Famers in Western Bahr el Ghazal are getting ready for this year’s planting season after a local NGO distributed seeds in a fair to make sure that all farmers can plant their gardens when the rains start.
Linda Hussein, director of Woman Training and Promotion, told Radio Voice of Hope that before distributing seeds the NGO trained the farmers on how to prepare their gardens and grow vegetables during the dry season.She said the farmers also learned on how to sell their products.
Mama Linda pointed out that record keeping is very important in any income generating activity and therefore the association empowered the farmers on recordkeeping skills.
She explained that the beneficiaries of the fair came from different places and among them 1,000 people were chosen.
She pointed out that in another fair held last week 578 farmers received seeds.
Mama Linda said that the association will supervise the farmers and make sure that they will use the skills learned in the training.
She added that the beneficiaries are expected to share their crop seeds with other farmers next year.
Mama Linda noted that by doing so many more farmers will learn better methods of crop production and this will help the county to be self sustainable as far as food is concerned.
The director explained that the association offered seeds which grow well in the area including sorghum, tomatoes and peanuts.
The program is funded by the French government through FAO, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.