Itungi - Ag Inst Extension Report Apr 23-2013

2008 Companion Village Project Extension Program, 5th Year 2nd Visit April 23, 2013 Village Itungi Pastor/Evangelist Medson Chengula Companion Como Park Lutheran Church Attendees 20 Weather for the past month Dry Reporters Ibrahim, Peter and Venance We went to Itungi accompanied by Peter from the Microfinance Institute so that he could handle SACCO’s issues. We met a big audience of 20 members of the Parish. Purpose of the visit • To conduct lesson two of the extension education network and share ideas about the topics taught. Topics covered Lesson two of Extension Education Network: Plant Diseases • The concept of plant diseases • Causes of plant diseases • Disease symptoms • Common methods used to control plant diseases • Some common diseases found around Iringa region • Cited examples of common corn and bean diseases, symptoms and ways of control Questions/Comments The Parishioners asked a number of questions and answers were provided through discussion. Question: The corn seeds bought from some shops seem to be the fake ones, where can we buy true seeds and how can we identify the true seed? Answer: It is not easy to identify the true seed by eyes; however you are advised to buy the seed from official shops e.g. TFA where you can get receipts. Keep receipts and in case of any anomaly you can go back to the shop and complain or sue the owner. Question: The hybrid corn seed H6302 did very well in the high altitude part of the region but it is no longer found, the replacing H6303 is not performing well, where can we find the former variety? Answer: The H6032 was upgraded to H6303 which seems to yield higher than the former H6302; unfortunately the H6303 lost the resistance to ear rot that the H6302 had. There is nothing we can do to help that besides the continuing effort to look for a corn variety suitable to the high altitude and resistant to the ear rot. Question: Which pesticide among some named pesticides is the best for use in controlling crop pests? Answer: Unfortunately the Trade Names of pesticides change very much with time, what matters are the chemical compositions of the pesticide; therefore it is important to seek for advice from an extension agent when planning to buy a pesticide. Question: While we all admit that we have a problem of obtaining quality seeds for the farmers, why not make the Institute of Ag be the centre for seed production? Answer: Seed production is an expensive venture which takes time to come up with real quality seed, the Institute of Ag is a small unit, a lot of preparation is require before being able to produce seed. Question: What happens to the corn cob which produces a few distantly spaced kernels on a cob? Answer: That is caused by poor fertilization which may be caused by damaged silk e.g. silk eaten by insects or inadequate supply of pollen grains from the male part of the corn plant which rarely happens because a female corn plant can be fertilized by another plant and plenty of pollen grains are produced. Question: Pesticides for seed dressing (for protection of the seeds) are not available in agrochemical shops, where can we find them? Answer: Pesticides for seed dressing are commonly not available in agrochemical shops but are supplied to the seed distributors who are supposed to do the seed dressing process before the seed is distributed to the farmers. Concerns: • Farmers expressed their concern about diseases attacking oranges, pawpaw and tomatoes. Unfortunately shortage of time limited us not to visit individual farmers to observe the disease infection for identification and advice. • They also claimed termite to be an expanding problem in the village. We still do not know the appropriate pesticide for termite control. SACCOS Peter from the Institute of Microfinance talked about SACCOS. Initially there was a resistance from members to join SACCOS because of the bad past experience of the leaders being not honest. But after a warm discussion all the members agreed to form a SACCOS and promised to call the Microfinance Institute for training after organizing some meetings. Conclusion Members are eager to learn more of farming in these extension education meetings and it works very well when the Ag Institute visits are combined with the Institute of Microfinance.

