Ipalamwa Parish - CVP Report Mar 25-2010

2010 CVP
1st Visit, Year One
March 25, 2010


Village Ipalamwa
Pastor Ajenista A. Maliga
Companion Mount Calvary, Eagan
Attendees 32
Elevation 1667m
Weather Long rain season (Nov-Aug)
Reporters Gabriel, Ibrahim, Roger and Rev. Lunodzo
We drove on pieces of very rough road. According to our schedule, we planned to visit two sites, Ipalamwa Secondary School and Ipalamwa Parish. We had a demonstration meeting with Ipalamwa Secondary School students in the morning and afternoon we conducted demonstration meeting in the Parish. In this meeting, we had the District Pastor Rev. Yohana Chengula. Most of the people attended this meeting were from the preaching points of this congregation. Manh members of this congregation went to attend the funeral of one of the village members.
Purpose of the visit
• Introducing the CV project to the congregation
• Taking the soil samples for soil analysis
• To deliver box file and a hand hoe
Introduction
Pastor of Ipalamwa introduced his evangelists from various preaching points. She also introduced the District Pastor. Roger gave the greetings from St.Paul Area Synod and House of Prayer Lutheran. Rev. Lunodzo Mang’ulisa introduces the project by encourage attendees to participate in the project.
Topics
1. Handouts
The handouts were distributed to all then reviewed
• CVP Plot record of events
• DIRA – Institute of agriculture agreement
• Chronological Plot Management of Crops Planted in November/December 2010
• CVP Instruction – 1st Visit
2. Agricultural background
The village population is 2,500. They farm corn, beans, finger millet, coffee, banana, potatoes, cassava, wheat, avocadoes, pyrethrum and timber. Corn varieties farmed here are improved varieties; H628, H625, H614 and MTV1. Most of the Hybrids farmed here are from Kenya. Farmers here do not trust the hybrid seeds produced in Tanzania! The beans varieties are also improved varieties; Tanzania one, Uyole and Kablangeti variety. They use fertilizers CAN and Urea. They only do one application. In this area, one can harvest 6-7bags of corn/acre without using fertilizer(s) and 10-15 bags of corn/acre when use fertilizer(s). Bean farms give 3bags/acre.

3. Soil sampling
After the meeting in we took soil samples from points in the church farm, a place where the demonstration plot is expected to be. Two types of samples were taken, from 6 inches depth and 12 inches depth. The samples will be taken to the laboratory for soil analysis
Comments/questions from audience
 The area is highly infested with weeds with underground shoots. With minimum tillage how are they going to control these types of weeds?
In the new land digging of the weeds and spreading then under the sun probably the good idea. After starting farming the land, monthly weeding by clipping the weeds especially during the dry season with a lot of sun shine will help to reduce the creeping weeds infestations.
 How should they control the plant diseases?
• Using improved varieties with resistance to particular disease(s)
• Frequent cleaning of the farm, especially weeding when weeds are tall enough
• Practicing crop rotations, especially exchanging corn and beans on the same land year after year
• Controlling the pests and diseases when they are in the initial stages
 Corn in this area form very thick shoots. Leaving the crop residues will obstruct them at the time of planting
If the crop residues become a problem at the time of planting, put then in lines and leave an empty spaces for making seed holes
 Soils are different from one part of the village to another, how come the soil samples taken are representative of the whole village?
We cannot take soil samples from every parts of the village; however we believe that the soil of one part of the village will not be very different from soils of another part of the same village.

Conclusions
We left the parish and told them that we will be back in August this year. On the road, we met another track stuck in the mud and blocking the road. We had to help in pushing it out before we passed. We were told that it was the truck which brought the coffin in the village. It seems that this road is real bad at the time of very heavy rain season.