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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1974-01-03, Page 5I could get a good . grain five • and the people quickly, so '4trickly in I had difficulty keeping preser bought fact, tha .1•MMO 1••••• 011••••• •••/M1.. ..MNIMI MIMS , McGregor Top Quality BEEF 'Government Inspected Whole Beef '984 Half Beef 994 Standing around with a farmer admiring cars of corn from a fertilized cornfield.' The bullock plow makes a 24" ridge upon which the farmer • ,either intercrops or monocrops. LOVE'S LAST . GIFT - REME.MBRANCE Whether it's a • ARKER • -INSCRIPTION Tilling a loved one — 'Help You Decide on Your Memorial Requirements r"HONE: EXETER 235-0620 • MONUMENT — You ale re . LET ..T. PRYDE IL SON LTD. ..„. „ 771—.777.1,71,177717,11,7' . • , WaltOti man. works as itcolforol volui ' (Continued from Pig% harvesting. The children all help their mothers while they are young, but later the boys begin to • help their fathers. The children are obedient and respectful of all people older than themselves. Over open fire Food generally consists of two parts. One is the Saab (a thia porridge, made from millet flour) and a soup. Pieces of The saab are dipped into the soup and eaten. The base of the soup is usually • water, oil, salt, and hot red pepper. Other ingredients may be .greens, fish, meat, tomatoes and onions. All foods are prepared over an open fire, either in a room or in the open part of the compound. .‘ Moit of the food used by the peoplc is grown on their , own, farms! Each household taS two farming areas. Around each the. grourid is cultivated and is called the Ngasuruk, The main farm, called the Kpaab, is situated outside of the village. ' The average size of this main farm is 4.6-acres. Generally the farmers practise Shifting Cultivation. Because they have not known about fertilizer they usually farm a piece of land until it becomes infertile. Then they clear a new pie of land. . • The staple crops of the area are maize (corn), millet, guinea corn (sorghum), -yams, groundnuts A (peanuts), rice and different kinds of beans. This food serves a two-fold purpose.'lFirst of gill it provides foed for the household during the coming year, (Most households bay only salt and a few soup ingredients to supple- , ment what they grow.) The_ second purpose of the food is to provide money to buy clothing , - cooking utensils and other things needed for the house. 04 experience With great joy and satisfaction, market. They will prepare rice or 14 tons sold inl'972, I fully expect saabiand soup to serve to those that this will have a significant OTT ng to the market, from . effect on the coming harvest. outlying villages. Other women will use some of the guinea corn to brew pito (a local beer) for sale bbth from the house and from the market. To further supplement their income they may sell cattle, goats, sheep and fowls. It is interesting to note that cattle are not to provide a source of income but as a status symbol or something like a vavings account. The majority of the cattle are looked after by the Fulani' people '(from Niger and the northern part of Upper Volta). Tlie only pay that the Fulani man receives is free use of the milk and a small amount of millet per cattle beast annually. After studying existing conditions and trying to uncover the needs of the people. the next stpe was to examine the resources at my disposal, to see how best to apply them to the needg From this developed my program and approach to the people. Hand hoe It is difficult to explain every aspect of. my program but perhaps a few s ecitic examples being made to improve poultry would ex g- :in mode of plysluetion and the government operation The lo nky ksethod--of,""''' has encouraged the raising of ca farming ntails using a special rabbits. To this end I have put up a chicken house and a special type of and Doc7.-..The blade of the room for rabbits. Each,. is hoe i usually made from any avalla constructed with local materials, le scrap metal. But I found ail there was a hard steel disc and is well within the reach olthe people. But before these ideas abou 0" in diameter available, become widely accepted, a few and"''' began to buy these and p resell : them to the farmers. _The people will have to try them and a • idea was really accepted and in a find it e success. Onial short time 2300 hoe blades were Wat r is a pere sever problem, sold. In going out to the villages so I organized al village and taking time to sit with the gropes into communal labour, for farmers I discovered that they the digging of wells. When they were ' greatly troubled with met hard stone I arranged for a weavels in the grain and beans. dynamite crew to come. in' and Further investigation revealed give assistance. 