Mulching. Doesn't sound so...exciting. But trust me, this is a totally compelling conversation.

It's about 'Pfumvudza,' a conservation-based approach to agriculture that makes small parcels of land more productive through minimum tillage, mulching, crop rotation, and timely planting. Because it is focused on small plots of land, it can be especially effective in helping smallholder famrers and others with limited access to land - members of refguee communities, for instance.

On their recent training visit to Uganda, I spoke with William Tom and Maqhawe Mthembu of Foundations for Farming. They're based in Zimbabwe, where pfumvudza has been in operation for some time. On this visit they were training communities in northern Uganda in effective use of pfumvudza. They explain the philosphical basis of the approach and the nuts and bolts of making it work. As explained on the Foundations for Farming Website, pfumvudza has some distinct characteristics:

'To succeed, farmers follow the Foundations for Farming principles:

• Do everything On Time

And remember the key conservation practices:

• Minimal soil disturbance – no ploughing, only planting basins

Maqhawe and William argue that it offers an opportunity for smallholders from every community to make their land more productive, and eliminate food insecurity at a family level.

You can find out more here:

Speical thanks to our guests for this epsiode - William Tom and Maqhawe Mthembu - for a fascinating and illuminating conversation. And as always, thanks to you for listening.

And see you next time,

Josephine