Feeding It Fresh

Julia Farmer is the founder and director of Farmer’s Natural Produce, an agri-business that operates from Kingfisher Farm in Notwane, a stone’s throw south of Gaborone. Having been in operation for 11 years, the business has managed to survive periods of drought and a global pandemic. The effervescent Farmer is a familiar face to many interested in food production, gardening, artisanal preserves and agricultural education. Between running a weekly Veggie Service catering to the needs of the people of Gaborone and communities near Notwane such as Sentlhane and Mmokolodi, and being the Facebook group administrator of Gabs Gardener that boasts a membership of 150,000 avid and novice horticulturists, Farmer is assisted by her staff of two full-time workers and one part-timer to produce fresh goods for bellies across the metropolis. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="1" ] KATLEGO: Hello Julia. Happy New Year! At this time of the year people are either cash-strapped or looking to change their eating habits following an often uninhibited festive season of feasting. In the Botswana context, what are the fresh food items we should be looking out for that will not only be kind on the budget but also fun to use in the kitchen? JULIA: A happy, hopeful 2023 to you too Katlego! To tell the truth, the choice in supermarkets is pretty limited as they mostly sell the commonly known veggies and herbs which are not that exciting compared to the heirloom varieties (produced from generational seeds rather than genetically modified seeds) produced by some of the organic/permaculture farmers in Botswana like myself. At present I would say butternut is economic and can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen. For example, I love making butternut curry but quiche, lasagne, stews, and soups are also great options. You can also make butternut hummus and butternut chutney. Pumpkin can be used in similar ways and is even cheaper than butternut. Locally grown peppers are now available in most supermarkets and these are both healthy and tasty. Peppers are very versatile and can be added to a great number of dishes as well as stuffing and baking them as a meal on their own. KATLEGO: Not everyone has the gift of the green and I for one know that I am yet to cultivate it. However, we know that going green is not only better for the environment but also inspires conscious consumption and waste habits. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to go off the supermarket grid and grow their own? JULIA: Get started! If you are completely new to growing veggies and herbs, start small. A number of veggies grow well in pots and you can pop a companion plant inside the pot too to protect against pests. Companion plants are mostly herbs or from the onion family; therefore, along with offering protection, they are edible. You can even plant in hanging baskets. There are plenty of YouTube videos on growing vegetables and herbs. What’s better is anyone can join one of my introductory workshops and learn, in-person, all the organic practices you need to grow any vegetable or herb. My workshops include demonstrations and practical work – the best way to learn new skills! I would also suggest they join Gabs Gardener as many of the members are now growing their own food for the first time and give tips and support to each other. KATLEGO: Food security is a great concern. UN Secretary General António Guterres encouraged governments, scientists and civil society to “work together to make nutritious diets available and affordable for everyone and financial institutions must increase support to developing countries”. You’re in the business of contributing to this. What can we individually and collectively do? JULIA: I believe we need to go back to small scale organic farming instead of large sized commercial farms producing only one crop. Land can be utilised better if we nurture the soil and practise bio-diversity, companion planting and so on. That way there is no need for expensive chemicals, which are destroying the soil and our planet. If small scale farming is encouraged in all parts of the country, then enough food could be produced to keep imports to a minimum. It would also reduce our carbon footprint as food would be available locally instead of having travelled long distances. Furthermore, the food would be fresher, tastier and have a higher nutritional value. With our climate, growing in shade net tunnels is imperative as it helps to lessen the effects of the heat in summer and the cold in winter. Irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation, help to conserve water and are more economic as they are not labour intensive. While government promoted backyard farming at one point, more could be done to help small scale farmers with basic things like purchasing shade netting and installing irrigation systems. KATLEGO: You bring up the important matter of resource scarcity. The farmer’s Achilles heel is water, which a scarce resource in Botswana. How have you and your peers coped over the rain season thus far? JULIA: I can confidently say that we have been blessed with the rains of the last three years. However, one year of good rains does not make much of a difference as soil life takes a long time to return after several years of drought. But the moisture content of the soil has been increasing with each year of rain, enabling micro-organisms and macro-organisms to grow and multiply. These are essential to soil health and ultimately to plant health. To capitalise on the good rains and to beat the heat, I’d say again, shade net tunnels. However, we should not underestimate the benefit of using shade trees either. I have planted a row of river combretum trees (bushwillow) in between each pair of tunnels. These are indigenous, fast-growing, drought and frost-resistant trees. What’s more, they are deciduous. Thus, in summer they give extra shade to the tunnels, while in winter they allow sunlight through. For water conservation, rainwater tanks, either covered or underground, help prevent loss from evaporation while using irrigation systems helps avoid waste when watering plants. KATLEGO: On the retail front, we’ve heard from restaurateurs internationally (and some locally) how important going from “field to fork” is for ensuring the freshest and best produce for their clientele. It also allows them to limit their business carbon footprint. How viable is such a model in Botswana, based on your experience as a producer? What do you think is needed to make it the norm? JULIA: It is 100 percent viable. How do I know? Because that is exactly what my farm does – takes our fresh produce straight from the farm to the fork on the restaurant table with no time delay on the journey from Notwane to Gaborone. Personally, I have found hotels and restaurants very supportive of local vegetable farmers, and they particularly appreciate that it is organically grown because the chefs can taste the difference compared to chemically-treated vegetables. They also appreciate the variety produced by Kingfisher Farm and others that are growing from heirloom seeds. All that is needed is for more farms to grow in this manner – the market is already there! KATLEGO: The move to organic farming has taken some time to trend. Interestingly though, the estimated global market size was expected to grow to USD187.84 billion in 2022 and up to USD 287.83 billion in 2027, according to The Business Research Company . What are the motivating factors for going the organic route, and what are the challenges facing the local market? JULIA : To be honest, to answer this question would take several pages as there are so many reasons why we should go the organic route. I would say, why would we do otherwise? The use of chemicals in farming has been shown to be the main factor affecting global warming and climate change, destroying flora and fauna, making soil infertile and thus impossible to grow anything in, poisoning water supplies and killing fish, causing illnesses and cancers in humans. Do we need any more evidence that we should be working organically with nature? Organic produce is not more expensive to grow as fertiliser and compost are made from natural waste. The reason it appears more expensive in certain shops that sell produce with the organic label is its lack of availability. If organic produce was available everywhere, it would not cost more than produce treated with chemicals and would actually be cheaper! For organic produce, which is often viewed as ‘imperfect,’ to be accepted in the local market more education is needed. In my experience, people are becoming more aware of the value of organic fresh produce as they are realising that their health is in their hands and not those of medical staff. Teaching this early on, at school level, would help children make choices for healthy eating habits from the start. KATLEGO: Lastly, what have you learned from 2022 that you’ll be taking into your farming practice in 2023? JULIA: What a question! It’s been a tough year as COVID-19 and the economy continued to limit the number of people eating out at restaurants and hotels, which directly affects my business. Last year I also supplied a supermarket with one of my vegetables but at the end of the day the profit margin was so small that it made it not viable. Therefore, we would rather focus on supplying more hotels and restaurants in future. We have already secured one new client, and that’s something to celebrate. Last year we learnt to be more economic with materials and labour. Some of the less profitable and less popular vegetables will be dropped to allow us to increase those in demand such as lettuce, cherry tomatoes and herbs. I am also looking at growing a perennial vegetable plant with a higher value in the market place. Watch this space. *For all that Julia Farmer is involved in, her passion for communal wellbeing shines through vividly. Kingfisher Farm is also involved in education and agro-tourism. While pandemic restrictions disrupted her school visits and reduced the number of workshop participants and Open Farm events, she continues to soldier on. Her hope for 2023 is for the return of these activities until she realises the ultimate goal of building an Environmental Education Centre on the farm. [/ihc-hide-content]

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Feeding It Fresh

If we are what we eat, then people need to invest wealthily in the systems that produce what they consume. Food security is intrinsically tied to political, economic and health-related matters. KATLEGO KOLANYANE-KESUPILE explores the local landscape with in conversation with Julia Farmer

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Feeding It Fresh

If we are what we eat, then people need to invest wealthily in the systems that produce what they consume. Food security is intrinsically tied to political, economic and health-related matters. KATLEGO KOLANYANE-KESUPILE explores the local landscape with in conversation with Julia Farmer

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