Zambian entrepreneur

By EWB volunteer Mike Quinn
For CBC Viewpoint, April 12, 2006

As the saying goes, "when it rains it pours." And this season it has definitely poured in southern Zambia, a region recently characterized by drought and hunger. So when Alfred Mulele handed me a pair of gumboots and told me I'd need them, I knew he wasn't joking.

Mulele with his sorghum

"There is too much water this year," he says as he leads me through a two-kilometre-long puddle, waist deep at points, to show me his farm.

It is in an isolated area called Lupani, where the black soils generate good yields in seasons when it actually rains. Last season was the worst drought in a decade and there was no harvest. But this year, his four hectares of sorghum are barely above water.

Mulele is the chairman of the Kazungula Agricultural Cooperative Society Ltd., which is a small co-operative of subsistence farmers. It was selected as the partner for CARE International's pilot project to promote and to market sorghum in Zambia. Sorghum is a drought tolerant cereal crop that is well suited to the climate and soil conditions of southern Zambia.

Zambian subsistence farmers almost exclusively grow maize to feed the country's staple nshima diet, a thick porridge-like carbohydrate that some diehards even eat three times a day. Unfortunately, maize requires a lot of water, and an increasing frequency of drought means that it is necessary for these farmers to move to crops that do better in drier climates.

Convincing them to do so is extremely difficult and requires a shift in behaviour. The poor are risk adverse and don't like to break from tradition when they are surrounded by uncertainty. Sorghum is known as a "poor-person's crop" in Zambia, even though it is the staple food in Botswana, a relatively rich country just across the nearby Zambezi River.

That makes Mulele's leadership position in the co-operative crucial to facilitating this shift. He is a quiet and reserved man in his fifties who likes to lead by example. Upon first glance of his farm, his sorghum plants are the tallest and healthiest I have seen out of this year's 600 test farmers. They also outnumber his maize plants by three to one. He followed the planting instructions to a tee and weeded his field twice.

Josephine Chikuni, a farmer, with a handful of sorghum

In contrast, most of the other farmers planted only small areas of sorghum and prioritized maize when it came to planting and weeding. This is the first time many of them have planted sorghum, and they understandably want to be convinced of its benefits before they make the shift. And they are watching Mulele's field closely. Even with this season's abnormally heavy rains, Mulele will get an excellent harvest and help fulfill the co-operative's order to the principal buyer, Zambian Breweries. He is determined to prove to everyone in the area that sorghum is a viable commercial crop that can also be eaten when the maize crop fails.

After wading back through the Lupani lake, we hop on my motorbike and drive to visit a group of farmers participating in the project 10 kilometres away.

"I hope you're not tired," he says after I notice the sun starting to lower in the horizon and look at my watch.

"No, I like to work hard when I'm in the field," I reply.

"Then you're like me," he says and he means it. In addition to Mulele's volunteer work at the co-operative, he is also an entrepreneur. He owns several small shops and restaurants and is the most well-known businessman for miles. Whenever a new business opportunity arises, such as growing sorghum, he jumps on it immediately and hires labour to help him. This is a rare quality in rural Zambia, where things move very, very slowly.

The farmers we meet at Mushelekwa village are concerned about this season's abnormal rainfall. Many followed the training we gave them and planted in early December, which goes against traditional practice of planting in January after they are finished with their maize. Early planting is the key to food security in years of drought but this year the crops are at risk of drowning. We are both worried that these farmers will have a short memory and revert back to tradition next year.

Mulele steps forward and speaks elegantly and passionately about why early planting is important, and how the heavy rainfall this year does not guarantee that there won't be drought again next year. When he speaks, there is silence and respect. He also explains how it is the co-operative, and not CARE, that is buying the sorghum off the farmers and transporting it to the market.

To this there are murmurs in the crowd, revealing the lack of trust between the farmers and the co-operative. But Mulele stands firm and gives a speech how the dependency on CARE and food relief must be broken for farmers to improve their lives. "We need to be able to feed ourselves," he stresses emphatically. It appears his message is heard.

After dropping off Mulele back at his home I am filled with hope. Leaders and entrepreneurs like him are silently driving change in rural Zambia. They are unrecognized and unrewarded, but essential to overcoming the behavioural and cultural barriers that stifle development. I can only hope that there are many others like him.

- Mike Quinn has been in Zambia for over a year, working on a project that is promoting the cultivation of sorghum as an alternative crop to maize. Mike is writting about his experiences for CBC Viewpoint. This column was published by CBC in April.