Our Strategy:

Empower local ministries to provide needed training and oversight in an effort to develop smallholder
farmers and their communities beginning in the Petauke District.

 

Train leaders and smallholder farmers on business practices and financial planning related to agriculture. A cost-benefit analysis of proposed improvements must be adopted whether deciding to buy inputs for farming, drilling a bore hole for irrigation, constructing a grain mill or starting a poultry hatchery. Such analysis and planning will result in optimization of resources for both development organization and smallholder farmer.

Five main development targets have been identified.

 

1. Train growers in improved methods for maize production, providing an interest-free microloan for quality inputs such as seed and fertilizer. The loans will be repaid in either grain through a crop share arrangement or cash based upon the grower’s preference. Initial assessments indicate yields could be more than tripled over those currently achieved by most growers. Members of the local ministry will provide training, routinely reinforce that training, and check on each grower’s fields throughout the season. The strength of the local ministry to follow through on this has been witnessed and confirmed, which is key to success.

2. Establish harvest and post-harvest practices to minimize post-harvest loss and improve market options. This would include harvest of ears while maize stalks remain in the field to improve organic matter, prompt husking with adequate moisture management, improved shelling, and storage methods to minimize mold, pest, and insect damage. Degradation of maize was noted by February over the two seasons observed.

3. Partner with local schools to plan and implement school gardens while teaching children agricultural practices and self-sufficiency. The garden will provide a food source for the children who often miss school due to hunger. There does not appear to be an emphasis on agriculture in local schools. The gardens are small and demonstrate the potential for a significant increase in productivity.

4. Establish community gardens throughout the district. Given the wide prevalence of hunger in the region, people travel from village to village looking for food. Local ministry partners are frequently approached with requests and feel a responsibility to respond with food, sharing from their own stores. To meet this demand, a wide variety of vegetables grown with a broader harvest window will be available for consumption providing an opportunity for those in need to work for their food and gain dignity in the process.

5. Train leaders and farmers alike to develop a business plan through an adequate assessment, research of possible strategies, and financial analysis including reasonable projections followed by implementation of that plan. There appears to be an emphasis on new technologies as a primary means for problem solving while many low-tech strategies are readily available that have the potential to increase production significantly. In some circumstances new technologies make sense, however there must be a careful analysis of identified needs and return on investment in decision making.