nkokonjeru - report3

LUGAZI CATHOLIC DIOCESE
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME
A REPORT ON THE PARTIAL ACTIVITIES AND THE
PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL IN
NKOKONJERU PARISH
1st July - 30th August 2005
PART
1
2
INTRODUCTION
The report covers activities so far carried out in caritas Nkokonjeru Parish Sustainable
Agriculture Program that kicked off on the 1st July 2005. The generous contributions
from our sister parish of St. Eugene in USA assisted by Caritas Lugazi in implementing
a holistic, and integral development program of helping families to develop themselves
in their respective areas spiritually, physically, socially and materially.
The implementing organization CARITAS LUGAZI DIOCESE
Caritas - Lugazi is the social pastoral wing of Lugazi Diocese. It aims at improving the
social economic conditions of the people it works and collaborates with, that subscribes
to its vision of an improved quality of life for the people of Lugazi Diocese and
Nkokonjeru in particular through love.
The word caritas is in Latin and it means, “Love one another”. This determines the core
values with which the organization works. The ultimate goal of caritas Lugazi Diocese
and Nkokonjeru Parish inclusive is to strengthen community based capacity building
activities that enable sustainable social justice, reconciliation, development and faith in
the diocese.
LOCATION OF PROGRAMME AREA
Nkokonjeru Parish is located in Lugazi Diocese Mukono District. Although the Parish
has 24 sub-parishes, the program has been initiated in only 3 sub-parishes. Namely
Nkokonjeru, Lubongo and Busabaga with a hope that it will expand to the whole parish
in future.
Nkokonjeru sub-parish covers about 50 square Kilometers in Nkokonjeru Town council,
whereas Lubongo is about 40 square Kilometers in Ngogwe Sub-county and Busabaga
is 80 square Kilometers in Buikwe sub-county.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
Unlike Nkokonjeru sub-parish which is located in the Town Council, it is partly semiurban and mainly rural. Busabaga and Lubongo are typically rural areas with a
vegetation dominated by tropical forests, savannah grass lands, shrubs and swamps.
The area is hilly with no records on annual rainfall distribution and has a bimodal type of
rainfall.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The main crops grown are bananas, sweet potatoes, beans, coffee, vanilla, sugar
canes, yams and maize. However, vanilla has been affected by a drastic fall in its price
while coffee and bananas by wilt diseases.
SOILS
Most soils are loamy ranging from dark to red characterized by silts and reduced fertility.
3
MARKET
Nkokonjeru Town Council, mainly the central zone mostly housing civil servants and
business personnels is the main trading area with a good number of shops, mobile
markets, residential markets, drug shops operating on daily basis. However farm supply
shops are few and very unreliable with costly farm inputs.
COMMUNICATION FACILITIES
Caritas executive committee members, some staff and farmers have mobile phones,
which render the quickest means of communication. Others include; news, papers,
radios and televisions.
OBJECTIVES
They include learning and production objectives.
To support and train the beneficiaries and the surrounding farmers in sustainable
agriculture.
To increase the household food production capability.
To train farmers in Participatory Rural Appraisal planning, ranking possible solutions so
as to make action plans.
To encourage caritas community to work as a team in formulation of action plans to
solve their own problems.
PROBLEM JUSTIFICATION
The general problem is ignorance, which results in inadequate food, poverty, poor soil
fertility, and crop diseases. These featured prominently during problem identification in
all the 3 sub-parishes.
4
PART 2
5
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN
PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL (PRA)
This approach was used to involve farmers in participatory needs assessment and
planning, both to boost their learning, development and planning potentials. The
process has been carried out as follows;
Introduction: involved teaching tools such as lecture, group discussions and
demonstrations.
Village mapping and transect
The community meeting was followed by village mapping and transects which was
conducted to observe and identify different activities done in the area and the problems
associated with them.
Village mapping
The major purpose of drawing village map was to show the existing features in the area
such as village roads, homesteads, crops grown, forests, hills, water sources and
community centers. The farmers using locally available materials such as leaves,
flowers banana fibre, small stones and pieces of dry sticks drew the map on the ground.
These indicated physical features in the area that are of value. In the process of
drawing the map the farmers actively participated by locating different features.
Transect
A transect is a walk through an agreed route previously drawn and determined on the
village map to obtain the ecological features of the area including vegetation cover, soil
types, land use problems and opportunities. During the process, observations and
identification of different activities and the different types of soil was done.
