Field Day Goodness

As a little aside to begin this post... this morning I was walking to the market area near where I live to catch a minibus to get to work. On my way I walked past an open air butcher. He was preparing (the gentle way of saying it) a goat. Hanging beside the goat that he was working was a goat's head (perfectly preserved, but without a body). My soft vegetarian's heart wept a little for the poor goat.

Last Friday, I went to a pretty fantastic field day in Nkhota Kota (north-east of Lilongwe and along the shores of Lake Malawi). Fields days are intended to get farmers out and to show them how different seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides work in the area that they are farming. Each field day happens at a demonstration plot where different types of seed (usually maize (corn for non-famers like me!)) are grown. From what I can tell a field day is part marketing campaign and part educational seminar.

From CNFA's perspective the field days are to help the agrodealers in the area promote their products and increase the number of farmers that purchase agricultural inputs (like hybrid seeds). Last week's field day had about 500 farmers in attendance, and representatives from several supply companies like Monsanto (sets off alarm bells I know - but I haven't yet gathered any negative reports about them in Malawi), Seed-Co. It also had many chiefs from local villages (the highest ranking chief in attendance was a woman), and many representatives from government. Best of all CNFA didn't do any of the work organizing the day, it was all done by a the local agrodealer (this the model CNFA is trying to work towards).

I can't say that I did much that was useful at the field day, but I did enjoy myself. There were presentations, discussion, skits, and dancing. I took lots of pictures, which I hope you enjoy.