Zambia and Natural Agriculture
by Sensei Alan Imai

The Republic of Zambia is in the southern part of Africa. It is a landlocked country of high plateaus with some hills and mountains, and is about the size of Texas. Most of us in the developed world only know the country for its safaris and nature preserves, but there is much more to the country than taking photographs of exotic animals. The climate is tropical, despite the high altitude, and the area is subject to draughts and damaging storms, particularly in early winter. Although officially an English–speaking country, in the rural area in which Shumei is involved most of the people speak only their native language, Tonga. So, I need a translator when visiting. The nation's capital city is Lusaka. From Lusaka it is close to a four–and–a–half hour drive to where we are working with local farmers in Zambia's Southern Province.

Automobiles are very rare here. If a farmer is fortunate, she owns a bicycle. If not, she walks sometimes two or three hours to the cooperative's meeting place. Shumei's involvement with these cooperatives began with a young lady named Barbara Hachipuka. I first met Barbara in June of 2004 in Senegal at the Pan–African Youth Leadership Summit, in which members of Shumei were participating. We met again in September that year when Shumei, together with the United Nations and the Global Peace Initiative of Women, sponsored the Asia Pacific Youth Leadership Summit in Hiroshima. She was one of the African representatives. While in Japan, she visited the Miho Museum and then stayed overnight on Kishima Island.  She first learned of Natural Agriculture when she stayed in Hiroshima with a Shumei family that was committed to Natural Agriculture. It was from them that she discovered that one of our major activities is sustainable agriculture.

It was Barbara's mother who originally was drawn to support women farmers of Zambia. Her mother understood that women are a very important workforce in Africa. They stay home and work hard and long hours.  Mrs. Hachipuka's original intention was to empower women by giving them agricultural training and skills, which would make them independent because they could produce food without having to rely on their husbands.  She provided initial seeds, but the project failed due to a drought resulting in a poor yield. After this first failed attempt, she decided to get the community involved by sensitizing them to their problems and giving them the idea that the solution was to form an agricultural union that would help improve their lives. By the time the sensitization campaign was over, 1,720 women had registered as members of the newly formed Mbabala Women Farmers' Cooperative Union (MBAWOFA). Unfortunately, Mrs. Hachipuka died in a tragic car accident only three months after forming the Union.

Barbara then succeeded her mother. But there were many difficulties in providing seeds and industrial fertilizers to the farmers because of the cost of these manufactured products. So, the project came to a halt. When Barbara came to Japan for the Summit, she found Shumei's Natural Agriculture method every interesting because it does not use any costly chemical fertilizers and the seeds are not bought, but collected from the last crop. Our agricultural practice seemed a perfect match for the needs of the farmwomen of Mbabala because they would not have to spend money on fertilizers or seeds. So, she sent an e–mail to me, inviting me to visit the farm cooperatives in southern Zambia. Perhaps we could help these farmers by sharing Natural Agriculture's method. The venture might also help Shumei see how Natural Agriculture could be developed in an unfamiliar climate and terrain. And that was the beginning of Shumei's involvement with the African farm ladies. I first went to Zambia in November of last year.

We left Lusaka for the rural countryside—the Mbabala Constituency of the Choma District.  We drove out of Lusaka for about two hours on paved roads. Then the paved road gave way to a lonely dirt road that we traveled for another two and a half hours. Sometimes we would see people walking along the roadside, now and then we would spot cattle roaming in the distance, and occasionally we would catch sight of a person pedaling a bicycle. It was a very dry November. Normally, at the end of November the rainy season begins, and so everyone was waiting for the rains to start falling. They were all eager to seed the soil with maize. I was told that when I visited again in March I would see plenty of water. I was shown a bone–dry river bed and told that in spring the waters would be gushing. But when I visited again in March of this year, there was no difference in the river! The drought had continued straight through the rainy season. This parched year presented a horrible dilemma. The maize that was planted had dried out and died. Stalks withered and turned the color of ash. When heavy rains finally came, it was too little, too late. If only the rains would have come a little earlier, the maize might have survived. There was no harvest. The country did not have enough food to feed its population. The neighboring countries to the south, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, were having similar problems. And so, no longer waiting for the rains, everyone was waiting for help from the international community to stave off famine. Looking over the ruined plants, I saw that a few fields were still green, and was told that these green plants were a local variety of maize. Those grown from imported hybrid seeds had all died. The farmers identified the heartier variety as a local plant that had evolved over the years to withstand times of draught. The roots of the hybrid plants grown from purchased seeds had been eaten by ants. When comparing the hybrid to the local plant, one sees that while the hybrid's cob looks larger, its seeds are very small, and while the local variety's cobs look smaller, their kernels are bigger. The kernels of the local plants are heavier, gummier, and have a more distinctive and pleasing taste than the hybrids. All the farmers recognized the difference between the two types of corn, but when first introduced to hybrid seeds grown with industrial fertilizers, they were amazed and won over by their rapid growth in good years. Usually, the local corn took four months to grow before harvesting, but the newer hybrids, only three. So the farmers, in search of quicker yields, moved on to the hybrid seeds. Until the next harvesting season comes, they have to store the maize, and by then the hybrids had suffered from pest damage. Whereas, local corn is more resistant to insect damage and is more resistant to draught as well. Therefore collecting its seeds is more practical. I remember a meeting with the farmers when one older lady stood up and said, “This young man from Japan is right. When I was a girl, my dad and mom gave me only local corn to eat and it tasted much better than what we have now. Today, everybody grows the newer varieties. And as everyone can plainly see, this corn is dying and tasteless when compared to our older stock.” This was a great affirmation of Natural Agriculture's philosophy and of my whole purpose in coming to Zambia. She was very supportive of Shumei's approach to agriculture, and the younger women joined in her support and enthusiasm.

