Demonstration Plot Reflections, 2010

Iringa Tanzania, December 30, 2009 – March 30, 2010

We left Minneapolis in the midst of an Alberta Clipper, arrived in Amsterdam on time and left for Tanzania. As we were loading the luggage into the car we could hear the New Year being celebrated in the surrounding neighborhood. After wishing Trish a Happy Birthday we left the hotel at 8:00 AM for Iringa. When we stopped for lunch we discovered that one of the rear tires was low on air. After a two and a half hour delay we were on the road again. We arrived in Iringa at about 6:30.

After a fitful night’s sleep we awoke to the task of unpacking. Of course we immediately identified all the things we forgot to bring. In the afternoon we had lunch at the Hasty Tasty Too and then walked to the market to get our first load of supplies. It was interesting to see the changes that have taken place in the nine months we have been gone. In the evening we had dinner at Lu Lu’s. It was fun to renew acquaintances with some of the shop owners that we frequented last year.

After finally accumulating enough money we got new tires, Yana Pamoja’s on the new vehicle. Since this is a cash society, one had to have the1,250,000 tsh in cash before we could get the tires. Given the limits on our cash cards it took both Trish and I a few days to accumulate that much money. It was also complicated by the fact that we needed things for the apartment as well as batteries, fertilizer and insecticide.

Sunday we drove to Nduli for worship services. We had a nice visit. Laiton talked about the 64 goats, 60 pigs, 24 bee hives, the church benches, and the water tank. and Owin, last year’s intern, preached, first in Swahili and then gave a summary in English.

The corn was about 8 inches tall, but a number of plants were yellow, especially between the veins, I had asked Les Everett, from the U of M what that might be. Les had gotten back to me with a preliminary diagnosis of sulfur deficiency. Later we set up a test plot, four rows, 20 meters long to try ammonium sulfate fertilizer to see if the added sulfur would green up the plants.

We split up into two teams (Roger, Ibriham, and Gabriel, Alfred) to make the 21 Companion Village Project (CVP) visits.

Many of the plots are located near the churches so that people can easily see them; one Pastor said they have had discussions after church about the CVP plot. His message is do things at the right time, use minimum tillage, plant close together, plant one seed per hole, use proper fertilizer and apply it correctly, plant one crop at a time, and weed frequently. He really gets what we are trying to teach.

There have been people from nearby villages and village chairmen who came to learn about our techniques. In one village the municipality has prohibited the growing of tall crops, such as corn, in the municipality. Residents asked why the church was allowed to have corn near the church. Municipal officials came out and visited with the pastor, and after seeing the plot and looking at the records they said it was OK. They were so impressed that they have sent people from the city to look at the plot.

At our meetings we ask who has followed these techniques on their own farms. A number of people from the parishes are using the techniques on their own farms. One man said that on his farm he followed all the procedures except fertilizer application. He did feed the plant residue to the animals and he put the manure on the farm. Another said he used the techniques on a small plot and got twice as much corn as before. He did not use any fertilizer but he did apply manure. One woman said last year she used these techniques and even with poor rain she harvested more corn than previously. One pastor used our recommended techniques on his own 3 acre plot, where he usually got 15 bags (about 3 bushels per bag) of corn; using these techniques he got 37 bags.

It is interesting that using our recommended techniques without commercial fertilizer results in an approximate doubling of yield, while using commercial fertilizer seems to increases yields 4 to 5 times.

We also ask them what benefits they have observed by using these techniques. Growing one crop at a time makes it easier to weed and take care of the crop. The high plant populations result in higher yields. Planting seeds in rows instead of broadcasting seeds makes it easier to weed and take care of the plants. It seems as though planting in definite rows is new for farmers. A number of people said that by planting in rows the field was easier to take care of, and one can get more corn in an area if you plant it in rows. Harvesting will be easier with plants in rows. One could get higher yields from a smaller field. Fertilizer will increase yields.

At one meeting they said they doubted if these techniques we were trying to teach them would work. But, now that the corn is up they see that what they thought was impossible is possible. One individual said that he didn’t believe the things we told them would work, but now he believes. He is using minimum tillage and clipping the weeds just below the surface and the corn looks good. They will use more of these techniques next year.

There was a lot of talk about taking good care of small plots. There are a number of large shambas (farms) but they have a lot of weeds. If one has a small plot and takes good care of it you might actually get more yield than from the large shamba with lots of weeds. Some people farm 5 acres but don’t take care of the field, and then they don’t have enough food for their family.

They said that the amount of fertilizer recommended is expensive. We told them to match the amount of fertilizer they can afford with proper plant spacing to take advantage of the fertilizer. We told them the stories from Ilambilole and Nduli where people used smaller amounts of fertilizer.

One farmer said that he used minimum tillage and saved the 25,000 tsh per acre that he used to spend to have oxen cultivate the field. He said his farm is on a hill and there is less soil erosion with minimum tillage. He also said that using the recommended spacing makes the crop easier to take care of. The second farmer said that he didn’t burn and used minimum tillage which controlled soil erosion. The piles of residue prevented weed growth. Following the recommended spacing led to better germination and a more complete stand.

They said that demonstration was the best way to teach these new techniques. The demonstrations help with learning. They talked about others who came and sold seed but gave no demonstration, and the results were not good.

During one meeting at a site that had been effected by drought, the pastor and the district pastor said that people have focused on agricultural production for commercial reasons and not food production. Specifically they grow onions to sell and not corn to eat. They hope that the CVP program will bring the focus back to food production.

The day we visited Lulanzi there is a funeral for the 1 yr old daughter of one of the church elders. Members had gotten together and decided that some people would go to the funeral (at the cemetery) and some people would go to the CVP training. They valued the training and didn’t want to miss it. While we were meeting someone rang the bell to call people to the funeral, a series of three rings. When we left Lulanzi there were literally several hundred people leaving the cemetery. That funeral was a big deal.

We stopped at Ng’ang’ange, the companion of Roseville Lutheran, Simon Msula is the pastor. He said he was in the first class at Tumaini, from 1992 to 1994, and was present when the footings were dug for “Old Main.” He said that he was in the group that had been evangelists for 20 years and then went to school to become pastors.

When we got to Magulilwa we were surprised to learn that the new pastor is Tula Lakosi, someone that I have known for 10 years. She was pastor at Nduli, CTKs companion congregation, before Laiton. CTK brought her to the US in 2003.

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING