Nigerian agripreneur Shola Ladoja, the founder of Simply Green, says the pandemic-induced lockdown brought with it logistic adversity, but also more local sales.  



With the marauding coronavirus disrupting lives and businesses in Nigeria, the financial stability of a majority of the country’s 200 million inhabitants has been severely affected.



The significant toll it has taken on economic activities has forced many small and medium enterprises to reimagine new ways of staying afloat. Covid-19 is also set to radically aggravate food insecurity in Africa. In spite of Nigeria’s dependence on oil, agriculture remains an important cornerstone for its economy, providing employment for millions especially in the informal sector.



The threat of starvation is so present that in a public address in May, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, urged Nigerian farmers to produce enough for the country to eat, saying that the country has “no money to import” food.



But every cloud has a silver lining. The food shortage has presented some agripreneurs in Nigeria with serendipitous opportunities.



Shola Ladoja is the founder of Simply Green, which is a farm-to-table company specializing in vegetables, fruits, juices, spices and herbs. The border lockdown has meant that many of the retail and supermarket chains can no longer import foreign produce into the country.



But this hurdle created a new opportunity for Ladoja.



“[Previously], I tried to get my juices into local stores in Nigeria but they all turned me down and most of them wanted to buy imported juices. The lockdown meant that they had to buy a local brand like mine because they could not get them from abroad anymore. We are now able to sell a lot more during this time than previous years,” says Ladoja.



On the logistics side, however, Ladoja has also felt the pinch of the pandemic like most business that require consistent movement of goods and services. The lockdown scenario prevented his workers from coming in and as a result, the company’s daily delivery of juices, has come to an abrupt stop. &nbsp;



Ladoja has had to start thinking outside the box to make ends meet.



“We have come up with a fruit and vegetable box, which we sell directly on our website to our customers. So, they can now buy lettuce, kale and carrots, which we have never done before. So, this period has forced us to think about how we can expand the business and this time we actually created a new line of business, which was not in the plans for this year,” says Ladoja.



According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), even before the Covid-19 crisis, farmers had not been able to satisfy the demands of Nigeria’s population.



“I feel like the government should give out grants and loans and support for small businesses so that they don’t crash. I have friends who have complained they are going to shut down their businesses because they haven’t been paid for two months. A lot of people cannot sell their produce in Lagos because the markets are closed which is going to affect a lot of farmers at this time,” says Ladoja.



Nigeria used to import over a million tonnes of rice from Thailand annually. That number has been significantly reduced with the implementation of high import taxes. This has led to an abnormal increase in food prices in Nigeria since the onset of the coronavirus with the UN estimating the number of people facing acute food security stands to rise to 265 million globally in 2020 as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic.



Nigeria has substantially increased domestic rice production in the pandemic but is still a long way from reaching the levels needed for the country to sufficiently feed itself. Coupled with the decline in global oil prices, it is safe to say the adverse economic impact of Covid-19 on Africa’s most populous country is going to be felt for a long time to come.

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Farmer Forays: ‘Creating A New Line Of Business’

By Sabdiyo Dido Bashuna, Senior Technical Adviser Value Chains &amp; Agribusiness, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)



As Covid-19 continues its spread across Africa, the restrictions to limit infection are having a disproportionate impact on half of the continent’s food growers and producers: women.



At a time when food security is under extra strain because of the pandemic, women in agriculture are enduring extra hygiene and social distancing measures on top of endemic inequalities, which together undermine their capacity to respond and recover from the crisis.



But the pandemic has also triggered creativity and survival techniques, leading to product diversity, new digital marketing and distribution channels.



Across Africa, women make up&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/3/am307e/am307e00.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 per cent</a>&nbsp;of the agricultural labour force as well as often taking primary responsibility for caring for families, households and communities.



Yet historic inequalities mean women are facing the added pressure of the coronavirus outbreak while also having access to just a fraction of the necessary resources, from land and labour to finance and trainings.



