More than 50 participants, from 10 African Countries, as well as visitors from Latin America and Asia, gathered in Masvingo to discuss and share experiences on sustainable peasant agriculture, and organic farming and conservation agriculture practices, which build on local knowledge and traditional skills to work the land and produce food ecologically.
The participants listed several challenges affecting peasant agricultural production. These include lack of support from governments, climate change, interference by multinational corporations in the agricultural sector, as well as the issue of land grabbing whereby smallholder farmers lose their traditional land, finding themselves in the risk of hunger and poverty.
Limited access to markets with decent crop prices, donors conditionality driving anti-smallholder policies, and regulations with negative impacts on peasants also hamper their progress.
The participants drew up proposed solutions and a strategic plan to be implemented by their organizations and the network.
Agroecology is the way for farmers to become independent and more productive, and to take control over their own farming systems. “It puts us back in the driver’s seat,” said participants.
Nelson Mudzingwa, a smallholder farmer from Masvingo, told the meeting he would open up his mind to the experience shared from other countries. He gave evidence that organic farmers in Zimbabwe who use agroecology practices, like native seeds and organic fertilizers, were highly productive without dependence on private seed and fertilizer companies nor government handouts.
He said it was very important for farmers to practice agroecology rather than just theorizing, because without practicing there was no success. He also emphasized information sharing and documentation and sharing of lessons from the success stories.
In a report titled “Sustainable Peasant Agriculture Can Feed the World” (available at www.viacampesina.org), LVC has compiled evidence at the global level to show that agroecological farming is more sustainable, more productive, and more resilient to climate change than conventional chemical and industrialized agriculture. – LVC Communication Team in Africa, from Pambuzuka.org
Post published in: Agriculture