The Brussels Post, 1974-01-09, Page 7VG
Proper triahagoitient of peantits demonstration plot is
checked to itiStire that the resulting harvest is a success.
One of the workers gathering eggs from. a poultry house
made of local' materials h ousing an improved strain of chickens.
Standing around with a firmer admiring ears of corn from a '
fertilized cornfield.
Wells constructed like this supply the people with a'cleaner
and healthier source of water.
w.
A newly designed rabbit house made Of local materials
increases the potential for a farmer to rear rabbils both for food
and ale,
THE tiitUtttLt ,OOSti. JANUARY 00.
Tells of advances Agricultural. program
(peanuts), rice and different kinds
of beans. This food serves a
two-fold purpose. First of all it
prbvides food for the household
during the corning year. (Most
households buy 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.
•
Local beer
In addition to selling the crops
outright some women. sell a
variety of prepared foods in the
market. They will prepare rice or.
saab and soup to serve to those
coming to the market from
outlying villages,. Other women
will use some of the guinea corn
to brew pito (a local beer) for sale`
both 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 savings
account. The majority of the cattle
are looked after by the Fulani
people (from Niger and the
northern part of Upper Volta).
The 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 needs. From
this_ developed my program and
approach to the people.
Hand hoe
It is difficult to explain every
aSpect • 'of 'my - grograrn . but
perhaps a feW specific examples
would explain my mode of
operation. The local method of
farming entails • using a special
type of hand hoe. The blade of the
hoe is usually made froin any
available scrap metal. But I found
that there was a hard steel . disc
about 10" in diameter available,
and so I began to buy these and
resell them to the farmers. The
idea was really accepted and in a
short time 2300 hoe blades were
•
We build
loans
cut to
measure
Whatever may be your
need, whatever may be
your capacity, when you
reach to a mortgage, reach
for the sound, friendly
mortgaging counsel of the
people who have been
custom building loans for
people like you since 1889.
Yotir V and G mortgage
brings you more than the
money you need. It brings
you the confidence of
knowing it has been
expertly cut to measure
your requirements:
Member Canada Deposit
InsUrance Corporation
tFiutt tOi.4i;ANv diNdE
`Wa W. dousitit i. Matiagek
LiStOliVet, bitiati6
,- •„;r1
Jerry
t:
experimenting .with a
hand. operatQc1 peannt Sheller.
.,,mtrn sold. In goitigiukpi ilplecivkages
and taking times o,,sit.„y,vittif the
farmers I discovered that they
were greatlytroOled with
weayelS '10-1,e i,gril be'ans.
Furthei' investigation revealed
that. I could get a good grain
preservative arid the people
bought it quickly, so quickly in
fact, that I had difficulty keeping
it in stock.
Over the past two years Walt
had begun to introduce fertilizer
to the people. But due to his other
responsibilities he did not have
enough time to spend on this
aspect . of the, work. This 'year I
have set up a system of
distribution whereby the people
could get the fertilizer to their
farms easily. As a result 67 tons
were sold this year compared to
14 tons sold in 1972. I fully expect
that this will have a significant
effect on the coming harvest.
'Demonstration
There still is a greafiriajority of
people that areThot aware of the
benefit of fertilizer. Because of
this situation ,I have set upseveral
demonstration ,itiff ecar carious
crops, in the Otit4ilages. By this
the farmers.are,Sho,4e .ow 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
(oxen) plows. The cattle are
already 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 everyone, I
concentrated my efforts on
promoting animal traction.
Throughout Ghana efforts are
being made to improve poultry
production and the government
has encouraged the raising of
rabbits. To this end I havesput up
a chicken house and a special
room --for rabbits. Each is,
constructed with local materials,
and is well within the reach of the
people. But before these ideas
become widely accepted, a few
people will have to try them and
find it a success.
Wat er is a perennial problem,
so I organized several village
groups into communal labour, for
the digging Of wells. When they
met hard stone I arranged for a
dynamite crew to' come in and
give assistance. Then help
was given to them to have the
wells lined.
Dry 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 into garden-
ing. However, much more must
be done on these lines before this
can be called a success.
There are many more aspects
of the work which I • could
illustrate but by -now* y ou have a
good idea as to the approach I
have used., But do not think that
this work that I have started is
independent. In. the first• place,
there are many moreagricultural
stations in the North. Through the
fact that we re co-ordinated 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
love and mercy to His people.
In conclusion I do look forward
to the day when I will return to
Canada, but for now as I am living
and working in Ghana nook o n
my experience with great joy and
satisfaction.
Story
and pictures
by
Gerald Baan
a