Agriculture

Daniel Law is the lead for AMECO’s agricultural program. I get to help with its execution as I am there and live on the land being used for some of the objectives of the program.

 

Tetela women, especially in the densely populated Lodja area, must walk 6-10 kilometers one way to their gardens. This is because land used for slash and burn agriculture can only be used 1-2 years and then is abandoned for 10-20 years. This creates enormous pressure on the land and complicates the life of already overburdened women. AMECO is introducing proven regenerative farming methods that replenish the land with each growing season and enable the land to be used indefinitely.

 

The new tasks/roles of regenerative agriculture such as making compost and precise planting techniques present an opportunity to engage men for those new tasks and reduce the labor demand on women. Replacing slash and burn agriculture with regenerative agriculture is key to alleviating malnutrition, reducing the burden on women and in alleviating poverty.