Itungi - CVP Visit Report Nov 6-2012

2012 Companion Village Project Extension Program, 5th Year 1st Visit November 06, 2012 Village Itungi Parish Pastor/Evangelist Medson Chengula Companion Como Park Lutheran Church Attendees 09 Weather for the past month Dry Reporters Fred, Pongolan, and Venance We drove to Itungi to conduct an extension class accompanied by Fred from Minnesota. Upon arrival, we met 09 members of the church waiting to begin the discussion. We made introductions; Fred conveyed greetings from Como Park Lutheran Church and the Advisory Committee in US to the people of Itungi. He gave a brief explanation on the evolution of extension education and its purpose. After the introductions, we invited the attendees to actively participate in the discussion on the fertilizers and seed topics which they were all familiar of. It was very interesting to hear them contribute ideas of their understanding about the topics. Purpose of the visit • To introduce extension program and share ideas about the topics to be taught. Topics covered • To explain fertilizer details and answer FAQ’s about fertilizers • To explain seed details and answer FAQ’s about seeds The details about fertilizers and seeds were covered through discussion involving them/participatory method whereby my role was to lead, provoke them by asking questions and let participants explain and ask questions too. Some important issues covered on fertilizers included:  types of fertilizers locally available, when to apply them, pros and cons of each type  clarification on the myth that “fertilizers are poisonous” to the soil and hence to the consumers of fertilized crops  fertilizer application frequencies and its side effects  simple ways of detecting nutrient deficiencies in the field without necessarily taking the soil to the lab for analysis  effect of excessive fertilization in the field  differences between CAN and Urea fertilizers in terms of functions  How best can one integrate the use of manures and industrial fertilizers?  Other methods besides fertilization that can be used to improve soil fertility in Iringa region Some important issues covered on seeds included:  Good quality seed as the foundation for high expected yield  Hybrid seeds productivity decrease in successive years  The importance of using high quality seed in order to maximize expected crop yield The attendees showed a great interest on the discussion and posed some questions/issues of concern. Finally they suggested the topics they would like to be taught in the next extension lesson. The suggested topics were: 1. Pesticides and their uses 2. Disease symptoms and how to control diseases on the following crops: maize, beans, and vegetable crops. 3. Livestock diseases and how to control them; livestock list includes - pigs, chickens, goats, cattle, Rabbits 4. Bee keeping Conclusion The extension program being conducted for the first time was perceived as positive and educative to the farmers. It seemed interesting and farmers wanted to know more and more of the taught topics. They thanked Como Park Lutheran Church for overseeing the importance of continued education on Agriculture.

Itungi CVP Visit Report Aug 1-2012

2012 CVP CompanionVillage Project 6th Visit Year Four August 1st, 2012 Village Itungi Pastor Medson Chengula Companion Como Park Lutheran Church Attendees 09 Weather for the past month Dry Reporters Gabriel, Itiweni, Pongolan and Venance Purposes of the visit • To collect 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 record sheet 2. Harvesting Both corn and beans were harvested. Corn yield is good but bean yield somewhat in between the highest and the lowest. The yields were as presented in the table below: Crop Corn Beans Yield per ½ acres 12 bags 2.5 tins 3. Storage We instructed them 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; The parishioners said corn and bean seeds led to the good yield obtained although the beans were slightly affected by the dry spell that occurred between January and March this year. They were happy with this year’s harvest and wished the program would continue. 5. Adoption Many parishioners have adopted some of the techniques. Many of them plant in rows and use less fertilizer than the demonstration plot for the reason that they can’t afford to buy as much fertilizer as recommended to the CVPs. They don’t burn crop residues and they try to weed at least three times for the cropping season. Comments/questions  We instructed them to weed as many times as the weeds appear in the field and space plants depending on the amount of fertilizer they have using the provided space guide.  We reminded them the CVP program which was ending to their parish; however, we told them that they will continue to receive extension education.  We asked them about bee keeping; they showed great interest and said a few of them were keeping bees locally. Conclusion We congratulated them for the good job they did in the demonstration. We encouraged them to adopt the techniques taught. Pastor and Parish members were very happy with the performance of the corn in the demonstration plot this year.

Itungi CVP Visit Report - May 2, 2012

2008 CVP Companion Village Project 5th Visit Year Four May 2, 2012 Village Itungi Pastor Medson Chengula Companion Como Park, St. Paul Attendees 12 Weather for the past month Dry Reporters Gabriel, Don and Karen Purpose of the visit Demonstrating on how to take yield measurements Topics 1. Greetings Don delivered greetings on behalf of Como Park, Saint Paul Area Synod and US Ag Advisory Committee 2. Review of the handouts • 5th Visit handout • Yield recording sheet 3. Demonstrations We demonstrated how to take the yield measurements in 10 meter rows (3 rows in corn and 3 rows in beans). We gave them the yield recording sheets. The sheets will be collected in July/August. Plots information • The corn demonstration plot is doing great. Plants have been planted according to the instructions. The plot has been well managed. The corn has matured but still green. High yield is expected from these plot • Bean plot is also doing well. The beans are now drying. The plot has been well managed Comments from audience  We have been hearing about US Advisory Committee. What are the functions of this committee? The US Institute of Agriculture Advisory Committee (UIAAC) is the Institute of Agriculture committee made by individuals who are living in US. Some of them have retired and some are still working. All of them have decided to participate to help agricultural development in Iringa (Tanzania) by offering technical advice, manage the administration of the institute, rising funds and planning future activities of the Institute.  We have been told that this program is for three years. It has been extended for the fourth year. What is going to happen next? We have been telling you that the sponsorship of the demonstration plots has to move from your companion congregation to yourselves. Your companion friends might continue sponsor agricultural training, but the plots will be under your sponsorship. Your parish has to start planning on how to make the program sustainable. Practicing the techniques According to the Pastor, up to now 43 people have adopted the techniques in their farms. These farmers are now practices the farming techniques which they have learnt from the demonstration plots. Conclusion We thank them for the good job they have done in the demonstration plots. We told them that we will be back in July/August to pick harvest and rain data. The demonstration plot in this parish has been showing improvement year after year. In this forth year, the performance has been very good.

