Zimbabwe is known for water scarcety and droughts. Yet, at the farm of Zepheniah Phiri Maseko, crops grow quickly and bountifully, even in drought years, and the abundance on a modest three-hectare homestead is enough to support a family of 15 and raise cash for other expenses. There is a lesson to be learned from a deep spiritual belief: "When I visit farmers, I say, 'You must commit yourself to the soil'."

'And the Lord God took man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.' Genesis 2:15

Zepheniah Phiri Maseko is a farmer whose innovations in soil and water conservation have drawn international attention and visitors from around the world. To say that Phiri's success as an innovator is purely the result of his creativity and hard work would be to oversimplify. A deeply spiritual man, Phiri is driven by a commitment to honoring and conserving land and water for its spiritual value. To him, faith in God translates into a deep respect for the bounty that can be drawn from nature. Phiri tends to view natural phenomenon such as the interaction of soil and water, the properties of plants, and even his own innate abilities as an engineer, as gifts. His work extends from this set of personal values, and he encourages others to respect the soil and water as the source of life.

Phiri has committed himself for the past nearly 50 years to conserving soil and water resources and to sharing his ideas with other farmers. In a characteristic gesture, he often points to his graying head and says "I thought about it and said, why not try this."

Harvesting Water and Protecting the Soil Without Need for Conventional Irrigation

Phiri's farm is located in a hilly area outside the small town of Zvishavane. This communal area consists of several farms that border his own, leaving each 3-hectare plot with little room for expansion. Above Phiri's farm, a ruware, or rocky mound, poses a unique challenge. When heavy rains fall, this rocky area channels the water down the hill, carrying soil with it and causing major erosion. Phiri, however, has managed to transform this challenge into an advantage. It is there, just below the rocks, that he has developed structures that achieve what he calls water "planting."

Below, in his fields, this water can be "harvested" to supply enough water to all his crops, trees, and vegetable beds without the need for conventional irrigation. With his terraces, pits, sand traps, ponds, and tanks, Phiri is consistently able to control more than 50 percent of the runoff from rain, while in most countries it is only possible to store and control 20-50 percent of the total runoff, according to water expert Sandra Postrel. In her 1998 publication, "Pillars of Sand," she describes the immediate link between ability to control run-off and food security. Phiri is able to accumulate enough water in a good rainy season (at least three heavy rainfalls) to see him through two years of drought.

Multiple Crops and No Need for Pesticides

The evidence of this abundance of water is revealed in the oversized stalks of maize, two-story mango and banana trees, and lush vegetable gardens that grow on or between each crop area. These vegetable plots grow sweet potatoes, beans, paprika, carrots, tomatoes, onions, pumpkins, cabbages, and more, which provide for his family and can be sold throughout the year. Such variety is unique to such small-scale farmers, who usually rely on one cash crop like maize, cotton, or tobacco. With his approach to cultivation, Phiri is able to avoid the need for artificial fertilizers or pesticides.

Wells, Ponds and Waterholes

A well also supplies pure drinking water and is a resource to other farmers in times of need. The fish pond behind Zepehniah's family provides a home to fish for consumption, as well as to a variety of bird species that use this lush area as a natural haven. The ponds are lined with reeds, sugarcane, bananas, kikuyu and elephant grass, which protect the banks. These ponds, and the lush foliage nearby, attract a variety of birds and wildlife, transforming this small farm into something of a wildlife refuge. A waterhole serves as an indicator of the water table. Each time it fills after a rain, it shows that enough water has seeped through the soil to replenish the underground store. If this occurs three times during a rainy season, Phiri's farm will be supplied with water through up to two years of drought.

Sharing with the Community

Not content to enjoy the fruits if his labor alone, Phiri has made his farm into a living university for other farmers, attracting them from farms throughout the region. Such abundance of water is extremely rare in these parts, and is the reason why farmers from throughout the region, as well as Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, and as far as Germany and Japan, have come to see his work, eager to learn about how Phiri's designs work, and how they too can cultivate a similar abundance on their farms. Most importantly, they are seeking ways to escape the cycles of drought and erosion that so many farmers face.

Many of the strategies employed by Phiri have their roots in various traditions and technologies from around the world. Others were developed through Phiri's own relentless zest for experimentation. But what truly sets this farm apart is the employment of every possible strategy to prevent runoff, as though the water itself were as precious as gold, and each drop counted. "When I visit farmers, I say, 'You must commit yourself to the soil'," he said. Once this is achieved and farmers dedicate themselves to conservation, Phiri says they will naturally see increased yields. He also believes one must live by example, and says that his designs and the success of his farm speak for themselves.

The basis of his work, which is ethical and not technological in nature, also belies the importance of applying a set of values that includes stewardship of nature and human communities. These values relate not only to the rural farmer, but to human activity worldwide.

In this spirit, Phiri intends to build a visitor's center with the help of his family and in-kind support from the local District Administrator. With a visitor's center he will be better equipped to accommodate the larger groups of farmers who are visiting each year.

The bigger picture: Land-reform, Protection of Soil and Water

With little funding or runoff available for irrigation infrastructure, many rural farmers will continue to depend on rainfall to feed their plots of land. Rains in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa are unpredictable and often scarce, and local farmers attest to the fact that they are becoming more so. This means that Zimbabwe could soon see the kind of food insecurity and malnutrition that has plagued other sub-Saharan African nations with less rainfall.

Cultivation without careful management will damage the soil, further reducing one of Zimbabwe's most critical assets. Phiri expressed deep concern that farmers who are allocated land are often ignorant of soil and water management strategies, and are given the land without any system of accountability. Phiri says, "If they don't understand how to keep the land, there is little they can do to improve their lands." To Phiri the link between quality of life and quality of soil and water is inextricable.

The backdrop for the water concerns of small-scale farmers lies in the issues of land distribution, and ownership. Zimbabwe has long struggled to establish land rights that will sustain the large number of small scale rural farmers, yet inequitable distribution persists. Ownership is a vital concern, since many farmers lack titles to their lands. As Phiri says, "Once it is my asset, I will keep it with strong care. If it is only mine for production, I will just use it up."

This issue is well-known in industrial countries, where sustainability policies advocate that consumers buy local products for various reasons (see Online Features / Food of Worldwatch Institute at http://www.worldwatch.org). At the recent Terra Madre event in Turin, Italy (http://www.terramadre2004.org), has united the sustainable alternative to the current industrial food production system in an unprecedented scale, drawing 5000 people from dozens of nations. All participants were members of a 'Food Community' - which means they are part of a chain of production, linked by a common product, ethnic identity, region, history, or approach. One where food quality and variety are valued, rural regions thrive, and links between producers and consumers are strong.

In many parts of the world, the same issue is complicated by colonial-style plantation structures, like Latin America and Africa. Strong movements of agricultural workers are supporting protection of their landrights and land reforms. Governments have started addressing the issue seriously in different forms. South Africa's government is doing it the soft way, Zimbabwe's the rough way. In any case, land reform requires a lot of re-learning. And this is why Phiri's important example has more than just local significance.

CONTACT:

Zepheniah Phiri, The Zvishavane Water Project, P.O. Box 118

Zvishavane, Zimbabwe, Phone: 263 51 3250

SOURCE: adapted from www.changemakers.net

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