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Manioc market in Luniungu sector -- selling manioc is the main source of cash for women
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Kinzuiy Munganga cuts new seed cuttings of mosaic-resistant manioc
A green revolution is so tantalizingly close in Congo . . . and still so very far away. New high yielding varieties of manioc, peanuts, cowpeas and corn could easily DOUBLE food production if adopted widely. But few farmers know they exist. For government representatives and officials, "Agriculture: priority number one!" is just a catchy slogan. Money for agricultural research and extension programs is never allocated. Most farmers never see an extension agent except when they are collecting taxes. Rural people remain in the dark. A small measure of prosperity remains an elusive dream. And those on the margins still scramble for daily bread.
In the meantime, Christians are committed to making at least a small difference in the Vanga area. ACDI's 4 extension agents make over 120 farm visits per month, sharing information and arranging for people to try the new varieties. Putting new technologies in the hands of farmers is simply a matter of making the connections and sharing seeds. Accepting the rutted roads, the river crossings, the bamboo mat for a bed is the cost of giving people hope.
The payoff? Small glimmers of hope begin to shine in people's lives -- God's offer of a green revolution that should be available to all. Here is one vignette from the ACDI Lusekele notebook:
Mama Kinzuiy Munganga is married to a man in Mboma who has two wives. She has young children. A few years ago she was living a hand-to-mouth existence. She and the second wife worked for other women, hoeing fields, doing other chores. They both had a reputation for being lazy. The women paid her in manioc and seldom paid well. Her children really didn't get enough to eat and they never had enough money to pay for school.
ACDI was working with a farmer's association in Mboma promoting two simple changes -- a new variety of high-yielding peanut and several new disease-resistant manioc. For the first time many of her neighbors were producing surpluses from their tired out fields. Mama Kinzuiy saw the results and decided to join the group. That first year she learned (maybe for the first time) about growing a crop you are proud of and that satisfies your family's needs. The new varieties wowed her with a surplus. She redoubled her effort.
The next year her husband joined the group. And then his second wife followed. Within a couple of years they were regularly producing enough for the growing family and surpluses for sale. With the example and encouragement of the group, these two women with a reputation for laziness (probably more the result of resignation to the inevitability of poor harvests) became two responsible providers for their family.
Today Mama Munganga makes sure her children have enough to eat. She sends them to school. She even dares to dream that their lives will be different from the life that she was leading them toward just a few years ago.
In the meantime, Christians are committed to making at least a small difference in the Vanga area. ACDI's 4 extension agents make over 120 farm visits per month, sharing information and arranging for people to try the new varieties. Putting new technologies in the hands of farmers is simply a matter of making the connections and sharing seeds. Accepting the rutted roads, the river crossings, the bamboo mat for a bed is the cost of giving people hope.
The payoff? Small glimmers of hope begin to shine in people's lives -- God's offer of a green revolution that should be available to all. Here is one vignette from the ACDI Lusekele notebook:
Mama Kinzuiy Munganga is married to a man in Mboma who has two wives. She has young children. A few years ago she was living a hand-to-mouth existence. She and the second wife worked for other women, hoeing fields, doing other chores. They both had a reputation for being lazy. The women paid her in manioc and seldom paid well. Her children really didn't get enough to eat and they never had enough money to pay for school.
ACDI was working with a farmer's association in Mboma promoting two simple changes -- a new variety of high-yielding peanut and several new disease-resistant manioc. For the first time many of her neighbors were producing surpluses from their tired out fields. Mama Kinzuiy saw the results and decided to join the group. That first year she learned (maybe for the first time) about growing a crop you are proud of and that satisfies your family's needs. The new varieties wowed her with a surplus. She redoubled her effort.
The next year her husband joined the group. And then his second wife followed. Within a couple of years they were regularly producing enough for the growing family and surpluses for sale. With the example and encouragement of the group, these two women with a reputation for laziness (probably more the result of resignation to the inevitability of poor harvests) became two responsible providers for their family.
Today Mama Munganga makes sure her children have enough to eat. She sends them to school. She even dares to dream that their lives will be different from the life that she was leading them toward just a few years ago.