seven of these are her biological children, while the others are dependants. Three of her children have completed their secondary-school education, but the rest are still at school. This is a large family that requires a considerable amount of food to meet their requirements.

Drought, Flood and Hail: Asked about changes in weather patterns over the past 16 years, Beatrice says that the rains have changed both in intensity and distribution: "Way back in the 1980s, the rainfall pattern was so predictable that you knew the rains would always start in October and end in March of the following year. Nowadays, rains start later and stop earlier and during the rainy period there will be both prolonged dry spells and floods. Last season, for example, we had floods, but this year the rains have been largely normal, although towards the end of the season the rains turned heavy.

"In May, which is in the dry season, we had a hail storm. The hail stones left a trail of crop destruction because we were all caught off guard. We didn't expect such heavy rainfall at that time of the year," she says.

The changes in rainfall patterns are also affecting local rivers and streams: "In the past, the amount of water in the streams followed a set pattern through the year, but now they are either flooded or completely dry by the end of the rainy season."

Strategies to Reduce Total Crop Failure: Beatrice is a seed grower and she has adopted various strategies to reduce the possibility of total crop failure because of drought or flood. Among these are the production of various types and varieties of seed crops.

"In the past most farmers in Chibombo district used to plant only maize but now all farmers grow a variety of crops, and so I'm obliged to diversify accordingly to meet market demands," she says. "I have also diversified my own crops because of the growing uncertainty of achieving a successful harvest with only one type of crop each season. In addition to maize, I grow beans, cowpeas and soya beans in my fields. I also plant different varieties of each crop because then they all mature at different times and have different resistance levels to adverse conditions; some are better equipped to survive drought, while others are better in high moisture levels."

Nitrogen-Fixing Trees: Beatrice believes that deforestation is one of the major contributing factors to the changes in the rainfall pattern: "I have first-hand experience of this. On several occasions I have experienced heavy rains in one area and, at the same time, a total absence of rain only a few kilometres away, even when these areas are in the same climatic region.

"I deliberately plant trees in the dry areas. There I make sure that I plant a tree every month. Some of them wither before they grow but that does not discourage me." Among the other strategies Beatrice has implemented is the use of agro-forestry species, such as Sesbania Sesban, in her fields. She says these have helped improve both soil fertility and water-retention capacity in times of drought, and she plans to increase their use across her land.

Seed Bank: Beatrice says she gets a better crop yield from fields when she has used organic manure, specifically kraal manure, than she does when the fields have been fertilised with chemical fertilisers. She says she learned this from her parents and grandparents. Always searching for improvements, Beatrice also uses farming techniques such as crop rotation, intercropping and pot-holing in addition to her other adaptation strategies.

She is a member of three farmer organisations: the Chipeso Seed Grower Association, the Luchokolo Co-operative Farmers, and the Mikoka Gardeners Co-operatives. Together with other members of the Chipeso Seed Growers Association, and with support from Self Help Africa, she has established a community seed bank. The bank has been set up to ensure that the community has seeds to plant even in times of drought. If their own seed is ruined, the members can access seeds from this bank. To supplement the deposit of seed she has in the bank, Beatrice also keeps a seed store in a storage bin at home.

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