Itungi-Como Park Luth.; CVP Report for Jan 12-2012

Companion Village Project
4th Visit Year 4
January 12, 2012
Village Itungi
Pastor Medson Chengula
Companion Como Park Lutheran Church
Attendees 12
Weather for the past month Good amount of rainfall for crop growth
Institute Staff Gabriel, Rev. Mang’ulisa, Roger and Venance

Purpose of the visit
• Delivering fertilizers, pesticides and bean seeds
Topics:
Review of the handouts, 4th visit instructions;
• Discussion about germination, Replanting and Pest control
• weeding after planting
• Monthly weeding after tasseling
1. Demonstrations: There was a demonstration on planting and fertilization of beans on rows 30cm apart and 10cm between plants. Also there was a demonstration on how to do second application of fertilizer on corn.
2. Insecticide Application. We instructed them on how to apply the insecticide correctly on both corn and beans and the rates to apply.
3. Delivery: The following items were delivered;

Item Fertilizers Insecticide Bean seed Hand sprayer
On maize For beans
Variety/Type CAN NPK Thionex 35 EC Uyole 96
Amount 2bags 2bags 1 Litre 30kg 1

Discussion and conclusion
They were weeding their corn plot on the day of the visit. Corn spacing was close to recommended; the growing corn plants looked good. According to the past experience, they were likely to work better now than before. They asked a few questions which were addressed accordingly.
When asked about if they were adopting the practices taught in their fields, a few said they were adopting at a small scale because they were limited by the high cost of fertilizers.
They were encouraged to adopt other techniques besides fertilizers which are very expensive. They were advised to weed the bean plot and plant when time for planting comes.
On SACCOS, they were advised to improve communication with the Microfinance Institute at Tumaini University to know their status.

Itungi-Como Park Luth.; CVP Report for Nov 9-2011

2008 CVP
CompanionVillage Project
3rd Visit Year Four
November 9, 2011

Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango and Ass. Pastor Barton Wikedzi
Companion Como Park, St. Paul
Attendees 12
Weather for the past month Cloudy
Reporters Don and Rev. Mang’ulisa

Purpose
• Delivering seeds and fertilizers
• Demonstrating planting and fertilizer application

Topics
• Review of the handouts
The handouts contain instructions were reviewed
- 3rd Visit Instruction
- Plant population and Fertilizer applications
- Fertilizer needs template
• Demonstrations
o Planting and fertilizer applications
Demonstration on how to plant and apply fertilizers was conducted. They participated in the demonstration as few of them were left to try and show others. They were told not to place seeds and fertilizers together.
• Seeds and fertilizers
The following were delivered

Corn Seeds Bean Seeds Fertilizers
Variety Amount (kg) Variety Amount (kg) Type Amount (bags)
H615 8 Uyole 98 27kg NPK 4

Conclusion
Itungi plots are have been showing improvements. In this season more commitment has been shown by the pastor and the parish members. The parish is expected to manage well the plots as it did last season.

