Lulanzi - CVP Visit Report - Nov 7-2012

2009CVP Companion Village Project & PCT 1st Extension Visit Year One November 07, 2012 Village Lulanzi Coordinates S 07o44.477’ E 035o43.515’ Pastor Tuluwene Gavile Companion Christ Lutheran, Lake Amo Attendees 11 Weather for the past month Cloudy and cold Ag Institute Staff Gabriel, Phil and Happy Purpose of the visit • Extension Education; Fertilizers and Seed Introduction The demonstration meeting was conducted in the church. Phil delivered greetings from Christ Lutheran, Lake Elmo and US advisory comettee. Happy (an intern from Tumaini University) gave a presentation about entrepreneurship. Review of the handout • We went through the extension network handout about seeds and fertilizers Training The training was on Fertilizers and seeds. The discussions were conducted in the church. Farmers had many questions and the discussion was very good. Comments/questions • Can I use the same NPK fertilizer for corn and beans? Yes, the same type of NPK can be used in both corn and beans. However for the best results, the company that distribute NPK fertilizer recommends NPK Cereal for corn and NPK winner for beans and vegetables. • Hybrid seeds; are they all packed in plastic bags? For the seeds to be packed in plastic bag do not necessarily mean that they are hybrid. Packaging material does not identify type of seeds. Ask the shopkeeper before purchasing the seeds to be sure what type you are purchasing. • How should we apply minjigu fertilizers? Minjingu fertilizers are applied before or at the time of planting. However since minjingu are simply rock phosphate fertilizers, you better use NPK or DAP which have other nutrients such as Nitrogen. • How to start a SACCOS to help in agricultural finacing We do not deal with microfinance however there is an institute of microfinance at Tumaini University. We will tell them to come and hold an introductory meeting to explain the requirements and the procedures. Pyrethrum After the discussion we went to visit the pyrethrum plot. The plants did not do well last season. The parish has been instructed to go and get the seedling from the village pyrethrum nursery that is under PCT. The transplanting will be done as earlier as possible (December/January) Seeds and fertilizers Since this is sponsored by Pyrethrum Company f Tanzania (PCT). The following were delivered as part of the PCT&CVP project Corn Seeds Bean Seeds Fertilizers Variety Amount (kg) Variety Amount (kg) Type Amount (bags) TMV 8 Uyole 96 30kg NPK 4 Conclusion We asked them what they want to learn in the next extension meeting. They said that they want to learn about marketing of their crops. Also they will be interested to have discussions on the plant pests and diseases.