Promote the Sustainable Cultivation of Vegetables through Sound Soil management Techniques

The aim of the project is to promote the sustainable cultivation of vegetables through sound soil management techniques. There is increase demand of vegetables in the urban areas around the Mt Cameroon region. This has also led to unsustainable methods of vegetable cultivation, including the use of chemical fertilizers fungicides and insecticides. Weeding of farms is by the use of total herbicides This has led to soil degradation through soil erosion, the destruction of soil organisms. It is therefore necessary to search for a balance in income generation, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. The project will produce training materials on sustainable organic vegetable production and soil management techniques that emphasize on the use of organic fertilizers in the place of chemical products in cultivation.

Project Summary

Compassion

I am call xxxxxx the Executive Director of a newly created non-profit organisation called XXXXXX

I have worked for more ten years with resource poor communities in rural Cameroon. I have pity on their poverty situation and at same time would like to see them move out of poverty. At the same time a lot of them lack the skills to produce sustainably without harming the environment. All human beings depend on the environment and we must work hard to protect it by promoting modern techniques of production that takes care of the environment and at the same time alleviate poverty.

If this world is to be a better place for all mankind then we must work hard preserve the environment and alleviate the suffering of the socially disadvantaged. I therefore believe in that. Our satisfaction is not measured in how much we have acquired but in how much we have contributed to the lives of others.

What does your project involve?

The project will produce training materials on sustainable organic vegetable production and soil management techniques that emphasize on the use of organic fertilizers in the place of chemical products in cultivation.

- The project will organise training workshops on organic vegetable production and sustainable soil management techniques
- The project will provide support to trainees in terms of seeds or seedlings as a contribution towards poverty alleviation.
- The project will also carry out monitoring and evaluation to document, report and disseminate good practices and lessons learned.
- The project will be carried out around some village in Buea Mt Cameroon area Two villages will be involved. The Village of Bomaka and the village of Bonakanda.
- The project will organise a workshop to train farmers on organic vegetable cultivation and on farm coaching will also be done to make sure that the skills acquired during training is well applied.

Monitoring and evaluation meetings will be held with project beneficiaries to collect data on project successes, challenges and how these challenges were overcoming. Data on production will also be collected and analyzed. the field results obtained will be shared in the Farmers Voice a monthly local farmers and rural development newspaper for a wider audience.

The project is expected to begin in August 2015 and is expected to last over six months ending in January 2016.the period of August is chosen because this is the second cropping season in Cameroon especially in the Mt Cameroon region.

Why is your project needed?

- Good and fertile volcanic soil in the area.
- Vegetables like cabbages, tomatoes are been cultivated in the region
- Vegetables production is one of the household incomes of the local people here.
- There is high demand for vegetables especially by university students who live in the town of Buea, restaurants and hotels Mt Cameroon
- The project will be self-sustainable because it will generate income for its beneficiaries
- The production techniques, build on the improvement of traditional techniques, there are not new not complicated, can easily be learned, and used by the local people.
- The project can be replicated to other areas of the region.
- There is already a felt need project to improve on soil fertility because of the continuous dwindling of yield per production land unit.
- We are already doing some work in the area and our beneficiaries have expressed the need for soil management techniques and alternatives fertilisers in place of chemical fertilisers.

Who else is directly working with you on this project?

I head a team of three volunteers working on this project in Mt Cameroon region. We work with the Institute of Agronomic Research at Ekona, in the South West Cameroon a government institution who provide us with technical support.

We also work with Environmental Governance Institute a civil society in Cameroon working in the thematic area of the environment.

Target Audience

The project targeted beneficiaries are mostly women and youths. These are the group that engage more in vegetable production. the project intends to work with 40 farmers from two villages in Buea, Mt Cameroon region.

The two communities selected for the project is where there is the availability of land in these places. Some parts of the area have water which can be used for vegetables cultivation during off season period. there is the high possibility that we may not depend only on rain fed crops if we properly harness our resources, to produce in the dry season.

What goals do you have for your project?

- in the next 12 months it is expected that, the project will
  - increase production of vegetables
  - Reduced use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides fungicides and chemical weeding to the widespread use of organic fertilizers.
  - Degraded land is regained by the application of organic manure on farmers’ fields
  - Gross margins increased by at least 10% through the sale of quality produce
    - Vegetables production and marketing move from a subsistence activity to a commercial venture
    - An organic production and marketing cooperative is set up for the proper marketing of organic produce
    - Organic vegetable produce is certified by local authorities following standards set by international certification bodies

How will you know if your project is successful?

This project is very important and so will:

- Monitoring:
  - Monitoring of inputs. The first level of monitoring will be that of inputs. This will include financial, human and material resources, employed in the project. This will be at the level the implementing organisation and the beneficiaries.
  - Monitoring of activities. Here we will be looking at the project activities if there have been implemented as planned, whether there met deadline, were there deviations and why? How can we improve upon?
  - Monitoring of results. Here the monitoring will be concerned with the actual results achieved on the field in implementing activities.
- Evaluation:
  - Evaluation of strategies: the overall strategy of this project is to use the skill building, through workshops and on-farm coaching, approaches. Evaluation will find out if these approaches worked and why or why not

Funds

The project will put in place a nursery and demonstration farm. Beneficiaries will get cabbage seedlings at a minimal cost of 25 XFA/ seedling. Also, income will be generated from the sales of cabbages from the demo farm. The income generated from these activities will be used to continue the project once donor funds are no longer available.

Is this being a media project, book, documentary, video, publication, work of art?

Not including your personal funds, how much money have you raised for your project so far?

XXXX

How much money are you requesting?

XXX

Amount 1

XXX

What you will spend it on? 1

Development of content and printing of training handouts

Why is this important to your project? 1

Trainees can always refer to the content whenever the forget something and when they need to follow some specified processes and techniques

Amount 2

XXX

What you will spend it on? 2

Hire of hall for 2 training workshops of two days per workshop

Why is this important to your project? 2

To accommodate and shelter trainees during workshops

Amount 3

XXXX

What you will spend it on? 3

Provide coffee and snacks during training of 40 participants

Why is this important to your project? 3

To retain participants in a fixed location over a longer time and they should not go looking for food because they are hungry

Amount 4

XXX

What you will spend it on? 4

Acquisition of seeds, fowl’s droppings, pesticides

Why is this important to your project? 4

It is a key component of the project because the trainees will have to gain practical skills in soil improvement techniques

Amount 5

XXXXX

What you will spend it on? 5

Set up and manage nursery and demonstration farm

Why is this important to your project? 5

Trainees will have to come and gain practical skills on how to produce organic vegetables, acquire their own seedlings and also learn practical techniques of soil improvement.

Amount 6

XXXXX

What you will spend it on? 6

Transportation for monitoring and evaluation of farmers field techniques

Why is this important to your project? 6

To determine, document, analyse share and disseminate project outcomes and plan for the future We need to success stories and good practices.

Amount 7

XXXXX

What you will spend it on? 7

Documentation and reporting.

Why is this important to your project? 7

The recipient organisation,beneficiaries and donors need to be current on how the project is being implemented. This is to ensure accountability.