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In the past few lessons you’ve looked at: Foods that are grown in Africa and imported to Europe. Stories of small family farming systems in Africa. That small scale farming and industrial farming has different features. That a food sovereignty movement believes that family farming is the most sustainable farming system for Africa and needs protecting.

Learning aims In this lesson you will be learning about some of the issues that are increasing threats to small scale farmers. Learning aims:  To learn that access to land in Africa is unequal.  To know that small scale African farming is under threat.  To understand the terms land grab and water grab.

Farming in the Tana Delta Kenya Starter activity  Use your atlas to find the best map showing the River Tana and where it enters the sea.  Find 3 places along the course of the River Tana.  Find 3 pieces of information about the geography of this area.

Who farms in the Tana Delta district?

Different farmers… Pastoralists who graze 20,000 cattle here permanently increasing to 60,000 during the dry season Family farmers who grow maize, bananas and other vegetables on their shambas Fishermen who fish for a variety of fish for their families and local markets.

Who owns the land in the Tana river region?  Much of the land in the region is ‘trust’ land, this means it is held in trust for the farmers but organised by the regional council for the community.  This land should be set aside for good of the people who live there.  However, land rights in the region are tricky because there is land that is owned privately, publicly, as well as trust land.  Farmers have been here for generations, so there are traditionally different rights of access to the land.

Who has rights to water in the Tana river region?  There are also another set of rights linked to access to water.  Rights of access to water are often traditionally based on negotiation between the groups of farmers rather than clearly defined rules.  This can lead to problems, particularly during the dry season.

Small-scale farming under threat… Can you solve the mystery in the Tana River District? Look at the 4 events that are happening in the Tana River District. Read and follow the instructions on the ‘causes’ cards and decide which one card caused all the mysterious events to happen. Write 3 geographical questions that you would like to ask to find out more information. Remember that enquiry questions will help you find out information will need. Use the 5Ws i.e.: What, Why, Where, When, Why and hoW.

Find out what happened… Watch the video extract to find out what happened to cause the threat to farmers in the Tana region: Participatory science in the Tana delta

Land grabs European companies are buying large areas of land to grow crops (sugar cane and jatropha) for ‘agro-fuels’. These fuels are used for renewable energy in Europe. Other land is used to grow crops for export too. Water grabs To grow crops for agro-fuels a constant supply of water is needed to irrigate the crops. Water is often taken from local rivers used by small scale farmers. What are the main threats to small scale farmers?

What’s the future?  Small scale farmers throughout Africa are fighting for their rights to land and water, enabling them to lead the productive lives they value and have led for generations.  Individual family farmers or small communities often find it impossible to challenge the companies and governments who are causing the threats. So often farmers join local organisations and unions for support.

Many voices… Organisations and unions meet regularly with family farmers to understand and represent concerns. Many of the African Farmers’ Unions are lobbying their governments to develop policies in favour of small scale farming providing food for families, local community and local markets. There are many opportunities to view and listen to meetings with family farmers in Africa. Here’s an example;

Plenary What are some of the causes leading to small scale farmers’ land being under threat in the Tana Delta? What are agro-fuels? Why are they being farmed in Africa? How are the rights of family farmers represented local and national level?

Further information and ideas for action: Research UK organisations who campaign in support of small-scale African farmers. Mind map the many actions people can take in Europe to reduce the risk of land and water grabbing from African farmers. Highlight the actions that you could, and want to carry out, and SHARE them with your class!