My once productive farm is sterile today, why?
By Noah Arre

It is true that winds blow in response to natural atmospheric imbalances….. That is if the wind pressure of a locality is high and that of a nearly is low, then, there is a natural need to achieve balance or else a catastrophe would happen. It is also true that when it rains it may roar…. That is if and when neighboring cloud masses move violently in the skies, because of the frictions involved, some parts develop high positive charges as they are striped off their negative charges which accumulate at elsewhere in the cloud masses hence other nearby negative charges fly in to fill, again for nature to achieve balance … hence the thunder and fire! And it is true that trees shed their leaves in the dry or cold season. This is because during those times, the existence of the whole tree is at stake and since most activities: perspiration, food manufacturing etc. of the plant, occur at the leaf, the tree must stop work to preserve only what it has… hence it goes to hibernation by shedding its leaves! And it is true that during long days’ hard work, our body cells function too hard to catch up with demand hence we get tired. But when we sleep, all our body parts from the basic cell to the whole systems hibernate and reach what scientists call basal metabolism where all cells do almost nothing. And by this, we regain energy and become active the next morning. Of course all of these and many others are natural phenomena.

However, strange as it may seem, man’s activities can have a negative impact on some or all natural phenomena. For instance, it is true that my once productive farm, like million farms in poor Somaliland is sterile today. And that prompts me to ask why? In fact, today, its low productivity, albeit small, has a positive contribution to present world food crises that cause the exorbitant worldwide food prices. No wonder, economists theorize that “whenever supply diminishes, demand soars!”

So, worried about the infertility of my farm, the other day, I was sitting alone trying to find explanation as to why my farm was productive in the olden days producing 100 sacks of 50kg each of sorghum in one go and why it is sterile today producing less than 5 sacks a year no matter how hard I may work?

But after long thoughts over this nightmare, I concluded one thing: that I must go to the basics of science to understand and find a solution. And so today, I am writing this short article hoping it sheds some light on that.

So, first and foremost, let me go to the basic scientific fact that all living things need water, food etc. But it is also true that plants are said to be autotrophic… that is by photosynthesis, plants can make their own food when animals cannot. …in photosynthesis, plant leaves, utilizing their green pigment, absorb sunlight, blend it with carbon-dioxide from the air; add to it water, absorbed by their roots through osmosis, and then out of them manufacture simple sugars to grow and thrive. That is why plants are independent.

However, like all living things, including of course my farm’s sorghum, need nutrients (a nutrient is that part of food which gives nourishment)…which means plants need elemental carbon, nitrogen compounds, phosphorus and a host of other nutrients albeit in small amounts. And it is from those nutrients and of course with water that they build their food and hence ours (cereals, fruits, nuts etc.).

So, now with this as our background, let me take you to my lately unproductive farm. For over fifty years or so, I grew only sorghum. Unfortunately, little did I know that growing the same product (crop) in one plot every year depletes the soil of certain nutrients/minerals because every plant prefers to utilize certain kinds of nutrients. And if so, more than fifty years which is the case of my farm, those specific nutrients/minerals, a prerequisite for growth of healthy sorghum, may have already dried up. This is one reason why my poor farm is sterile today.

But to avoid catastrophes like those mentioned, farmers in the developed world use fertilizers (man made nutrient rich chemicals) to replenish that lost valuable soil nutrient/minerals. So, my failure to do likewise is another sorrowful saga that makes my farm less productive.

And to those deprivations, add the decrease of rain fall resulting from the now real world climatic changes that wreak havoc across the globe, causing floods, famine, droughts and desertification all directly or indirectly caused by our senseless destruction of the environment….. sorry, little do we realize that doing that exposes the top soil …the nutrient rich part of the earth which when exposed can be easily washed away by floods or blown away by winds…. hence the increase of infertility of farms like mine and another sorrowful saga partly perpetrated by man. In fact our greed motivated wanton destruction of the environment is making our whole earth sterile unable to provide sustenance. Hence our once fertile and marshy lands are today barren lands unable to feed us.

And worst yet, to everything said, add my lack of understanding of the practice of crop rotation … crop rotation is the art of growing one kind of crop in one plot one year but switching it to some thing else next year …a fact never practiced in my farm too. But had that been done, my farm would probably have supplied me with more healthy crops.

And finally, to that add today’s poor rainfall that rarely storms or thunders…..lightening and thunder are good for plants because they avail atmospheric nitrogen for plant uses.



