My experience working with smallholder farmers spanning over 13 years has taught me many lessons, especially practices that destroy the soil structure and render the farmers helpless and hopeless. From bush burning, which I referred to as quick-phosphorus-syndrome where farmers set the whole farm on fire after harvesting or before a new season starts, with the hope of “increasing soil fertility” and yield of crops. This poor practice has led to the destruction of the soil ecosystem; structure and microorganisms, leaving the soil eroded, unproductive, and destroyed in the long term.
Another practice is the overuse of synthetic fertilizers. This practice is very common amongst smallholder farmers, where a particular composition of fertilizers is used year-in-year-out recklessly; no soil test, no organic matter added to the soil, just the same type of nutrients on the same land. The assumption here is that the soil needs NPK nutrients and other micronutrients to increase productivity: without knowing the exact nutrients and the quantity needed. Many times, this practice has led to pollution of nearby water bodies through leaching and also could increase soil toxicity. This causes damage to the soil — reducing productivity and the life of the soil.
Other practices that affect the soil are monocropping (upset the nutrient balance of the soil), flooding, the use of heavy machinery ( it compacts the soil), and over-irrigation (it affects the pH, oxygen, and nitrogen balances of the soil) amongst others. Farmers must know the impact of their practices on the soil because unhealthy soil produces unhealthy food.
The soul of food security lies in the soil. Achieving food security starts with achieving soil security. Adopting the appropriate practices in soil management is very important; integrated soil management, recycling, improving organic matters, and proper irrigation methods and techniques amongst others. We can never compromise soil health and still believe we are on the path to food security; it is a false hope. We need living soil on our farms to produce living food for living beings. Let us all work together to make our soil a living thing!
