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Between 2012 and 2014, the Emergency and Recovery Programme (ERP) has invested over US$ 5 million to support 18,500 vulnerable farmers in Lesotho. ERP targets communities, lead farmers and extension services, providing input support and capacity development in conservation agriculture, home gardening and nutrition. ERP is jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO), the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), Belgium, the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
After adopting conservation agriculture techniques, May Mafuka is ready to reap the fruits of her success. May Mafuka Thaba is an energetic woman who takes us quickly to her fields. At 71, she is still an active farmer, supporting the three orphans who live with her.
“I am taking care of my husband’s children, two 17-year-old twin boys and girls, and a 14-year-old daughter.” The youngest is in elementary school, one is in high school, and the other is in woodworking technical school.
“I was always anxious because I could not produce enough food to feed my family for a whole year,” Mafuka said. “When I was short of food, my neighbors helped me.”
As she spoke, we stood beside tall, healthy maize plants, and it was hard to believe. ‘Me Maphoka explained that for the first time in her life she had decided to change her farming practices and grow maize and beans following conservation agriculture (CA) principles: minimal soil disturbance, crop rotation, and permanent soil cover.
‘Me Maphoka said she saw conservation agriculture being practiced in the neighbouring village of Naleli and was impressed by the bountiful harvest in the fields. She asked the Mahobong Resource Centre about conservation agriculture and was encouraged to do the same by extension workers who were trained in conservation agriculture practices for emergency and rehabilitation programmes.
However, convincing her 17-year-old son, Poello, to adopt this new farming technique was not easy.
“I didn’t know what CA was,” he said. “I didn’t understand how seeds would sprout after being placed in pots.” Deep down, ‘Me Maphoka also believed her son was concerned about her health because he thought digging pots would require a lot of work.
Despite Poello’s opposition, Me Maphoka was not discouraged and decided to leave part of her 0.4 hectares of land to her son to cultivate in traditional ways while she continued to use conservation agriculture techniques.
‘Me Maphoka and other farmers who benefited from the FAO-MAFS ERP programme formed a team to help each other prepare the land, strengthening social ties in the community. MAFS extension worker and lead farmer Ntate Motseki mentored the group of farmers and advised them on CA practices when they needed to supplement MAFS extension work.
The results of Mafuka’s determination and decision to split the land in two are now clear. Passing rows of healthy cornfields, we come to the seemingly fallow field in Poelo. On closer inspection, we see that it is actually a field littered with barren corn stalks.
He confirmed that “my crops are not growing well, while my mother’s are growing well”. He added: “Now that I know more about CA, I am willing to improve my knowledge and I want to help my mother implement this technology on 100% of her land.” The young man hopes to support his family in producing more crops and be able to sell part of the product.
‘Me Maphoka is very happy with the way she has managed her fields this year. “My children help me a lot, especially with the fertilization after sowing,” she says. ‘Me Maphoka explains that she used to harvest about 60 kilograms of maize using traditional farming methods, but this year she expects more than 400 kilograms.
Earlier, when she was weeding – a great way to increase yields by 50% – people would come to watch her till the land. “Now they can see that I harvest more and better quality crops than they do,” she says proudly, hoping they will be convinced to practice CA with her.
Sustainable and integrated agricultural practices improve resilience
ERP provides input support and capacity development in conservation agriculture, home gardening and nutrition to communities, lead farmers and extension services. To date, the program has invested more than $5 million and supported more than 18,500 households or 92,500 individuals from vulnerable agricultural households in Lesotho. The program has also trained more than 530 extension workers, 600 lead farmers and local leaders, and more than 260 teachers from primary and secondary schools.
COMESA has received additional funding to complete the distribution of cover crops to 7,500 households by the end of 2014, but additional funding is needed to expand capacity-building activities.
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