Thirty-five years ago, with just one acre of land, a couple of seeds and a bucket of hope, one Nigerian-born scientist began his quest to trample famine on his continent. News of the drought across Africa in the early 1980s troubled Father Godfrey Nzamujo, then an expatriate priest and professor at the University of California, Irvine. Equipped with a microbiology PhD and his faith, he travelled back to Africa in search of a solution. Nzamujo began devising a “zero waste” agriculture system that would not only increase food security, but also help the environment and create jobs. In 1985, he traded in his professor post for gardening gloves and started his sustainable farm “Songhai” in the West African country of Benin. At the core of the idea of sustainable agriculture is designing farms that mimic the way natural ecosystems work. In addition to providing organic produce locally, Songhai employs 300 people daily. They harvest crops, tend to animals, oversee composting, or service the biogas digester — which turns chicken excrement into fuel.
SOURCE: CNN
More Stories
The Challenges Facing the New Leader of Africa’s Largest Economy are Simply Enormous
Understanding the Opinions of Africa’s Rising Generation
SA Reserve Bank Concerned about the Rand’s Recent Meltdown and Persistent Price Pressures
Africa’s Banking Sector Celebrates
ICYMI Sam Altman Made a Stop in Lagos
Is African Debt as Perilous as Foreign Lenders Assume?
Accra’s IPPs Threaten Shutdown Over Non-Payment
DRC To Change the Way it Does Business with China
Maputo Picks a Partner for its Hydro Plans
Results of the Kenya Small Firm Diaries study in Nairobi
Africa Day this Year Marks 60 Years since the Founding of the Organisation of African Unity
Zimbabwe Retailers Head to the Streets