industrial placement report 2016 - tropical ... acknowledge mr. chela mason luapula who acted as my...

INDUSTRIALPLACEMENTREPORT2016

PAMELAASABEAADDAI 1

Presented by

Pamela Asabea Addai

20th September 2016

NAME: Pamela Asabea Addai

UNIVERSITY: Royal Agricultural University – Cirencester, UK

COURSE: MSc Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

FELLOWSHIP YEAR: AFT Scholar 2015/2016

EMAIL: [email protected]

TEL: +233 243 921 277

HOME ADDRESS: Box 474, Nii Boiman. Accra – Ghana

ZIA DIRECTOR: Dr. Christopher Pannet Kapembwa EMAIL: [email protected]


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Acknowledgement

With profound gladness, I wish to first thank the Almighty God for his infinite grace, wisdom and the abundance of blessings he has bestowed in my life.

Special thanks go to the African Fellowship Trust and the Royal Agricultural University for offering me this great opportunity to pursue my masters course and to provide the platform to gain experience in my field of study through this industrial placement. I am grateful for the financial support they provided throughout my one year stay in the UK and also for my trip and stay in Zambia which enabled me gain more working experience outside my home country Ghana.

My sincere gratitude goes to the Tropical Agriculture Association (TAA) and TAA Zambia/Southern African Branch for offering me the opportunity to join the Zambia Institute of Agriculture (ZIA) that enabled me complete this part of my program.

With sincere heart and appreciation, I wish to thank the director of ZIA, Dr. Christopher Kapembwa for the enabling environment he provided during my stay in Zambia. Am grateful for his advice, support and guidance that enabled me execute my work smoothly. I acknowledge Mr. Chela Mason Luapula who acted as my interpreter during training sections with the rural folks.


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Introduction

The report gives an outline of activities and achievements of my four (4) weeks industrial placement with the Zambia Institute of Agriculture (ZIA) from the 1st of August to the 29th 2016. As part of the African Land and Food Fellowship program, fellows are to undertake an industrial placement aimed at building capacity in young Africans for African development.

ZIA is an independent training, research and empowering institution with the objective of mobilizing local leaders and women groups to train them on sustainable new systems of farming. In relation to these objectives, I was sent to the Muchinga constituency in the Serenje District of the Central Province of Zambia for three weeks. The area is highly endowed with rich soils and thick forests yet economic development in the region seems to have been eluded in that part of Zambia’s rural area. The populaces of the constituency mainly engage in subsistence agriculture.

My task was to

• Revamp women group and clubs in the constituency • Mobilize and train farmer coordinators in the constituency on sustainable agriculture • Visit agribusiness companies Lusaka to link marketing opportunities to the constituency

I spent the final week at Ndola in the Copperbelt Province and in the capital Lusaka to meet up with some agribusiness companies and commercial farms.

TASK

1. Revamp women groups and clubs in the constituency

Like in most rural settings across Africa and other developing countries, women play a major role in attaining household food security and thus to national food security. Rural women are seen to take the majority of household labor hence the need to be more focused on this group if food security is to be attained.

During the first week of my stay, I visited eight (8) women clubs across Kanona, Musamani, Nkundalila, Muchinga, Kalela and Sote communities with the aim of interacting with them to ascertain their level of development since the inception of the club and its impact on their lives and livelihood. Each club were made up of at least 20 members with each have three community leaders (men) acting as advisors for the club. During my interactions with the clubs, the following was observed

• Clubs were formed with the sole aim of receiving aids from government, donors and NGO • Members were mainly farmers and engage in subsistence farming • Club lacks extension services • Members lack basic understanding of belonging to the club • Lack of education and technical know on good and sustainable farming practices • Conflict of interest between individual farms and club farms


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• Lack of commitment of members

As a result, there have been no improvements in livelihoods, economic and social development.

Action taken

An urgent action with the aim of empowering and building capacity in these women was employed through

• With the assistance of the Dr. Kapembwa, individual clubs were taken through the essentials of club formation, benefits and appropriate methods of forming a club

• Through the cooperation of the member of parliament for the constituency, clubs are to receive assist in farm inputs to facilitate work on farm

• Club members were introduced to the concept of diversification into other ventures to create more jobs and income hence for community development and improvement of livelihood and food security.

• Each group were given different assignments that will aid in effective monitoring and evaluation

• An out grower scheme for soya bean production is being designed with the help of Dr. Kapembwa. This is to boost the production of soya bean in the constituency which eventually will lead increase incomes and create more job opportunities not only for the women group but also for the youth of the community. This is also to encourage other women to join or more clubs leading to women empowerment, economic, social and community development.

