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The country's smallholder farmers have to use traditional methods to grow crops as it is expensive to hire a tractor. Read more »
Swaziland - Beyond Fertilizers and Tractors, January 2013
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Photo 1 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINJosephine Mnisi and her husband are smallholder farmers in the village of Shewula in Swazilands eastern Lubombo region. -
Photo 2 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINThe plot allocated to them by their chief must support a large family, but their yields are poor as they are unable to afford fertilizer. -
Photo 3 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINThe rising cost of seed and fertilizer and the lack of subsidies for farming inputs have affected many Swazi farmers. -
Photo 4 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINMnisi works her field with a hoe, which she also uses for planting; hiring a tractor is too costly for her. -
Photo 5 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINAn service by the agriculture ministry to provide subsidized tractor hire has been a casualty of the Swazi governments cash flow problems. -
Photo 6 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINA small number of farmers are receiving fertilizer and training in conservation agriculture through a government/FAO programme. -
Photo 7 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINAfter several years using conservation agriculture, Happy Shongwa no longer needs fertilizer to get a good maize yield. -
Photo 8 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINShe intercrops the maize with peanuts and beans. -
Photo 9 of 9Credit: Mujahid Safodien/IRINHer stock of maize will help get her family through the lean season while other farmers struggle.
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