More yields with LENEP in Mutchenda
59-year-old Gilbert Tonga is a regular maize farmer at Mataya village in the area of Traditional Authority Chulu in Mutchenda community in Kasungu.
Despite his consistent farm toils, Tonga has been getting not more than 10 bags of maize from his one and a quarter acre field.
“I have been a farmer in my entire life, but I have always struggled with yield. From my one and quarter acre land, I barely harvest more than 10 bags of maize and this has been troubling me,” says Tonga.
But the World Vision’s Livestock and Economic and Nutrition Empowerment Project (LENEP) has given Tonga access to goats from which he gets manure for his farming activities.
From the initial five goats he received last year, Tonga now has eight goats to his care. He is able to correct manure for his farm.
The manure has helped him see the possibility of maximizing his maize yield.
“The manure is proving to be worth the effort. Just last season, I applied manure to the same one and quarter acre, and I harvest over 15 bags. This year I feel if I can apply more manure to the field, I should be able to harvest more than that,” says Tonga.
“This year, I plan to collect more manure so that I can harvest over 40 bags from my farm to ensure that I have more food for my children,” adds the father of three children.
Beyond getting manure as a complementary product, Tonga looks forward to earning enough money which will help him finance educational needs of his children.
“The goats are a ready source of income, with an average well-fleshed goats fetching over a Mk100, 000. With these, I do not see myself struggling to feed my children nor fail to support them in school. With just two goats, the proceeds will suffice school fees payment for my children,” he brags.
Dorica, 14, is Tonga’s eldest daughter, she is in grade seven. She and her younger sister, 10 year old violet, work hard in school as they see massive potential for uninterrupted school support from their father.
“Our father now looks more focused and supportive towards our education because of the support he got from World Vision. We are so proud to see the goats multiply, and we feel so safer to know that we have something that will generate our school fees when we get to secondary school,” says Dorica, an aspiring teacher.