Agriculture: Frequently Asked Questions

What is sustainable agriculture?

Sustainable agriculture is an environmentally conscience way of growing crops. Even though it requires a more direct approach by farmers, it often leads to greater crop yields. Some examples of this are using different types of fertilizer and crop rotation. Continuous cultivation of an area of land leads to depreciation in quality of plants. One can keep their soil fertile by using manure, cover cropping, crop rotation, and using fertilizers. By rotating crops, farmers are able to conserve the nutrients in the ground, and allow the farmland time to replenish itself before each growing season. Depending on the type of soil, climate, and type of crops, specific fertilizers and other nutrients may be added to the ground to help increase the yields.

How can I conserve water in times of drought?

There are a few measures that one can use to help conserve water in times of severe drought. An easy way to do this is to capture rainwater on rooftops or by using low cost drip irrigation. This process involves delivery of water at or near the root of the plant, minimizing evaporation and run-off.

What kinds of plants should I grow in drought-prone areas?

It is an important thing for farmers to find out what grows well locally. Examples of drought-resistant crops are: cassava, finger and pearl millet, amaranth species, sorghum, potatoes, cassava, moringa, paw paw among others. These all do relatively well, even if there is a drought. It is also very important to choose local crops. These should be crops that are familiar, like Cassava, which is readily available, and have been grown locally for generations. These are equal and at times superior to imported crops. Local crops are typically hardy, and they are adapted to the local climate, thus making them very valuable.

What kind of livestock is ideal for farming?

Depending on the region you are from, choosing local livestock is your best choice. Local breeds are adapted to local conditions which often make them more disease or worm-resistant than imported exotic breeds. However, if an improvement in milk or meat production is desired above that normally given by the indigenous breed then keeping exotics or crossing with exotics for those desired characteristics is an accepted practice. But if local breeds are crossed with exotic breeds the ‘up-graded’ animal will require better feeds and greater health care since they will not tolerate poor feeding and diseases as well as local breeds.
Cattle are kept for beef and milk and for other benefits like hides and skins, labor for land preparation and transport and manure production. Chickens are the most commonly kept poultry and can be found in almost every home in Africa. Even though they are raised under poor management, they form an important part of our livelihood and are a valuable source of protein and income. Oats and sheep are sometimes known as the poor man’s cow because of their ability to provide sufficient meat, milk, skins and fiber for the farmer’s own use, with perhaps a little surplus left for sale.

How can I catch more water for my farm?

Farmers can reduce the costs of irrigation by finding ways to hold rainwater in their soil and make it more available for crops. Following are six ways that encourage farmers to make the most of the rainfall they get, and to experiment with water harvesting techniques that reduce the speed of water flow and trap water on the land.

Farmers need more water for their crops. To capture more water there has to be ways to prevent water escaping from the land. The first tool needed is observation and knowledge about the soil and water. If water is not flowing to the required places, ways have to found to divert it. Capturing and collecting water is possible when water is prevented from escaping from the land. The flow of water can be stopped through the use of barriers. Barriers are structures such as contour ridges and ditches, grass strips, and terracing. All of these barriers slow the flow of water as it moves downhill, giving it time to seep into the soil. One of the ways that farmers lose water from soil is through evaporation. Water from the soil evaporates into the air before it has a chance to seep into the soil. But if you keep the soil is kept covered, this will not happen. Soil can be covered with living plants, or with a layer of mulch.

Both mulch and live vegetation trap water that falls onto the soil, and hold it so it has time to be absorbed. The vegetation or mulch slows the flow of water, and the water seeps slowly into the soil. Sometimes, when it rains, so much water falls in such a short time that it can’t all sink into the ground right away. And it flows away. Some farmers in dry regions use a special method to hold rainwater on their land.

They grow row crops like maize, sorghum, or sweet potatoes, on ridges. When it rains, water collects in the furrows between the ridges. To make sure the water stays between the furrows, the farmers make small barriers called “cross-ridges” across each furrow. They make the cross-ridges at regular distances along the furrow. In dry area, cross-ridges can help to save water and soil. In places where there isn’t much rainfall, and where land is flat or nearly flat, this method can improve crop yields.
Two additional ways that farmers can use to catch more water is by utilizing drought-resistant crops and digging planting pits, both of which were discussed earlier.

How will climate change effect where I live?

Unfortunately, climate change affects everyone, no matter where they live. Every region of the world will soon become familiar with increasingly unpredictable patterns of weather. Rising temperatures have lead to more severe droughts in the Middle East and Asia, and more intense rainfall and flooding in Asia and South America. Recently, flooding in Pakistan has affected over 20 million people.

Agriculture goes hand-in-hand with climate change and we will begin to see the two more and more related in the 21st century. Farmers will have to implore new ways to combat rising temperatures and unpredictable rain patterns. Technology will allow us to develop drought-resistant crops that will grow in harsher terrains. The bottom line is that climate change will force us all to be aware of our carbon footprint.