Wednesday, 21 November 2012

Lafia (2) –YMCA Farm school

 

PB030411_thumbTraditionally agriculture in Nigeria is subsistence agriculture and suffers from poor crop yields, a variety of crop pests, and post harvest losses of up to 40% because of inadequate storage facilities.  The farm school is trying to change this subsistence approach into a an agribusiness and wants to encourage its farmers to plant new varieties, try out new techniques and to plant a diverse range of crops to ensure a regular and continuing source of food and income.

PB030412_thumbTypical crops we saw when we were there in early November were oil palm (which gives the oil used for cooking in most of Nigeria), sesame, chilli pepper (which, as far as I can taste, is used in every Nigerian dish), guinea corn (dawa in Hausa) taller than a man, citrus (lemon and oranges (which we had each morning for breakfast) , enormous flouted pumpkins (goye ), okra/ladies fingers (kubewa), rice (shinkafa – and the first paddy field I have seen since India!) and the ubiquitous yam (doya). Everyone of the volunteers harvested a yam  - yes even me - which was then cooked for our evening meal, and I can tell you I wouldn’t want to be doing that all day! There is no yam harvester other than a human being with a large hand hoe – back breaking work as you have to hack away carefully so as not to damage the tuber.

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They have a small but growing herbal business growing various herbs such as Artemesia which is drank as a malaria cure, Vinca rosacea for high blood pressure and something they called black stone which is a boiled thigh bone of a cow and which is used against snake bites.

Oil Palm
Digging for yam

17 comments:

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  2. This farm school initiative is really impressive—turning subsistence farming into a sustainable agribusiness takes a lot of dedication and planning. Kind of reminds me of how carefully you have to plan in null's brawl apk to succeed—strategy and patience really pay off in the long run!

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  3. The YMCA Farm School in Lafia aims to modernize subsistence farming by improving techniques, increasing crop variety, and boosting yields. Farmers grow crops like oil palm, rice, citrus, and yam, which is harvested manually and requires hard labor.

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  4. It's truly inspiring to see how the YMCA Farm School is empowering local farmers to transition from subsistence farming to sustainable agribusiness. Introducing new crop varieties and better techniques is exactly what's needed to tackle post-harvest losses and secure a steady income. The description of harvesting yams by hand really puts into perspective how much hard work goes into traditional farming. It’s a great reminder of how important innovation is, not just in agriculture, but in how we adapt and upgrade our lifestyle choices to grow effectively."

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