Posted on June, 13, 2019 at 09:43 am
By Daniel Sabiiti
Four years ago Fabien Ngarambe, 50, was stuck in mixed subsistence farming sowing bags maize seeds and some beans on his one hectare piece of land farm in Kibare cell, Gahengeri sector, Rwamagana district of Eastern.
At the end of a planting season, he would harvest only 800kgs of maize and a few kilograms of beans, which, he says, he would consume at home as a result of failing to get buyers on the open market.
“We used to just plant and wait for the harvest, we had no skills and farmed the rudimental cultural way,” Ngarambe said.
In 2014, Ngarambe heard Merry Year international, a South Korean non-profit organization trains maize farmers with basic modern maize farming, post-harvest handling skills and supports them with fertilizers and agricultural equipment.
He was enrolled among the first 100 farmers to be trained in a six months Mobile Farmers School (MFS) under the Green Light Project (GLP) run by Merry Year International in Rwamagana district, marking the turning point of his farming life.
“We learnt how to space seeds and apply fertilizers and make compost manure from human and animal waste – which has improved my annual farm output from 800kgs to four tons,” Ngarambe narrates.
During the training, farmers are given a theoretical and practical tests on their farming knowledge and skills of which the latter are applied in the own farms, according to Peter Ruzindana the GLP Chief Agronomist at Merry Year International.
“Those who pass are advanced to another level of mentor and even join Codaega cooperative was formed last year as an initiative Gahengeri farmers who have undergone the training,” Ruzindana said.
The cooperative has over 160 registered members and 57 of them have a full membership which requires one to pay Rwf30, 000 making their savings stand at Rwf1.7million.
Currently, Codaega members been supported by Merry Year International to construct a maize processing plant producing high class maize floor called Rwamagana Best maize floor-codaega’.
To get to this high class floor, says GLP official, farmers are given free transport in KIA trucks and agricultural machinery such as water pumps, sprayers, shelling machines and tillage machines donated by KIA- a Korean Automobile company which supports Merry Year International intiatives.
“At this stage we teach farmers post handling methods and transportation to avoid maize wetness and fungi attack on the maize seed that cause toxins (aflatoxin) which are dangerous to human liver when consumed” said Albert Nzamwita the GLP Post Harvest Specialist.
Nzamwita said with the KIA trucks, farmers can easily transport their maize harvest from farms to two maize driers and send the processed floor to markets without worrying about the costs.
From the cooperative operations and support of Merry Year International, Ngarambe is among the over 1,000 farmers who have undergone the MFS programme for the last four years.
Through profits earned, he has managed to construct a 64 iron sheet house and owning cows among several domestic animals.
His soscial status has also increased. He is the vice president of Gahengeri maize farmers’ cooperative (Codaega).
The success Merry Year International among farmers like Ngarambe was showcased at the end of a 3-day Rwamagana district Open Day expo 2019, this Friday, where their maize was displayed for sale and the public went in for grabs.
“I have been hearing residents talk about how soft, smooth and whitish the Codaega maize floor is. As a businessman I know that these are best qualities to look out on maize, that is why I am purchasing for retail,” said Jean d’Dieu Bigirimana, who purchased 5kg and 10kg bags worth Rwf40, 000.
At the expo, Merry Year International also displayed sweet crunchy cookies made out of maize produced by Codaega, and according to officials the cooperative farmers are yet to learn this technic to advance their activities.
“We have applied at the Rwanda Btandards Board for certification of the Codaega maize floor and we are confident this will be successful. We also plan on teaching farmers how to make more products such as cookies out of maize,” said Nzamwita the GLP Post Harvest Specialist.
At the closure of the Rwamagana Open Day, Merry Year International was one of the over 40 organizations that were appreciated by the Governor of the Eastern Province, Fred Mufulukye, for their contribution towards food security and citizen’s welfare.
On the other hand, the GLP programme runs a GLP education center where Rwamagana farmers especially youth are trained on basic computer and English skills.
The center, located in Kibare cell, Gahengeri sector, will be recruiting its 2019 batch with the June 17 deadline for applicants only in Rwamagana district.
According to Merry Year International officials the intake and numbers of applicants for GLP center programmes and MFS programme are expected to grow this year especially as a result of the farmers’ growing awareness of the support by KIA which provides the free equipment for the center and farmers.
Source: KT Press