Brobo Demonstration Farm

August 1997 - January 1998
Brobo, Cote D'Ivoire

Implemented by: ICA Cote D'Ivoire, ICA Japan and local people

 

ICA Cote d'Ivore staff and Miyazawa are very glad to complete the fence and two gates around demonstration farm.

Project Meeting
1. Demonstration Farm Project Evaluation meeting. We discuss about problems and solutions, and plan for the future.
2. Meeting of all projects for Youth Training Center, Health Care and New Training Center construction.
3. This computer is very useful in the office for finances, activities, meeting reports, and so on.
Life in Brobo
4. Crushed and steamed cassaba is for Akeke , which looks like couscous and is eaten with fried fish and chili sauce. It's a very popular and reasonably priced meal. This is enough for 5 or 6 people and costs about 200 yen.
5. The daily Brobo market has a limited selection of vegetables. The most popular vegetables are these tomatoes, eggplants, fresh chilis and onions.
6. The villages off of the main road are not supplied with electricity and water services. This is a deep well pump built in 1989. It is 20m deep.
Demonstration Farm
7. Putting signs on 2 entrances to attract local people. This sign says: "Demonstration farm for crop experimentation, No Livestock or Strangers Allowed". On right is the agricultural specialist from ICA Japan, Ms. Kitadai.
8. Agroforestory was started in 1990. Legumes like Leucaena, Pigeon pea, and Acacia are being intercropped with Yam and vegetables for soil improvement.
9. Before Renovation: The fence of the experimental farm is simply made of wooden and concretepillars and barbwire. The wooden pillars which were originally set in 1990 have fallen, but more than half the barbwire was left . The main causes of pillar destruction were rotting of wooden pillars and destruction by humans and animals.
10. On this renovation, all the wooden pillars were replaced and the number of concrete pillars was increased to 1/3 of the total number of pillars. The barbwire was stretched tight again. The renovation of the fence of the experimental farm will enable us to grow crops efficiently without their being damaged by humans or animals.
Fence Construction
11. Barbwire and tools to install it were purchased.
12. Before we started the fence renovation, we cleaned around the fence to ease installation, and for fire prevention of the farm.
13. The places for new pillars were marked. The pillars were installed at intervals of 5m. Every third pillar is concrete.
14. Staff of ICA-Cote d'Ivoire digging a hole for a pillar. There are more than 300 holes for pillars and all holes were dug by hand. It took 4 days for 7 staff members to complete digging.
15. Staff debarking trees purchased for wooden fence pillars. About 200 trees were debarked.
16. The trees before and after debarking. The purpose of debarking is to dry the wood and prevent decay.
17. The staff and Japanese volunteer giving debarked trees a coat of a pesticide.
18. The staff carrying a pillar made of concrete. Each concrete pillar weighed about 40kg and was moved by 2 people to the place it was to be set.
19. The craftsmen setting up a wooden pillar. They place a pillar in a hole and fill it with pebbles and soil, and then tamp the ground with a stick.
20. Staff setting a concrete pillar. A pillar is placed in a hole, surrounded by pebbles, and then covered with mortar.
21. Staff stretching the barbwire tight. Some parts of the fence had no barbwire, and purchased barbwire was installed there.
22. This is a concrete pillar which was set the previous time. Barbwire passes through holes in the pillar. The new pillars do not have these holes.
23. Wooden pillar. The wooden pillars are buried to the depth of 50cm from the ground and have 1.2m above the ground. The interval of barbwire is about 30cm.
24. A new concrete pillar. They have wire hooks on the surface for attaching the barbed wire. After stringing the wire, the hooks are closed to prevent it coming off.
25. This is the main entrance of the experimental farm before construction. Two formal entrances were established in the farm, since going in and out is now limited because of the fence.
Construction of the Entrance
26. The main entrance completed. The gate consisted of a metallic door and of a concrete wall.
27. The other gate with metallic doors opened. The doors have a padlock.
Constructing the Entrance Gates
28. Before a concrete wall is established, the craftsman digs a hole for a foundation. Each hole is a different depth so the wall will be even.
29. The craftsman is setting a concrete foundation and a reinforcing rod for reinforced concrete pillars.
30. The craftsmen making blocks for the concrete wall. Blocks were produced at the construction site. About 400 blocks were used for 2 entrances in this construction.
31. The craftsmen are laying blocks.
32. Several reinforced concrete pillars were placed in the concrete wall in order to make the wall strong. The craftman is setting up concrete frames for a reinforced pillar.
