JOHN TEMBO
Head of Operations at Alliance Ginnieries Ltd. Zambia
“The long-term economic and environmental benefits of organic farming outweigh those of conventional farming”
Working closely with AbTF, Alliance Ginneries Limited Zambia has been successfully verified as an organic cotton producer for the 2022/2023 season. AbTF supported the transition to organic production through a project focussed on financial and human resource support, enabling Alliance Zambia to build the capacity of its field officers and effectively support its farmers in adopting organic cotton cultivation practices.
Why did you decide to make the transition to organic cotton production in Zambia in 2020?
Most cotton farmers in Zambia are already practising organic production because they rely on more natural farming practices. At Alliance Ginneries Limited, we decided to go one step further by investing in organic cotton farming to introduce agricultural practices that minimise the factors contributing to the acceleration of climate change. Furthermore, we are convinced that the long-term economic and environmental benefits of organic farming outweigh those of conventional farming.
What were the major highlights of this process, and what major challenges did you face?
The initial stages of the project presented a number of challenges. To start with, the project’s initial location was not conducive to cotton production, causing us to consider moving implementation to the province of Lusaka for the 2021/2022 season. However, due to our lack of familiarity with the production system and the demanding verification process, we failed to be verified during that season. We nevertheless continued pursuing organic cotton production in the 2022/2023 season. With support from AbTF, we managed to train our field staff, lead farmers, and all contracted farmers in the recommended best practices for organic cotton production.
This support went so far as to provide farmers with the necessary tools and materials to successfully produce organic seed cotton in compliance with organic certification standards. Included was also the provision of seeds for trap crops and empty drums for processing manure as well as printing training materials to enable local staff to provide effective training for farmers.
Funding provided by AbTF also made it possible to conduct farmer field days as a way of disseminating knowledge about organic cotton production. How did this contribute to the success of the project?
Farmer field days played a key role in disseminating vital information to the farmers in and around the communities where the project is being implemented. To some extent, even farmers who were not part of the project recognised the benefits of the organic production system and were able to try out this approach on their farms. Farmer-to-farmer interactions were enhanced as well since organic cotton producers were given an opportunity to explain the various practices of organic cotton production to other farmers. By attracting a wider audience, including government extension workers as well as civil and local leaders, farmer field days also play a crucial role in promoting this initiative on a broader scale.
In your opinion, how do cotton farmers in Zambia benefit from growing organic cotton?
Most cotton farmers in Zambia are smallholder farmers with limited resources, meaning they cannot easily afford to purchase synthetic inputs in order to improve their yields. Organic cotton production, on the other hand, has the potential to improve farmers’ yields at a lower cost while providing additional benefits such as maintaining and improving soil fertility and structure for sustainable land use, minimising the impact of climate change on crop productivity, and reducing the production of greenhouse gases.
JOHN TEMBO
Head of Operations at Alliance Ginnieries Ltd. Zambia
“The long-term economic and environmental benefits of organic farming outweigh those of conventional farming”