Roger Thurow

This is a great story following four Kenyan farmers who participated in the One Acre Fund's education and loan program to dramatically increase their maize yields. Over the course of year, you get a good sense of their lives—of course, it is mostly mundane details, but so different from my own life that they are fascinating. In particular, Thurow describes the challenges the farmers face, including weather, fluctuating maize prices, high school fees, malaria and other medical problems. That they push through them all is inspirational—and the book ends with a followup from two years later, showing that their progress was sustained.

Thurow gives the details, being careful to point out the prices of everything. This emphasizes the farmers' poverty; relatively small amounts of money are life-changing. One Acre comes across as an amazing program. It has any number of initiatives, but the main one is organizing groups of farmers, loaning them maize seeds and fertilizer, and teaching them how to plant them most efficiently (when to plant, how to use the fertilizer and place the seeds, etc.).

Thurow himself is invisible. Mostly this works to make the narrative seem more immediate and less intermediated. But sometimes you can't help but feel that the conversations he is reporting are for his benefit, and that the farmers might be a little less perfect idealists in reality. It is disappointing that he never gives any pushback. He discusses the funding of international aid programs in Washington, DC, as if their importance is self-evident—but in fact the programs are largely disconnected from the farmers he is following. (After this, One Acre did get a government grant.) He accepts without question the farmers' critique of the Kenyan government for not propping up maize prices during their harvest—even though there was an ongoing hunger crisis in Kenya, and just a few weeks earlier the same farmers were struggling to feed themselves because prices were too high!

Thurow also seems to believe that agricultural development is the way out of the poverty trap for these communities, instead of, e.g., moving to cities where they can be more productive. While the progress made is inspirational, one can't help but wonder how far it can go; doubling the yield on a family's half-acre plot of land is huge, but it isn't even close to enough for a family with seventeen children. Obviously, development is a hard problem, but these farmers show how it can be done, with their resilience, determination, hard work, initiative, and strong investments in education. At least implicitly, Thurow clearly understands that these qualities are more important than government or NGO programs. But it all works together, and the One Acre Fund makes a huge difference.… (lisätietoja)

In Kenya, the hunger season is defined as the time between when supplies from last year's harvest run out and the next year's crops are ready to be harvested. Just by its definition, you would think this would be a rare occurrence - maybe something that happens during a disaster. But for many small holder farmers in Kenya, the hunger season happens every year and lasts several months. The Last Hunger Season follows the lives of several families as they navigate what they hope to be their last hunger season. All of these families are hoping to break the vicious cycle of poverty through their participation in the One Acre Fund, an NGO that offers farmers improved seeds, fertilizers, and farming methods, so they can yield a crop that will hopefully last an entire year. It is heartbreaking to read about some of these families whose children go to school with only a cup of tea for breakfast, walk all the way home for lunch to have nothing, and possibly just a cup of tea and some vegetables for dinner. I am completely baffled that we live in a world where we throw away food daily, fly around the world and yet, still have people on this planet who starve to death.

Such a fantastic story, that offers some hope, but really will change your view of the world.… (lisätietoja)

The message of this book - that hunger can be overcome, that the will is there to prosper and thrive - that is the amazing thing about this year in the lives of four different Kenyan farmer families. The work of One Acre is truly inspiring and the hardships that these families have lived through are heartbreaking. Poverty is a relative thing, but many Americans take for granted the broad safety nets that don't exist for much of the world's poor. Seeing the progress that One Acre has made in alleviating hunger and hardship has made me want to be involved in an endeavor that is working and that gives its participants ownership and satisfaction in being able to care for themselves and to look forward to prosperity.… (lisätietoja)

In America, not having any food in the house often means that there is plenty to eat, just not what you are hungry for. But in Kenya, where one is often named for the season of year in which one was born, there are too many children named Wanjala — the hunger season. Even among farmers, hunger and its accompanying problems is common. The Last Hunger Season details one year in the life of 4 farmers involved in One Acre Fund, founded by American Andrew Youn. One Acre Fund seeks to improve farming techniques through education, loans and better seeds. It is not another food aid agency; it seeks to improve the lives of farmers by making them part of the solution.

The Last Hunger Season is an eye-opening book. Hunger and the day to day struggle to have enough to eat is something foreign to most of us in the Western world. The idea that farmers go through a hunger season, watching their children become more and more listless and susceptible to disease seems incomprehensible. While I did not always agree with the political assessments of the author, I found the book a great look into the heart of the famine problem in Africa. I am also impressed with One Acre Fund’s commitment to educate and empower the farmers rather than perpetuate the cycle of handouts and need.

The featured farmers and their families are very real. I hurt during their losses and rejoiced with them in their victories. The book puts a face and a heart on the problems seen in 30 second commercial clips. These farmers are not so different from you and me — they want more for their children. They are committed to hard work, persistence and perseverance. And they get on their knees, raise their hands and praise God for what He has done, what He’s doing and what He will do. I recommend The Last Hunger Season to anyone who wants an accurate look at the plight of farmers in the developing world and a wonderful project that can be the solution to the problem.

Recommended.

(I received The Last Hunger Season from B&B Media in exchange for a review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)… (lisätietoja)