ORGANIC WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

Isukha people main farming is tea bearing in my mind the fact they have small pieces of land.Every minute, we are losing 30 soccer fields of soil mostly due to intensive tea farming.Minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium are often added to the soil in the form of synthetic ( chemical) fertilizers to give crops a direct artificial boost. Naturally plants cannot access these minerals on their own and are unable to digest them.While chemical fertilizer are being widely used to achieve maximum productivity the continuous and excessive utilization therefore plays a major role directly and/ or indirectly in changing environmental conditions. Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers is degrading crucial foundation of agriculture, soil resulting in decarbonization, erosion, desertification and chemical pollution which is causing significant damage to public health rendering arable topsoil insufficient to feed ourselves.

In our current ways of farming, the growing population and increasing food demand means more use of chemical fertilizers, which is simply an efficient long-term solution to meeting the food demand. For one, where chemical fertilizer is used, only 50 per cent of nitrogen is actually absorbed by the plant and the excess fertilizer runoff into streams , causing toxic algal blooms that is harming people and animals. Without protecting and regenerating the soil, it will be impossible to feed, the community, keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, or halt the loss of biodiversity.

Our governor during his first campaign he promised tea farmers he will construct tea factory. After his swearing in farmers paid him a courtesy and he assured them he will construct tea factory and he told them to look for land. Farmers reached out to Member of National Assembly through NGCDF and they bought 8 acres of land. Farmers take there plucked tea to Mudete tea factory immediately they saw land has been bought for construction tea factory they started frustrating farmers poor monthly payment, bonus. Nine years down the lane no factory the governor was using tea factory as a campaign tool. Most farmers are now uprooting tea.

Small scale farmers are shifting focus to alternative sources of income despite the huge potential for the cash crop. Growers, who own tiny parcels of land ranging from an acre to five , are uprooting tea to create room for organic food. Organic agriculture is leading to healthy soil, producing high quality nutrient dense food while simultaneously improving, rather than degrading land, ultimately resulting in more productive farms, healthier communities and stronger economies. Organic agriculture is contributing to:

- top soil regeneration.

- increasing biodiversity.

- improving water cycle.

- increasing resilience to climate change.

- increasing food production, farmer's income, and especially topsoil fertility.

Farmers are making organic fertilizer from naturally produced manure, slurry, household waste. We plough land using hoe, apply organic fertilizer and plough again. My parents gave us half an acre of land to grow our food. Most people told me, you know that land is too small, you'll get nothing out of it. And they were right to an extent, because the soil is best for tea. I almost gave up but something inside me told me " failure is success". If I grew only one crop say, maize, or cabbages, or beans I would not get anything from that half an acre. But I decided to grow all my family food and we planted all our greens, fruits, carrots, potatoes, onions.Name it. And in a few months time I actually realized that I had more than enough food for my family. And that is how my small business Kristine's basket, was born and I sell my organic basket to the community just like me women who want to make sure their children and families are eating safe, organic produce.And this is encouragement to many other small scale women farmers just like me, farming can be very difficult.You don't have access to land, water. But even if you have a small piece land.An eighth, a quarter, a half an acre, make use of it, feed yourself first. And in no time, believe me, you will have more than enough for yourself and when it's more than enough, you can actually even sell safe produce to community make it affordable because the community will make sure that their children are eating safe organic produce. And in that way we'll be able to spread organic goodness. " Organic is Life".