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| Above is a photo of one of the apprentices, Alberto putting in bamboo stakes to tie up the tomato plants. The bamboo grows all around and is an abundant source that can be used in many different ways at the farm. He is using another piece of bamboo to drive the stake further into the ground before the plants are tied with twine. |
The next crop on the list to research was tomatoes. This fruit can be
found in most markets here in Mozambique during the rainy season and
adds diversity as well as nutritional value to the diets of locals. At
Ebenezer the crop harvest data from 2015 was copied and analyzed to
determine the minimum, average, and maximum yields in kilograms for the
apprentices in a given plot of land. This information will help to
better understand the potential tomato crops could have if poultry
growers were to implement this alongside their bird houses. In addition,
the amount of water, time for labor, and the range for price at market
was collected to create a full life cycle assessment from start to
finish.
After speaking with Chris about the inputs that are being used this year
(2016) it appears that it is rather energy intensive compared to
cabbage and maize. High energy intensity refers to applying fertilizer,
pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides which all drive up the initial
cost of investment, labor time, and potentially reduces the profit that
can be made from a marketable crop. This data will be run through a
program called AtRisk® that will simulate up to 10,000 different
assumptions for what could possibly happen with growing this crop
considering the information that was collected. If the crop turns out to
be high risk with a higher chance of losing money it should not be
recommended to growers to compliment poultry production.
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| Above is a photo of the apprentices working in the fields at Ebenezer cutting grass with machetes. There are many benefits that come with cutting the grass that include using it as mulch once dried and reducing the chance of snakes hiding in the area surrounding the fields that can be fatal is they strike at humans. Mulching has been found to prevent soil erosion and also improve water conservation with reduced evapotranspiration from soil after watering crops. |
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| A tomato flower prior to it turning into a fruit. |
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| Above is a photo of early blight that is one of the diseases that fungicide is sprayed to combat. The apprentices remove the leaves from any plants that are seen to have this to stop the spread of the fungus throughout the entire crop. |
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| Tomato fruits prior to ripening and being sold at the local market. |
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Read more from Olivia at https://mozambiquefarming.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the faculty-led Community Development
in Mozambique summer program, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/mozambique
