Caring for the environment

In the semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, about 70% of people depend on the soil to provide them with food. Yet it can be one of the driest places on earth.

Pressure is rising on natural resources. Soils are becoming degraded, rainfall more erratic, and populations are increasing. All of which spells poverty and hunger for many rural communities.

Yet smallholder farmers can become stewards of the earth. By nurturing their natural resources, they can develop farms that produce plentiful food for generations to come.

Our farming approach has the environment at its heart. By using manure and other soil and water conservation techniques, farmers get more out of their land. They no longer need to destroy forests or marginal lands for cultivation.

Rather, they start planting trees, often for fodder. Those trees, plus the crops planted on manure-enriched land, absorb carbon from the air. In fact, recent research in Uganda indicates that more than twice as much carbon is absorbed in this way than is emitted by the livestock we provide and by our staff travel.

It’s a waste-not, want-not approach. And as the world’s climate changes, it’s one from which we can all learn vital lessons.

We’re trying to do just that here in the UK. Our Bath headquarters has signed up to the 10:10 campaign and is committed to cutting our emissions by 10% in 2010. We are currently carrying out a baseline survey to establish our existing carbon footprint.

“I live on a hill, on very infertile land. Only half-a-hectare is suitable for growing crops. Before the project, I couldn’t afford even kerosene or household utensils, and we ate mainly cabbage, potato and false banana. Since my training in soil and water conservation, I have covered the hillside with trees! That protects my land from erosion, and gives me saplings to sell. I have also set up a vegetable garden, using compost. Now I know how to use my local resources efficiently, I have not needed Government food aid.”

Kuste Gebela, Ethiopia