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In the highlands of northwest Cameroon, one farmer tackled soil fertility problems by keeping cattle overnight on his cultivated fields. This set off a chain of new ideas generated by other farmers. Another farmer made a new tool to handle the increased harvests. And a third farmer designed an irrigation system to take fuller advantage of the newly fertilized areas. The new practices also improved relations between farmers and herders.
Script
Host:
The program you are about to hear is about understanding and respecting local farming practices. Sometimes these practices are passed down from our parents and grandparents and we continue to use them because they still work well. But sometimes farmers develop new practices based on their own ideas and experiments. The farmers in this story discovered new ways to fertilize the soil, harvest their crops, and irrigate their fields.
Part 1:
Farmer Samuel Toh brings cattle to fertilize the fields
Narrator 1:
Samuel Toh is a farmer in Upper Babanki in the country of Cameroon. Toh saw that the soils on his farm were becoming degraded and that, with the demand for land, he could not leave his land fallow long enough to improve soil fertility. He began to collect manure from the cattle in the surrounding hills and transport it in jute sacks to his field. But this was hard work. So he asked a cattle herder to bring his cattle to spend every night for three weeks in his field. Three weeks later, when the cattle left his fields, Toh cultivated the fertilized area. He got an excellent harvest – his new system worked!
MUSICAL BREAK (5 seconds)
Narrator 1:
Over time, Farmer Samuel Toh improved his system. For example, he noticed that the cattle stayed only in one corner of his field and that the manure was not well distributed. So he divided his field into sections, put a fence around each section, and every night he moved the cattle to a different section.
Samuel Toh had excellent success with this new idea. He found that an important leafy green vegetable called black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), grew particularly well when the cattle’s manure helped to fertilize the soil. People eat the leaves of this plant like spinach and they are in great demand in the cities. Almost all farmers in Upper Babanki – more than 500 families – now use the manuring system that Toh developed. The farmers can grow much more of the leafy green vegetable, and make much more money.
FADE IN MUSIC AND HOLD UNDER NARRATOR.
Narrator 2:
So that was an excellent innovation by the farmer Samuel Toh. But it was only the beginning of a chain of clever ideas. As you know, one thing often leads to another…
(voice trails off)
FADE OUT MUSIC.
Part 2:
Farmer Phillip Ndong invents a harvesting tool
Narrator 1:
Phillip Ndong was one of the farmers who tried Samuel Toh’s new method of bringing cattle to fertilize the fields at night. He also was able to grow more leafy green vegetables. In fact his crop yields increased by five times! But the work of harvesting the stems by hand was difficult. Mr. Ndong tried to harvest the plant with a knife, but he could not find one that was sharp enough. And because some women and children joined in harvesting, several knives were needed, and these were costly.
Ndong then tried using a razor blade. This cut the stems better, but also cut his fingers. So he tried something different. He took a piece of bamboo about 20 centimetres long, and attached the razor blade to the end of the bamboo. After trying several types of blades, he decided to use the one with three holes. He attached the razor blade to the bamboo with a piece of thread. With this tool he could cut the nightshade leaves quickly and easily. And the tool cost only the price of a razor blade. It was a success! Ndong’s neighbours also started to use the new tool and now all growers in the area use it.
FADE IN MUSIC AND HOLD UNDER NARRATOR.
Narrator 2:
That was innovation number 2 in the chain – a new harvesting tool. If you’re wondering what these farmers will think of next – just stay tuned!
FADE OUT MUSIC
Part 3:
Farmer Christopher Vitsuh develops an irrigation system
Narrator 1:
After Samuel Toh had developed the fertilizing system with the cattle, and after Phillip Ndong had invented the new tool to harvest the leafy green vegetables, another farmer in Babanki had another new idea. Farmer Christopher Vitsuh noticed that the price of the leafy greens was much higher in the dry season. If he could irrigate his plots, he would be able to produce a crop in the dry season and get a better price.
There were already some small canals in the Babanki area to take water to the brickmaking yards. Vitsuh thought of using the same technique to lead water to his farm. Several other farmers were interested in his plan. First, Vitsuh identified streams that could be diverted. He chose routes for the canals according to the location of the farmers who wanted to be connected. The farmers worked together to dig the canals. Because the land erodes easily and the canal sides could cave in, the farmers planted live hedges to stabilize them.
This small irrigation system expanded as more families wanted to connect to it. In time the canals were irrigating more than ten hectares and over 40 farm families were benefiting from it.
FADE IN MUSIC
Narrator 2:
There was something else that the farmers of Babanki needed once the irrigation system was complete. In a moment you’ll hear about another new idea.
FADE OUT MUSIC
Part 4:
The community sets up a water management committee
Narrator 1:
There is one more innovation to tell you about – the last in this chain. Once the construction of the irrigation canals was complete, the local people set up a committee. The role of the committee is to manage water distribution to the different plots. There are several strict rules that the farmers made. If farmers don’t follow the rules, they pay a fine. A farmer who did not help to dig the canals must give the management committee 20 litres of palm wine, a basket of maize flour and a cock before he or she can irrigate his or her plot.
MUSICAL BREAK
Narrator 2:
This story shows that there are close connections between the farmers and their different ideas. In Babanki, as you have heard, one new idea led to the next and the next. First, Farmer Toh brought cattle in during the nights to fertilize his fields. This led to an increase in yields of the green leafy vegetable crop. With more crop production, there was more to harvest. So Farmer Ndong developed a new harvesting tool. And Farmer Vitsuh realized that if he could get water to the fields, the crop could be produced even in the dry season when it would get a higher price at the market. Once the irrigation system was developed the whole community saw the need for a water management committee.
One last thing. These farmers admire and respect each other. The farmers see how their ideas and innovations are connected and they work together. The farmers linked in this chain of innovation supported each other in developing ways to fertilize, irrigate and harvest their crops.
Note
To sustain all these innovations, the farmers of Upper Babanki have now organized themselves into a network called the North West Farmer Innovator Network (NOWFINE). These Farmers are also working together to find better ways to market their crops in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon.
Acknowledgements
This script is adapted from a chapter with the same title written by Paul Tchawa for the book “Farmer Innovation in Africa: Source of Inspiration for Agricultural Development” edited by Chris Reij and Ann Waters-Bayer, London, Earthscan, 2001 (in press).
