Village Stay – By the Numbers
Off to Pemba
It was Friday Morning, 5:30 am (local time). We needed to catch a bus that was leaving that would bring me to Pemba. Pemba is about 3 hours outside of Lusaka. I was tired, my things were packed and Joanne and I made it to the inter-city bus terminal. In no-time we arrived in Pemba, and I was off the bus alone.
Sitting at the corner waiting for Mr. Muzuma, it was fun to try to attempt saying “Muli Buti (how are you?)” to some people gathered beside me. They had no idea what I was saying, but they found it amusing. I had no pictures of my first few minutes because, quite frankly, I was scared. I just got off a bus hours away from the capital, and now hours away from any other EWB member. All that changed in a matter of minutes.
Mr. Silas Siamakoli Muzuma
After waiting on a chair that someone invited me to sit on, Mr. Muzuma came biking and greeted me and everyone else. He is the headman of his village. At the age of 72, he is still very sharp, and very fit. I would always struggle to keep up with him biking or walking long distances.
Mr. Muzuma is also the leader of a cooperative of 20 farmers, who have been working closely with IDE. IDE’s motto: Fighting rural poverty through profit.
Learning the numbers
Mr. Muzuma showed me around his vegetable garden. Vegetable planting is a new initiative that is being encouraged by NGO’s in the area due to their potential profitability.
I’ll highlight two crops that he planted, cabbage and tomatoes.
Cabbage
He had 124 cabbage in 8 beds.
1 Head can sell for 1000 Kwatcha
So if he had perfect yield that is well managed he could generate 124,000 Kwatcha.
This income could be repeated about 3 times a year if you have access to water.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes were an impressive story… he ran the numbers
Production: 92 tomato plants,
Output: If maintained properly, 1 plant gives 100 fruits
| Plants |
92 |
|
| Fruit per plant |
100 |
|
| Fruit per Heap |
10 |
|
| Unit Price for Heap |
1000 |
Kwatcha |
Max Realizable Profit
(no Loss) |
920000 |
Kwatcha |
Max Realizable Profit
(expect 50% loss) |
460000 |
Kwatcha |
He said “there is money in vegetables. The problem is the marketing, transport and knowledge. Africa is very rich in land.”
What shocked me was… You expect 50% loss on all your outputs! That was part of his business plan!
Here was a small scale farmer who has all the tools, and ability to maximize his production. Whatever was in his control, he was able to translate into a better harvest. The optimization of his land coverage, the use of irrigation, understanding what crops required what fertilizer, composting his animal waste and reusing it for his farms. He understood the chemistry and the finances involved and was using that knowledge to maximize what he could do.
But his major challenge is accessing markets. He mentioned many times “we are still struggling”. From his farm and many others in his village, getting to the town center of Pemba is a good hour long walk, or a good 30 minute bike ride. Even with those options, there are huge limits to how much produce you can carry per trip.
Spreading Skills
On the last day, Mr. Muzuma spoke to me about the capacity of the farmers of his village. He showed me his books.
He has been tracking his daily work in the fields, and his finances going in and out. He follows trends and adjusts his strategy. “In the village everyone should know what they are doing…With records you can find you are [spending] too much, then you can adjust so you can increase your profit”.
I asked him if all the other farmers do the same. “No, very few do, only 3-4 in my group do” was his answer. “People do not want to change, it is the natural capacity”. However, he also told me that he and others in his village constantly encourage other farmers to keep records so they can properly track and plan out their farm and business. “Every year if 1 or 2 farmers change that is OK, bit-by-bit. Go to those willing to change.”