Itungi-Como Park Luth.; CVP Report for Sept 8-2011

2008 CVP
Companion Village Project
6th Visit Year Three
September 8, 2011
Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango and Ass. Pastor Barton Wikedzi
Companion Como Park, St. Paul
Attendees 14
Weather for the past month Dry
Reporters Gabriel, Don and Karen

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 have been harvested. This year the yield has been higher than those of the last year, spacing were good and plot management was as recommended. The plot performance has improved in this Parish.
Crop Corn Beans
Yield per ½ acres 14 bags 2 bags 2 tins
3. Storage
We instructed them 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
The corn and beans has performed better this season. The varieties are good and they yield high.
5. Adaptation
3 attendees said they have been practicing some of the techniques we have been teaching them. Pastor said he has practices the techniques and has been emphasized the parish members to do the same. All who have tried said they have experience increase of yields especially in corn

Comments/questions
 Some plants were very thin, is this due to close planting?
Close planting is good because increases yield in the farm. However the close spacing requires sufficient application of fertilizers. If there were thing plants in some part of the farm that might be due to insufficient application of fertilizers or soil erosion that lead to fertilizers been taken away. Crop residues and minimum tillage helps to reduce soil erosion.

Conclusion
We congratulate them for the good job they did in taking care of the demonstration plot. We encouraged them to utilize the knowledge they get from the whole training program.

Itungi-Como Park Luth.; CVP Report for May 30, 2011

2008 CVP
Companion Village Project
5th Visit Year Three
May 30, 2011
Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango and Ass. Pastor Barton Wikedzi
Companion Como Park, St. Paul
Attendees 9
Weather for the past month Dry
Reporters Gabriel, Don and Karen

Most of the members of this Parish were attending a funeral ceremony. We did not conduct a formal demonstration meeting. We went straight to the plot and started demonstrating there.
Purpose of the visit
• Explain and demonstrate how to take yield measurement
Topics
1. Greetings
Don delivered greetings from Como Park-St. Paul, Saint Paul Area Synod and US Ag Advisory Committee. He spoke about the importance of getting the right yield measurements and explained why they are highly needed.
2. Demonstrations
We demonstrated how to measure the 10 m row (in three different locations within the demonstration plot) for the yield determination, this was demonstrated by using a miter tape, we used spray paint to mark the demarcations within which the measurements should be taken. These measurements are to be taken from both corn and beans.

Plots information
Corn plot looks good; the ears are big and well filled. Spacing is okay. They are matured but not yet dried. Beans plot is good too. There few spots with of poor germination, however the plot looks better than that of last year.

Comments
 They like the bean and corn variety introduced here. Some of them said they have adopted few techniques and apply to their fields.

Conclusions
There much improvements in their plots this year. We encouraged them to keep the good work. We insisted on the importance of taking the yield data as instructed.

Itungi-Como Park Luth.; CVP Report for Feb. 3,2011

2008 CVP
Companion Village Project
Visit Report
4rd Visit 3rd Year
February 3, 2011

Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango
Companion Como Park
Attendees Male 12 Female 14
Weather Sunny
Reporters Nafeti, Roger and Pongolani

Purpose of the visit
• Deliver fertilizer for 2nd application
• Deliver bean seeds and NPK fertilizer for planting beans
• Deliver pesticides ( Thionex) and Sprayer
• Give instructions on bean planting and 2nd fertilizer application on the corn plot

Greetings
Roger delivered greetings from St. Paul Area Synod and Iringa Diocese. Roger also gave a summary of what we are instructing them to do on our demonstration plot and the importance of utilizing these techniques on their own farms.

Pastor Marty Erickson and Dick Young from Como Park Lutheran church accompanied us on our visit to Itungi; they attended the classroom session and the demonstration part of our visit. They were excited about what we teach farmers.

Review of the handouts
We gave them and went through the handouts for the 4th visit containing detailed information on;
• The important of regular weeding
• Planting bean seeds and NPK fertilizer placement
• 2nd fertilizer application
• Pesticide application

Delivery

Type/Variety Amount
Bean seeds Uyole 98 27kg
Fertilizers NPK 2 bags
CAN 2 bags
Pesticides Thionex 1 Liter





Demonstrations

Corn plot
They planted corn in December and had a very good germination. They are about knee high, very close to being ready for the 2nd fertilizer application. We gave instructions on how to apply CAN fertilizer and pesticides in case they observe signs of pest damage in the plot.

Bean plot
We delivered bean seeds and demonstrated how to plant them. They are aiming to plant beans at the beginning of February.

Questions

1. How to use bottle caps to apply fertilizer?
Use a two full filled bottle caps for each plant in case you apply CAN and one full filled bottle cap for UREA.

