Last week we had a small vegetable training in Freitoumou village. We’re slowly trying out new varieties of popular vegetables and some risk-taking farmers decided to try out the vegetable seeds as well. After paying for their packages via SMS layaway, farmers attended a training on creating a nursery. In all, 16 farmers will plant vegetables with us (onions, chili peppers, tomatoes) and each one is planting a local variety next to the newer variety to compare. If all goes well, we’ll be able to expand the vegetable program to all our farmers next rainy season.
Farmers listen to our business associate, Dembele, explain how to set up the seed beds.
Farmers practice spacing the seeds in the nursery. Typically, farmers might throw the seeds randomly or in clumps. By spacing them out, it will be easy to remove at transplanting time.
Broulaye Samake (middle, with Dembele and Oumar) was eager to show us his myAgro maize field. So far he’s very happy but of course it all comes down to the harvest. He told us that he had never cultivated this land, but requested it from his family to plant with myAgro. Last year he planted millet and sorghum and was able to feed his family for 6 months. His two wishes are that his maize harvest is really strong and that more farmers join myAgro next season. Ka sènè soro yiriwa (Grow more profit from agriculture)!