dry season irrigation/climate change and tropical farming

Because of uncertainties in global weather patterns, it is becoming more and more necessary for farmers to implement adaptive strategies during extensive dry periods or floods. On my own cocoa farm, I have consulted with local vegetable farmers (who employ irrigation during the dry season) and cocoa farmers to gather ideas about dry season farming. I have come up with a hybridized solution (hopefully) to deal with slow-growing cocoa seedlings and plantains during the dry season.

Typically, the dry season begins in late December and ends in early March. This year, however, the dry season started mid-November and the harmattan winds (dusty winds that blow south from the Sahara desert) began covering the south in dust early this month (December). There hasn't been any rain for almost two months now, and almost every maize plot has failed. Farmers in the Volta Region rely on rains through mid-December to insure a good maize harvest, but this year those rains have failed. Cocoa and plantains can withstand the dry season, but if the dry season continues for a "longer than normal" time frame, they can begin dying off. Climate change, savannization, and desiccation of previous humid and wet areas present serious obstacles to cocoa farmers in forest-savanna transition areas.

My plan during this dry season is to sink wells on five of the La Rose Cocoa Farm plots, providing a source for irrigation of the cocoa seedlings and plantains. This will be done by hand-digging wells that can go up to 30 or 40 feet in depth and then pumping water from the water table with a diesel water pump. This pump will be connected to polypipe that will extend up the side of each plot and across. Hoses will be attached to the pipe at strategic points to insure that all parts of the plot can receive water.

The first task during the dry season, however, is to weed out all of the failed maize that was intercropped with the cocoa and plantains. The maize was planted as a short-term economic plan, but the rains failed to nourish it to the point where it matured to harvest-level. A vast majority of farmers who planted maize this year experienced the same problem - maize is very sensitive to weather perturbations and this year the rainy season expired one month early. I am here pictured weeding out unproductive maize plants:

The second task is to create fire belts to protect plots from the very real threat of bush fires. These fire belts are about 15 yards wide and are clear from any vegetation except for seedlings and plantains that are adjacent to boundary lines (obviously, one can not construct a fire belt on someone else's land). During particularly dry harmattan periods, these fire belts can determine whether a farm will survive:

Finally (and this rather experimental), the third task this dry season was to sink wells to provide water for the cocoa seedlings and plantains during the dry seasons. The well pictured here is now about 15 feet deep, and we are hoping to hit the water table at around 30 feet. Ditches and polypipes with hose connections will be placed throughout the plot:

farming in the rainy season

The rainy season (beginning in June and generally lasting through October) brings mixed blessings to farmers in Ghana. It can form a pivotal part of the year, providing steady, consistent rain. It can also be pivotal in the wrong way – it can flood, topple, and even completely destroy farms. During the rainy season farmers in Guaman-Buem typically plant maize, cassava, plantains, rice, and yams. It is also the ideal time of the year to plant cocoa, because cocoa seedlings need a lot of water and – most importantly – cloud cover to prevent them from being fried by the sun. If you plant cocoa seedlings and then get two weeks of uninterrupted sunshine, you have not only wasted money on seedlings that won’t grow to fruition, but you have wasted labor and time. Pegging and planting seedlings, as I have learned, is not easy work.

This year in particular has brought torrential rains to Buem. For about two weeks now there has been no respite from heavy rain storms. They come in the morning, the afternoon, and in the middle of the night. For those of you who have lived in the tropics, you may know what it feels like before a heavy rain comes. The air becomes thick and wet, the sun glares violently, and everyone runs for the shade. Within an hour or two, the heat builds up as black thunderheads mass up against the horizon. Cool winds blow steadily until the storm arrives, sending tapestries of water horizontally pounding into the earth. These storms can last anywhere from 15 minutes to four hours

My biggest obstacle during this rainy season has been transportation. The roads in Ghana are phenomenally bad. It seems that the situation in Buem right now is particularly bad. Entire parts of the main road (the road that connects Buem to the capital) are either missing or are in the process of being eroded away. Forest rivers can rise and swallow up portions of the road, preventing all traffic from getting through. The bush road to my farm is cross-cut with large pools of water and sections consisting of foot-thick mud. On a motorcycle, it can feel quite precarious getting to the farm. I have already slipped on my bike and fell of five times. At this point, I more or less just expect to fall off my motorcycle every morning I go to the farm.

Luckily, my cocoa farm is wedged up against the side of a good sized mountain. It seems the hill has done a good job shielding the land from the high winds, and what has been planted so far is intact. It also appears to do a good job pulling down the moisture from the rain clouds on to the farm. Every day I arrive at the farm I push my machete into the ground and churn up healthy, moist brown soil. Being that the ground is mostly flat and has a good layer of mulch on top of the soil, it seems as if erosion will not be a problem anytime soon.

what you need to start a cocoa farm

Here is a list of the things/places/people/other living organisms that are necessary to start a cocoa farm in West Africa:

1. A cutlass (or machete, as they are called elsewhere)
2. Wellington Boots (to block snake attacks and prevent you from having muddy feet)
3. Jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, and a hat (so you don't get scrapes and/or skin cancer)
4. A rented chainsaw (to take care of some of the bigger trees on the soon-to-be cocoa farm)
5. Good land (ideally an old farm that was previously primary forest but has been left to fallow for some time)
6. Good friends (to help you negotiate land prices, labor prices, and to help you perform the actual work)
7. A good crew of workers (the foreman should be your good friend and be paid well, and the workers should get paid more than the average wage and have a healthy relationship with you)
8. A "jungle" motorcycle, truck, or bicycle (most available land is deep in the rain forest bush down sharp, canyon-like "paths" that aren't navigable by motorcycle or truck, so it is best to have a good motorcycle that will take you a decent way there, dismount, and then walk the rest of the way)
9. Cocoa seedlings (make sure they are the right kind and will begin producing a harvest within three years and yield 50-60 bags/acre by 5 years)
10. A short term crop such as plantains or peanuts (this crop should be intecropped with the cocoa and provide shade for the seedlings while they are growing, I chose plantains because the soil requirements are different for the two crops and plantains grow fast and provide good shade for the seedlings. Unfortunately, plantains are rather tedious to plant, especially when you have to dig holes for 3,450 of them).
11. Patience, humility, a strong work ethic, and a new found belief in God and/or the ancestors.

There you go! Now it's time to start your cocoa farm.