2. How to control rats eating seeds?
Store seeds using storage pesticides

3. Advantages with minimum tillage
-Soil moisture retention
-The residues decompose and add organic matter to the soil
-Control soil erosion
- No need to hire oxen or tractor to plow the field

4. How to control diseases in beans?
Diseases in beans can be controlled using pesticide such as Thionex.

Conclusion
People at Itungi are very supportive to the program and they were excited to have Pastor Marty Erickson and Dick Young from Como Park Lutheran Church their partner congregation in US.

Itungi-Como Park Luth.; CVP Report for Nov 1, 2010

2010 CVP
Companion Village Project
Visit Report
3rd Visit 3rd Year
November, 01, 2010

Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandago
Companion Como park Lutheran
Attendees Male 13 Female 14
Weather Sunny,windy
Reporters Nafeti,Phil, Itiweni, Pongolani

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

Greetings
Before we began the demonstration, Phil 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 demonstrated on how to place seeds and how to apply fertilizers. We insisted that they should not place seeds and fertilizers together. There should be at least 5cm apart.
o Seeds and fertilizers
We delivered 2 bags of NPK and corn seeds.

Crop Seeds Fertilizer
Varieties Amount Type Amount
Corn H614 8kg (4 bags ) NPK 100kg (2 bags)

Questions from the audience

• You say that NPK is better than DAP what are the difference between the two?
NPK have Potassium which is not available in DAP
• Have problem to purchase different fertilizers we can’t buy when need them; can the Institute of Agriculture have a store where we can buy from?
At the moment we teach the best techniques to grow corn and beans and some other few food crops. We don’t sell seed and fertilizers but we can advise you where you can buy best seeds and fertilizer such as the TFA shop in Iringa.
• Are any of you using our techniques?
About six said yes
• What is preventing you from using our techniques?
They didn’t have money to buy inputs
• If you don’t have money for fertilizer are you using the methods of proper row spacing, etc?
Some of them have started using the methods we are teaching.
• This is in third year have you learned enough that you want to continue?
They would like to continue because they think that more people are anxious to learn from our demo plot. They are thinking of communicating with their partners so that they can consider finding the plot in the fourth year.

Conclusion

Pastor Damian Ngandago was present and we reminded them on the importance of time of planting, proper spacing and fertilizer placement, weeding for high yields.

Itungi July 19, 2010

2010 CVP
Companion Village Project
Visit Report
6th Visit Year Two
July 19, 2010

Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango and Ass. Pastor Meshack Magova
Companion Como Park
Attendees 37
Weather for the past month Dry
Reporters Ibrahim , Gabriel and Lunodzo

We met member of this congregation having religious seminar in the church. As they finished we started the demonstrations and visited the place where they have stored dried corn and beans
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
Corn and beans have been harvested. Corn has not been shelled and beans not yet threshed. Unfortunately they forgot to take yield measurements in 10m in corn.
Amounts in bags/plot
( ½ Acre) Yield in 10m in 3 lines( For further analysis) Remarks
Corn Litres Yield higher than local variety
Rotting affected some ears
No. of plants
Beans Litres 2 2 2 Yield higher than local variety
No. of plants 35 35 32

3. Storage
We instructed them 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 seasons
• Corn
There is corn rotting problem, especially with the hybrid introduced here. The corn seed (H628) is the high yield variety however is not tolerant to continuous rainfall after maturity. We told them that we are working on getting another improved variety which tolerates rainfall after maturity.
• Beans
They said that the bean variety we introduced is very good. It yields higher than the local variety.
We encourage them to form farmers’ cooperative bodies. This will help them to get farming loans, buying inputs and selling their grains for better price.

Comments/questions
 They expressed their concern about minimum tillage. They said some of them who tried minimum tillage have been doing more frequent weeding than before and sometimes once they finish one weed they have to start another one in the same farm
We told them; at first weeds grow quickly in the farms where minimum tillage is practiced for the first time. However we encouraged farmers to start farm preparation early. We tell farmers to do monthly weeding even if there are no crops in the farm to prevent weeds from going to seeds. Farmers who do this practice will have to do less frequent weeding.
 The members express their sincerely gratitude to the Institute and to their companion congregation for the agricultural training to them. They promise to start adapting the techniques to their farms.

Conclusion
We told them to start preparation for the next season. We encourage them to follow all the instructions to get good results in the demonstration plots and better yields in their farms.

