Sustainable agriculture for a healthy future
Chapter 1: Pest control
Greetings from the vegetable garden in Ongombombonde, Namibia, from the dedicated garden team. steps for children has been committed to sustainable agriculture since 2022 by using natural pesticides to promote healthy soil and thus achieve an environmentally friendly harvest.
How this was achieved and which means are used for pest control is reported in this article by garden manager Ripura McMillan Hewicke.
f.l. Eckhard Volkmann, Consultant, Cesilia Mungago, Philip Shindimba, Godlop Mbeuserua, Jakura Tjaapo, Ripura McMillan Hewicke, Manager
Our approach to pest control
In our efforts to reduce environmental and water pollution, we pursue a natural approach to agriculture. Rather than using synthetic agrochemicals, we use environmentally friendly methods of pest control that not only safeguard our crop yields but also preserve the natural ecology.
Cesilia shows you how she prepares the natural fertiliser.
Click here for the video
Natural defences
We rely on natural defences such as:
- Onions
- Chili
- Wood vinegar
- Vegetable oil
- Sodium bicarbonate
- Garlic
These products create unfavorable living conditions for pests by altering the pH, habitability, and smell of the host environment. To ensure that our sprays remain effective, we add biodegradable soap that acts as an adhesive and prevents the products from being washed off by rain or irrigation.
Promotion of a healthy ecosystem
Our goal is not only to repel pests, but also to promote a healthy ecosystem. We believe that a healthy harvest is our best defense – because pests primarily attack unhealthy plants. In a sense, they are nature’s “waste disposal team”!
The importance of healthy soil
To cultivate healthy plants, we need healthy soil. This includes important parameters such as soil structure, water-holding capacity, and organic matter content. There are ecological support services that enable healthy soil, such as water, nutrient, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles, and much more. We therefore create an environment in which all the processes mentioned above can take place through sustainable practices such as composting, green manuring, retaining crop residues, mulching, cover cropping, crop rotation, and microbial inoculation of the soil, to name just a few.
Our vision for the future
This is more than just a method: It is our vision for vegetable and olive cultivation as part of steps for children. Together, we are working to shape a sustainable future for generations to come.
Support sustainable vegetable cultivation in Ongombombonde now
– for a healthy future!