In normal times, the productivity gap between men and women farmers is an estimated&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/3/i2050e/i2050e04.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30 per cent</a>&nbsp;as a result of unequal access to resources, but with shocks like coronavirus exacerbating existing inequalities, the potential impact on food production, food security and nutrition could be far greater. &nbsp;&nbsp;



Better supporting African women in agriculture would help bridge this gap and increase both yields and profitability, providing more food for the poor, sick and hungry, and more income to support rural families during the global health emergency. So how can we do this during the pandemic?



One challenge of persistent gender inequality is that women, whose roles are often home-based and even more so during the coronavirus outbreak, tend not to present themselves for support.



The first barrier to overcome, then, is reaching women in the first place, whether with agricultural advice, financial support or valuable farm inputs like seeds, fertilizer and pesticides.



For more than three decades, CTA has worked closely with extension workers in Africa, who make direct contact with women through cooperatives and communities while also championing digital tools and services that are less intrusive or demanding.



Online networks such as&nbsp;<a href="https://value4her.hivebrite.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VALUE4HERConnect</a>&nbsp;have provided a platform for African women entrepreneurs in agriculture that offers networking, mentoring and training support in a way that is convenient for heads of households.



These kinds of networks are also helpful for addressing a second challenge resulting from gender inequality, which is that the majority of women’s agri-businesses tend to be smaller and more likely to fail given the low levels of resilience.



To be effective, any tailored support for women must also be channelled with such small businesses in mind. Only a small fraction of rural women own bank account, for example, so accessing such funds is a challenge.



Providing grants and flexible loans for women can help them afford financial services like insurance and credit that protect their livelihoods against stresses while allowing them to invest in growing their enterprises.



Additionally, for women to fulfil their often care-based roles in households and on farms throughout the pandemic, they must be safe, both from the risk of infection and gender-based violence, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2020/issue-brief-covid-19-and-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-en.pdf?la=en&amp;vs=5006" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">increased</a>&nbsp;as a result of lockdowns.



Finally, the new coping mechanisms and survival techniques adopted by women in agribusiness during the pandemic need to be documented, supported and scaled to cushion them from failure and help build resilience against future shocks.



Governments, health agencies and non-profits must provide technical assistance to help educate women on navigating the complexities caused by this pandemic, from basic hygiene measures to skills such as business management, renegotiation of supply contracts, or accessing business support.



Women smallholders already play such a vital role in producing and providing food in low-income countries, which has become all the more important in the wake of coronavirus.



But without targeted and appropriate support, they miss fulfilling their potential, which is a loss to women and families that depend on their incomes, and in the grip of a pandemic, it may also be a fatal oversight.

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Op-Ed: Why African Women In Agriculture Face The Greatest Double Burden Of Covid-19 And Food Insecurity

TOPLINE: More than 40% of mothers with children under the age of 12 in the United States said that they have experienced food insecurity since the COVID-19 crisis began, according to a survey co-conducted by the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hamiltonproject.org/blog/the_covid_19_crisis_has_already_left_too_many_children_hungry_in_america" target="_blank">Hamilton Project</a>, a dramatic rise that demonstrates how far-reaching the effects of the outbreak are.



KEY FACTS



<ul><li>The survey, conducted in late April, asked a representative national sample of mothers whether they had experienced food insecurity, defined as not having enough money to get more food after the food they bought had run out, or as their children not having enough to eat because their families couldn’t afford enough food.</li></ul>



<ul><li>In 2018 the number that said they’d experienced food insecurity was just 15.1%, for comparison, meaning this number has increased 260%.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Similarly, 17.4% of mothers with children under the age of 12 reported they could not afford to keep their children fed as a result of the pandemic, and 3.4% of that group said it was often the case their children were underfed because they could not afford food.</li></ul>



<ul><li>The Hamilton Project’s Future of the Middle Class Initiative Survey of Mothers with Young Children asks respondents questions validated by the USDA from their late April food security questionnaire, according to their <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hamiltonproject.org/blog/the_covid_19_crisis_has_already_left_too_many_children_hungry_in_america" target="_blank">website</a>.</li></ul>



