Igumbilo-Augustana CVP Report-Mar 14-2012

2012 CVP
Companion Village Project
1st Visit Introductory meeting
March 14, 2012

Village Igumbilo
Pastor/ Evangelist Nixon Mwitula/Shukuru Msigwa
Companion Augustana Lutheran Church
Attendees 29
Weather for the past month First week rainy followed by 3 week dry spell
Ag Institute Staff Gabriel, Rev. Mang’ulisa, Roger,and Venance

Reception
There was nobody to welcome us at the time of arrival until a few minutes later when members of the village began coming one after another. At the middle of the meeting, there were as many as 26 members. However, at the end, the meeting was quite warm and the number of attendees had gone up to 29 members.
Purpose of the visit
• To introduce the CVP program
Topics
1. Review of the handouts
• Institute - DIRA agreement
• Chronological Plot Management of Crops to be Planted in 2012
• Frequent asked question

2. Delivery
We gave them a box file for record keeping of the demonstration plots
3. Historical background of the village
Igumbilo village is situated at the bottom of the escarpments on the highway to Dar es Salaam from Iringa town. It has 840 households and a population of 4,300. The population is of great diversity as it was leant from the attendees. People came from different denominations and administrative levels of the village government officials as well. They grow mainly corn, beans, cowpeas and groundnuts. Types of fertilizers used include DAP, Urea, CAN and manure from cattle. Average yield of corn is 2 – 5 bags per acre and 40 – 100kg for beans per acre. The amount of rainfall received per year is somewhat erratic from year to year. According to the village members, there was adequate rainfall in 2010 and less rainfall in 2011. In 2012, there was good amount of rainfall in January followed by a 3 week dry spell in February and resumed back in March.

Questions from audience




 You said that the 2nd application of fertilizer should take place when corn plants are knee-high, in some cases plants may take too long to reach that height, what do you advice?
In my explanation, knee – high refers to growth of corn plants attained after 60 days. Therefore, you can count 60 days from germination up to the time you do 2nd application of fertilizers.
 Does 60 day 2nd application refer to a crop which was planted without fertilizer?
No, the application of fertilizer after 60 days refers to crop plants which were fertilized at the time of planting and need to be fertilized again after 60 days (knee – high) because by then fertilizer strength is declining.
 Does the spacing of 60cm by 20cm refer to all varieties of corn?
Yes, in our case, the spacing of 60 cm by 20cm is recommended to the corn varieties grown in upland as well as to the varieties grown in the lowland.
 Don’t you think too much crop residues left on ground may impede planting and subsequent farm operations such as weeding?
No, crop residues properly handled should not be a problem to subsequent farm operations. We shall demonstrate on how to place crop residues when time comes. We only request you to leave crop residues on ground after harvesting. Do not burn it. Pastor Nixon from Ipogoro Parish was invited to explain how he handles crop residues on the parish’s demo plot and his farm. He explained that it was possible to handle crop residues without burning and without impeding any subsequent farm operations. He explained the importance of crop residues to the soil and subsequent crop as adding organic matter to the soil, conserving soil moisture, adding plant nutrients and suppressing weeds.
4. Conclusion
The program was warmly received and accepted. Attendees showed a great interest on the program. They were ready to follow the instructions. They were also advised to consult their Parish for SACCOS matters since there is a SACCOS program going on there.