'Then help was given to. them to have the wells lined.' Dsry season Finally there are the dry season gardens which I tried to organize along the rivers. During the dry season a man has much spare time and there is a gross shortage of fresh vegetables in the market. These two facts merge well to have people venture info garden- ing. However, much more must be done on these lines before this can be called a success. I beer In additio to sellin e crops outright so en sell a ••variety of prepared foods in the 1, Demonstration - There still is a great majority of people that are not aware of the benefit of fertilizer. Because of this situation I have set up several demonstration plots of various crops, in the out villages. By this the fanners are shown how to use the fertilizer and its benefit. Although the local hoe is an ingenious tool for tilling the soil it is slow With the result that the amount of land a. man can cultivate is small. A reasonable improvement in this system is the use of animal traction. I was able to get a small number of bullock (o e n) plows. The cattle are alr ady in the area. The few farmers .who did buy the plows were able to more than double their acreage. I have shied away from tractors simply because the cost is far out of, reach of the average farmer. In order to do something which was generally. Within the means of everyofie, I concentrated my efforts,' promoting animal tracition..-' Throughout Ghana efforts are it in gt Ove ' had to th resp • enough aspect of the . have.set up ck. ,L the past two years Walt egun to introduce fertilizer people. But due to his other sibilities he did not have to spend on this i rk; This year,. system of distribution whereb • e people could get the fertilizer ,to their farms easily. As a result 67 tolls were, Sold this year compared to There are many more aspects -of the 'work which I could illustrate but by now y ou }me a good idea as to the approach I have ugept. But do not, think that this wont that I have started is independent. In the first place. there are many more 'agricultural stations in the North. Through the - fact that we re coordinated by the Christian Service Committee, we are able to share our ideas and what is learned in one part of the country can be carried to. others quickly and effiCiently." In the second plaCe, the Agricultural work is intimately connected to • the work of the church, It is one specific way to illustrate God'S Jove and, mercy. to . His people. . In conclusion I do look forward to. the day when I will return to Canada, hut. or now as I'am living and Working in' Ghana I look .0 n A lady doing the daily chore of sweepi ( ,0,,i,:trat c 11141L1 t I • AUTO • FIRE I Donald G. Eaton I ! Insurance Agency Limited Office in Masonic Klock I • I Main Street I i Phone 527-1610 — Seaforth I Wells constructed like this—supply the people with a•cleaner and healthier source of water. • One of the workers gathering eggs from a poultry house made of local materials h ousing an improved strain of chickens. Within 10 Mile Grant McGregor Phone 262-5839 Price subject to change INCLUDES: ,GUTIING WRAPPING and QUICK FREEZING. Free Delivery Yd Proper .management of a peanuts demonstration plot is , . . Jerry experimenting with a ' checked to insure that the resulting harvest is a success. ,, hand operated, peanut slieller. : . . . . . ARE YOU TIRED OF PAYING INCOME TAX? Let me showyou how you can KEEP those tax dollars for your OWN retirement. Don't wait until the LAST MINUTE, budget your savings NOW and you will qualify for a tax exemption at the end of the year. • Story and pictures . by Gerald 'Baan WEDDING INVITATIONS , THE HURON EXPOSITOR PHONE 527-0240 SEAFORTH A newly designed rabbit house made '•$f local materials increases the potential Lfor a farmer to 'rear rabbits both for food ti,nd sale. • tr.( (114.14.... •••.(.i,• 4. Bullocks, 'are used practically as a means Of transportingt things around the station and'also as a demonstration to the local . farmers. We sincerely hope that !the New Y ear,to come will be mafle.bri ghter with peace everywhere. MILTON J.'. DIETz LIMITED Greet the New Year with a 'cheer and see it through with happiness! 4.0 1-1;ippyr /Yew 161 It's New Year time again . .- time for us to wish every day is packed with the best Of luck, health, happiness. From the Commission and Staff of the SEAFORTH PUBLIC unto COMMISSION n , 4