Monday 24 February 2020

Down on the Farm

I’ve done a lot of different jobs since I left school. That makes me very fortunate really. I’m part of a generation that was lucky enough to enjoy good fortune in the job market for a very long time. It’s not exactly a ‘cool’ generation to belong to these days. We ‘boomers’ have to put our hands up to some of the world’s current problems I guess. It’s a sobering thought to dwell on – fixing the planet is likely to be a lot harder than breaking it was. So ……I’m doing my bit by developing our Agribusiness projects. Specifically aquaponics, rearing fish fingerlings, organic crop production and cricket farming. To that end I’ve had a good day down on the farm today.

Actually, it’s also very sobering thinking about the prospects for the agriculture industry in Africa right now. Everybody will be familiar with the idea of drought related famine in a number of African countries. Climate change is affecting us all and farmers all over the world are wondering just how they will cope with farming in the future, as climate change makes previously taken for granted assumptions about seasons and planting very uncertain. We’ve certainly noticed the change here in Kosele since we first started out in 2002. Back then growing seasons were much more predictable. Harvests were better and farming was more productive.

Climate change, huge as it is, is not what boggles my mind the most. For the pioneering farmer the future has enormous potential in Africa because of predicted population growth. The population of Africa is going to double between now and the middle of the century. That’s in thirty years’ time. It is an unimaginable situation. An exciting and at the same time horrifying prospect. It creates an enormous market but also carries the seeds of potential conflict over scarce resources. With my ‘glass half full’ head on I’m believing for the best.

In that spirit I’m planning to continue planning and scheming with our great farm team to increase fingerling numbers and maximise our crop production. We were in rescue mode in the fingerling hatchery this morning, doing a quick water change in one of our two thousand litre tanks which had become a bit deoxygenated. The five hundred fingerlings that we rescued are our first real ‘harvest’ and the guys did a good job of making sure they will survive for long enough to get them to market.

I never imagined that I’d become a farmer but I’m increasingly led to the conclusion that farming will become more important than any other sector here in Africa. It’s very hard to persuade young people that there is any kind of future in agriculture. They have understandable ambitions for safe office jobs with good prospects and see working on the farm as the worst kind of torture. We’re learning as we go along with all of our ventures. It’s very much a ‘two steps forward, one back’ kind of experience, but I couldn’t ask for a better team to work with. I really hope that our progress as a fledgling Agribusiness will encourage at least a few of our young people to reconsider life on the farm.

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