KEY BACKGROUND



With staggering unemployment and children at home 24/7, parents are responsible for 100% of their children&#8217;s meals, as compared to life pre-pandemic where children were likely provided meats at school, daycare, camp and after-school programs, which <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/us/coronavirus-live-updates.html#link-ba9024b" target="_blank">may play</a> a significant role in these huge numbers, according to the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/us/coronavirus-live-updates.html#link-ba9024b" target="_blank">New York Times</a> <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times" target="_blank">NYT</a>.  Food insecurity is way up in general: the Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey found 21.9% of households with non-elderly adults to report food insecurity in the period from March 25 to April 10 (wth similar findings in a late April survey by COVID Impact), compared to the 2018 rate of just over 11%.



In Congress Democrats and Republicans are now bickering over food stamp benefits. Democrats want to raise benefits by 15% for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, while Republicans think they are fine as is, per the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/us/coronavirus-live-updates.html#link-ba9024b" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/">Alexandra Sternlic</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/">ht</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

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The Number Of Mothers Reporting Food Insecurity Has Jumped More Than 200% Since Start Of Pandemic

Last year, Bill Gates named his 10 breakthrough technologies for the year. Among the technological developments he outlined were robot dexterity, new-wave nuclear power, customized cancer vaccines and the cow-free burger. It was the first time that the list, usually compiled by MIT Technology Review, was created by a guest editor. It is no wonder that Gates rightly predicted that home computers and the internet would infiltrate much of our lives. Yet, when I went through this list, it was not necessarily universal. Many of these breakthrough technologies made sense through Western lenses. We have to ask, which of these breakthrough technologies will have the most significant impact on the African continent?



Perhaps the most pressing issue for Africa now is agriculture. Climate change has had a devastating impact on the agriculture sector, which is particularly concerning when you consider that most African economies still heavily depend on it. A study by McKinsey &amp; Company found that more than 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is smallholder farmers, and about 23% of sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) comes from agriculture. Yet, increases in temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns and extreme weather events not only disrupt entire industries but reduce food availability and impacts food quality. This, of course, is coupled with the fastest-rising population, which places more strain on resources.



We have already observed in the last few years how devastating a drought can be. South Africa has become a significant food importer, while Kenya and Zimbabwe are on the verge of starvation. This has seen the regional and national economic growth take a severe knock. Yet, as the United Nations put it, “the continent has enormous potential, not only to feed itself and eliminate hunger and food insecurity but also be a major player in global food markets.” So how do we go about this? I would argue that tapping into the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) does not just serve as a way of revitalizing the agricultural sector but also realizing its potential. As the American financier Bernard Baruch once put it: “Agriculture is the greatest and fundamentally the most important of our industries. The cities are but the branches of the tree of national life, the roots of which go deep into the land. We all flourish or decline with the farmer.”



I have just bought a farm and have been looking at ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) can make farming more efficient. Farmers can tap into AI to combat disease and pests, which have been made worse by climate change and pesticide use. Drones and other robots equipped with computer vision can collect data points from the farms’ existing crops. If you were to ask me to spell out some breakthrough technologies, many of them would be inextricably linked with the agricultural sector.



For instance, it is estimated that humans would need to plant over 1.2 trillion trees to combat climate change. Here, we could use AI to automate this process.



Airlitix is a South African AI software that is currently being used in drones to automate greenhouse management processes. We could take this a step further. Airlitix can collect temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide data as well as analyse soil and crop health. 



Elsewhere, similar technology has been adopted. The Third Eye project in Kenya uses near-infrared cameras mounted on drones to survey and diagnose the plants for pests and diseases, water stress and nutrient deficiencies. This requires a combination of historical data and the use of AI. Last year, IBM developed an AI-powered app to test the quality of their soil and water on location, in real-time. The AgroPad is a technology that can rapidly perform chemical analysis of water and soil samples. In California, Ceres Imaging has mapped fields using images of farms, which are analysed using AI to ascertain whether crops are getting enough water. This technology helps farmers decide when to plant, water, spray and harvest their crops.



