The Farm

The Falconer Home Farm

The Falconer Home owns a large area of farmland a few miles from the Home, measuring around 140 hectares. Much of it has yet to be cultivated, though areas of it have been used to grow maize, cassava and other crops.

Over the past year or more, Zambia has been experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, and a national state of emergency has been declared. At the Home's farm, last year's maize crop failed, with devastating consequences. Maize is important because it is the key ingredient in nshima, the staple food of Zambia, served to the children at the Home twice every day. With the crop having failed, it has been necessary to buy in maize, which is in short supply, at vastly inflated prices.

The Irrigation Project

To combat the problems of drought, Simon and his team decided that an irrigation system at the farm would enable crops to be grown in spite of the climate conditions. With careful planning, it may be possible to have two harvests a year, producing enough food to feed the children, and also some to sell, thus generating an income for the Home.

The farm is situated next to the Kabompo River, so it is well placed for drawing water from the river to water the land. The plan is to feed water to tanks in three locations: a 5 hectare field for maize, a one hectare field for other crops (soya, sorghum, ground nuts, sunflowers, chillies etc.), and an area for keeping livestock. Water will be drawn from the river using a solar pump, and booster pumps will distribute the water from the tanks next to the two fields. The maize filed will be irrigated using the 'rain gun' method, while the other field will use a drip system.

Livestock includes cattle, pigs, goats and chickens. These will be re-located from the Home site.