2024-02-15 10:00:18
From Argentina to Africa to share knowledge: from farmer to farmer
Jorge Lopez Menendez, Global Farmers Network*
I am a farmer without a farm.
This may seem paradoxical – like a cook without a kitchen, a pilot without an airplane, or a teacher without a classroom.
Yet, I have learned to thrive in the world of agriculture as a consultant from South America who strives to impart knowledge and transfer technology to farmers in Africa. My work has taught me the great things that can happen when we share information and tools across borders and oceans.
Ten years ago, I was a farmer with one farm – or, more accurately, a farmer with multiple farms. I oversaw the production of a wide range of crops and livestock for farm owners in Argentina, which is of course an agricultural powerhouse. I carried out this activity for around fifteen years.
Then I had the opportunity to try something different.
So I became a consultant to advise farmers. I started in Sierra Leone and expanded to neighboring countries Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Liberia, as well as Kenya, East Africa. I work on commodity crops such as corn, rice, beans and soybeans. We also try to work with sorghum and millet.
My job is to help African farmers produce more food. My strategy is to promote know-how and transfer Argentine technologies to farmers in these countries.
Half a century ago, Argentina and much of Latin America found themselves in a situation similar to that of Africa today. Our region was promising agriculturally, but it did not obtain the expected results. Since then, innovations such as soil conservation agriculture (no-till) and other technologies that care for the soil have made my homeland a breadbasket. Farmers in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and others can compete with farmers around the world.
Africa now needs its own upheaval and transformation.
Many of the developments that have helped progress in Latin America have also helped Africa. Yet Africa remains far behind the rest of the world in food production. Its farmers are struggling to feed a continent with more than a billion inhabitants.
They have a great opportunity to improve. Africa has fertile agricultural land, a favorable climate and a available workforce. She simply can’t do it alone. Even the best farmers rely on education and collaboration, and we must expand our networks across Africa, for the sake of the people who live there and our interconnected world.
Food security is not an African problem, but a global problem, and improving African agriculture will help people everywhere. It will make our food supply more resilient.
My approach starts with direct seeding, which replaces traditional plowing to control weeds. It provides for the use of cover crops, crop protection products and minimal, if any, soil disturbance in the fields. No-till improves soil health by helping it retain moisture, increase biodiversity and combat erosion, while allowing farmers to control weeds that steal nutrients from crops.
Argentine farmers were the first to practice direct seeding, the correct use of which requires training. The difference between good and bad practice is the difference between a huge harvest and a disaster. In fact, learning should happen both ways. We cannot simply “copy and paste” South America’s experience onto Africa. People like me must work in partnership with farmers who know their land, their climate and their crops.
Africa faces many challenges, but that is precisely why it is so ripe for smart investments. If we join forces, Africans can benefit from greater access to the modern machinery and improved seeds that have made such a big difference elsewhere.
I may be a farmer without a farm, but I’m also an investor always on the lookout for an opportunity – and sharing information and technology with African farmers will generate a big premium.
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* Jorge López Menendez
Originally from Argentina, he now practices agriculture in African countries, bringing modern technologies and training. Previously he managed Argentine wheat, barley, soybeans, sunflowers, corn and sorghum.
Source : From Argentina to Africa to Share Knowledge: Farmer to Farmer – Global Farmer Network
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