Fig1:InteractingwithChimpakasawomengroup


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Fig 2: Interacting with Nkundalila women club

Fig 3: Interacting with Kalela women club


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2. Train farmer coordinators.

ZIA has a scheme in which farmer coordinators are selected from the communities and undergo one week training on appropriate and sustainable farming practices. Week three saw the mobilization of these coordinators in which a day workshop was delivered to introduce them to the concept of sustainable agriculture and their role as coordinators. Two groups with a total of 25 members selected randomly across all communities in the constituency attended the workshop organized on different days for each group. Each farmer coordinator is then licensed to train at least 10 contact farmers.

Coordinators were taken through

• Concept of sustainable agriculture which I delivered • Concept of conservation agriculture/Foundation for farming delivered by Dr. Kapembwa • Farm management practices which I delivered.

Fig 4: Delivering workshop 1


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Fig 5: With group 1 of farmer coordinators


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Fig 6: Delivering workshop 2

Fig 7: With group 2 of farmer coordinators


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My initiative

With my passion of making a difference in Africa coupled with empowering mostly women and youth into agriculture hence contributing to improvement of livelihoods, food security, community development and to a large extent national development, i began to identify potential opportunities for development in the constituency.

As an expert in the production of oyster mushrooms and with the abundance of raw materials available in the constituency for its production, I decided to set up a model mushroom farm in the Kalela community. The abundance of natural mushrooms in the area whereby people travel from far and near to purchase was the driving force for the establishment of this farm.

Aim of project

• To create employment opportunities especially for the youth and women • For diversification • Increase income of populace • Contribute to minimizing environmental population as agricultural wastes serve as raw material

for mushroom production and compost used as source of fertilizer for agricultural crops • Promote social and community development.

The project kicked started with two clubs; Kalela womens club and Luchele farmers club on the 9th of August 2016. Members were eager and excited to learn new methods of mushroom production and a desire to cause a change in their livelihoods. Mushroom production is not capital intensive due to the availability of agricultural wastes and raw materials (saw dust, soyabean straw, corn cob, tarsh, rice straw and water)

Activity

• To commence the project, some young men in the community were mobilized to construct the cropping house and inoculation room with tarsh and bamboo


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Fig 8: Beginning stages of constructing cropping house

Fig 9: State of cropping house as at 19th of August 2016



• Composting of the substrate (saw dust) on the 9th of August 2016. The substrate was mixed with finer particles of soyabean straw which acts as food base for the microbes and adds crude protein and vitamins to the mixture and agricultural lime to aid in fast decomposing.

Fig 10: Substrate (sawdust) being spread out



Fig 11: Adding agricultural lime to the substrate

Fig 12: With members of the club after composting



• The heap was turned by members after every four days for a period of 28 days which was completed on the 7th of September 2016

Fig 13: Members turning heap after four days

• A training section was organized where by members were taking through all the steps of

mushroom production from composting to cropping



Fig 14: Demonstrating bagging of compost to members

Fig 15: Group of members being showed pictures of oyster mushroom



• Bagging of compost was carried out on the 8th of September after which the bags were sterilized

Fig 16: Sterilization of bags

• Members packed to bags to on shelves in the inoculation room for process to commence on

the 10th of September 2016. • Visited the Jihai Agriculture Co. Ltd, biggest producer and marketer of Oyster mushroom in

Lusaka. This is to negotiate for markets for the mushrooms to be produced in the constituency and also seek for training centre in the constituency



Fig17:Bagsinoculatedwithmushroomspawns

Though I had returned to my home country Ghana, I still stay in touch with Dr. Kapembwa to be updated on the progress made.



Fig 18: With the leaders of the Kalela and Luchele women clubs

Fig 19: With the executives of the Kalela and Luchele women clubs



Challenges: The major challenged faced was duration of placement coincided with the period in which Zambians went to the polls to elect their president and members of parliament. As a result much was not done during week two. Conclusion This opportunity given me has really enabled me build up more confidence in myself since it required commitment, dedication and understanding of rural folks and how to design lessons to help enhance community development. My time with the people of Muchinga constituency was an interesting learning experience which will be beneficial to my future aspirations.

The team: from left; Mr. Chela Luapula (interpreter), myself and Dr. Kapembwa

industrial placement report 2016 - tropical ... acknowledge mr. chela mason luapula who acted as my...

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