Farmers learn low-cost, high yielding methods
June 4, 2022 – More than 200 farmers in Tororo and Kumi districts of eastern Uganda have received training on low-cost, high yielding methods of farming, during the past three days.
The training, delivered by a natural farming expert, Rei Yoon from South Korea, focused on improving soil fertility and conserving water so that crops grow better and do not dry up during rainfall scarcity. The training also included a simple method of collecting and storing rain water for irrigating crops during the dry season.
Yoon taught farmers to dig small pits measuring 1ft wide, 1ft long and 1ft deep. These are called Zai pits. They are dug 1ft apart from each other, throughout the garden.
Yoon advised farmers to fill these pits with dried grass and leaves, cow dung, livestock urine, charcoal dust and bone fragments. When it rains, these pits collect water and keep the soil moist.
Thus, the pits are a reservoir for both soil nutrients and water. Therefore, crops grown in the garden will have a high yield and won’t dry up even during a dry spell. Farmers may grow crops either in or between the pits.
“We are teaching farmers to know how to do farming and get a high yield without buying expensive inputs,” Yoon said.
Regarding rain water harvesting, Yoon taught farmers to dig pits 20ft long, 3ft wide and 5ft deep, and then line it with a 40 x 40 ft tarpaulin. The overlapping parts of the tarpaulin collects rain water and directs it into the pit. The pit can store nearly 10,000 litres of water. Yoon gave it the name Rei pond. Tree branches are laid across the pit to protect it.
With the combination of Zai pits and Rei ponds, farmers can double their yield to ensure food security and income for the family. Yoon advises farmers to work in groups. For example, they can all converge at one person’s farm to dig the Rei pond, and thereafter do the same in another farm.
Prior to Yoon’s training, a renowned motivational and mindset change speaker, John Bosco Tebandeke, spoke to the farmers. He advised farmers to believe in themselves, get out of their comfort zones and harness locally available resources to make a difference in their lives.
“We have a lot of resources around us but we remain poor. In the 1950s Korea was worse than Uganda but they have developed because of mindset change,” Tebandeke said.
He also advised farmers against waiting for donors, government and NGOs to help them get out of poverty. “Let us not wait for leaders to do things for us. What you can do, do it by yourself. It is your responsibility to change your destiny. Change cannot be imposed on you,” he said.
During the training, Organic Impact gave out moringa seeds to farmers. Moringa leaves can be used as livestock feed, human health booster and soil fertility enhancer. For maximum leaf yield, farmers can plant it intensively at a spacing of 15 x 15 cm. They can harvest the green tops every 35 days.