Bomalang'ombe Sec.School CVP Visit Oct 27, 2010 - Trinity, Stillwater

2008 CVP
Companion Village Project
3rd Visit, Year Three
October 27, 2010
School Bomalang’ombe Secondary School
Headmaster Michael Mkinga
Companion Trinity Lutheran, Still water
Attendees Headmaster, Ag Teacher and about 44 students
Ag Institute Staff Gabriel, Fred and Pastor Mang’ulisa

Purpose of the visit
• Delivering seeds and fertilizers
• Demonstrating corn planting and fertilizer applications

When we arrive here we met 6 members of the Trinity, Still water (USA) who are here working on the Laboratory, classrooms and school hall projects. Tom Thiets introduce us to the rest of the group. We had a short talk with them then we went to the school hall for the demonstrations.
Greetings
Before we began the demonstration, Fred delivered greetings from St. Paul Area Synod and US Institute of Ag advisory committee
Review of the handouts
Together with them we went through the handouts
• 3rd Visit Instruction
• Plant population with 60 cm. rows and Fertilizer applications
• Fertilizer needs template
Demonstrations
o Planting and fertilizer applications
We took a walk down to the plot. We demonstrated on how to place seeds (Both corn and beans) and how to apply fertilizers. We insisted that they should not place seeds and fertilizers together.

Seeds and fertilizers
We delivered 2 bags of NPK and 4 bags of seeds (H6303)
Crop Seeds Fertilizer
Varieties Amount Type Amount
Corn H6303 8kg (4 bags) NPK 100kg (2 bags)

Questions/comments from the students
 Why we do not recommend cow manure for the second application?
• Manure decompose slowly to release nutrients
• Do not have as much nitrogen as industrial fertilizers
 Is NPK suitable for other crops other than corn?
Yes, NPK can be applied in almost all crops according to the nutrients’ requirement of the particular crop. We will use NPK while planting beans too.
 Why is it recommended to use Minjingu phosphate with other fertilizers in the first application?
A Minjingu phosphate has high content of Phosphorus only. Other fertilizers are required to supply Nitrogen and Potassium which are not available in Minjingu phosphates. In the demonstration plot we will not use Minjingu phosphates; we will use NPK for the 1st application.
 Why do we discourage intercropping?
Intercropping is discouraged because we do not want plant competition. When we plant more than one crop in the field, plants compete for nutrients, moisture and sunlight.
 Some of the farms in these areas have been facing nematodes problem where by the nematodes destroy the plant roots and cause plants to die. How can they solve this problem?
• Use nematicides available in the shops
• Practice crop rotation to cut off the generation cycle of the pests
• Use certified improved seed varieties
 How to determine nutrients availability in the soil?
Nutrients availability in the soil is determined by conducting soil analysis. We took soil samples from this area and we have already conducted the soil analysis. Moreover, by looking at the conditions of the plants (leaf color) one can determine the nutrients availability in the soil
 We have just conducted soil analysis in one part of the village, how about other areas? How are they going to know the nutrients availability in those areas?
We picked one area to take the soil samples. We believe that that area represents the soil type of the whole village.
 In this area, they farm potatoes. How are they going to control the fungi disease in potatoes?
• Practice crop rotation
• Use fungicides to control the disease
 The headmaster asked us, how the farmers can avoid risks and uncertainty
• Use certified seeds (with reliable germination percent)
• Plant on time
• Practice crop rotations to get rid of the pests and diseases
However farmers can buy insurances to help when the condition become unfavorable for crops (this service is not yet practiced in Tanzania.

Conclusion
We encourage students to follow all the instructions as we give them. We told them we are expecting a better job this farming season.