Farmers in Nicaragua Challenge El Nino

Backgrounder

In the country of Nicaragua in Central America, many farmers are discouraged. They have lost interest in their work. Their soil is bare and exposed. If it rains hard the rain carries away the op soil. If there is very little rain the wind and the sun dry out the earth.

But right next door, on the other side of the fence, their neighbours are harvesting a bountiful crop. Why? They are using methods that protect their soil and capture every drop of rain that falls on the land.

On these successful farms in Nicaragua velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) is growing everywhere. This is one of the keys to the success. Velvet bean is a cover crop that farmers plant in the same field with corn. As the velvet bean grows alongside the corn it covers, regenerates, and fertilizes the soil.

Velvet beans grow very fast and when the leaves fall on the ground they create a wonderful cover — like a blanket — which protects the soil from rain and wind erosion. Some farmers in Nicaragua call this bean “earth’s hat” because of the way it protects the soil.

Yes, the velvet bean is the answer to many problems. This crop is one of the farmers’ strongest defences against the harmful effects of El Nino on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts. If El Nino brings drought, velvet bean comes to the rescue, protecting the soil, holding water and fertilizing the land with its leaves.

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The challenge to El Nino

In the town of San Pedro in Nicaragua, some farmers challenged El Nino.

Because they farm on hillsides they had to do something to protect their fertile soil from running into the rivers, lakes and out to the sea.

They are now using a number of different techniques to restore their soils and save water. They constructed many kilometres of contour lines, windbreaks, irrigation ditches, and barriers to hold back water and soil.

They also used velvet bean as mulch and fertilizer. Because of all these changes, the farmers in San Pedro have good corn crops. Some farmers have produced four times the amount of corn using velvet bean. In San Pedro there was a good corn harvest thanks to the velvet bean. They also combined velvet bean and corn husks to feed their pigs and chickens — so that was another way to save money.

The effect of El Nino has made a lot of people in the area open their eyes. Their common sense is telling them to follow the example of the town of San Pedro.

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Eufracio Calderon Fajardo lives in a place called Siuna in Nicaragua.

He says that for the last five years farmers in his area have experimented with legumes — plants that add nitrogen to the soil. They have obtained the best results with velvet bean. Using velvet bean they have produced four times the amount of corn that they usually get, just like the farmers in San Pedro. Even with the effects of El Nino the crops have doubled.