Daily Trust (Abuja)
9 July 2009
In the last few days, small-scale farmers in Nigeria and other parts of the continent attempted to set the agenda, or better still, influence the agenda of heads of state and government who met in Sirte, the birth place of current AU chairman and president of Libya, Muammar Gaddaffi from June 30 to July 3.
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Another critical place for investment is your waterways. Across the continent they are clogged with weeds: Typha, hyacinth and others suck the water from your streams and lakes, and silt them up til they are clogged. Clear them, and you will have far more water available almost immediately. Your wetlands, when they recover, will water your drylands as they used to. But they are very resilient, so clearing them is a never ending process. To finance this, harvest them for fuel. Some are more valuable this way then others. Typha appears to be the most profitable.
Side benefits will include reduction in flooding, malaria and Quelea, and reversal of some desertification.
Two other areas to put some investment into: rainwater harvesting and container gardens. The combination is a great way of producing food right where you need it.