Aaron kaah
Bamenda-cameroon.
In a
report produced by Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) in 2006 entitled
the “livestock long shadow” it
was remarked that farming livestock and processing cattle generated 18% of green
house gases in to the atmosphere and just 13% came from cars, trucks and other
transportations. These livestock transgressions include deforestation of
grazing land, the pollution of air and ground water from animal waste and the
excessive use of water to raise grains
for feed and its threat on diversity.
Livestock and the worlds rising demand for meat
contributed in many ways to global warming and
climate change and the general deterioration of the environment. Yet the report
also highlighted that producing livestock had enormous economic importance
to man and the environment. The report also
earmarked that animal farming beside being big business at the industrial level
was also a great source of income and a means of survival for most needy farm
families world wide for whom this livestock is their only source of livelihood.
Raising
animals is central to eradicating poverty in most communities around
the world. In Cameroon some small scale
farmers had distinguished themselves by striving to
reverse these carbon foot print and Hoof print with sustainable farming methods and natural resources management skills.
At the Babanki community some 23KM from Bamenda the
capital of the North West Region of Cameroon Wih Linus and His family are model
livestock farmers who went in to
livestock farming out of passion in the dark days of their lives. These
struggling farmers faced not only the daily blunders of raising livestock in free range
grazing areas but the scarcity
of land was their biggest worry. “We
really wanted help” Linus said. This livestock was source of his family income for emergency spending and food. According to Linus his children
could not go to school. The use of his small grazing land intensively with less
time for it to recover from over grazing and food crop cultivation contributed severely to desertification and
erosion. “Our food crops were not enough and our land was getting drier
every day” Linus Recalled.
In 2008 Linus
and other community members
began working in cooperation to find solutions to their needs. Not Long a development organization was
helping them know basic principles of
integrated livestock management, pasture development, care for the earth and
animals as well as composting of farm
fields to improve soil quality. Apart
from shifting attention from depleted
communal farm lands, these small
group of farmers began developing
pasture and grass next to their homes.
Before long they had constructed staples
and pens to keep their animals. “We sold our big herd and decided to raise a
few animals in confinement” One of the
farmers said. This idea began protecting
the pasture and grazing land. “This zero grazing began improving our
land “ Abain Godlove a farmers in the project said. By collecting manure
for fertilizer in their farm fields their yields also improved. Well
planed movement of the herd from field to field helped also to keep the land healthy and improved the
utilization of grass varieties.
By learning
to make good use of the earth natural
resources these small scale model farmers are leading a pilot project on
domestic Bio gas construction. This idea is helping them to trim utility bills and avoid cutting trees for
fuel wood. Through this small family
seize Bio Gas units these needy farm families are reaping double dividends. An almost free
renewable green energy and a by- product slurry
a very rich crop fertilizer.
Today Linus and his common initiative group have used their livestock operations
not only to improve their nutrition and income but care for their land and water. They follow sustainable practices
like using animal manure for fertilizer, planting trees on pasture land to
protect water sources, quality but also erosion and desertification. In response to the changing climate these small scale
farmer are doing the best they can to control their declining natural
resources. “We know that the health of our herd depended on the health of our
environment”. Linus said. These group of
farmers prized themselves to the highest levels of care for the land and meager resources.
Because
meat processing and distribution
cause more carbon pollution with methane gas
improving animal diet in an integrated livestock management system has
also improved their digestion breaking down significantly on the amount of
methane release during processing and transportation. In Cameroon small scale
farmers like Linus with limited farming
space are making a great livelihood from
their initiatives and a great food
supply for their communities. These are
just daring examples of small
poor farmers that
have withstood the impact of the changing climate to benefit their lives and communities.
No comments:
Post a Comment