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Severe drought lasting three years scorched the life out of Zambia's southern province. Wells ran dry, farmers were forced to sell livestock, whole families were driven from their homes in search of water and crops perished. Except, that is, for many fields of cowpea. This drought-resistant legume crop has become an important part of FAO's Special Programme for Food Security in the country. And farmers in Kalomo district were quick to respond to the scheme. "They are open to new ideas. They suffered under three years of drought and lost a lot of maize," says Chris Ndiyoyi, Special Programme coordinator for the area. Some 30 farms are now taking part in the scheme, with the project providing new seeds, pesticides and fertilizers. Each farm planted seven demonstration plots during the short rains in October/November 1995. Of these, one each was devoted to short- and medium-maturing maize, two to bullrush or pearl millet, two to groundnuts and one to cowpeas. This mix of crops allows for better crop rotation. For example, maize planted in a field previously used for legumes, which fix nutrients in the soil, will do better than in a field used continually for maize, and so reduce the need and costs of nitrogen fertilizer. Some 70 km southeast of Kalomo in Kanchele Block, Samuel Mono farms 10.5 ha of mixed crops in the bush. He has always planted traditional varieties of maize, groundnuts and cowpeas. Then he planted the new seeds supplied under the programme. In mid-January this year, his maize was knee-high and he was pleased at the vigour of the seeds. "The neighbours are interested in seeing something new," said Mono. "I like that we are planting in lines instead of at random. It makes it easier to weed. Before I used to plant behind the plow and the germination was not even, whereas with a dibber (an implement that makes uniform holes for planting) I get better germination." But his wife, Jane Kalyangile, had some problems with her field of maize. One variety (GV610) wilted after germination, then it was attacked by cutworms. However, another variety (GV408) is doing well. "The germination was nearly 100 percent compared to my commercial fields, where it was 80 to 90 percent," she noted. The ultimate question is if the demonstrations prove successful, will other farmers be able to duplicate the results in a sustainable way? Of course it's early days yet and various factors are at play, but what is clear is that the new seeds have the potential to help farmers in this drought-prone area. Says coordinator Chris Ndiyoyi: "The theory is that they can use the same amount of money they spend now on monocropping maize to diversify. If they buy less but better maize seed, they can also afford to get into legumes like cowpeas and groundnuts. If farmers spread their risk among several crops, it is less likely that the next drought will hit them as hard as the last one." | |||