Itungi - CVP Report May 13-2010

2010 CVP
Companion Village Project
Visit Report
5th Visit Year Two
May 13, 2010


Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango and Ass. Pastor Meshack Magova
Companion Como Park
Attendees 9
Weather for the past month Dry
Reporters Ibrahim , Gabriel and Lunodzo

Purpose of the visit
• Explain and demonstrate how to take yield measurement.
• Deliver two containers (20 liters and 1 liter size) and a 10 m string.
Topics
1. Greetings
Pastor Lunodzo gave greetings on behalf of the DIRA, Como Park, Saint Paul Area Synod and US Ag Advisory Committee for volunteering to provide fund and to implement of Ag program training
2. Went through the handouts
o 5th Visit handout
o Yield recording sheet
o Rain record sheets to know the amount of rain received during this season
3. Demonstrations
We demonstrated how to measure the 10 m row (in three different locations within the demonstration plot) for the yield determination, this was demonstrated by using a 10 m string, how to measure, count the number of plants for both beans and corn (they should also count number of ears for corn). After shelling they are supposed to measure the amount of grain by using a one liter container that was given to them by the institute of Ag.
These measurements are done to both corn and beans.

Plots information
Beans plots looks very good, they just past the grain filling stage and soon they will start drying.
Corn looks good, even though they admitted that at certain time the rainfall was not good.


Comments
 They like the beans seeds variety introduced by the Institute of Agriculture, yields a lot but they will do a final judgment when they find out how they taste!
 The weather this year was no as good as it was supposed to be. Most of their field crops are no good.

Questions from audience and answers

 They wanted to know if they are able to buy herbicides, are we recommending them to use it.
We told them we are recommending as long as they use the recommended concentration or amount. If they use based on the recommendation, it is the effective ways of weed control.
 They asked eating green leaves if will give them any nutritional value.
We told them, yes will give them a nutritional value especially Vitamin C.
Why do we recommend them to have a 10 m rows, will that help?
This helps them to determine/estimate yield in their farms, also this reminds them the total yield is determined by the single plant grown in the field.

Conclusions/Recommendations
They have to work hard on the weed control especially when the crops are about to mature in the field.

Itungi - CVP Report Jan 25-2010

2010 CVP
Companion Village Project
Visit Report
4th Visit Year two
January 25th, 2010


Village Itungi
Pastor Damian Ngandango and Assistant pastor Meshack Magova
Companion Como Park Lutheran Church
Attendees 9
Weather for the past month Rainy
Reporters Ibrahim, Gabriel, Roger and Alfred

Purpose of the visit
• Planting bean and fertilizer application demonstrations
• Demonstration on second fertilizers application in corn
• Deliver fertilizer bags, Bean seeds, bottle spray, and insecticides
Topics
1. Greetings
Roger gave greetings from Como Park Lutheran Church, Saint Paul Area Synod and US Ag Advisory Committee
2. Went through the handouts
o 4th Visit handout
o Quiz handout
o Rain record sheets.
3. Demonstrations
We demonstrated how to measure inter row spacing (30cm). Using a string and a hand hoe we demonstrated how to make a trench for planting the bean seeds. One seed was placed after every 10 cm. It was demonstrated how to place one full bottle cap of fertilizer between 2 seeds i.e. Seed-seed-fertilizer-seed-seed-fertilizer etc.

4. Fertilizer and seed delivery
According to the analysis of the soil of this area, the type of fertilizer recommended was NPK (10-18-24) for bean seed planting. The congregation was given 2 NPK bags and 27 Kg of bean seeds, variety of bean seeds delivered is Uyole 98. We also delivered 2 bags (50 Kg) of CAN for second fertilizer application to corn field.




Comments
 They planted corn on Nov 26th, 2009 and received first rain on Dec 15th, 2009. Also they replanted on Dec 23rd, 2009.
 Four people out of 9 people attended have already practiced the techniques taught, on their own farm. They didn’t burn crop residues-hence helped to control soil erosion, planted corn in rows and followed spacing 60 cm by 20 cm as recommended. This has resulted an easy application of insecticides and good looking crops.
 Plants looks good when planted followed the recommendations taught.

Questions from audience and answers

 They said last year we recommended the spacing for beans 50 cm by 9 cm, is the change due to change of bean seed variety?
The answer is yes, but we also want to have a higher plant population for a better yield.

 If they don’t have enough fertilizer as we recommend what they can do?
We suggested to them to use manure (compost) or to go for larger spacing that will give them maximum plant population per area that will match with the amount of fertilizers applied.