This conversation crops up as we scrutinize what it means to have a green economy. The 4IR does not merely provide tools for efficiency, but it presents a unique opportunity to interrogate how we can transform the industry as our natural environment deteriorates.



To a large extent, we underestimate the importance of the agricultural sector. Yet, without it, we would not have food security, we would see our economies crumble and there would be untold job losses.



-Tshilidzi Marwala

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Op-Ed: How To Be A Major Player In Global Food Markets

In Johannesburg, city-dwellers like Linah Moeketsi have taken the future of sustainable farming into their own hands. Where land is becoming scarce, they look to the skies. 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Doornfontein is one of Johannesburg’s older inner-city
suburbs with decaying buildings and dingy alleys that wear a dour, monochrome
look. 



Daily commuters and street surfers jostle with delivery vans and mountains of metal scrap but the grey of the concrete city makes it hard to believe that there could be a patch of green in a most unlikely location.



READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2019/09/16/no-seat-at-the-global-table-for-indigenous-cuisine/">No Seat At The Global Table For Indigenous African Cuisine</a>



Above the humdrum of life here is a rooftop hydroponics farm
looking down on the city, but upwards to a new route to restoration and urban
preservation. 



Atop the eight-floor Stanop building – offering a
breath-taking view of the city and the landmark Ponte Towers in the distance –
one woman has made it her mission to turn a grimy grey terrace into a green
lung on the city’s skyline.



“City life is taking on a totally new direction… even people who think they couldn’t one day farm, find themselves on rooftops,” Linah Moeketsi tells FORBES AFRICA.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42474" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Moeketsi grows herbs, used to treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in a 250m x 500m greenhouse on the building’s terrace. But her rooftop farm is sans any soil – it uses a hydroponics system.



“I think because we are in the city and we would like to produce for people in the city, hydroponic farming is one of the answers because you can actually harvest more than twice the produce, and the growth rate is quicker and there is produce that you can have throughout the year that people demand because it is in a controlled environment,” she says.



On a windy Wednesday morning in October, we meet Moeketsi at
her aerial green facility, a couple of days before she is to send some of her
plant produce to the market.



She talks about her journey as an offbeat farmer. It all started when her father fell ill in 2013, when doctors failed to correctly diagnose his disease.



“They couldn’t see that he was diabetic. He didn’t show the signs of diabetes, but he had this foot ulcer that just wouldn’t go away,” she says.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;The future of city farming is great simply because we have more and more young people getting into this space. Even though it&#8217;s farming, they are looking at it from a very different angle. </blockquote>



Moeketsi decided to do her own research, so she read up
books on African medicinal plants and used some herbs that belonged to her late
mother, who had been a traditional healer.



“It took me a good eight months to help my dad and I
actually saved him from having an amputation.”



The news of Moeketsi curing her dad’s diabetes using herbs
spread. Sadly, her father died in 2016, at the age of 87. But she is proud to
have helped prolong his life.



“So he passed away in his sleep, not sick, nothing, he was just old. But he was always grateful; he was like, ‘even when I die, I’m going to die with both my limbs’, so we would make a joke about it.” 



 READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2019/09/04/businesses-at-the-heart-of-a-greener-future/">Businesses At The Heart Of A Greener Future</a> 



After her father’s demise, Moeketsi rented some land and
turned her knowledge on natural herbs into a fully-fledged farm. However, when
the owner of the land returned, she was forced to vacate.



Land was always going to be a problem in the city. But instead of giving up, Moeketsi looked to the skies.



“Because of this passionate drive for an answer, I found
myself researching what’s happening outside Gauteng and South Africa, and I saw
in Europe, they were farming on rooftops,” she says.