Observed also were the problems associated to each type of soil i.e. stunted and
yellowing of crops, presence of crop pest’s, vermin month and diseases. There after, a
transect axis (report form) was drawn on a manila paper for future use.
Problem analysis
After carrying out a thorough exercise on a transect and drawing a village map,
brainstorming was done by farmers to expose their agricultural related and other
problems. A list of problems was developed and ranked to get the most burning
problems as follows;
Ignorance
Insufficient food
Poverty
Exhausted soils
Crop pests , diseases and vermin
Lack of sufficient improved seeds, cuttings and clones
6
Farmers have made an analysis of the main problems by identifying the causes and the
root causes to the problems, determining possible solutions and prioritizing solutions.
The tools used were problem and solution trees, and the pair wise ranking matrix.
Action plans
Parish action plans have been drawn to allocate the major activities and the specific
activities to be undertaken in a possible time limit with anticipated funds and sources of
funds.
Visioning
In order to have sustainable groups working together to a common goal with members
determined to work together, the beneficiaries were taken through a participatory
process of coming up with a vision and a clear plan to get to that vision.
The next page has some pictures capturing part of the visioning process.
PICTURES SHOWING PARTS OF THE VISIONING PROCESS
IMPROVISED BLACKBOARD FOR HANGING CHARTS IN BUSABAGA CENTRE
GROUP MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN VISIONING NKOKONJERU CENTRE
7
NDIBADAWA A FEMALE PARTICIPANT DRAWS PICTURES DESCRIBING THE
VISION OF MASEKE GROUP AS OTHER MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO THE
DISCUSSION
A FEMALE LEADER GIVES A VOTE OF THANKS AFTER THE SESSION IN
LUBONGO
8
THE LINK FARMER VENANSIO MBONYE AND THE VISIONING TRAINER KOTILDA
NAKYEYUNE ARRIVE AT LUBONGO AS THEY WAITE FOR THE OTHER
TRAINNERS TO ARRIVE AT THE SITE USING SHARED TRANSPORT
DONATA MUWONGE A TWINNING COMMITTEE MEMBER PARTICIPATES IN
EXPLAINING HER GROUPS DREAM USING WRITTEN WORDS AND PICTURES
9
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Besides PRA and after taking the exercise, that has costed a full months, lecture
sessions of other activities set in.
BANANA PLANTATIONS
Lectures on how to start a modern banana plantation have been taken, including the
practical part. Discussion of the major diseases affecting banana production have been
analyzed and the consequent methods of avoiding them.
SSEKITOLEKO EDWARD A CARITAS TRAINNER INSTRUCTING A GROUP
HERE HE GIVES ON SPOT GUIDANCE
TO A GROUP MEMBER IN LUBONGO
HOW THE
PLANTING IS DONE TO ENSURE
QUALITY WORK FOR BETTER
YIELDS
10
FARM PLANNING
Started on paper work after moving around the whole farm. Household maps were
drawn to indicate the current status of the farms as per households and the existing
activities. Another map was drawn after lecture showing the different changes, as each
farmer would wish on his farm. On the new plan, plots on individual farms have been
demarcated and allocated with independent activities.
Soil conservation ditches have been done to check soil erosion and also for the purpose
of demarcating for proper plot placements as they implement their farm plans as shown
below;
GARDEN IN BUSABAGA
FAMILY IN LUBONGO
VEGETABLE GROWING
Farmers have been taught different forms of vegetable gardens managed on a one plot
most adjacent to the homestead. Twelve types of small gardens have been taught and
each farmer is expected to at least make eight of them. Some of the gardens taught
include; raised bed, double dug, kitchen garden sucken, mandala, mountain garden,
sunken garden, basket garden, pot gardens.
11
PIGLETS
Forty piglets were purchased and distributed to forty farmers. Below are some pictures
showing the pigs mentioned.
A PIGLET IN NKOKONJERU CENTRE
CENTRE LEADER OF LUBONGO ON THE RIGHT
12
OPERATION OF ACTIVITIES
Caritas working week begins every Thursday by extension staff training in all the three
centers. In the morning a session is carried out at Nkokonjeru center, and a session in
the afternoon at Lubongo and Busabaga simultaneously. Lunch is provided to facilitate
proper learning however this is a local contribution. Thereafter, each of the 3 centers
attends to farm trials once a week with the extension staff as follows;
Thursday
Friday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
:
:
:
:
:
Sessions at all the 3 centers
Farm trials Lubongo
Monitoring day
Farm trials Nkokonjeru
Farm trials Busabaga
Below are some of the training sessions,
Jane Nakazinga standing on the right hand side a CARITAS Trainer, conducting a
training session in Nkokonjeru church while Mr Katende an elder and farmer leader in
Nkokonjeru Town council also participates in a practical elaboration.
