Mlowa - 1st Visit

March 9, 2009
Village: Mlowa
Pastor: Lonugelo Mbwila
Companion: Christus Victor, Apple Valley
Attendance: 70

This morning the four of us (Ibrahim, Godwin, Alfred, and Roger) drove to Mlowa, about one and a half hours west of Iringa on the road to Ruaha. The area around the main church is pretty dry. We arrived about 9:340 and since we weren’t expected till about 11:00 we went out to the plot to take soil samples. Once we left the “main road” we had to cross two creeks, one river and drive with one wheel in a creek for a period of time. The plot is about 2km by walking trail from the main church, but about 10 km via drivable (?) road. The plot is located in a low area that is irrigated. There are a number of other farms adjacent to the plot. The next field is planted in rice and was being irrigated while we were there.

We took soil samples from 6 inches and 12 inches at three locations in the plot. Four parishioners rode with us in the truck, and about another six walked from the church.

When we got back we had our meeting in the church. By the time everyone signed up there were 70 attendees. This was the largest attendance we have had so far. After a brief introduction, Ibrahim went through the handouts:
1. DIRA – Institute of Agriculture Village Plot Agreement
2. Plot Management
3. Chronological Plot Management of Crops Planted in December of 2009
4. Frequently Asked Questions
5. Record of Events

The group was very interested and asked a lot of questions. According to the pastor people moved to this area from the Njombe area in the mid 60s because of the potential for agriculture. The pastor also said that the people in his parish loved to farm. Based on the attendance and the interest shown, he was correct. There were a number of Massii, probably close to 20% of the group. The pastor also said that they were in discussion and planning to start a SACCOS. I told them that a SACCOS would be very complementary to the CVF program and could be a way for farmers to be able to purchase seed and fertilizer for their own farms.

The average yield in the area is between 3 to 5 bags of corn per acre. They were excited when we told them that using the techniques from the CVP program at Mgongo we were able to harvest over 15 bags per acre.

Questions and comments were:
· Pastor Lunogelo Mbwilo said he was thankful that the Mlowa parish could be part of this program and have a CVP plot. He was thankful that their companion congregation Christus Victor was willing to support this project for them. His parishioners like to farm, but there is a shortage of food in the community. He hopes this program will help farmers produce more.
· Pastor is excited about the CVP program. He had heard about the program in other parishes, but was afraid that they wouldn’t be able to get a plot in their parish.
· One man said that 3 to 5 bags per acre does not provide enough food to feed themselves. If he can get 15 bags per acre he doesn’t need to farm 10 acres, and can pay closer attention to fewer acres. On the other hand he could grow 10 acres he could see what is lover from feeding his family.
· Most people take care of 10 acres, but get low yields even with irrigation. Hopefully these techniques you are teaching us will help us get better yields.
· They were happy to hear that there is a CVP plot at Tungamalenga because they are at a similar elevation and have similar weather.
· You are talking about using fertilizer; our experience is that fertilizer is detrimental to the soil and the plans. If you use fertilizer for a few years and then quit, you won’t be able to grow anything on that ground the next year. Ibrahim responded that just like medicine, if one took all the pills they received from a doctor at once they would likely get sick and could kill themselves. But if you took the medicine as prescribed one would get well. Fertilizer if wrongly applied can give bad results, but if properly applied will increase yields.
· Other fertilizer questions
· They asked about the kind of fertilizer we were recommending and when to apply it
· We said that we needed to wait until the results of the soil test were done
· They know about NPK and Urea
· We said we would likely recommend NPK at planting and Urea or CAN at the knee high stage of corn
· One man didn’t know that you could test soil and develop fertilizer recommendations from that test. He was happy to learn about soil testing.
· They asked what kind of seed will be used in the CVP plot. We said Pioneer, and they were glad because they were familiar with that seed.
· Questions were raised about minimum tillage:
o If you don’t burn how will you control pests and disease? Crop rotation will help control pests and disease.
o What is one cuts the residue and feeds it to his cattle? That’s fine, but if you can apply the manure to the plot.
o If they have cattle, can they use oxen to plow the field? Yes, but they should plow earlier and then make rows for planting.
o Can they use oxen to plant? We recommend that they not plant in the plow furrow because the seed gets buried too deep and might not germinate. They should plow early and then make rows on top of the plowed furrow.
o They said they get better yields if they don’t plant in the plow furrow.
· They said they are experiencing diseases in their corn. Crop rotation will help break the cycle of pests and disease.
· There were questions about plant spacing:
o They thought our recommendation of 60 cm rows with plants 20 cm apart within a row was too close.
o They usually plant in 90 cm rows with seeds 50 cm apart, but they plant two seeds per hill.
o They use about 10 kg seed/acre with 90 by 50 spacing planting two seeds per hill. We said they would probably use 14 kg seed/acre with the 60 by pacing with one seed per hill.
· There were questions about intercropping:
o We recommend growing only one crop at a time
o They agreed that the plot would be easier to weed
o They have experienced higher yields when growing only one crop at a time
· The people in the parish believe that it is possible to become successful as a result of farming. They cited an example of a family in their village who got started farming then expanded into busses. Family members still live in a really nice house, the best in the village and farm.
After meeting in the church for an hour and a half the group adjourned outside and kept asking questions for another half hour.

Photo link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21557421@N08/sets/72157615106630376/detail/