农业项目
The
Royal Netherlands Embassy has partially funded a training center for pig
raising. This center will
help local farmers develop more efficient, long-term and commercially
viable operations. It will
provide basic training in pig raising skills, and act as a low cost
extension service to farmers. At
present, there is nowhere for farmers to get accurate information on pig
raising, training to manage a small-scale operation or to improve their
management skills. Many farmers have had no formal education. They are not
trained to understand prevention, sanitation, recognition of diseases,
breed improvement, feeding, or production planning, all of which is needed
in order to have a long-term commercially viable operation.
The
pig raising center will also serve as a demonstration unit for setting up
small-scale pig raising enterprises. The
raising of pigs will have a major contribution to the farmers’ income
and will help them break out of the cycle of poverty.
The services provided by the pig raising center will include:
- training
of farmers in pig raising;
- training
in financial management;
- supporting
farmers in further pig raising development;
- improving
the local breeds of pigs by importing better breeds
from other areas;
- providing
extension services to farmers who have been trained or are looking for
assistance;
- being a resource center for the farmers, e.g. providing books, videos, and magazines.
(traditional pens)
One
of the ways for a farmer to generate more income from his crops is to add
value to the crops he has grown. Agro-processing
has exciting potential in this area. Examples of possible projects include: a tomato paste factory, a
pickling factory, a fruit jam or juicing factory, a packaging and
marketing station, etc.
As
a first step into the area of marketing, Marc de Ruiter, working with
contacts in Taiyuan and Beijing, is exploring the possibility of shipping produce from Yangqu to those markets.
Packaging will be the added value component of this project.
Marc hopes to organize farmers into grower’s associations.
Evergreen will then help them set up a packaging and distribution
center. In addition to the
actual packaging and distribution of produce, the center will also provide
training in the area of financial management, business awareness, and
quality control. In 2002, we
hope to set up a small business trial which, if successful, can be
expanded.
The first attempt at setting up farmer discussion groups has been made. Short-termer Raymond Lee held a three-day training session on soil characteristics, fertilization and soil improvement which was well received by the farmers. Groups were set up in two villages with over 15 farmers attending the meetings.
A number of farmers received informal training and information about pest control, in particular about control of the whitefly. This session was followed by visits to the different farmers’ greenhouses. Major improvements in the control of the whitefly can already be seen as the farmers started to clear up the crop remains and initiated crop hygiene practices. A small but significant contribution has been to give the farmers a list of available pesticides which they have not tried before. Some farmers were not aware that they have to spray the back side of the leaves where the whitefly multiplies and makes its habitat. This simple piece of information has resulted in significant drops in the whitefly population in some greenhouses.
At present, we are seeking to create associations of farmers interested in growing similar crops. We can then help them with marketing, quality control and crop management. This will be integrated with the business development projects.
In four different villages, five small plots were contracted to test several varieties and crops for suitability in Yangqu County. Crop diversification is needed to increase farmers’ incomes. The aim of the pilot project was to establish good working relationships with the farmers and better understand the local growing conditions and agricultural system.
The crops tested were:
Sweet potato Endives
Broccoli Alfalfa
Gherkin cucumbers Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts Sweet corn
Rhubarb
Different varieties were grown and some marketing trials were conducted.