They asked that based on the fertilizer recommendation to apply 2 bags of fertilizer, why should they broadcast the remaining fertilizers?
We told them for demonstration plots the soil analysis recommends the amount required that is why we are telling them to make sure they apply the total amount.

Why shouldn’t they cultivate the field to reduce weeds?
We told them the way we are instructing them chip off weeds in a monthly bases starting from August (Dry season) because it helps to reduce weeds and give them more time and to save money that could be used for cultivating field and use it for buying fertilizer.

Conclusions/Recommendations
We emphasized the importance of following instruction because the success of the program depends upon them following what we instructed. They promised to follow all the instructions.

Itungi Visit November 6, 2009

2008 CVP

Companion Village Project

Visit Report

1^st visit Year Two

November 6^th, 2009

Village	Itungi
Pastor	Damian Ngandango
Companion	Como Park Lutheran Church
Attendees Weather for the past month Reporters	11 (including 4 Evangelists) Sunny and dry Ibrahim Wikedzi , Fred Bergsrud and Phil Larsen

We started the meeting with only 4 people and after a while more people were getting in the church, and finally we had 11 people. We reminded them the training is for all people, so they should invite other people too. Meeting was conducted at the parish headquarters.

Purpose of the visit

· Planting and fertilizer application demonstrations

· To deliver fertilizer and seeds.

· Deliver a rain gauge.

Topics

1. Greetings

Fred gave greetings from Saint Paul Area Synod, Como Park Lutheran Church and US Advisory Committee.

2. Review of Handouts

o Fertilizer need template was filled and left to the box file of the congregation

o Plant population handout was reviewed

o Fertilizer application handout was reviewed

3. Rain gauge

When a rain starts, they should start using and recording. We explained the advantages of taking rain measurements, where to place the rain gauge and how and when to take the readings.

4. Demonstrations

We demonstrated inside the church because it was raining, so we couldn’t go to the plot for demonstration. We reminded them to remember to do a crop rotation, so they are supposed to plant corn in the plot they planted beans last year and plant corn in the corn plot.

It is there second year training, we did a refresh training on how to measure inter row spacing (60cm) and intra row spacing (20cm). Using a string and a hand hoe, it was how to plant seeds and apply fertilizer.

Fertilizer and seed delivery

According to the soil analysis of the soil of this area, types of fertilizer recommended are NPK (10-18-24) and CAN (27-0-0). The congregation was given NPK 2 bags. They were told to apply this fertilizer at the time of planting. CAN will be delivered later for second fertilizer application.

Comments/questions from audience

Ø They asked more explanations about how the fertilizer is placed 5 cm on each side of the seed during planting.

We explained to them and demonstrated, even though we couldn’t do it on a plot because it was raining.

Ø They have been using spacing of 30 cm between seed to seed (intra row), should they start using our recommendation 20 cm seed to seed?

The Answer is YES, if the can be able to buy the required amount of fertilizers as we recommend. If not they should go for a different spacing recommended based on the relation of plant populations and amount of fertilizer. (Note; we gave them a handout showing Plant populations in relation to amount of fertilizer applied)

Ø A comment from Pastor Damian, Last year when we recommended the spacing 60 cm by 20 cm, they didn’t know if the spacing is supposed to relate to the amount of fertilizers applied.

Ø They asked about Government Agricultural officer’s training Vs Institute of Agriculture training on the issue of farm preparation on not burning crop residues, government officers are telling them to burn crop residues.

We told them that is why we are training them by demonstration so that they can see it practically the advantages of not burning and other agronomic practices. They really agreed with us, when we explained about organic matters increase due to crop residues.

Ø We asked them if any one have started practicing what we have been training them since last year 2008?

We were told that some have started this year; one example is three young men who decided to work as a team to practice what we have been addressing.

Conclusions/Recommendations

They really appreciate the idea of using strings during corn planting. We highly recommend them to follow all agronomic practices we are teaching and they will be successful in the crop production, we referred to other CVP’s like Kilolo which harvested 11 bags and 3 tins of shelled corn from half acre plot. They harvested 6 bags of shelled corn from half acre plot.

They are working on raising fund for a SACCOS program , so far they have about 40 members that are required to pay an entry fee of 5,000/= TShs and buying bond so that they can raise a total of 1.6 Millions TShs. The first priority for loan will be Crop production and livestock keeping.

