“Science is knowledge. Research gaining knowledge generally needs to be reductionist but management using all science (knowledge) has to be holistic - or civilization will not survive as biodiversity loss, chaos & violence increase.” - Alan Savory
Reductionism and Holism.
In the late eighties and early nineties, holistic management became buzzwords amongst Zimbabwean ranchers and environmentalists mainly at the instigation of Allan Savory. I took against the word, although making the effort to read his book despite its long title. Perhaps not disliked, rather my avoidance was more due to my lack of understanding of the concept or maybe just my usual scepticism of new ideas until proven. As I have aged I have come to realise ‘holistic’ is not such a bad word after all, in fact, in many situations it is essential to lead a fulfilled life. Unlike ‘woke’, another word I have recently come to dislike, not just the word but also its advocates. Possibly, that is because ‘woke’ is not inclusive, instead, it is full of reductionism without any science. After all, those ‘green’ activists beating up petrol stations or advocating the slaughter of rumens on our farms is not going to fix climate change. It will require a global, holistic change to do so.
Some of you may be aware of the ongoing worldwide public dispute between Alan Savory and members of the scientific world, reductionists, and ‘green’ journalists. Alan, whether you agree with him or not is never far from controversy. If nothing else he makes you think. So many theories and ideas. Many may not know it was his ideas on tracking that nurtured the creation of the feared and famous Selous Scouts of the Rhodesian Army.
He is best known for his work on the holistic management of grazing. In his model, he advocates high stocking and frequent rotations which is now practised in many parts of the world. I have seen some good examples of his theories put into practice and I have also seen some that have failed miserably. I never know if these failures are not as much due to the management as the management system. I am not here to argue for or against his grazing system, rather to support him in his concept that everything we do should be done in a holistic manner. By selecting singular parts of nature in our quest for conservation we may do more harm than good. Some examples are the red deer numbers in Scotland, happily chomping all the newly planted saplings. The badgers in England spreading TB as their numbers increase or even the rising numbers of elephants in Western Zimbabwe and Botswana.
“In the natural world, we humans are predators, in fact, super predators. The ‘greens’ by reducing our role in predation, by law or bullying, allows those species uncontrolled by predators to abound at the expense of both their habitat and all species that rely on it, including themselves.” - Peter McSporran
I remember as a young tobacco farmer using my Rhodesian Tobacco Handbook, supported by its Work Study Manual, these I used as bibles in relation to my tobacco growing practices. There was not a task or agronomic recommendation pertaining to tobacco not included in these tombs. These aide memoirs for tobacco farming were supported and produced by a group of scientists based at Kutsaga Research Station, all specialists in their particular fields. The one thing that used to piss me off was that the scientists (reductionists) at Kutsaga in their advice generated scientifically within their field, would each boast increases to your yield. Not just a broad claim, sometimes a precise measurement in kilograms per hectare. I cannot remember the actual numbers but it would go like this. If you hardened your seedlings correctly for four weeks, this would add 400 kilograms to your yield, if you treated for nematodes this would double your yield, if you had Rhodes grass rotation this would add 300 kilograms, if you weeded before the weeds grew larger than three inches this would add 300 kilograms and so it went on that in the end if you added all the reductionist advice together you should have been producing close to ten tonnes of tobacco a hectare. This was despite the plant only having the capability of perhaps producing four tonnes. Of course, while the reductionists produced the information the implementation had to be done holistically by management. Only the farmers that took all this information and applied it in a holistic manner would get close to the crop's maximum potential. Any taken in isolation would lead to failure. Compromises within our resources and management time had to be made. We tried our best which at times admittedly was not good enough. How I hated one of these scientists visiting the farm and telling me I was losing yield due to suckers in what I considered a sucker-free crop or some such criticism.
“Reductionists are poor implementers of their own research findings. Their theory normally requires a manager to ensure the environment is correct for the practical application within the wider system.” - Peter McSporran
Over the years I began thinking about all the other things in life that worked best holistically. I even thought about our own lives. Some say it should be balanced. Now there is another annoying word. We can look at some parts of our lives that make us feel very good, some that we regret or make us very sad or feel bad. We need to understand contentment means happiness, the others are simply highs and lows.
“Concentrating too much on your external beauty may make you ugly on the inside. You may become unattractive to others, the very opposite of what you are trying to achieve.” - Peter McSporran
You cannot be healthy without both exercise and a good diet and even then you have to ensure your brain is in the ‘right place’. In fact, too much food or too much exercise can bring about health problems, even an early death while your mind can destroy you in other ways. You have to manage your body and mind holistically.
I can respect and appreciate what the reductionists have contributed to the success of agriculture, especially my own. But that scientific knowledge must be introduced to your system in a practical manner integrated with all the other applications, processes and even routines. They do not work on their own.
That is also required for the GCD deal on the table. If it is to work, it will require to be inclusive, not divisive. The Zimbabwean land issues will not be resolved in the eyes of the western world, let alone the local population, by compensating some white farmers. A more holistic approach will be required.