In 2017, her dream became a reality when she secured a deal with the City of Johannesburg as part of an urban farming program, and started the rooftop project a year later.



When we visit her greenhouse, we are welcomed by the sweet
lingering scent of herbs. It’s hot and humid, and two fans whir away to cool
the air.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="681" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-681x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42472" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-681x1024.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-600x902.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043.jpg 1277w" sizes="(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" /></figure>



Moeketsi walks around the greenhouse wearing dark glasses and a white jacket, with a syringe in hand – she could easily pass off as a medical doctor.



She elaborates on the hydroponics system. There are four pyramids, each attached to their own reservoirs of water. On each pyramid, different plants, ranging from spinach, lettuce, sage, parsley, basil and dill, rest on beds with pipes connecting them to the reservoirs. Moeketsi plucks out one of the pipes and inserts the syringe; water spouts out of the tube and she returns it to the bed.



“Twice a day, you have to check that water is actually going
through the pipes, because that’s how the plants get water and nutrients,” she
explains, as she unblocks a pipe using the syringe. She says it’s one of the
best ways to farm using little water.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42473" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



“When you put in certain plants in the greenhouse, you know
you are guaranteed sustainable farming because you can produce those plants and
harvest them,” she says.



Moeketsi adds that this allows her produce to stay
consistent season after season.



“So, from that point of view, it makes the city more sustainable in terms of food produce that is easily accessible and cost-effective for the consumer because not everyone around here can afford the high prices of food but they can at least afford what we sell, whether it is at R10 ($0.5) or R15 ($1).” 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42475" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0108.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



As Moekesti continues to tend to the plants, a farmer she works with walks in and begins filling up the reservoirs. 



Lethabo Madela has known Moekesti for almost six years.



“When you look around Johannesburg, there is no space, so
rooftops have saved us a lot, especially those of us that love farming,” says
Madela. “I’m learning a lot and I think she [Moekesti] changed the whole concept
of farming for me because I used to farm vegetables. I didn’t know culinary
herbs or medicinal herbs.”



Moeketsi speaks of other farmers around the city who have taken to the rooftops to farm plants such as strawberries, lemon balm, spinach and lettuce.



READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/07/08/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-future-of-pesticides-and-bees/">Everything You Need To Know About The Future Of Pesticides And Bees</a>



In a suburb called Marshalltown, a 10-minute drive from
Moeketsi’s farm, Kagiso Seleka farms lemon balm also using hydroponics.



He produces sorbet and pesto from his produce which is then
used to make ice cream.



“It [hydroponics] is great for farming sensitive plants in
terms of temperature. Lemon balm does not like frost. But it’s better to grow
even out of season so you can set a higher price,” he tells us.



However, he says hydroponics farming is a luxury not many
farmers can afford.



“It [hydroponics] does have a bit of a higher capital upfront, but you get a higher yield and higher quality, so people are willing to pay more. Hydroponic planting saves about ninety five percent of water soil farming in a water-scarce country,” says Seleka. 



READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/health/2019/03/15/local-solutions-can-boost-healthier-food-choices-in-south-africa/">Local Solutions Can Boost Healthier Food Choices In South Africa</a> 



“We do have water shortages, and I know people are on the
whole ‘organic trip’ but, is it more important to have an organic plant versus
a water-saving environment?” 



The Program Coordinator for Agriculture at the City of
Johannesburg’s Food Resilience Unit, Lindani Sandile Makhanya, says there
certainly are more rooftop farmers in Johannesburg now than ever before.



Converting idle terraces into avenues of profit is becoming
a norm. There are new rooftop farms being set up every day, offers Makhanya. 



He regularly visits Moeketsi’s farm to check on the progress
and collect produce to sell.



“Urban farming in Johannesburg is rising, mainly because the
idea of producing our own food is very important because most people are moving
to urban areas and therefore it stands to reason that we have to try to produce
as much as possible,” says Makhanya.



