Ecofeminism and Sustainable Agriculture: Insights from the OZA Feminist Fellowship
Primrose Bimha, Sive Peter, Perthias Manda, and Bontle Leeuw presenting a pesticide campaign at the Regional Feminist Fellowship Workshop, Cape Town, April 2024.
We came up with catchy project titles such as “Poison on Your Plate,” “Sustainable Soil: Sustainable Life,” “Know Your Killer,” and my team’s own, “#BanDursban.”
I received gratifying news on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, confirming my selection for the Oxfam South Africa (OZA) Feminist Fellowship, for which I had applied earlier in the year. I promptly made contingency plans and took a week off from my regular schedule to attend the induction workshop, with Module 1 scheduled for April 15–21. When I arrived at Bertha Retreat for the training, I hoped to gain insights on ecofeminism, feminist food systems, and feminist economics. To my delight, the programme focused extensively on food systems and sustainable agricultural practices.
Highlights from the regional feminist fellowship
Related themes that stood out for me during the week of training were Malik Dasoo’s presentation on Regenerative Agriculture and Wendy Pekeur’s presentation on the harmful effects of pesticides. The two themes stood out for me because they spoke to the importance of preserving and enriching arable land for sustainable food production. Soil is the major product on which crop production relies, hence its importance. Since common agricultural practices that have weakened our soils diminish both the quantity and quality of food crop yields, reversing these effects is an emergency.
Malik noted that while 80% of our soils are severely degraded, we could avert further damage through affordable restorative and sustainable agroecology practices. Relevant approaches include crop rotation, intercropping, agroforestry (planting trees near farmland), and integrating livestock and crops. Unfortunately, the dominance of large-scale capitalist farming practices has been characterized by a heavy use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. We noted that our agricultural training projects should prioritize dissuading farmers from using chemicals, which, despite their harmfulness, have signalled innovation and improved yields for decades.
The proposed agroecological interventions promote the recycling of plant nutrients and organic matter, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Wendy from Ubuntu broadened our understanding of the impact of toxins from harmful pesticides on soils, water, plants, insects, and humans. We followed up on the teachings by engaging in group discussions. The following are some of the adverse effects we observed:
- Occupational hazards pose a significant risk for users, particularly farm workers and dwellers. In South Africa, most of them are black, poor, and have limited access to good health care facilities.
- Discussants added that women are more likely to wash farm workers’ clothes, which exposes them to pesticides daily.
- Women, who typically prepare meals, are more likely to absorb pesticide residue through their skin.
- Researchers have also established that pesticide exposure, either directly or through food consumption, can lead to reproductive health challenges such as miscarriages, infertility, and birth defects.
- Furthermore, pesticide use is associated with an increased risk of cancer due to both environmental exposure and food consumption.
Addressing the impact of pesticides on health and environment
We divided ourselves into small groups to draft calls to action as a follow-up to our preliminary research. The groups came up with different solutions focused on educating small-scale farmers, calling on the government to ban harmful pesticides, and informing the public so they could join us in our quest to curb the use of harmful pesticides. We came up with catchy project titles such as “Poison on Your Plate,” “Sustainable Soil: Sustainable Life,” “Know Your Killer,” and my team’s own, “#BanDursban.” I look forward to further developing these campaigns.
We concluded with a lot to savour: strategies to refine, projects to execute, partnerships to build, and questions to reflect on. How do we centre nature in the solutions we are trying to develop? And how do we package our calls to action into wide-reaching campaigns?
Join a movement that promotes sustainable agricultural practices and advocates for a ban on harmful pesticides. Educate yourself and others about the dangers of pesticide use, and support policies that protect our health and environment.
Learn about Oxfam South Africa’s Regional Fellowship Programme Here
By Primrose Z.J. Bimha (PhD)
Primrose Z.J. Bimha (PhD) is an African feminist who has worked in academia, government, and non-governmental organizations. She aspires to cultivate intersectional feminist approaches to development challenges through movement building and policy influencing.
