EDEN in Africa

When I think about the creation story, my mind goes straight to the first Bible my parents gave me as a small child, which was filled with more colorful pictures than words. I can still vividly see the cartoon images of the heavens and the earth, covered with newly created plants, flowers and animals, along with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. While my adult Bible tells the same story without pictures, I still know Eden symbolized an earthly paradise- a place God created man to tend. This is where I, and Paul Harvey, believe "God Made a Farmer."

Farming has always been more than a means of survival; it is a reflection of God's original design. Humanity was entrusted with the responsibility to cultivate and steward the land, ensuring that it would provide nourishment. Today, that calling is carried on through those who not only work the soil themselves but also equip others with the tools and wisdom to do the same. There is a well-known ancient proverb you have probably heard: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". What a blessing it is to have people who not only nurture the land but also provide others with the skills and knowledge they need to be self-sufficient and sustain life for generations to come.

Jim Mixson always knew he wanted to be a farmer. Raised in Orangeburg County, Mixson spent many of his early years riding on the tractor with his grandfather, a dairy farmer, cutting silage for the cows. "I started school, and I was probably about a month into first grade when I came home and told Mama and Daddy I was done with school," Jim chuckled. "I had enough, and I was ready to start farming."

When he reached high school, Mixson began renting land from neighbors and growing soybeans. Even during his college years studying agricultural engineering at Clemson, he continued farming his then 300 acres in Orangeburg. "I set my classes up for three days a week- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday," recalled Jim. "I'd come home and farm Friday, Saturday and Monday and then go back to school."

After graduation and farming through some challenges in the 1980s, Jim accepted a position with Blanchard Machinery Company, where he held various roles in Summerville and Columbia. "After six years, I kind of felt like the corporate world wasn't where I needed to be, so I lost my mind and started farming again," he said with a laugh. He managed 1,000 acres in Orangeburg County but eventually stepped away after some difficult years.

"It was about that time when Joe Blanchard, owner of Blanchard Machinery Co., called me and told me about this property he bought in West Columbia and asked me about helping him with it," said Jim, as his dog, Dixiana, snored softly at his feet. He has been working the Blanchard property for over 25 years, where he grows corn and soybeans and manages habitat for deer, turkey and quail. While the dream of running his own farm hadn't unfolded quite the way he once imagined, Jim's story was far from over.

In the early 2010s, Mixson took on Thomas Fisher, a high school student from his church, Shandon Baptist, who was looking for a summer job. Fisher and his dad, Mark, started encouraging Mixson to join them on mission work. "They asked me if I had ever thought about using my agricultural background on the mission field," he recalled. "I said, 'No.'" After prayerful consideration, Jim decided to join a trip the senior Fisher organized to South Sudan in 2015. It was during this two-week trip that Mixson's eyes were opened to the ways he could use his skills to help the South Sudanese people.

South Sudan, an area about the size of Texas, is 80 to 90 percent subsistence farming, where families primarily grow what they need to eat. The seed and the practices the South Sudanese were using had both been passed down through the generations. "They were using seed that their grandfather used, but it wasn't the best variety," said Jim. "What I saw was a need to get information out to the villages- to the people who really need it."

An idea was born after that initial trip, and it was appropriately named EDEN: Educational Development in Emerging Nations. EDEN was formally established in early 2016 to focus on agricultural projects, women's health and empowerment and application of appropriate technologies. Mixson uses his expertise to teach conservation agriculture principles and drip irrigation, including ways to collect rainwater to increase water availability. Throughout the years, EDEN has partnered with churches, schools, refugee camps and orphanages in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and, more recently, Tanzania.

One of EDEN's main focuses is providing training and resources for villages to improve food production. Their growing seasons are very dependent on rainfall. "They have a wet season and a dry season," Jim explained. "Their growing season, which they call the wet season, is very much like ours. They plant in April and harvest around August or September." Occasionally, a late rain in the fall allows a second planting, but most of the time the land remains dry. Food storage options are also limited, so finding a production solution for the dry season was crucial. "During that window, the villages didn't have access to fresh vegetables," he detailed. "The drip irrigation system was a way to bridge the gap for the locals to produce food during that time."