Itungi-6th CVP Visit - August 31-2009

Ag Inst – Itungi notes
6th CVP Visit
(Partner – Como Park, St. Paul, MN)
Aug 31st, 2009
Pastor Damian Ngandango

Note: The first plot that was chosen had been burned. Pastor Damian decided that since it had burned, they would move the plot (further away from the church).

Notes about this crop:
The number of people attended; 15 people.

The corn is already harvested from the field and piled in the room at pastor’s house. If you look pile of corn, the corn ears are very big. We couldn’t get exactly yield because they haven’t yet shelled. They said with their experience by looking corn pile the expected number of bags is 10 bags. We will see when shelled!

The corn variety (H628) introduced seems to work okay at Itungi and most of them would like to grow the same variety 2009/10 growing season. The pastor and all the people are very happy with the yield and pastor started to prepare his field they way we instructed during 2008/09 growing season.

They reminded themselves, that they are supposed to be more serious now and do much better work next season since the introduced agronomic practices seems to work after observing from demonstration plots.

Further more, they explained that the yield obtained is beyond their expectations and they are very happy with all the agronomic practices taught to them.

We discussed and demonstrate the use of storage chemicals and gave them storage chemical called Shumba i.e. a trade name.

Itungi - 4th CVP Visit

Thurs., January 29, 2009
Partner: Como Park, St. Paul, Minn.
Pastor: Damion Ndangando
Intern: Nuru Makweta

At breakfast in the pastor’s house we learned that their daughter Joyce is the pastor at Kidabaga. We also learned that the intern Nuru is a student at Tumaini in the Diploma in Theology program (probably sponsored by one of the companion congregations) and expects to graduate in October 2009.

We drove to the site of the plot. The plot had to be moves from the preferred location near the church because that plot had gotten burned. This resulted in their getting a late start with this plot. The corn was planted on December 29, which I think is the latest planting date for any of the CVP plots. Even with the late planting date the corn looked good, it was almost knee high 31 days after planting. The corn was a very uniform height. Because of the late planting the CVP plot is behind some of the village plots, but I expect that is going to change in the next month or so. The first weeding was taking place when we arrived. The pastor and 16 others were almost completed with the weeding. They had not started weeding the bean plot yet, and the weeds were two to three feet tall.

The rows were quite wide from 70 up to 120 cm wide. The attendees were surprised that the rows were that far apart. These were the widest row spacing that we have seen. There was an average of one plant every 28 cm of row. We spent quite a bit of time talking about the proper row and plant spacing. We are trying to properly fertilize high plant populations in order to maximize yield, but we need to have the correct spacing to achieve the high plant populations. I’ll bet that the beans will be planted closer to the targeted spacing, and that next year the corn will be planted in higher plan populations.

Today we delivered 100 kg of NPK, 100 kg of CAN, 16 kg of Uyole Market seed, and I bottle of Thionex.

We met under a tree in the plot. Ibrahim went through the handout for the 4th visit. He emphasized the importance of weeding, that lack of weeding can be the biggest deterrent to crop yield. He also emphasized seed spacing at planting, since we are trying to fertilize high plant populations to maximize yield it is important to properly space the seeds so that we actually get high plant populations. He also went through Record of Events handout and showed them how to record specific events.

Ibrahim demonstrated the placement of the second application of fertilizer (CAN) 5 cm on each side of the corn plants. The fertilizer should be placed 5 cm from the plant along side of the row and not in the row. Ibrahim demonstrated how to plant and fertilize the bean seeds. First dig a row or trench with the hoe by digging at 90 degrees to the direction of the trench. Place the bean seeds 9 cm apart, or about the width of one’s fist, and then place one cap of fertilizer between the bean seeds. Finally cover the bean seeds and fertilizer with soil. If there is any fertilizer left over it should be broadcast over the entire plot.


Ibrahim asked if they have experienced any benefits from the teaching we have done and the demonstrations that have been conducted. Some of their responses were:
· They appreciated learning the new farming techniques.
· They were happy to see different and better ways of farming.
· Leaving residue in the rows is a new technique, but it seems to work well.
· Minimum tillage saves time and money.
· They used to plant corn even wider apart than what the CVP plot turned out to be; now they can see the advantages of high plant populations.
· They like the idea of one crop in the field at a time.

There weren’t any comments about fertilization, but I think that the late planting date has not allowed the impact of fertilization to be realized.

Photo link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21557421@N08/sets/72157604425908368/detail/