A field day

In the middle of my stay in the village I was lucky enough to attend a field day put together by my partner organization (CNFA). The field days are part of CNFA's demand creation initiative. I have attended several of these field days before, but always as part of CNFA and never arriving (and leaving) with a group of farmers. I was fortunate to have this opportunity to see things from the farmer's vantage point.

CNFA recruits and trains agrodealers to open businesses in the rural areas of Malawi. These agrodealers are set up to operate profit making businesses, however, they are also meant to supply 'improved' agricultural inputs to rural farmers. 'Improved' agricultural inputs are genetically engineered seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals (both herbicides and pesticides). I'm not educated enough to say whether in the grand scheme of things these inputs are good or bad, but I've talked to the farmers and I know that they double the amount of maize that farmers can grow in one growing season. At the very least this means that less people go hungry.

As I mentioned last time, Malawi is just entering the rainy season (it's raining as I type!). The field day was therefore held a winter garden that had been watered using a basic irrigation system. Sixty farmers from the village (the majority of them women) had grouped together to build a system of small canals that diverted water from a nearby river and the result was 15 acres of green maize at the end of the dry season. It was beautiful to see. This maize will be food and income for this group of farmers at one of the most difficult times of the year... while they are waiting for the newly planted maize to grow and mature.

The actual plot used for the field day was quite small, but it showcased the growth and yield of four different varieties of seed. The field day was attended by almost sixty farmers, who came to see which seed had performed best, and which seed they would buy this year if they could afford it. (The seed and fertilizer are expensive, and the CNFA agrodealer had helped the group to obtain a loan from a local micro-finance group in order to pay for the inputs for the winter garden. The farmers are already paying off their loans).

After the field day I talked to the farmers and learned that the farmers believe that the field day and the assistance that they received from the agrodealer are very helpful. VH Tchale listed off six varieties of seed that he had grown over the last twenty years. Each change he had made had been because of the demonstrated performance of a better type of seed. I came away with a better idea of how CNFA's programs impact the farmer, and an increased awareness of the importance of the initiative and ingenuity of the agrodealer.