Freedom Gardens - Malawi

Africa is the only continent in which food production has failed to keep up with the growth in population. In Malawi, where there is a shortage of the staple food, maize, hunger and malnutrition result in high infant mortality. Here, some farmers are experimenting with organic farming systems - which do not rely on man-made chemicals - and their techniques are being observed by farmer groups from other countries. The methods being used involve a combination of irrigation, companion planting, composting and soil conservation.

Milky Whey - Tanzania

In Tanzania, as in many parts of the developing world, small-scale dairying is an important agricultural activity whose products provide regular income for poor farmers' families. For these people, however, the cost of the cattle represents a large capital investment so it is very important that the animals remain in good health and able to produce high quality milk. In the small-scale dairying system, many of the cattle are crosses between European breeds and indigenous breeds. The cattle face many risks, including infection with parasites, viruses and bacteria. The treatment of diseases with antibiotics and other drugs is expensive and adds further to the farmers' costs. There are also growing concerns, world-wide, about small amounts of antibiotics appearing in milk as these might lead to increased drug-resistance in human diseases, especially where milk is sold untreated.

The collaborative project, run by the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania and the Universities of Liverpool, Glasgow and Reading in the UK, included an investigation into the problems of the disease mastitis. This disease is very painful for the cow and results in unusable milk - which can be financially disastrous for the farmer. Among others, an objective of the project was to devise sustainable, environmentally sound and cost-effective methods of controlling mastitis and other diseases. The project, funded by the UK government's Department for International Development, targets poor farmers with a few animals - the average farmer only has one milking cow and 3 or 4 others.

Cottoning On - India

India produces 2.5 million tons of cotton each year and this crop sustains the livelihoods of over 17 million people, most of whom are poor farmers with less than two hectares of land. For many, cotton is the only source of income. Unfortunately, cotton is attacked by pests, especially the cotton bollworm caterpillar which also eats food crops. Over recent years, the cost of controlling the pests by spraying with chemical insecticides has increased so that it can now amount to up to 40% of the costs of production. Due to the over-use of pesticides, the cotton bollworm has become increasingly resistant to the chemicals available and farmers have resorted to ever more toxic sprays in an attempt to protect their crops but their effectiveness has continued to decline. This has led many farmers deeper into debt to the pesticide suppliers. Many have gone bankrupt because, when the crop fails, they are unable to pay and some have even been driven to suicide.

Some organisations specialising in organic agriculture

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.