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Sustainable Organic Farming In Africa - SOFIA
Sustainable Organic Farming In Africa (SOFIA) is a farming (agricultural) program that is specially prepared to promote and advance organic farming in Africa by indigenous farmers. It is believed that organic farming is very expensive and difficult to do in Africa and as a result has increased the choice for the application of other inorganic alternatives to doing farming in Africa. Whilst non-organic farming activities are wildly accepted, the practice also has its related health, biological, ecological and environmental harms which are less considered by the public. This is the main reason why SOFIA is organized to help both producers and consumers of agricultural produce in Africa.
SOFIA as a modern agricultural practice for producing quality organic agricultural produce is basically a system that is made up of intelligent application of organic agrochemicals with related unique field practices to yield quality and quantity of organic agricultural produce. Agricultural inputs are very essential aspects in modern agricultural or farming practices. As a result, SOFIA is generally about quality agricultural inputs (organic based), and how they are intelligently applied for the desired results.
SOFIA is particularly prepared and organized for Farmers in Africa as a result of expedient series of researches in the following areas:
Soil Development in Africa Agriculture
Seed Development in Africa Agriculture
Weather Patterns and Relationship with Climate Change
Common Crops and their Natures or Properties
Agricultural Inputs for Quality Production and Consumption
The Practice of SOFIA has the following benefits for Farmers (producers of foodstuffs)
Simple farming practices
Relative cheap cost to practice
Highly productive
SOFIA is a program with three categories of practices as follows:
Sustainable In-Season Agriculture (SISA): this is the type of organic farming under the SOFIA program that involves the farming (agricultural practices) about particular crops that are in their right seasons (from sowing to harvesting). This practice is purposely prepared to help farmers to produce more than the usual standard (in quantity and quality) of crops when they are in season, with organic features.
Sustainable Off-Season Agriculture (SOSA): this type of organic farming deals with the art of growing and harvesting particular crops that are out of season (off-season), by the aid of organic agrochemicals (inputs) and related unique practices. For example, a maize farmer who practices SOSA can plant and harvest maize even when the popular maize season is over.
Sustainable Alternate-Season Agriculture (SASA): this type of organic farming under SOFIA is the process (arts) of organic farming whereby a farmer can plant and harvest certain (specific) crops within 40 days, in and out of season continuously. For example, a farmer can cultivate and harvest maize or tomatoes within 40 days at any time of the year. This suggests that the farmer can harvest maize or tomatoes about four times in a calendar year on the same piece of land. This practice is done by the aid of particular organic agro input and its related unique (but simple) practices.
The above three types of organic farming are designed with the following features:
Simplicity in Practice (to be learned and applied by average farmers, because it is in line with common or normal agricultural practices in Africa).
Universal in Practice (can be practiced in every part of Africa; soil, crops and weather considered).
Less expensive as compared to Inorganic Farming (due to the fact that the major agrochemicals used are organic based made from common herbs and natural compounds that are easily found in the environment and farms of most farmers).
However, each of these three kinds of organic farming under the SOFIA program has its own different unique field practice from another. This involves the types of organic input appropriate for a particular kind of organic farming (with respect to time and space) and how it must be applied for the desired results.
Moreover, all these three types of organic farming under SOFIA operate or function with a common or general system called as the “SOFIA Uniform Feature”. The “SOFIA Uniform Feature” describes how a single process of particular inputs can be applied differently in all the three types of organic farming under SOFIA program.
The “SOFIA Uniform Feature” as a single process for different applications has the following features:
1. Soil Optimization Development
Soil Optimization Development is the first exercise in any of the three types of organic farming under the SOFIA program. It is the process of preparing the soil adequately to be fit for one of the three kinds of organic farming under the SOFIA program. There are three types of Soil Optimization Development activities as follows:
In the practices of the above three cases of the Soil Optimization Development, it is only one chemical that is applied; but applied differently in any of the three processes to achieve the desired result.
2. Seed Augmentation:
This is the exercise of seed selection and planting styles that suite the different types of organic farming under the SOFIA program. There are 15 selected seeds that are biologically and genetically improved (not modified) with organic observations, that are ideal for organic farming to aid quality and quantity. These seeds are called “SOFIA Seeds”. SOFIA Seeds are normal seeds that are carefully improved to enhance the practices of SOFIA. However, the planting method or model of the seeds is not the same for all the three types of organic farming under SOFIA.
3. Fertility Control:
this is the exercise of maintaining soil fertility under the practice of SOFIA with respect to any of the three types of organic farming under SOFIA. Fertility Control is done differently in all the three types of organic farming to yield different desired results of the farming processes. The fertilizer applied to observe fertility control is 100% organic without any artificial or synthetic additives. However, the fertilizer is applied differently as said earlier. In all the three cases, it is one fertilization input that is applied but differently.
4. Weeds Control:
Weeds Control as an exercise under SOFIA is the organic approach to overcoming weeds with organic weedicides. Under SOFIA there is one particular organic weedicide that is prepared to control weeds; but it is applied differently with respect to the three types of organic farming under SOFIA.
5. Pest Control:
Pest Control under the practices of SOFIA is the only exercise that has the same form of application in all the three types of farming under SOFIA. However, there are three modes of application of the pesticide that is used under SOFIA. They are:
