Farm Field School: Preparing the Community

Farm Field Schools North West Cameroon

November 2012, a three day introduction to ‘Conservation Farming’ was conducted in Bana.   This workshop introduced some fifteen farmers to the basic concepts of Conservation Farming.  Genuine interest led Mme. Oussematou of Integrated Development Foundation (IDF) to apply through to Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) to have Allan Sorflaten, PAg MSc to design and implement a Farm Field School Training  program aimed to conduct a Field Trial in the Bana Region.

Mme. Oussematou visited Bana twice before we arrived  to meet with Department of Agriculture officials, community leaders and farm groups.

Alden Braul of the Canada Food Grains Council headquartered in Winnipeg has been a great source of help.  Pictured below is Allan meeting with Alden Braul in Winnipeg in early October.

  Allan spent several weeks researching Conservation Farming in different countries in Africa, choosing resources he felt would be best suited to a Farmer Field School in the west of Cameroon. Before leaving Canada, he prepared a training guide for the workshops (a workshop was also held in Befang in the North West Region).

 

Step One:  Ground Working in Bana:

Following the nine steps involved in setting up and running a Farmer Field School prepared by Benjamin Mweri, the first step is Ground Working:

            ‘The objective of ground working is to determine the actual need of the community farmer groups which will eventually form the basis for developing the Farm Field School (FFS) curriculum and field trials of the FFS.’

This process was begun during the Conservation Farming Introduction Workshop in November 2011 and continued by Mme. Oussematou during the ensuing year and was further continued in the FFS training that was conducted November 19^th 20^th and 21^st,  2012.   Mme Oussematou has very carefully seen to it that all of the required bases have been covered in so far as getting government policy makers at highest level on side with this project.

Mme. Oussematou also  carefully planned an organizational visit to Bana as part of our first two working days.  Bana is midway between Douala where we arrived in Cameroon and Bamenda where we were headquartered.  This  strategic planning set the stage for the upcoming workshops. 

Ministry of Agriculture. 

 

Below are Mme. Oussematou and Allan with Emmanuel Mathuri, the Delegue Departmental for the West Region of the Ministry of Agricultue and Rural Development, an Agricultural Engineer by training.

 

 

Mr. Mathurin emphasized the need for good seeds, good organic compost, chemicals to control plant disease, good fertilizer, good water to irrigate:  ie, every product input must be good if you want a good product to go to market.  He talked about the need to have a validation of location of the plot before beginning.  He talked about the need for caution in introducing a new plant species: for example, research is being done here on a legume tree that has been successfully used in other countries in Africa.   Financial resources really are non existant but the need for food security is critical he said.  
Mr. Mathurin was very impressed with the Field Study Guide and the other information materials  that were prepared for the workshop.

Phillip Mouadjo is the Divisional Representative for the Ministry of Agriculture.   Below Phillip greets Mme. Oussematou at the center where the first meeting with a farmers’ group was held.  The picture below is the evening before, showing Oussematou and Phillip during one of the early planning meetings.

 

 

The Department of Agricultural Representative  in Bana, Jean Waoupi ‘M'Bou’  was indispensable as translating the Conservation Farming workshops last year into local dialect.  We were a little worried when we met him wearing his parka.  Bana’s elevation gives it an advantage of cooler breezes.  As you see him  below, ‘M'Bou’ is wearing  his parka and riding his motorcycle back to Bafang.  We think he is a little cold blooded!  We enjoy good laughs!

Step Two:  Identification of FFS Participants:  Farm Groups

Farm groups appear to be well established around Bana.  Farmers must organize to apply for government assistance.  Materials or technical support must go to a group, not an individual.  As well, by coming together input costs are reduced (for example, buying 30 bags of fertilizer is cheaper than buying individual bags).

In organizing for these Farmer Field School workshops, Mme. Oussematou wanted to include two populations;  the youth who are needed to sustain farming the long term and women who tend to be the majority of farmers and thus represent future food security.                                                                                                                                                                                                        In During her two trips to Bana to organize for these meetings, she met with each level of government and  community leaders in an effort  to identify farm groups and plan the selection process for participants.  This rigorous planning and scheduling later proved to be very fruitful.

Meetings were dynamic.  A representative of the Ministry of  Agriculture was present at each.  The Sorflatens introduced themselves (in French) followed by further elaboration from Mme. Oussematou.   The principles  of Conservation Agriculture also were introduced.  The aim of each of the four meetings was for each group to choose among themselves the participants that would attend the Farm Field workshop.  The groups were instructed to choose participants (to be known as FFS coordinatores)  who are competent, of high moral character, respected, available and willing to give a time commitment of at least one half day for every two weeks of the growing season.  Groups were left totally on their own to choose their representatives.  The groups found it a challenge to do this .  Regional representation had to be considered and everyone wanted to participate.  But they recognized that only a limited number of leaders could be chosen to carry the training into the field.  

 

First Meeting:  Bana Group 10:45  Friday, November 9^th. 

Below is pictured Phillip Mougdjo, Divisional Representative for the Minister of Agriculture who is talking to the first group.  This group was exceptional in that there were more men (12) than women (6).  Several young men from the Ecole de Formation taking the Agricultural Technicians course were part of this group. 

 

 

After introductions and presentations, Mme Oussematou asked the group to vote.  Were they interested in the program?   Notice how intently the group is listening in the first picture.  In the second picture, a vote is taking place on the decision to proceed. The decision was unanimous.

 

Then the  meeting was recessed.  Participants left and met on their own to choose four representatives or coordinators.  They again were reminding of the selection criteria to be used.  After much deliberation, the four coordinators were selected by the group:

 

Meeting at Integrated Development Foundation (IDF) Bana  2:00pm Friday November 9, 2012.