33. Metallic doors for the entrances were produced in a factory.
34. Concrete walls were finished by plastering the surface.
35. The concrete walls after metallic doors were installed.
36. Staff cleaning around an entrance after construction.
37. Fence and entrance construction was completed, and commemoration photograph was taken of staff and specialist Ms. Kitadai.
Oil Palms and Cashew Nut Planting Preparation
38. Wild Cashew nuts on the demonstration farm. This one is 4-5 years old and 6m high.
39. Wild Oil palm. This one is more than 10 years old and 7m. high.
Land Surveying and Clearing
40. Land is being surveyed for the planting of cashew nuts and oil palms. We will plant 2ha (100x200m) of each.
41. The staff are clearing brush from the farm land.
Ground Preparation
42. A tractor is used for breaking the soil. It has to go over it 3 times to make it fine.
Surveying for Planting
43. A 5m space between fence and trees is needed for a fire break.
44. Staking and marking being done with sticks to mark out 8m x 8m.
Pitting
45. Special tools are used for digging holes because the soil is so hard and there are pebbles and big bush roots.
46. Right: Top soil. Left: Deep Soil. The holes are dug 20x20x30cm deep for Oil palms, and 30x30x50cm deep for Cashew nuts.
Seedlings
47. & 48. Cashew nut seedlings at the nursery. Mixing the potting soil and sowing is done in March and after that they are watered 2 times a day. They are 30-90cm. high.
48. See above.
49. & 50. Oil palm seedlings at the nursery. They are 20-50cm high and have 5-8 leaves.
50. See above.
Transplanting
51. Oil palm seedlings are being transported from the nursery to the demonstration farm.
52. & 53. 338 seedling are planted in 26 rows of13 seedlings each, in a plot 100m x 200m.
53. See above.
54. Cushew nut seedlings are being transported from the nursery to the demonstration farm.
55. & 56. 338 seedling are planted, in 26 rows of 13 seedlings each, in a plot 100m x 200m.
56. See above.
Direct Sowing of Cashew Nuts
57. Three days after transplanting, most of the cashew nut seedlings were damaged by a windstorm, made worse by the lack of moisture in the soil before the storm.
58. The direct sowing of cashew nuts was done rapidly because big dry season is coming soon.
Fertilizing The Oil Palms
59. The NPK(10:20:20) are mixed with a small quantity of Urea .
60. 50g of fertilizer is given to each plant after ploughing around them to help growth. Later, 100g fertilizer will be given.
Blanking The Oil Palms
61. Replanting 10 Oil palms which died due to the lack of water.
62. 160 Oil palms were purchased at 3-months old and watered every other day. After the big rain season starts in March-April, they will be transplanted.
Plants growing in December
63. Cashew nuts by direct sowing were geminated after 3-4 weeks in place of the dried ones. They are doing well.
64. Weeds grew rapidly right after big dry season started. Oil palms are growing among them.
Weeding
65. Oil palms before weeding.
66. Weeding takes 2 weeks because soil is quite dry and hard. Everything is mowed to prevent the spread of bush fire.
A Bush Fire Spreads
67. During the 2nd week of January a bush fire which started outside the farm spread to the farm. Staff are fighting hard to put it out.
68. One-forth of the crops were burned down. The oil palms in the front were saved, and in back is part that burnt down.
Plants growing in January
69. Cashew nuts have grow up to 20-30cm high even during the big dry season.
70. Oil palms have grown to 20-60cm high.
71. The demonstration farm in the middle of big dry season. Cashew nuts are in the front, Oil palms are in back. Halmattan (Seasonal sandy wind from Sahara) covered the sky.
Soil Test
72. Collecting soil from 50cm for PH test. Left: Kouadio Konan. Right: Youan Zorobi. They are in charge of the Demonstration farm.
73. The soil turned out to be acid (PH between 5.0-5.5). Spreading lime for soil improvement would help.
For the future
74. A survey took place in order to get the accurate area and largest height difference of the experimental farm. The results of the survey will help to run the farm more systematically.
75. The original plan of this project included partial fencing and the introduction of an irrigation system. However, lack of water in wells and the high cost of deepening them preventedirrigation. So we decided to carry on complete fence renovation only. This well has the most water among the 5 wells on the experimental farm. The photo shows that the well has only a little water even though it was the small rainy season. Even worse, this well dries up often in the dry season.
76. This well has been totally destroyed. 2 of the 5 wells had been destroyed. Though there is a little water in the other 3 wells, it's not enough for irrigation. A project to make deeper wells which have enough water throughout the year will be needed, in order to establish irrigation system which will enable us to implement more crop experimentation.

 

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