Organic Farming

 Organic Hill Farming Programme in Sunga and Mbaru Wards

 “Mambo (Lushoto District) and its surrounding area has a very high and still increasing population densitiy. The intensive cutting, slashing, burning and farming of the hilly country including the very steep slopes on the Northern edge of the Western Usambara Mountains over the last decades has resulted in an immense destruction of productive land. As a result the area faces tremendous soil erosion as well as soil depletion. With the reduction of organic matter in the soils this has lead to a severe lack of water storage capacity. Meanwhile certain villages are – in dry years - only supplied with water once a week through one sole water source during the last months of the dry season – an inacceptable situation! The situation has been additionally aggravated by the changing climate, which has shifted the rainfall pattern (belated and shorter rain seasons) and reduced the rainfall in total.

Basically the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that without serious countermeasures on every level the majority of the population will either face severe food and water shortages within the next 5-10 years or then have to migrate to some other area. The effects of climate change and inadequate farming methods are thus very severe!

In 2014 Martin Graf – passing through Mambo with a group of tourists – became aware of the difficult situation in the area and started up “Usambara Push & Pull Programme in 2015. The initial objective was to fight erosion and improve soil fertility as well as introduce Push & Pull methods for the planting of maize. This allowed to reduce the fertilizer and pesticide input.

In 2018 the programme showed significant results with roughly 100 participating farmers. On the other hand the programme could not continue on the basis of external funding by the project initiator, the Paul Schiller foundation and others. It had to become fully sustainable within the local economy.

Therefore first of all the programme, which started off as a simple erosion control and soil fertility programme by means of Push & Pull, had to be focussed on a more integrated approach of organic farming through cooperation with the existing Happy Cow Programme for programme farmers. A crop rotation based on a minimal percentage of fodder production and the subsequent production of manure from ruminants is a precondition for organic farming anyway.

In addition the programme had to be directed towards mid-term economical independence to ensure it’s sustainable forthcoming. For this purpose “Organic Hill Farming Company Ltd.” was founded in October 2020 to take over the programme within Phase II. The respective company office was originally set up in the village of Nkukai with Oliver Venance Mrosso as Managing Director. In 2022 the office was moved to Mambo centre.

Thus the original “Usambara Push & Pull Programme” was transformed into the “Usambara Organic Hill Farming Programme” run by a Limited Company, which must ensure an economically viable execution by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile many programme farmers have caught on and realizied the value of the adapted Push & Pull method and crop rotation for the fertility of their soil, plant health and production level of their crops as well as the value of Elefant Grass and Greenleaf Desmodium as good fodder for their animals. This mainly due to the fact, that they earn good money from the production of Desmodium seed in addition to a crop harvest on the same plot. During the months of September/October 2023 programme farmers harvested a total of 70 kg of Desmodium seed, this year’s harvest increased to a total of 275 kg. The production will continue to multiply, as long as it can be sold to customers.

From 2023 onwards a considerable number of new farmers want to join the programme, whilst those, who have never actively participated, drop out. These new farmers are being introduced to the production method by their successful compatriots within the programme. It is now – after 10 years of engagement – the first sign of an intrinsic motivation amongst programme farmers.”

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For additional information:

Martin Graf
Email     martin.grafen@bluewin.ch