Resource Development
Farming as a Business
by Chris Banman
I recently traveled to Zambia with a small group of project supporters from BC. While there, I witnessed what living on a dollar a day means to a family. Moses Kaleba used to work in a copper mine in Zambia's Copperbelt region, making a dollar a day - marginally more than what most farmers make on a small plot of land, although conditions in the mine contributed to shorter life expectancy. Then the price of copper dropped and the mine was closed.
Forced to return to his small plot of land, it was at this point that he was introduced to the work of IDE. Moses first purchased a drip irrigation system along with a treadle pump for his half-acre farm. This investment had an impact on his income within a few months and subsequently presented new opportunities for his family: "We started to eat better and more... three meals a day.” In addition, he was able to send all five of his children to school.
Perhaps most revealing was his statement, “I didn’t know farming was a business. Farming was something we did to survive because that is what we had always done.” He is investing in new technologies, opening opportunities to increase his income and make poverty history. Two years ago, Moses purchased an electric pump to help with irrigation. His entrepreneurial attitude has spawned innovative business ventures. In the past year, Mr. Kaleba has purchased a corn maize grinder and a non-operational truck. Having a corn grinder will both save and make him money – no longer paying someone to mill his corn and additionally renting out the grinder to his neighbors. The profits from this year’s crop will go towards repairing the truck and “getting a paint job”. Having a truck means he will no longer have to pay to transport his harvest to market and increase his income further by transporting for others in the area.
IDE’s research indicates a $250 investment will double the annual income of one poor rural household. We’re asking you to consider making an investment that will offer new opportunities to a family like the Kalebas. There is something exciting about lifting a family out of poverty, for good!