“[There is growth] even in animal production, although we are moving away from the bigger numbers, but we are involving the smaller ones; because of the space issue, they are increasing overall.” 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42476" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



For Moeketsi, her farm has changed her life and given her
hope for a better future. In addition to the teas, tinctures, ointments and
medicinal products she processes from her plants, she plans to include more
by-products such as syrups in the future.



“The future of city farming is great simply because we have
more and more young people getting into this space. Even though it’s farming,
they are looking at it from a very different angle,” she says. “That is why the
city is changing and rooftop farming is going to get bigger and bigger.” 



Clearly, farming in Africa is covering exciting new ground.

DSC_0093

Green-Sky Thinking

Small, resilient agricultural solutions that will save the environment and feed generations to come.&nbsp;



The effective use of land remains one of the foremost solutions to poverty, and the methods used to fully benefit from farming are easily accessible and implementable.&nbsp; 



Thankfully,&nbsp; there are proven ecologically-sound farming methods that contribute to household food security even in harsh landscapes, and even through droughts, as this group of women in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province have shown 



Strong El Niño events worldwide perpetually cause severe crop failures across the agricultural spectrum. Yet, in Igwavuma inKwaZulu-Natal, while her neighbor’s fields lay barren, Rhoda Mvubu was still harvesting cowpeas, sorghum, sesame, peanuts and a variety of beans at the end of the 2016 summer; and sweet potatoes and pumpkins in the winter. 



In the dry, rocky hills of Tshaneni, Doris Myeni was still harvesting vegetables and greens from her home garden late into a drought,&nbsp;enabling her to provide adequately for her extended family of 15 throughout the summer holidays. And Corinne Mngomezulu still had a good stock of seed saved from her own crops, stored well to protect them from insects and decay, ensuring that she would be able to plant again when the rains came. 



All three women are part of a network of smallholder farmers in the north-eastern province of South Africa who are supported by a non-profit organization, Biowatch South Africa, to develop and implement agroecology practices on their plots. Along with about 250 other farmers, mainly women,they have improved the nutrition levels in their homes and produced enough for sale to neighbors and at markets, while increasing and maintaining the productivity and ecological sustainability of their farms. 



“Biowatch is looking at an agriculture that is resilient,and which doesn’t require expensive inputs or a lot of irrigation,” explains Biowatch director, Rose Williams. 



“The methods we use of working with the soil and retaining water has meant that there can be produce during the drought – whereas if you were in a situation where you were planting a monocrop which needed irrigation, you would have nothing.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="926" height="619" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-38262" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land3.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land3-300x201.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land3-600x401.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land3-768x513.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption>Mavis Nhleko, a smallholder&nbsp; agroecology farmer, at Emagengeni in Pongola. Picture: Biowatch South Africa</figcaption></figure>



With a large proportion of Africa’s food produced by smallholder farmers who operate with marginal resources, crop failure can be devastating. As climate stresses increase, it becomes especially astute to invest in knowledge and methods that ensure smallholder farms continue to be viable. 



The 2018 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reveals that undernourishment and severe food insecurity are on the rise in nearly all regions of the world. About one in nine people in the world is considered to be undernourished, with a fifth (21%) of Africa’s population affected. 



Although a number of complex factors influence food security, the report shows a correlation between the rise in the prevalence of undernourishment in the last three years and the rise in climate shocks such as droughts, floods, cyclones, and heat waves. It points to the 2015-2016 El Niño event as a key factor. 



Countries with high exposure to climate shocks have more than double the number of undernourished people than those without high exposure. Drought is an especially significant factor in increased undernourishment, with stunting shown to have higher prevalence in areas where declining food availability is linked to warmer and drier conditions. 



Other factors than climate are also at play. For example,middle-income countries experience less food insecurity than low-income countries that experience the same climate shocks. 



Countries that experience both climate shocks and conflict fare considerably worse than those without conflict. However, it’s worth pointing out that most countries experiencing climate-related food insecurity are not experiencing conflict. Predictably, the part of the world where climate shocks and stressors have the biggest impact on food security and malnutrition is Africa. 



