I grew up on a farm near Wolmaransstad in the northwest province of South Africa. When I think back to my childhood, it is filled with memories of playing in the backside of a truck filled with just harvested maize; splashing through mud-pools after a rainstorm; chewing on a smutsfinger; and most importantly; going on Sunday-afternoon drives or walks with my Dad, Mom, Sister, 4 dogs (and sometimes even a cat or two) to see what work needed to be done during the upcoming week.
Being a farmer is hard work and not for the faint hearted. It means no weekends, no holidays, no guaranteed income; but waking up to bird songs, breathing in the clean, crisp air, watching how every plant grows, seeing livestock graze on lushes pastures, and of course, producing 'our daily bread' from this wonderful earth that God has given us...that is rewarding enough. And whenever one starts to get 'big headed', mother nature forces you back to humbleness with her extreme mood-swings.
I used to love the smell of freshly tilled soil and I used to be filled with pride seeing 'clean' bare soil between rows of crop. I placed emphasis on the word 'used' for a reason. Today I feel proud when I don't see dust clouds where tractors are tilling the land and when the soil is covered with vegetation....no bare soil in sight! That is how conservation agriculture looks.
Making big life-changes such as moving to Japan, starting to study at an age of 50 and even adopting a healthier lifestyle, are difficult. It is the same for a farmer making the change from conventional agriculture to conservation agriculture. Therefore, in the following weeks, I will be posting my conversations with local farmers in the western Cape region on their experiences making these changes. This blog will be an insight to the farmer's perspective on conservation agriculture