What Shumei would like to do in Zambia is to free farmers of their dependency on poisonous fertilizers and genetically manipulated seeds, free them from the crushing strain of having to buy what they cannot afford and do not need: F1 seeds and commercial fertilizers.  Over a thousand farmers have now signed up to practice Natural Agriculture. Shumei will give direct financial aid to these farmers of about ten dollars per family this year. The total cost will be about ten thousand dollars. This is a modest beginning, but we hope it will bring many benefits. We hope that all our participants will save their own seeds, grow their own healthy crops, and prosper. Eventually they might share their knowledge of Natural Agriculture with neighboring farmers, and in that way our project will grow.

As I mentioned before, some of the farmers have to walk great distances to meet with other members of their cooperative, therefore we established twenty demonstration farms throughout the area so that people would not have to travel too far from their homes to learn about Natural Agriculture. In March, I had seven meetings with eight hundred farmers. It was exciting. As I stated before, they speak in their native tongue, so I could not understand them directly. A translator would give the questions and answers alternately in English and Tonga. As the meetings ended, my last question would be, “Who would like to practice Natural Agriculture?” They would all raise their hands and very loudly talk among themselves about who was to be a demonstration farmer. Everybody wanted to be a demonstration farmer, but we could not support all of them on demonstration farms, they had to choose just two from among themselves at each of the seven meetings that I attended. They had to choose the best people to carry out the project. They had to consider what those people grew and where they were located. Many of the demonstration farmers who were chosen are already quite successful farmers. All these women were so energetic and excited about Natural Agriculture. Lately, their husbands are gradually becoming interested in coming to these meetings as well. But it is still the women who are the movers. They are very serious about this project. They want to learn more about Natural Agriculture. They want to be able to support their families so that their children will be able to go to school and perhaps lead better lives than they do.  When the people of rural Zambia become excited or happy, they will suddenly break into song and dance. So there I was, surrounded by all these singing and dancing woman. I did not know how to respond!

This year, I visited a commercial agricultural show in Lusaka. The exhibition was the 79th annual show of its kind. It featured all the different kinds of vegetables that could be grown in Zambia. Although it was an exhibition of conventional agriculture, we learned much from it and decided to hold our own Natural Agriculture exhibition next year in Zambia. The farmers working with Shumei on this project are very enthusiastic about this. They see it not only as a chance to show how agriculture is being advanced, but also to show how their culture and traditions are being revitalized as well.

Already, those twenty demonstration farms have planted new crops, five different kinds of vegetables in their Natural Agriculture demonstration farms. Next we will show them how to collect and save seeds before consuming the entire harvest. November is their next seeding season for their staple food, maize. Please keep these thousand farmers in your thoughts. It is through them that Shumei Natural Agriculture will blossom in Africa. Although these woman are proud, vigorous, and strong people, they still they need your prayers and your support.

To the cooperative’s leaders when I asked about Mrs. Hachipuka, they said, “She really tried to support farmers in this rural area.”  After the sudden tragic death of her, those leaders often left his/her family and field behind and went to the capital city, Lusaka, to discuss about the cooperatives’ future with Barbara.  And their neighbors laughed at them. When I asked why did they were able to stand, they answered, “One day people will say that they are the ones who made possible of this development of this rural area.”

As for Barbara in the discussion with those cooperative leaders, she felt her mother’s presence and she felt so close to them like her own family.

She believed that somebody will understand what they trying to do and support them, and she decided to carry her mother’s dreams on.

Already, twenty demo-farms have planted new crops, five different kinds of vegetables in their Natural Agriculture demonstration farms. Next we will show them how to collect and save seeds before consuming the entire harvest.

On July 22nd, at the end of the study session with demo-farmers, Zambian government’s representative concluded the session as follows:

 “Now I understand that they are truly trying to help us to be self sufficient.  One farmer by herself cannot create sustainable community.  All those who gathered here today have to bring our home what we have learned today and share with our family members, neighbors, other members of the cooperative, and with those who have not became a member yet.  This constituency have an organizational structure and committed leaders to be able to develop a sustainable community.  I will share what you, farmers, have been doing in this Mbabara constituency with the farmers in other communities.” These farmers, at least leaders, have a sense of ownership on this project, and they found a friend, called Shumei, who support their plan.

At this moment, I believe that the key to success for the projects helping developing countries is the meeting of a local organization and its committed leaders, such as Mbabara Women Farmers Cooperative Union and its leaders, with a organization who have spirit and techniques for sustainable development.

In November and December they will be seeding their staple food, maize. Please keep these one thousand four hundred farmers in your thoughts. It is through them that Shumei Natural Agriculture will blossom in Africa. Although these women are proud, vigorous, and strong people, they still need your prayers and your support.

Barbara’s farther told me that the biggest problem in Zambia is that farmers don’t know what to do everyday when they wake up in the morning.  They don’t have purpose, hope, nor something to live for.  Such sever materialistic poverty has brought mental and spiritual poverty in them.  But their lifestyle is still very close to nature, as they wake with sunrise and go to bed with sunset.  If we could introduce a simple way for them to be able to adopt to become self-sufficient, they can easily gain smiles and hope on their face back.

            I cannot stop thinking of the seriousness of so-called developed countries’ mental and spiritual poverty is far more serious than developing countries’ materialistic poverty.

In Zambia more than 70 % of the population is living in the rural areas as farmers.  If each farmer is able to feed him or her family, the country will achieve more than 70 % of food self-sufficiency rate.

            On the other hand in Japan the working population as farmers is less than 5 %.  Japan’s food self sufficiency rate is 40 % , which is the lowest in the developed countries.  If we pay attention to the world and think of the future, I think, each country have to work very hard to grow enough food for its population.