by Jabu Matsebula
A picture is
worth a thousand words. In the picture above - Pholile Sihlongonyane is
standing in a furrow that divides her field at Makhundlu in Swaziland. The plot
on her left is identical in terms of area, soil type and water
availability to the plot on her right. The plots were planted on the same day.
In each plot she
planted maize inter-cropped with jugo beans and cow peas.
On the left of the
picture, you can actually see the size of the robust maize stalks. The stalks
on the right of the picture are pretty thin.
On the left you can
see the rapid development of the mealie cobs. But most strikingly, is the
foliage of the jugo beans, which are robust and green. On the right, you can
just about see the foliage if you closely inspect the floor behind the third
maize stalk. The inter-crop is so sparse it’s hardly visible.
The picture
demonstrates the difference in performance of a field cultivated using the
conventional system and one where climate smart processes were applied.
The robust field on
the left was cultivated using conservation agriculture practices, including
soil covered with mulch. This can be seen between the row of jugo beans and
maize.
Pholile is a champion
for conservation agriculture practitioners in the Lower Usuthu Sustainable Land
Management project area. The project is supported by the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) and International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) and implemented through the Swaziland Water and Development Enterprise
(SWADE) and the Ministry of Agriculture. The project helps communities in
rain-fed areas to develop sustainable livelihood solutions including water
harvesting, conservation agriculture, enterprise development and regenerate degraded
lands.