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| Dorothy Makina is willing to learn more about making her farming climate resilient |
Like farmers all around the Zambia, those in Western province are aware of the consequences that the prolonged drought will have on their household incomes and nutrition. Just by looking at some of the stretches of dry crop fields that line the roads leading to the countryside it is easy to believe that most small-scale farmers will not harvest much.
It is for this reason that farmers are being compelled to
take up proactive interventions to ensure that they have enough food to last
them until the next farming season.
Dorothy Makina from Senanga district of Western province can be
described as one of the resourceful farmers in the district. She has a flock of
80 goats, she also rears chickens and owns a few cattle too. Every farming
season she normally cultivates 6 hectares of her land with maize for
consumption and for sale.
As expected from the prolonged drought, however, her entire maize crop failed.
In her narration of the impact of the drought on her farm,
Dorothy did not hesitate to mention that fact that climate change was at play.
The 64-year-old said she had been farming since 1980 and has observed the
changes in the climate over the years.
“We have accepted that we the people of this Province caused
this change in the climate. Many people stopped farming and went into charcoal
burning and now we are suffering the effects of climate change,” Dorothy
lamented.
Her lamentations include the fact that grazing lands are now barely existent in her area while the few natural watering points particularly streams are
drying up well before they usually do.
However, being a visionary in her own right, Dorothy
foresaw the effect that the changes in rainfall pattern would have on her farming and decided to invest a hand
pump at her home.
“This hand pump I constructed is helping me water my animals
my garden which is sustaining my household income and nutrition,” she said.
In addition to that, she has planted 3,500 cashew trees around her farm in a bid to capitalize on how the climate of Western province is favorable for the production cashew.
Dorothy Makina is recognized among the most resourceful and
hardworking farmers in Senanga with many awards to her name for her efforts in
practicing food preservation and promoting diversified farming practices in her
area.
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In 2010, Dorothy invested in a hand pump to enhance her access to water |
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