How?
Nitrogen, in its natural form, is an inactive (inert) gas. In chemistry, nitrogen is said to be self-satisfied and hence reacts with nothing in its normal state… that is why it is used as a fire retardant when oxygen helps burning… And it is one of the major components of the air… makes 78% of the air. But while it cannot be directly utilized by plants, its compounds are indispensable basic nutrients for plants. So, rain lightening activates this inert gas by forcing it to react with oxygen and in the process changes it to other forms of nitrogen compounds. It is those other forms of nitrogen that help plants grow because in the presence of water, carbon etc., nitrogen compounds are utilized…hence healthier plants with higher productivity. In other words, when lightening strikes inert nitrogen gas, it converts it to other forms of nitrogen which can be readily utilized as food by plants.

So, when it rains it rarely roars and if so how can atmospheric nitrogen be converted to the useful forms of nitrogen?

In addition, amazingly, at the roots of certain plants, live certain microorganisms that have the capability to utilize inert (chemically inactive) nitrogen gas in the air by changing it to other easily plant absorbable forms. However, in my farm, which never practices crop rotation, which is a prerequisite for actions like that to happen, it is possible that such microorganisms are rare and hence there is no chance for them to do so. Again this increases the infertility of my farm.

However, the constant removal of free nitrogen from the air as mentioned is replenished by the action of certain other microorganisms that decompose dead plant/animal tissues which are of course rich in nitrogen compounds and so free nitrogen always returns to the atmosphere… that is the nitrogen cycle. It is one of the wonders of perpetuation of creation.


So, my dear friends, with all those basic facts as our background, let me ask:
1. How can our farms become productive and hence feed us especially when the soil that is supposed to give sustenance to it is already sterile?
2. How can a land, depleted of all nutrients support any plant growth… including farms?
3. And how can any living thing grow up well without food let alone reproduce/produce?

By profession, I am neither an agronomist nor an agricultural engineer, but I think that it is a high time that our nations’ agricultural scientists, agricultural engineers, soil conservationist, etc. preach Somaliland agricultural community the basic facts mentioned in this article. Had they done so, I am sure Somaliland farming community would have provided enough bread for the whole nation!

So, my dear friends, my infertile farm is typical of all third world farms. But it must be understood that for any nation to achieve success and development, its agriculture sector must thrive and prosper because a nation that cannot feed its people is bound to fail. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the ministries of agriculture, utilizing their professionals to hold seminars, symposiums and conferences so that the farming communities learn all the modern techniques of crop production! And it is necessary that governments support all agricultural development initiatives though that does not mean that they are indifferent to the present world food crises facing the world while that their resources are limited. However, it must be remembered that “where there is a will there is a way!”

And now let us ask: do developing nations prefer to live on world community food hand outs… a world community that is sick and tired of pathologic beggars? Or should they support their farming communities so that they can feed their nations by growing enough food?

My preference would be an emphatic yes to the second question because they have virgin lands,; they have the mind; and they have the muscle! So, shouldn’t they quit the begging for bread syndrome? I believe it is by far better to work hard and make it or else perish with honor!

The Hygiene And Sanitation Corner
By Noah Arre

I compiled following challenging info from publications referenced below thanks to the institutions whose names are listed

In Hygiene And Sanitation, Did You Know That:

1. Nearly all so-called waterborne diseases, from quick-killing cholera to uncomfortable stomach-ache, are really spread through poor hygiene and sanitation practices. But water is unfairly blamed?


2. Diarrhea (a waterborne disease) in its various forms is a killer, and causes pain and suffering?


3. Diseases from poor sanitation are also passed on in other ways?


4. A lack of water causes many diseases and water scarcity is the villain of diseases like trachoma which blinds millions?


5. Hygiene is the first line of defense against the spread of many diseases?


6. The aim of sanitation is to block all unhygienic pathways that facilitate the spread of diseases?


7. Washing of hands is so important in preventing the spread of infection because many of them are passed from hand to mouth?


8. Washing with soap or ashes is best, and an essential thing for good health is to have enough water?


9. Water for washing does not have to be of the same quality as drinking water?


10. Flies are responsible for the spread of many diseases (the real villains), but cockroaches are sometimes to blame too? …the reason is because flies like feeding on feces.


11. Flies can travel miles and may have spikes (dirt) on their legs so particles of whatever they feed on are carried away with them?