Managers Tales
I am going to take unfair advantage of some of my ex-employees as they all had their quirks, or some incident in their time with me that to this day still makes me smile. The late Mike von Memerty was one of the best managers I ever employed. Loyal and very focused on his work, that is in achieving his main goal of farming on his own. This he succeeded in doing.
Mike rarely did anything stupid so this incident I recall here was a rarity. One evening we decided we would go fishing so to this end, Mike and I hitched up the boat and headed down to the dam. I had an old Mercury Redline outboard, prone to being temperamental when required to start. I reversed the boat into the water, Mike aboard with the intent to start the engine once the boat was afloat. Turning the key, the engine turned but would not start. Mike if nothing else was determined and continued to turn the engine whilst a strong wind caused him to disappear into the gathering dusk. Eventually, the battery was flat and undeterred Mike took the anchor rope, removed the cover and commenced trying to pull start. By now he was far out, and discovering he had no paddle decided he would swim ashore towing the boat. No easy task even without a wind. There was also the added risk of crocodiles in the dam. Only a few but not long before the time of Mike’s swim, we lost a farm worker's daughter to one. The farm workers and their families, especially the women and girls, had a penchant for wading waist deep into the dam to fish despite the danger.
On finally returning to the bank, I went over to the boat to try and see what the problem had been while Mike lay on the bank gasping for breath in his efforts to recover. Aah, easy. The kill switch had not been inserted, so no way would the engine have started. So simple, but we all have days like that.
Tony Leckie had a number of productive years working for me and was the first manager to produce four thousand kilograms per hectare of tobacco with me. One day, Tony and I went to visit John Gordon to get some advice on the layout of our tobacco grading shed just prior to grading. John was busy setting up humidifiers. A steam-driven humidifier was giving a problem with one of the blades hitting something from time to time giving out a loud clang. Tony’s demeanour was always laid back. Standing there looking at the humidifier he suddenly removed his hand from his pocket and I presume, wishing to point the problem out, stuck his finger into the revolving blades causing a dull whack sound. Without uttering a sound, he hurriedly put his hand back in his pocket. After John and I exchanged glances, we both looked down at Tony’s shorts which we now saw dripping blood. The outcome was he had lost the tip of his finger and in his embarrassment, despite the pain, tried to hide the fact. John in another incident had also lost the tip of his finger as previously recorded in his son Ross’s book.
Tony was an excellent tennis player, once again his laid-back attitude fooled many opponents. However, his greatest joy was fishing, perhaps that is why he came to work for us on the banks of Darwendale Dam. For this purpose, he had a Mini Glider boat, I think it was about ten feet long. It was meant for small dams and rivers but despite this, Tony would fish on Kariba with it. By coincidence in the future while we were on our houseboat, The Shenga at the mouth of the Ume River we rescued him from an unexpected storm. Kariba is renowned for its instant storms.
"A good farm manager is what I would term a holistic manager. They can handle administration, manage a large labour force, understand their culture and social needs and importantlly how to grow, harvest, process and market crops. Most importantly they know how to keep the boss happy" - Peter McSporran
The Leckie’s moved on, renting a farm in the district, California Farm, of Leckie’s Leap fame. They were replaced by a red-haired whirlwind in the form of Ian Lindsay better known as Rinty. Rinty was still a bachelor in those days, Mike von Memerty, our senior manager at the time, and I were often in awe of his late-night escapades to the bright lights of Harare on the weekends never failing to be at work the next day with little or no sleep. One particular Saturday morning, he appeared very bedraggled at the farm workshop informing us he must have fallen asleep on the way home and he had damaged his car. What he had was a serious accident, his car being stuck in a field. We set off to look for it arriving at Parson’s Farm, that of late Lord Graham, near Nyabira, where we found his car several hundred metres from the road having cartwheeled multiple times on its way to its final resting place. I think if I remember rightly, it was or rather had been a Datsun Pulsar which would never run again. How he escaped with only minor injuries I do not know, although he always has complained about a bad back. Despite this, nobody could compare with him jiving on the dance floor at the club or weddings. For him, a dream holiday was to attend the New Orleans Jazz Festival, which on occasion he did enjoy.
I first met Rinty, at the Harare show after he returned from a trip to America with Graham Rae and Neville (Tweed) Mallet. I was stewarding at the Hereford ring when Ian arrived to be congratulated by all and sundry on his engagement which was announced in that morning's Herald newspaper. In those days, the Herald recorded all hatches, matches and despatches. Ian was furious as he at that time did not have a girlfriend, let alone was he engaged. One of his erstwhile mates had posted it as a prank.
Ian was to work for me on three different occasions in different roles over the coming years. As Farm Manager, then as my General Manager during my time at the CFU and again when we were winding down the farm after we were kicked off. To his credit the last time he did a great job, in danger, whilst I established myself in Zambia. Ian in addition farmed on his own until he lost his leased property to the land invasions before returning at the end of his farming days in Zimbabwe with me. A more sincere hard working honest man you could not find. I have many stories about Ian that may be worth retelling in the future. He and his wife Daphne now live in Zambia. It must be said, he like all my managers remained good friends with the exception of two sadly.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
Kommentare