Joka Smallholder Farmers’ Association

From the moment I saw his homestead, I knew that here was a smallholder farmer to be reckoned with. The first thing that caught my attention was a healthy crop of this year’s tobacco growing in the field and on the ground was a huge spread of maize drying in the sun, something unusual for a smallholder farmer in January in that part of the country. There were also two beautiful brick houses with corrugated iron sheet roofing. This was the home of Henry Chikanga Nyasulu, Treasurer of the Joka Smallholder Farmers’ Association.

Born in 1966, Mr. Nyasulu was raised by his father. He dropped out of school at a young age, because his father lacked the money for his school fees. He decided to join his friends who were working as tenants at Manyanda Estate in Kasungu from 1991 to 1995. Despite his hard work, he received only K5,000 in his four years on the estate. They say, “Every cloud has a silver lining,” and this was true of his Mr. Nyasulu’s stay at the estate, because during his time there he received training from the Agricultural Research and Extension Trust (ARET) and acquired skills for tobacco farming.

He returned home and used some of the K5,000 to buy some cattle and two goats. He also began tobacco farming and joined the Msaope Club of Mawiri Group Action Committee to gain the benefits of an association. The 1995/1996 growing season was a good one and Mr. Nyasulu earned more money than he ever had in his life (K22,000).

He was happy with his earnings, but the club had experienced some problems, including the loss of tobacco bales during marketing. Therefore when Mr. Nyasulu first heard of NASFAM and its activities to help smallholder farmers on the radio he and the other others members of the Msaope Club decided they could benefit from the Association’s guidance. In 1999 the Msaope Club was accepted and became one of the founding members of the Joka Association.

Following its admittance into NASFAM, the club experienced its first season without any tobacco losses and transporters came to the farmers’ holdings to collect the bales. If Mr. Nyasulu thought that the K22,000 he made when he first joined the club was a large amount, he was very surprised with the profits he made in his first season as a Joka member, which was three times as much.

Mr. Nyasulu received training from Joka Association on the benefits of crop diversification and as a result he decided to spread his income base and his increase his food security by growing more cash and food crops, like paprika and maize. In the three years since becoming an association member, the people in his town have come to respect him as a successful farmer and businessman.

Mr. Nyasulu also explained that his standard of living has increased dramatically, “Since becoming a member I have been able live comfortably.” When I looked around, I understood that he was being modest. His furniture and other household amenities were well above the local standard. I inquired if all of this was the result of his profits since joining the association and Mr. Nyasulu smiled and explained.

“The moment I joined the Association, I knew I had struck gold. Ever since then, all I have made are profits. In this period alone, I have bought five more cows. I am one of the few smallholder farmers in this area who has his own bailing jack. Others have to use the club’s or hire one. Last season I built another house, and because I grew a lot of maize, I have added three more barns. I no longer have to worry about providing food for my family like many in the village.”

This year, Mr. Nyasulu has grown 3 ½ acres of burley tobacco and he expects to make around K80,000 net profit. He has also grown 3 acres of soybeans, paprika, maize and 12 acres of cassava. When asked what the secret is to his success, Mr. Nyasulu did not mince words, “First and foremost is the fact that I make sure I attend all Association meetings. It is there that I get information on good farming methods. I make sure that I follow the advice given by the Association advisors and implement what I have been taught in Association trainings. Another contributing factor is that I closely supervise my workers and I work with them, because I am the one who attends the trainings and I need to make sure that what my workers are doing is in line with what I have learned.”

But he adds, “Over and above this, I owe my success to my wife who has been a constant help from the time I joined the Association – though I must admit that initially I did not want to bring her in the business wholly. However, my attitude changed completely when the Association started the gender program. That is when we were taught the importance of doing farming business with our spouses. Now I see my wife as part of the whole business. Ever since then, she knows how much we have marketed and I consult her on how much we should spend and what to do with the rest of the money.”

Looking to the future Mr. Nyasulu was optimistic, “One thing I want to accomplish in two years’ time is to erect a maize mill, because the one people in the village use is about 7 kilometers away, which is very far and time consuming especially for the women. I am sure that with help from the Association, I will achieve my goal.” He also plans to open a retail store and to build two more houses as rental units.

Written by: Mary Msusa, NASFAM PPU Assistant