Page 45 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 21

Re-Education

and revenue and they chase hard need to know that the way it was
after profit, giving no regard to the expressed was so much richer and
welfare of their consumers who deeper. I felt so bad. I won’t lie to
are purchasing food items that are you. I just kept thinking how much
laced with the chemicals that these lower the quality of our lives is in
farmers so eagerly saturated their a so-called much more ‘developed
crops with. Giving no thought to and advanced’ society.
the long-term health of their soil,
the living ecosystem within it, the Afrika has been duped into thinking
safety of the water and even the that subsistence farming is a dirty
Chioma Phillips is the Editor of Msingi Afrika Mag- animals – domesticated and wild – word or practice, that the simple
azine and the host of Msingi Afrika Television. Her that interact with the chemicals they way of living where you grow what
hope is to see the Truth shared, with all who will listen, are putting out there constantly. your family needs and exchange any
for the transformation of the people and the continent of These are the farmers who harvest excess with friends, family for what
Afrika - and the world.
their fruit early so that they can be they have grown in abundance are a
counted among those who shipped backward practice. Afrika has been
their avocados to China and made duped into believing that farmgate
under the pressure of the pursuit of a killing. However, they harvest too sales or exchanges are an evil thing.
the futility of the world’s farming early at times and end up, as Kenya But, when you consider that an
systems. Much like there are those has recently experienced, having organically grown tree or vine-rip-
who have buckled under the pres- their produce banned because it ened fruit has spent the maximum
sure of the pursuit of the futility of does not pass muster. The pull of amount of time needed to fully
the world’s financial systems, world’s their greed causing them to not develop and obtain all the nutrients
health systems, world’s education only miss out on the cash they that your body needs from the soil
systems, world’s governing sys- pursued so impatiently but to even around it – and then you go to the
tems, world’s trade systems, world’s incur costs and penalties due to this market and look at the produce
technological systems, world’s food very thing – and to impact a wider there that was yanked off branches
production systems and on and on community of farmers who are by people eager to make money
and on. Calling what is evil, good, now all under this blanket ban. The back from the inputs that they paid
and actively building these systems pull of their greed causing them to so hefty a fee for, maybe you will
up and defending them with all their completely miss their responsibili- join me in grieving a little bit for
strength because of the crumbs ty to provide safe, healthy food to what we have lost, even as we plan
they are able to gather for them- consumers, rather than profiting an approach to take it back!
selves and their families.
from poison.
The one who is patient will eat
These farmers represent the ones I may have shared this in a previ- fruit that is ripe. There is a culture
who have made a determination to ous article. One day it occurred and ancient wisdom behind this
walk in the ways of modern con- to me that I did not know what a saying that, even as I try to focus
vention. They cry the loudest when tree-ripened banana tasted like and exclusively on the literal meaning
farm inputs increase in cost, mock so I asked someone who has been behind the saying, I cannot help
the hardest when options for how a fountain of knowledge for me, but interact with and share. Plants
to grow food organically (safely and for indigenous ways and practices, grow how they grow – from seed
healthily) are shared and ignore the whether there is any difference to maturity to harvest – taking the
increasing shift by the continent between the taste of a banana that time that they take to do so. The
towards the embrace of the UPOV ripens on the tree and the taste of ‘modern’ farmer whose heart is set
Convention, because to them, that’s these bananas that ripen along the on profit wants a guarantee that the
the norm and it is acceptable. They way, having been harvested early months or even years that they have
are open to every new seed variety in order for them to be shipped to spent nurturing these plants will
as long as it will give them more and market. She said, “Oh yes, a big dif- pay off. And, in order to do so, they
greater yields, they snap up every ference. The bananas that ripen on find ways in which to control the
new hybrid because their friends a tree are so tasty!!!” I have trans- process using seed manipulation,
in the group say that it brought lated this from Kiswahili, so you soil manipulation and environmen-
them that little bit extra in output

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