Hi All!
Jesse asked me to write a blog post giving an overview of the last three months at the farm since I have been helping out with the Korogwe Project after Jesse and Sam left Tanzania.
As a quick catch-up, Jesse left on September 6th, after confirming the creation of the St. John’s Agricultural Trust (SJOAT) – the wing of the Korogwe Project that will operate as a local NGO to set up the training farm at Kwakiliga mentioned in the previous blog – and after meeting with the Kwakiliga community to confirm their interest in sharecropping the farm as part of the first years commitment to teach best farming techniques through hands-on training. Since that time, the farmland has been tractor plowed, 22 households have been trained in proper farming techniques, 12 farmers (5 women/7 men) are participating in the sharecropping, and 15 acres have been planted.
It has been a busy time over the past three months at the farm. In the short time since Jesse left, much has been accomplished; however, the success will be determined once the harvest comes in late December or early January. Most of the credit belongs to Mr. John Mtambo who has volunteered his time to organize the villagers of Kwakiliga and use his lifelong experience in the farming industry to make the Korogwe Project a reality. Canon Edward Komba, when not busy in his other role as the Diocese of Tanga’s general secretary, has helped to organize the partnership between the Korogwe Project and the Diocese of Tanga. In addition to John Mtambo and Canon Edward, Yakub Khan has been assigned as the treasurer and disburses money per the budget approved by the SJOAT board whenever John needs to purchase materials for the farm. Moreover, he has used his networking skills to find potential partners and to get word out to people in high places about the Korogwe Project‘s mission. I, personally, have helped out mostly by going out to the farm to take pictures and helping to watch the maize grow, but the above three people are responsible for the majority of the success we have had so far.
Before we started work on the farm, John wanted to take his time and do things the right way. Not knowing what that meant, I was a little apprehensive about the situation because we had to get 10 acres of maize and beans in the ground in less than a month before the rain, and John wanted to do paperwork. I put my concerns aside and came to see John a couple days later to find that he had handwritten a detailed budget and had created a voucher system for the farmers. He wanted to make sure that he was able to track the expenses incurred for this season and be able to recoup our investment from the farmers once the harvest came. Needless to say, I was very impressed with how organized he was in undertaking this endeavor. For example, the night before he and I went out to the farm to measure the one-acre plots, I passed by John’s house to see that he measured out 66 meters of string using only a meter stick. It must have taken him a couple hours to complete this task. He is amazing.
On October 8th, John and I went out to the farm to measure the one-acre plots. There we were met by 12 families of the Kwakiliga village participating this season, who were selected by how successful they have been in the past on their own farms and for their potential for success on our farm. John demonstrated how to measure out the first plot and mark it with sticks to set the boundaries. Once a few were completed with help from John, he let them finish the rest while he supervised. The entire process of measuring out the plots took about two hours and the rest of the day John discussed with the villagers the planting and proper maintenance of the farm. The families participating in this harvest also formed a committee amongst themselves with one representative from each family to handle the day-to-day issues on the farm. John meets with this committee once every one or two weeks to give instructions and to address any concerns the farmers have about their plots.
One week after the plots were measured, the seeds went into the ground just in time for the first rains of the short rain season. I was not able to be there for the planting, but John informed me later that week that everything went according to plan. John and Yakub were able to purchase high yield maize seeds, which are hard to come by in our region of Tanzania. These high yield seeds produce plants that have two corncobs instead of one, and also produce more and bigger kernels on each cob. The seeds come in one-kilo bags, and John counted out one bag to find out how many seeds are in one kilo and how many kilos will be needed for 10 acres. In John’s scheme, there are about 218 plants in a row and 66 rows in an acre to equal around 14,400 plants per one acre. Before the farmers put the seeds in the ground, John demonstrated how to do proper spacing to make the plot uniform as well as to give the plants enough room to grow without interfering with the neighboring plants. Beans were planted in between the rows of maize because legumes help to restore the nitrogen in the soil that maize plants consume while they grow.
During our time (with Sam and Jesse) visiting markets and talking with farmers in August, we realized that low revenues for subsistence farmers were only part of the problem in these rural communities. Many farmers were and are under producing on their plots. With the proper seeds and the use of proper farming techniques, farmers will be able to significantly increase their yields, simultaneously increasing their food security and total revenues. Afterwards, we can begin focusing on proper market distribution and profit negotiations. But first, people need to eat!
With these high yield seeds and the proper farming techniques, we hope to produce somewhere between 12 and 15 100lb bags per acre (per plot) at the Kwakaliga farm. As of right now, the farmers at Kwakiliga are only producing between 3 and 5 bags per acre on their own farms. This could potentially be a 2.5 to 5x increase in production depending on the rains and other factors.
On October 31st, John, Yakub, and I went out to check the progress of the crops. Due to the rains a couple weeks before, each plant started to poke out of the ground. I was very impressed with how the farm looked, and the way the villagers followed John’s instructions. It seemed that all of them were very appreciative of what we’re doing for them, teaching them proper techniques and providing them with the proper resources to improve their farming. Furthermore, they keep most of what they produce, which will increase their families’ food security and increase their income.
On November 19th, John and I went out to the farm and there had been no rain since our last visit. The plants had only grown a little bit, but were still healthy. John was not worried because he said there would be rain the following week. It was only a short visit, and John met with the committee for about an hour to address any issues that they had. Afterwards, we went back to Korogwe. One week later it rained at the farm, just as John had said it would.
Right now it is December 1st and I have not been able to get back to the since my last visit. From the updates, the plants are growing nicely and there has been plenty of rain for the past couple of weeks. Next week on December 9th Bishop Shaw from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and Bishop Hollingsworth from the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio will be in Korogwe and are scheduled to visit the farm. I believe they will be impressed with the work that Jesse, Sam and everyone here has done so far. A week after the Bishops’ visit, Sam Bonsey will be coming back to Korogwe for ten days. We look forward to welcoming Sam back, and I think we will have an interesting and exciting time discussing what has happened so far, and what we will to do in the future.
Best Regards,
Brendan Knoblauch
Brendan is a former Marine and graduate of John Carroll University. He is now living in Tanzania and working for the Diocese of Ohio. He is a member of the SJOAT Board and a good friend of Sam and Jesse’s.
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