Strange thing – November Maize

So Strange in November

Thondwe, Malawi … There is nothing unusual with seeing a field of ripened corn this time of year, since October and November are the harvest time in the mid-western part of the United States. The fact that makes it so unusual is this scene is not in the United States, it is in sub-Sahara Africa and most farmers here are just getting ready to plant their maize (corn), not harvest it. In fact it has not rained here in 5 months and the seasons in this part of Africa are exactly opposite those of the U.S. The U.S. in the northern hemisphere plants in April and May and harvests in October and November. Here in southern Malawi, farmers plant in December and harvest in April and May. The only rains in this part of Africa come in this time frame. The rest of the year there is no rain at all.

Now the scene of ripened corn is a strange one at this time of year. How can it be? How can one farm have ripe maize at one end of the field and at the other end have the field fully cultivated and ready to plant when the rains start in a couple of weeks? One thing makes it possible. That one thing is the V-Tractor and the large tanks of water that rest underneath the frame in order to pick up water at the nearby river and spray it across the fields to create the needed moisture for a second crop on the same land, a crop that grows where there is no rain. It can change the landscape of farming in sub-Sahara Africa and beyond. It is the V-Tractor and it is as strange looking as a field of maize in the middle of the dry season.

This scene is at the Namikango Mission and Clinic in Thondwe, Malawi, and is made possible by the V-tractor, and by contributions from L.T. Rich Manufacturing and the Agricultural Aid International of Lebanon, Indiana and the Malawi Project.