This participant selection meeting was somewhat nostalgic for us as some of the participants were farmers who attended the Conservation Farming Workshop held in Bana  November 2011.  The picture below shows farmer Victor who led our farm tour last November with Mme Oussematou, our dynamic translator from the Ministry of Agriculture, Jean Waupi (note the parka!) and Allan in his cool shirt! 

 

The ladies took time out from choosing their coordinators to pose for this picture.

 

This group with its 15 members, after the initial information session in Conservation Farming last November (2011), was so enthusiastic that they went ahead with limited knowledge and resources and planted 10,000 square meters (1 hectare) to see how they would get along.  Their own experiences included individual comments as follows:                                                                         --weeding was reduced because grass did not  grow; problem with rats coming to remove the maize seeds; some areas were replanted several times because of rats and they decided to plant beans on the fifth cycle; in one case the maise germinated but problems existed with yield; he tried Irish potatoes but there was some kind of disease so production was limited; one group used rabbit manure,had concerns about the quality of mulch, birds removed some seeds, production was good. 

Leaders were impressed with the enthusiasm of the group but cautioned that the initial introduction was intended as an information session only.   There was no measured test plot, no consideration of soil condition, limited resources, questionable seeds, limited knowledge, etc.  Allan recommended a test plot, more information and more resources (the kind of things that could be considered in the FFS).

Meeting at Integrated Development Foundation (IDF) Bana  4:00pm  Friday November 9, 2012 with members of the Cameroon Baptist Ministry of Bana.

Pastor Moses has been ministering to the Bana Baptist congregation since 2002.    Pastor Moses trained in Veterinary Medicine in Nigeria before attending Bible Training College.  There is a group of young people from the church very interested in the Conservation Farming Project.  Below see Allan and Pastor Moses in a planning discussion.  Pastor Moses arrives on his motorcycle.

 

Below is the group from the church and the person chosen from the Bana Baptist Ministry to participate in the FFS.  

Amazing what was accomplished in two days of  preparatory

planning, all  thanks to the earlier background work of Mme. Oussematou.

Written while on the ground in West Cameroon. 

Allan and Lydia Sorflaten

Meeting with Paul Ymele, Rotary Club of Bafoussam

Return to Cameroon, Africa November 5, 2012. 

Meeting with Paul Ymele, Rotary Club of Bafoussam (Nov 9th, 2012)

We were served tea at Winsoft, Paul’s business  and soon Paul arrived.  He was impressed with the Rotary Club of Truro banner and wanted to know if we were harnessing the tidal power when I explained that we have the highest tides in the world.



Paul Ymele, Rotary Club of Bafoussam with Lydia Sorflaten, Rotary Club of Truro

 

Paul Ymele Holding Rotary Club of Truro banner.

 

We reviewed the GS Illum project.   More about that later.   Here is an interview with Paul about how he sees the needs of his community and some of his experiences as a teacher in Bafoussam. 

Question:   What future project do you feel should be priority? 

His comments were very interesting.  

‘Hunger is a problem.  Many people in the villages and town do not have enough to eat.  Farmers just work with their hands to produce more food and even for themselves there is not enough.  Farmers, usually women, need money to send their children to school and for their health.  Village women are working with hoes and cannot take care of their children and husband as they are busy in the field.  They need agricultural training.  They need manure, natural manure to fertilize their land.  If we could offer manure to 2000 women to start-we have a lot of broilers-the land is overused. There is no crop rotation so no land for next year.  The land is abused.  Our aim is sustainability.  The first year they would receive manure, the second year they could buy manure. 

Women are organized in groups.  Every woman in the village belongs to a group.  Women are the real people who educate the children.  She is the true bread winner.  One woman can have 9-12 children.  Maybe not so many now because life is so hard.  If women are supported, the impact in the field is felt immediately.

Question:  As well as owning your business, you are a teacher.  What are the conditions like in your school?

                ‘We have 250 staff and 5000 students.  We have had no water in the school for 15 months.  We have a matching grant (Rotary International) for $40,000 to make a well and a tank. There are many schools without benches, water or latrines.  Some schools are built by parents.  Sometimes the PTA fund teachers for the school, sometimes the teachers are sent by the Department of Education.’

Question:  What is your teaching load and class size?

                ‘Class size?   I have 81 students per class.  I teach 4 classes (324 students).  I use multiple choice testing (Senior High Physics).   Some teachers have class sizes of 100 to 120.  Four students per bench.  Some do not have benches.  I teach 17 hours per week.  Some teachers teach 34 hours per week. My classes are one hour in length. People buy their way into becoming a school principal ($20,000 US dollars might buy you a school principal position but someone might come along in two years time and pay more to replace you in your job!)

Some people here eat just corn every day hence malnutrition is a big problem. ‘

At the end of our visit I told him we could be pulled down with discouragement but we have to be positive in looking at the improvements in people’s lives made possible by Rotary Clubs working together.

Paul  was very impressed with the reasons we are here as CESO Volunteers (Farmer Field School and Nutrition Training Community Volunteer workshops as well as the school improvement project!) and wanted to know if several people from his area could take part in the training.  Mme Oussematou agreed for two persons from Bafoussam area to come to the workshops we are conducting in Bana. 

We laughed at how quiet we were as Paul described the priorities as he saw them for future Rotary projects and how aligned they are to the pilot programs we are ready to do in the next six weeks in Bana, Bamenda and Wum (Befang):  Farmer Field School and Nutrition Training for Community Volunteers working with chronically ill, malnourished and persons living with HIV AIDS.

Paul accepted Mme. Oussematou’s invitation to come to the closing of the workshops.  This event is going to be hosted by King Happy of Bana. 

Respectfully and humbly submitted as a dedicated Rotarian and CESO VA.

Lydia Sorflaten