12. If flies’ food was feces of someone suffering from a diarrhea-type disease such as cholera or gastroenteritis, these particles may pass on the disease to others?


13. Same flies’ next meal is quite likely to be your food. So if bits of feces are left behind on food or drink and eaten by people, the disease is passed on?


14. One route for intestinal worms to spread diseases is through the soil too and this is especially so for children when crawling or playing in an unpaved compound?


15. Feces are likely to contain worm eggs and even if you clean your compound, some eggs may remain in the ground?


16. Did you know that eggs from worms may wait months if not years to hatch and take their destructive roles when conditions become favorable?


17. Did you know that your body provides the best conditions for disease causing microorganisms to multiply and hence prevention is better?


18. A tiny amount of feces is enough to cause sickness and a healthy person may excrete millions or even billions of microorganisms every time he defecates?


19. Fortunately, most microorganisms are harmless, but it only it requires a few of the villainous ones to cause infection?


20. Did you know that different pathogens differ when it comes to their infective dosages (how many of them can make you sick)?


21. Did you know that people differ when it comes to resistance to diseases and hence a few pathogens can make someone sick but not another?


22. It is often wrongly assumed that the feces of young children are harmless?


23. When people do not have latrines and relieve themselves in the open – in fields or the bush, on the roadside and canals or vacant lots, diseases can be propagated?


24. As villages and towns grow when there are no latrines, it becomes increasingly difficult for one to find places to defecate in private?


25. Privacy is usually more important for women than for men?


26. Till today, a common method of dealing with excreta in many places like Somaliland towns is the dry latrine but if run well, the system is reasonably satisfactory for the user?


27. For most people the best sanitation solution is to have a pit latrine?


28. The pit latrines are simply a hole in the ground to hold feces and properly handled, there is no pollution to above-ground water?


29. Disease from pit latrines can be transmitted through other routes such as ground water contamination?


30. Feces decompose and are converted to gases and liquid, leaving solids behind?


31. The gases escape to atmosphere or into the soil but solids remain, gradually filling latrines?


32. Your own health and wellness depend a lot on your community's ability to properly meet the challenges of public health such as hygiene, trash, and sewage disposal?


33. When you feel sick, it may be because you have something in your body that is causing you to feel sick, and that something can be germs or parasites?


34. If pit latrines have a rough surface (non smooth surface wood or mud) it may provide a suitable place for hookworms that cause diseases?


35. Those worms can live in your body and can be passed through in your urine and fecal matter to others making them sick?


36. You should wear shoes to protect your feet when using the toilet or when walking in mud or soil with wastes?


37. Toilets and bathing areas are places where you may come in contact with germs and illness?


38. Diseases that are spread through contact with human waste include: cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, measles, polio, typhoid fever, amoeba, hookworm, roundworm, tapeworm etc?


39. Toilets should be built away from wells or other water sources?


40. Fly-breeding in pits is a major public health hazard?


41. There are different ways of controlling fly nuisance; but the cheapest one is to make a lid that exactly fits in the latrine hole and ensuring always replacing when the latrine is not in use?


42. Emptying a recently filled pit with buckets exposes the workers to great health risks?


43. One can make two small pit latrines or to divide one into two sections and used for a few years, then the other; and by the time the second pit is full, the excreta in the first pit will be quite safe to take out by hand?


44. You can use regular chlorine bleach (Clorox) to sanitize your latrine (kill pathogens)?


45. It is better you use only boiled or otherwise purified water for brushing your teeth in the morning or cleaning your contact lenses?


46. You can have hot water (disinfected water) by painting jerry cans black, filling them with water, and putting them in the sun’s heat for enough time?


47. It is good to paint pit latrine vent pipes black and place on the sunny side of the latrine because this heats the air inside the pipe, causing it to rise and drawing air out of the pit thus reducing odor?


48. For toilets, you may pour 1 cup of Clorox into the bowl, brush, let it stand for 10 minutes; but you need to change solutions when doing heavy cleaning?
    
    
    References:
    Basic sanitation and human excreta disposal in latrines (GTZ)
    On plot sanitation in urban areas (WEDC)
    Small scale community sanitation
    Emptying pit latrines (WEDC)
    Management of onsite wastewater treatment systems (USEPA)
    How to construct a brick VIP latrine
    Making VIP Latrines succeed (Waterlines, 1995)
    SANEX Compendium 2002
    Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems -a brief overview of technical issues
    The Blair Latrine builders manual
    A Guide to the Development to On-site Sanitation