In April 2023, me and my partner got the opportunity to drive overland from Amsterdam to Southern Africa, Mozambique, to experience the world and agroforestry up close! It took us three and a half months to arrive at the destination and we got to see how beautiful landscapes and cultures flow over into each other. We spoke to and slept at different small-scale farms in Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa. We learned that running a small-scale farm is tough and we were surprised that only a very few farmers had heard about agroforestry.
Before going to Africa we subconsciously believed Africa would be one big National Geographic documentary, but we found less real wilderness than we had hoped for. After driving through a handful of East African countries, the following questions kept popping up in our heads: Why are so few people involved in agroforestry while so many countries fully depend on small-scale agriculture systems? Who analyses and formulates a solution for overpopulation or malnutrition or for the prevention of deforestation and the burning of land in Africa?
Free knowledge for organic soil enrichment for agroforestry farmers worldwide
Agroforestry is practical and low-cost. It means that tree growing is combined with farming. It is integrated land management that reduces human impact on land. Perhaps if science, commerce, governments, and NGOs combine their strengths even more efficiently, people will find constructive answers to these questions.
I truly believe the solution starts with 1. relevant education, 2. regional proof of concepts and 3. knowledge. It would be great if small farmers have better access to more specific knowledge and solutions. The farmers in agroforestry we got to meet during our trip have a small, strong, and resilient network but even these great farmers need specific scientific knowledge that is difficult to get when you are in a remote place.
Nobody could believe their eyes when a banana tree grew out of poor beachy sand
Overall ending our trip at my dad’s agroforestry project in Mozambique was the most positive ending possible. To create a food forest in the coastal area is incredible. To see people being amazed that banana trees can grow out of beachy sand was even better. And seeing that Harmonergy’s first intern is trying to create his own forest with no funds 2.000 km up north in Mozambique was the best! I hope he and his future interns can access the right support to grow opportunities for local communities. I saw agroforestry to be the way forward, and I hope more people are willing to join this new collective mindset.