The bucket irrigation system has been life-changing for these villages. "The Chapin Irrigation Method, developed by Dick Chapin over 35 years ago, is a five-gallon bucket with one hundred feet of drip irrigation line, with the necessary connections to make it all up," Jim described. Chapin Irrigation has a humanitarian arm that allows Mixson to source the connection parts he needs at a reduced cost. He secures the buckets and drip line in Africa to minimize the supplies he travels over with.

"Water can also be a big issue," said Jim. Some villages have access to boreholes, but they are not as deep as a traditional well so they can run dry during the dry season. Those who live near a river or creek can pull water from those sources but they, too, can dry up. "This led us to get into rainwater harvesting," he explained. "We've supplied gutters and tanks for churches and school buildings with large surface areas to catch water during the rainy season and then use it for irrigation." EDEN has also supplied filters for the tanks so villages can use the water for cooking and drinking.

Jim has also helped provide villages with new and improved varieties of seed. "A lot of people were using whatever granddaddy planted, using the same seed that has been passed down from generation to generation," said Jim. Sorghum is a staple crop for the locals- they turn it into a meal and prepare it to eat. "It looks kind of like grits or kind of like mashed potatoes, but not," he shared with a laugh.

"On my first trip to South Sudan, I saw this really, really tall sorghum growing, like what we use for forage sorghum for cows. It has a tiny little seed head that's open without much seed on it." He immediately knew he could share an improved variety of sorghum that would be more fruitful. Jim found access to grain sorghum seed through a breeder in South Sudan that produces varieties more drought-tolerant and higher-yielding.

"We've been able to get that seed out to the villages, and they have just gone nuts over it," said Jim. "Forage sorghum can take 300 days to mature, and this other sorghum matures in 90 days, so they can plant several crops of it during the growing season." He is able to procure one kilogram (about two pounds) of sorghum seed for $1.00-$1.50. "You give that to a family, and it changes their life," said Mixson. "They can save seed from it and use it to plant the next year. It's not something that has to be resupplied."

Jim has helped areas in Uganda and Kenya, where maize is the preferred grain, with a more productive option, as well. He's introduced American vegetable seed produced by African companies, like Clemson Spineless Okra, Georgia Collards, Sugar Baby Watermelon and several tomato varieties. "As I've gotten them out in the villages, they typically like them better," he said. "They're more productive than their standard African varieties, especially Clemson Spineless Okra, which not only produces longer in the growing season but also yields more okra per plant."

His time in Africa also focuses on providing training to villagers so they understand how to incorporate improved practices in their gardens. He teaches them about soil health, conservation, mulching, composting and ways they can make their land the most productive. He works with local pastors he's built relationships with to determine areas of need for each trip. EDEN also supports a trainer in South Sudan, who has completed agricultural training through Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and provides on-the-ground assistance throughout the year. "We bought him a motorbike, so he is able to go from village to village, training and supporting farmers, and checking on progress," shared Jim. This allows EDEN to make a greater impact year-round.

"It's not easy," Jim said. "Even in the United States, where we have tractors, combines and technology - farming isn't easy. Every year is hard in different ways." He talked about the deep appreciation the African people show for any help and assistance he's able to provide. "They are blessed by knowing people think about them and are praying for them here in the states," said Jim. "It's good to carry that message."

With Dixiana still snoring at Jim's feet, he reflected on his twenty-year-old dream of farming 1,000 acres. "God closed the door on that once, but I came back to it, and He closed the door again and provided me what I am doing now through Blanchard," said Jim. "As I think about all of that, had I gotten that farm, I wouldn't have walked the path I am on and probably wouldn't have gone to Africa. This has been the most rewarding thing I've done in my life- and not because it's all me, me, mebut because it's all God, God, God."

In the end, while there might not be an acreage count, Jim Mixson isfarming. He is fulfilling a greater purpose God called him to- by nurturing hearts, lives and land in Africa.

Learn more about how you can support EDEN's work here.