“With climate change in this sub-region, droughts are more intense and they are longer, flash floods are more common, and one is seeing impacts that are really devastating,” says Williams, “And we are in a province which has very high rates of malnutrition – with elevated levels of stunting and high rates of diabetes.”



Stats SA reports that in 2016, about 22% of South African households had “inadequate or severely inadequate” access to food, and about 12% of households experienced hunger. 



Williams says, “In many ways, synthetic fertilisers and irrigation and hybrid crops can seem like a silver bullet – and you may get returns that are high for a few years – but it’s not resilient and it’s not sustainable. Fertilizers impact on soil fertility, and hybrid crops need a lot of water –and water is scarce in this region which means it has to be diverted from somewhere else. So if you’re looking at an earth that needs to be sustainable, this is not an option for the long-term.” 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="461" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-38263" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land5.png 461w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land5-300x400.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/land5-225x300.png 225w" sizes="(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" /><figcaption> Biowatch director, Rose Williams. Picture: Biowatch South Africa</figcaption></figure></div>



“Within agroecology, there is a strong support for natural systems, and the ecology, water system, and soils are maintained,” she explains, “It’s something that is supportive of biodiversity, and it also has a low carbon footprint if you tie it with local markets.” 



As described in Biowatch’s recent report, Agroecology is best practice, agroecology is about applying a set of principles rather than specific farming methods. Biowatch partner farmers are required to compost,mulch, dig fertility beds, use grey water, and save traditional seed. There can be no use of commercial hybrids or synthetic fertilizers, pesticides,insecticides or herbicides. 



Farming methods vary based on terrain and depending on the individual objectives of different farmers. For example, what made Myeni’s farm successful in a moisture-deprived area was a combination of hip-deep trench gardens filled with material such as tin, bones, grass and compost that improved the fertility and water-retention of the soils, along with water-harvesting practices and solicitous use of grey water. 



For Mvubu in a higher-rainfall area, it was planting in shallow basins and intense inter-cropping that gave her good yields.In a single field, she interplants maize, beans, cowpeas, peanuts, mung beans, jugo beans, sesame, and sorghum – and in fact, she has three different varieties of traditional sorghum. 



Williams emphasizes crop diversity as an important aspect of agroecology&nbsp; – both for protecting the soil and for proper nutrition. “There’s a difference between having sufficient food and having sufficient nutritious food. You can have enough food to fill your stomach but it’s not going to be enough for the human body. One needs a diversity in diet. Part of our work in agroecology is in providing proper food.”



Partner farmers strengthen agroecology practices with their own tried and tested traditional practices. “There is a strong innovation element to agroecology,” explains Williams, “and that’s where we can really support farmers because we are part of initiatives where we are learning from other countries in southern Africa and what we learn from our partner farmer scan also be shared with others.” 



Saving traditional seed varieties for replanting is one of the most important aspects of maintaining agricultural diversity, resilience in crops, and good levels of household nutrition. 



Says Williams, “In agroecology, the farmers have control over their seeds. They grow sufficient crops for food and also for planting the next season.” With hybrid seed, the next generation often lacks vigour, and some seeds are patented, which means farmers have to buy new seed for each crop. Williams explains, “This is very different to traditional farmer varieties of seed where the vigour is maintained and the diversity is maintained and it’s a self-sustaining system.” 



Some farmers, like Mngomezulu, plant fields that are only for seed saving. As quoted in the recent Biowatch report, Mngomezulu says,“These seeds are very precious to me. I need this field to save them so that they don’t get lost. I inherited these seeds from older generations and I want people to see them and use them – they are for my grandchildren, for coming generations,and for other farmers.” 



As governments the world over strive to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, it might be worth taking a page from these smallholder farmers in remote rural areas who are able to feed their families nutritious food throughout the year.&nbsp;

Tag: Food Security

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