FARMING

In Kabubbu the majority of households have a small plot on which they seek to grow sufficient vegetables and other crops to feed themselves. They may have a pig that produces a small number of piglets each year to pay for school fees or some other form of essential.

To have a cow means an income and milk to improve their diet with extra vitamins. Chicken are the same. With training in animal husbandry they can double the number of piglets, increase the milk yield of their cows and the number of eggs from their chicken. Goats, correctly managed, can provide a rich source of milk and meat.

Initial understanding in animal husbandry and crop care is given through the Adult Literacy programmes run through the Library and then by intensive hands-on training in the field.

We are working towards a Model Farm initiative to teach best practices in all aspects of farming. We have acquired some of the needed land. Now we need to acquire further land and develop it with the animal and crop resources.

Using the concept of giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish we seek to provide both the expertise and the initial resource to those who show understanding and a capability to succeed – seeds, hoes, a pig, chicken or a cow and so on.

A chicken farm of 100 chickens provides an income. This costs £520 which covers the costs of the initial months until the chicks grow into laying hens, a chicken house and all vaccinations and chicken feed. A pair of breeding pigs costs £150, goats £120 and a cow is £500 inclusive of all initial feeds.

No sum is too small in the provision of resources to assist the community to develop farming initiatives and learn new skills.

I WOULD LIKE TO HELP PROVIDE FOR FARMING click here - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.