Magulilwa CVP Visit Report - Aug 21-2012

2009 CVP Companion Village Project 6th Visit Year Three August 21st, 2012 Village Magulilwa Pastor Tula lukosi Companion Amazing Grace Lutheran Church Attendees 07 Weather for the past month Dry Reporters Rev. Mang’ulisa, Pongolan and Venance Purposes of the visit • To collect the yield measurement • To deliver grain storage chemical “Shumba” • End of season discussion and planning for the next farming season Topics 1. Review of the handouts • 6th Visit instruction handout • Yield recording sheet 2. Harvesting Both corn and beans were harvested. The yield record was as follows: Crop Corn Beans Yield per ½ acres 7 bags(48 tins and 17litres) 3.5 tins According to the Pastor, corn productivity dropped this year because of the dry spell which occurred between January and March. Bean production has never succeeded for the past three years now. 3. Storage: We instructed the parishioners on how to store grain for home usage and for selling at the time of high price. We instructed how to mix grain storage pesticides “shumba” and the appropriate volume of grain per bottle recommended. We left the pesticides to them to mix with their harvested grains. 4. Discussion about the farming season Corn variety H 628 was noted to be OK for that area; the low yield was caused by the dry spell of January - March this year. The members thought the bean seed” Uyole Njano” was OK too, but they should change the planting date for beans to happen at the same time as corn. 5. Adoption Some members are adopting techniques such as planting certified seed, planting in rows and weeding though not as many times as done in the demonstration plot. They have a problem of applying insufficient amount of fertilizers and the reason they gave was that they can’t afford to purchase as much fertilizer as we recommend. Comments/questions  The parishioners showed interest by asking many questions about insect pests and insecticides, corn varieties and crop subsidies.  We encouraged them to try changing the planting date for beans; preferably plant earlier than before to make use of the rain which seems to go away after a short duration.  We advised them to continue weeding after harvesting in order to preserve nutrients in the soil and make the subsequent operations easier for the coming season.  They said there was no possibility of bee- keeping in their area, but wished to have another demonstration plot at a preaching point known as Ndiwili. Conclusion Magulilwa area has a great potential for corn production if farming practices are followed properly. We emphasized that they should follow the practices taught in the demonstration plot and translate it into their own plots.