So if coming to Ghana to work in the Agriculture sector wasn’t good enough for my green thumb/brain, I just happen to be staying with a community of farmers. Saakuu, my host brother, studied agric in SS, taught it at school and will be going to College this September to further his studies as he pursues a certificate in Agric business.
A few things I’ve learn from farming and farmers in Lawra but can be summed up in one word, unpredictability.
The 1990s were a decade of steady, improving rains in northern Ghana, but since the turn of the century, the seasons have lost their shape. The region’s five-month rainy reason, from March to August, has shrunk to just two or three months, but sometimes with just as much, if not more, rain. Last year 95mm of rain – 10 per cent the annual – fell on a single day in August, destroying crops and houses. Flooding, normally unheard of in northern Ghana.
This land is my land...
Animals free range and are left to eat neighbors crops. If animals aren’t tied up, disputes can arise when one farmer’s animals are benefiting from another. The number of animals you have is often a distinguishing factor of how wealthy you are. Cattle are the ultimate prize, as they are an endless source of manure but are most often used for the brides dowry.
Settlement patterns and history of the area plays an important role. Lawra is an extremely dense district which has led farmers settled in ways that don’t separate the farm from the house. This means that animals are more likely to roam free, instead of being housed near humans.
Bush burning is a common practice, despite MoFA efforts to encourage farmers to change their behaviour. It is usually done to clear grass so that fire wood is easier to spot, to get rid of pests (rats, snakes, mice, spiders). However, this practice is depleting the recycling of essential nutrients back into the soil. Composting is a labour and time intensive process so when farmers go to clear land, they rather burn it. Organic farming is almost out of the question for many farmers, considering the soil is so depleted as it is. Without behaviour changes from farmer and MoFA level the dependence on fertilizer and pesticide chemicals will only continue. Organic manure can be difficult to get a hold of, if your animals aren’t housed in so chemical fertilizer is an easier alternative. It’s really easy to take the chemical fertilizer route because of the subsidies offered by MoFA and the difficulty to acquire more organic forms of manure.
Global warming is starting to show its ugly face and is increasing the level of environmental refugees in the country. Quite how many people are going to leave the savannahs of northern Ghana has the attention of policymakers in the capital. In Accra, as in Lawra, the question of what to do about environmental migration, and climate change as a whole, is entirely bound up in the overall challenge of development.
My small-small farm.
As for my farm, my groundnuts, which are a main cash crop, was planted on June 4th in rows about a foot apart (as per MoFA suggestion!), they’ve been weeded once and are near ready for harvest. As for my Maize, it’s suffering because I haven’t added fertilizer because I can’t find organic forms and I refuse to uses chemicals. I’m beginning to understand the ease of allure of chemical fertilizer, especially when MoFA gives farmers coupons that subsidize about half the cost.
The reaction of my community has been nothing but positive. At first, everyone was asking Sam why a white man was planting in his farm but he’s made it very clear my eagerness to learn, and he’s really proud to assist me. “You’ve done well!”, “you’re becoming Ghanaian”, “when in Rome/Lawra…”. A few farmers have jokingly challenged me to a weeding race, of which i would likely lose. I’m really happy with the level of integration I’ve had in such a short time span. I never really realized just how easygoing I can be in new situations.
Some members of the community take the other approach when they learn that I’m living and farming with farmers. That is, they think I am a uptight westerner who is used to hot showers, refrigerators and whatever else. They are shocked and appalled to learn where I am staying and can’t believe MoFA would allow it.
Pretty goats all in a row.
GROW FASTER!
Tasting the fruits of my labour.
There’s nothing more enjoyable than knowing exactly where your food came from. The disconnect we seem to have in North America about our food is quite amazing. Don’t get me started on the whole genetically modified issue. Growing up with giant peppers, tomatoes and onions and seeing them grow here without genetic modification is really amazing. “Why is everything so small?”, because that’s how they’re supposed to be. I’ve come to respect the land so much more when you actually have invested your own energy in it, been able to watch it grown as if I’m coaching it to do better everyday. Farming is risky. Agriculture is pretty new and it’s important to keep working to try and reduce the harm when, god forbid, nature is unpredictable. It’s a sweet and sour feeling to know that many are still at the mercy of the earth.
Before:
After!
Can you spot the foreign species? Basil!
I wish I could stick around to help harvest, not to mention really taste the fruits of my labour. Learning the next steps, how to get the produce to markets would be my next learning which I'm hoping to pass on to the new JF volunteer that is coming, Elizabeth!
