November 24, 2002

Seeds Galore

The wonderful thing about seeds is that they multiply prolifically and -- like the Biblical loaves and fishes -- can quickly feed a multitude of hungry people.

So say folks at ECHO, a unique experimental farm in Lee County near the line with Charlotte County.

It is a non-profit inter-denominational organization devoted to sending starter packets of food seeds to subsistence farmers in third-world countries.

The acronym stands for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization. The concept of seeds is simple but effective.

A boatload of emergency food is soon consumed and gone. A packet of food seeds, properly planted, can work wonders. Consider the experience of Dave Crist a missionary worker in Thailand:

"Of the eight jack beans seeds sent, four were planted in a place where sunlight was restricted and produced very few pods. The other four got more sun, and we have harvested 185 seeds so far.

"We planted 160 of these seeds. They are growing vigorously. With this second harvest we hope to promote the use of jack-beans among farmers who have infertile plots of land."

Dr. Martin Price, ECHO'S long-time executive director, points out the "multiplier effect" of seeds:

"Assuming Dave's second planting yields at least as well - 46 seeds per plant -- he could have 8,510 seeds in a few months and nearly 400,000 in the next year. All these from just four seeds!"

One can understand Dr. Price's enthusiasm. He grew up in the hill country of Ohio, earned his doctorate in biochemistry and did three years of post-doctoral work in agricultural chemistry at Purdue and Cornel Universities.

ECHO began 30 years ago by an Indiana businessman named Richard Dugger. He and his wife took a church youth group on a work mission to Haiti - one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Their experience inspired establishment of a "seed bank."

From 12 acres made available at North Fort Myers and an A-frame building, the ECHO farm has grown to 47 acres and a campus of six sections. Each section is devoted to plants for different environments - from "desert" to "monsoon."

Packets of suitable seeds are offered free of charge to missionaries, Peace Corps, USAID, Mercy Corps or anyone working with peasant farmers or urban gardeners in emerging nations.

ECHO works with other organizations because of language difficulties worldwide. However, individuals can obtain exotic seeds for a minimum donation of $3.50 per packet.

The dedicated staff, volunteers and foreign interns receive no government money. All costs are born by voluntary donations.

Occasionally, ECHO propagates semi-tropical food plants for sale to local homeowners as a fundraiser. This year's batch of strawberry trees sold out in a few hours.

Tropical Apple Trees

Apple trees have always been thought to require a certain amount of winter weather. How ECHO developed a method of growing apples in a tropical climate is a feat that would have astonished Johnny Apple Seed.

The story begins in the late 70's. A Mrs. Dorset in the Bahamas planted a seed from a Golden Delicious apple in her yard. In spite of the temperate weather, it bore excellent fruit.

Grafted trees from this parent stock are known as the Golden Dorsett. Another variety, the Anna, was developed in Israel. Both had to shed their leaves by a long, dry spell before they would bloom and produce fruit.

How these "wonder trees" were induced to bear in a tropical climate is related in an ECHO News Letter:

"The ECHO staff and recent visitors (in 1983) have enjoyed a sight few have seen in southern Florida - apple trees in bloom!

"In February a year ago we planted eight bare-root apple trees. These are new varieties that will bloom without freezing temperatures.

"If the leaves do not fall, due to either dry weather or frost, they should be pulled off by hand. This makes the tree 'think' it has been through a winter.

"Only two of our eight trees are blooming profusely. Those are the two whose leaves we pulled off in January."

Apples are popular in most of the world, but are expensive to import by tropical countries.  ECHO reasoned that a peasant able to raise a few apple trees of good fruit could sell them at high prices in nearby cities.

The farmer could then buy more food than he could ever have raised in the space the trees would take - and have some money left over for other needs.

Shortly after ECHO perfected artificial defoliation, Dr. Price escorted Mercy Corps representatives from Honduras through the farm. They wondered if the new type of apple trees would grow in their country. A trial of 1,000 trees was arranged.

Within five years, there were 12,000 producing trees - another example of the multiplier effect. A typical 2-acre orchard planting had 300 trees.

Wholesale price from the initial production averaged US 15 cents per apple. Through artificial defoliation, the trees produced two crops each year. Thus, the poorest Honduran farmer could earn $9,000 a year -- instead of $400.

It is estimated that there may be a million apple trees in Honduras today - a fourth of which are bearing at any one time.  

The Miracle Tree

Another ECHO success is the moringa tree - often called the "miracle tree" because of its many beneficial uses. Its seeds are one of the most requested.

The moringa is a fast-growing plant native to India. It grows 15 to 25 feet a year reaching a height of 60 or more feet, according to Edward Lukin of Punta Gorda. He is an ECHO donor and volunteer who specializes in moringa propagation.

The highly nutritious moringa beans - in pods up to two feet long - are difficult to harvest because of their height in lofty branches. However, ECHO is developing a smaller variety and a technique of utilizing its natural growth.

Fencing is a problem in arid climates. Food crops need fences to ward off cattle, goats, sheep and other garden robbers.

A moringa tree can be cut off two feet from the ground, cut into 2-foot sections and replanted at 2-foot intervals. All parts continue to grow - making harvesting easier while creating a living fence.

In addition to the high-protein beans, cooked moringa leaves taste like spinach and have the same food value. They have more calcium than milk and more carotene than carrots.

Moringa is being rapidly introduced in West Africa where malnutrition of infants is a great problem. Dried, powdered leaves in water is a miraculous prescription for starving babies.

Other Developments

In addition to distributing seeds, ECHO develops ways to use otherwise useless resources.

Two 5-gallon buckets of water and lengths of plastic tubing will drip-irrigate enough vegetable plantings in dry areas to feed a family of four.

An old steel drum and plastic airbag will ferment animal and human excrement into methane gas for a cooking burner.

An old bicycle can be converted into a deep-well pump.

In wet climates, a stagnant pond can be stocked with tilapia fish to eat algae, and with ducks to eat water grass. Then, the fish, ducks and duck eggs can be gathered judiciously for food.

 At the time of my visit last week, ECHO hosted its ninth annual conference for agricultural scientists and specialists from 27 countries.

A free hour-and-half tour of the facility is open to casual visitors at 10 a.m. - April through December on Tues., Fri. and Sat.; January through March on Tues. through Sat. Groups of 10 or more may call 239/543-3246 for appointment.

To reach ECHO, exit 143 off I-75; go one mile east on Bayshore Road (Rt. 78). Turn left on Durrance Road and follow signs to visitor parking.

Enjoy.

Author: Lindsey Williams

Cutlines  -- crop exactly as submitted in proof prints

Photos by Lindsey Williams

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[ Seeds for moringa trees are the most requested from  ECHO's experimental farm in North Fort Myers. ]

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[ Dr. Martin Price, executive director of ECHO, a non-profit inter-denominational facility. ]

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[ Edward Lukin, an ECHO volunteer,  pots plants that produce free seeds for subsistence farmers in third-world countries. ]

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ECHO sign

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