The Fruits of Labour
Mercy Ships teaches agricultural concepts through their Food for Life programme. The valuable agricultural knowledge gives trainees the ability to increase their own crop production, while also training others – which improves the nutrition and health of their communities.
During the 2012 Togo Field Service, the programme included 53 trainees and several different sites in Togo, West Africa. Many of the locations were a three-hour drive from the Africa Mercy.
One of the agriculture locations is near the town of Ahepe, 2½ hours from the port of Lomé. This site currently has 14 trainees who work a large plot that was donated to them by a local man, Komi Apetovi. “The village needs to be developed. That’s why I give my land for free use for over 20 years. My brother and I agree that we are not going to sell the land, but use it to develop our village for the good of our children and children’s children,” Komi explained.
The crops include eggplant, chilli pepper (4,000 plants), and corn. Mercy Ships is teaching these farmers sound agricultural principles that will help them to grow healthier and more plentiful crops.
Mercy Ships continually evaluates the programme to assess areas that may need improvement. One targeted area was the training regarding the importance of mulching. Mulching provides humidity for crops by creating moist soil to keep the plants from drying out under the hot African sun. It also stops the growth of weeks and prevents erosion. These significant benefits prompted Mercy Ships to add more training in how to make rich mulch.
Another successful addition to the Food for Life programme was the addition of animal husbandry. Eliphaz Essah, Agriculture Project Coordinator, explains, “We have three other places based in Lomé, where one trainer is raising rabbits and doing gardening, another one is raising chickens-guinea fowls and turkeys, and one association has rabbits and a garden.”
The addition of livestock helps in producing mulch to nourish the soil and also helps the trainees’ families. They are able to supplement their diet with protein and sell extra animals for added income. Eliphaz teaches them the essentials of raising healthy animals.
The agricultural training site in Ahepe included several other important components. In the past, it has been hard for plants to survive during the dry season (February to April) due to the lack of a nearby water source. So, two water ponds, 1000 square meters each, were created to provide an ample supply of water.
They have also experimented with where crops are planted. For example, they planted corn next to eggplant. Corn helps control caterpillars that are very harmful to the growth of eggplant. The experiment has been successful, and the eggplant crop is thriving.
Many hopes are centred in the success of the Ahepe agricultural site. In the future, they are hoping to building living quarters for the farmers so that they can live closer to the crops in order to protect them.
The centre will also be a reference point, the centre of a local network interested in developing the community. Hopefully, the continued success of the site will improve the physical and economic health of the area and stem the exodus of young people from the rural communities – thus strengthening the entire society.