Lusaka, Zambia
Elleman Mumba makes an unlikely celebrity. He is not a singer nor a footballer - he is a 54-year-old peasant farmer from southern Zambia.
Yet he has appeared on the front page of a national newspaper and been interviewed for numerous radio and television programmes.
Yet he has appeared on the front page of a national newspaper and been interviewed for numerous radio and television programmes.
What explains his fame?
Mr Mumba grows maize and groundnuts on his small plot of land in Shimabala, just south of Lusaka.
Feeding his family used to be a problem.
"The yield was very little. We were always looking for hand-outs; we had to rely on relief food."
Quiet agricultural revolution
Like many farmers, Mr Mumba had no oxen of his own to plough his field.
He had to wait in line to hire some, which meant he often failed to plant as soon as the first rains fell - with disastrous consequences.
Mr Mumba grows maize and groundnuts on his small plot of land in Shimabala, just south of Lusaka.
Feeding his family used to be a problem.
"The yield was very little. We were always looking for hand-outs; we had to rely on relief food."
Quiet agricultural revolution
Like many farmers, Mr Mumba had no oxen of his own to plough his field.
He had to wait in line to hire some, which meant he often failed to plant as soon as the first rains fell - with disastrous consequences.
Researchers say that for each day's delay, the potential yield shrinks by between 1% and 2%.
Then, in 1997, Mr Mumba suddenly found himself in the vanguard of a quiet agricultural revolution.
His wife had been given free training in a system called conservation farming, and persuaded him to try it.
Conservation farming is about doing less to get more. Instead of ploughing entire fields, farmers till and plant in evenly spaced basins.
Then, in 1997, Mr Mumba suddenly found himself in the vanguard of a quiet agricultural revolution.
His wife had been given free training in a system called conservation farming, and persuaded him to try it.
Conservation farming is about doing less to get more. Instead of ploughing entire fields, farmers till and plant in evenly spaced basins.