13
Below the head catechist mobilizes his sub-parishioners to prepare a meal for the
beneficiaries in Lubongo center as they continue with there session and lunch will be
ready by the time they are through at the lunch break.(He is also a twinning committee
member, and is breaking a piece of fire wood stick in the picture)
HEAD CATECHIST OF LUBONGO PREPARES FOOD
BELOW BUSABAGA GROUP ENJOYS A MEAL AT A LUNCH BREAK SESSESION
14
PART 3
15
THE TRAINING SESSIONS AND THE COSTS INCURRED SO FAR
as at 30th August, 2005
Session Activity
Item / material
Total
Cost
1st July Introduction caritas and
Lunch, Transport,
93,500
2005
sustainable agriculture
News prints and
markers
th
7 July Farm planning
Transport,
49,500
2005
News prints and
markers
14th
Introduction PRA, secondary
Lunch, Transport,
60,200
July
data analysis and mapping.
News prints and
2005
markers
st
21
Transect, problem analysis
63,000
July
priority enterprise
2005
4th
Action plan
Lunch, Transport,
88,000
August
News prints and
2005
markers
th
11
Banana growing
Transport (staff,
65,000
August
cloves), News prints
2005
and markers
Banana planting material
Purchase and transport 3,000,000
3000 plants
18th
Growing vegetables
Lunch, Transport,
29,000
August
News prints and
2005
markers
nd
22 Visioning and summarizing
Transport, Lunch,
391,800
27th
PRA
Allowance facilitator,
August
News prints and
2005
markers
Piggery
Piglets, transect
800,000
Motor cycle for trainners
1 Yamaha second hand 1,000,000
Staff wedges
5 staff
1,100,000
House rent
80,000
Maintenance and repair of
Motorcycle and car
361,000
motor veichels
TOTAL
7,181,000
Exchange rate 1800/=
4,000$
Uganda Shillings
US
Dollars
16
Date
(2005)
TIME TABLE FOR THURSDAYS AND THE ATTENDANCES
Time
Venue
Subject
1st July
7th July
14th July
21st July
4th August
11th August
18th August
22ndAugust
23rd August
24th August
25th August
26th August
27th August
Morning
Nkokonjeru
Afternoon
Lubongo
Afternoon
Busabaga
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
Morning
Nkokonjeru
Lubongo
Busabaga
Nkokonjeru
Afternoon
Busabaga
Afternoon
Lubongo
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
Morning
Afternoon
Afternoon
09 - 06:00
09 - 06:00
09 - 05:00
09 - 05:00
09 - 05:00
09 - 05:00
Nkokonjeru
Lubongo
Busabaga
Nkokonjeru
Lubongo
Busabaga
Nkokonjeru
Lubongo
Busabaga
Nkokonjeru
Lubongo
Busabaga
Nkokonjeru
Nkokonjeru
Lubongo
Lubongo
Busabaga
Busabaga
Introduction caritas and sustainable
agriculture
Introduction caritas and sustainable
agriculture
Introduction caritas and sustainable
agriculture
Farm planning
Farm planning
Farm planning
Introduction PRA, sec. Data analysis and
mapping
Introduction PRA, sec. Data analysis and
mapping
Introduction PRA, sec. Data analysis and
mapping
Transect, prob analysis, priority enterprise
Transect, prob analysis, priority enterprise
Transect, prob analysis, priority enterprise
Action plan
Action plan
Action plan
Banana growing
Banana growing
Banana growing
Growing vegetables
Growing vegetables
Growing vegetables
Visioning I
Visioning II
Visioning I
Visioning II
Visioning I
Visioning II
Attendance
M F Total
37
46
83
28
36
64
21
39
60
29
49
78
14
34
48
21
42
63
24
16
09
22
13
39
46
20
38
41
63
62
29
60
54
14
16
25
21
48
20
34
37
62
36
59
58
33
32
20
21
11
38
39
36
27
27
71
71
56
48
38
21
17