The Last Hunger Season

“Thank you, Father. This is the day you planned for me to take my harvest,” he [Sanet] prayed. “Look after everyone on my shamba, so no one gets hurt. Keep us safe. You control everything in this field. Since I planted this maize, you have taken care of it. Now I see the results of your work. I will remember the results of my field.”Just as he said “Amen,” he raised the machete above his head and brought it down with a quick, violent slash. Then, in a blur, came a second slash. Whack, whack. He cut down two stalks of maize at dirt level and then, thump, threw them to the ground. He moved swiftly. Whack, whack, thump. Two more stalks added to the pile.The maize harvest, so long anticipated, had begun._____________________________________________Roger Thurow, The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change (purchase a copy)  (185)In his recently published book, reporter Roger Thurow documents a year in the life of four smallholder farmers in Western Kenya, and, as the title implies, uses this case study to demonstrate how hunger seasons in Africa can be ended for good. Thurow's farmers were enrolled in the One Acre Fund, an innovative agriculture organization that provides seed and fertilizer, financing, training, and market facilitation to 130,000 farmers in East Africa.As many predict that this year's hunger season will be the worst in years, due to the major drought of 2011, Thurow's book is remarkably timely.This is no surprise, however, when Thurow's history and credentials are considered. As a reporter for The Wall Street Journal for 30 years, 20 of them as a foreign correspondent, and now a senior fellow for global agriculture and food policy at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, he has devoted his life to raising awareness of a very tragic, yet manageable problem.Thurow’s previous success with his first book Enough, and his commitment to end hunger in Africa make him a natural ally for the ONE campaign, as they both seek to raise awareness and solve the problems of poverty, hunger, HIV, Malaria, and clean water that plague Eastern Africa. We would like to invite you to join us – Roger Thurow, the ONE Campaign, One Acre Fund, and The Clapham Group – as we raise awareness on effective methods to eradicate hunger.