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To train Zambian farming families on dry bean production as an alternative crop to maize thus enabling them both to earn a reasonable income, so they can buy food, and improve soil fertility, so that they can continue to grow other crops in a healthy rotation and reduce deforestation.
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
Small-scale farmers in Luansobe area face a constant struggle to grow enough maize to feed their families. With erratic rainfall, poor sandy soils and rising fertilser prices, many farmers are now giving up using fertiliser and maize yields have plummeted, which has severely impacted household food supply. With few livestock there is little manure available to help maintain soil fertility and one result has been the increased rate of deforestation as farmers clear new fields.
Solution
In 2009/10 Kaloko, together with the Department of Agriculture, commenced a pilot training and extension project to encourage the cultivation of dry beans among the 1,500 farming families in Luansobe. The community have now asked Kaloko to extend the training and demonstration project to a minimum of 115 new farmers and also to expand the range of legumes to include both red-sugar bean and soya bean, Dry beans are leguminous and fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil thus improving fertility.