Lead farmers receive agricultural training and farming tools from the BEAN project

For the first time, forty-five lead farmers from Balimo Urban in the Delta Fly District of Western Province were overjoyed to receive farming tools from the Better and Enhanced Agriculture for Nutrition project (BEAN) under World Vision PNG is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program.

Recipients of the tools were lead farmers from Balimo Urban and the surrounding villages of Tai, Kotale, and Waligi.

These lead farmers have basic improved agricultural knowledge and are seen as leaders in the community who can lead the transfer of improved agricultural knowledge to other interested community members to increase production and enhance food security and nutrition concerns within the Delta Fly District.

World Vision through the BEAN project in partnership with the Delta Fly District Division of Agriculture and Livestock (DFDDAL) facilitated a three-day Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and gardening techniques.

Gardening tools such as spades, knives, wheelbarrows, and seeds were distributed to the lead farmers at the end of the training. The farmers were delighted to receive the gardening tools, which they had not expected.

Mr. Morgan Matthew, the lead farmers representative, stated, "On behalf of the lead farmers, we cannot thank the project through the support from ANCP enough for the kind assistance in providing farming tools for us, this is the first time we have received such tools and we are extremely grateful. These tools are expensive and we as simple farmers cannot afford them, we have been using sticks and other improver tools for gardening, and through this project, our needs have been met and we are delighted and speechless."

Livelihood Project officer Salome Norman said the participants were trained using the NARI manuals on Sustainable Gardens and Propagating food crops in PNG and FAO resources on Climate Smart Agriculture techniques.

‘’We trained the farmers in various gardening techniques such as soil management and how to control soil erosion by building barriers, the importance of mulching, the importance of cover crop, how to plant cover crops and crop rotation, the importance of organic matter on the top of the soil and how to make compost’’, said Salome.

She stated that the main goal of the project is to ensure that the project goal of "improving the nutritional status of children under the age of five, their caregivers, and people living with disabilities" is met and that people in the community become more self-sufficient even after the project is completed.

They were also taught how to collect quality seeds and prepare them for planting, especially when transferring seeds to a new garden because seeds are critical for seed multiplication, this is because when planting seeds, the quality of the seeds chosen will determine the yield and production.

Farmers, both male and female, were given the opportunity to attend the Training of Trainers (TOT) training in order to improve their farming skills & practices and become the “agents of change” in terms of agricultural interventions in their respective communities. They were also taught how to plant seeds and how to properly mulch soil during practical sessions.

‘’This is the first time we have gone through such pieces of training and we are just blessed to be part of this project, the skills we learned are invaluable and will help us in the long run, we are rural farmers with no proper skills on toiling the land and have done the same practice over the years and the new learnings have broadened our capacity as farmers and we will go back home and teach others in our community to apply the same methods’’ said Lamo Giti.

Each of the lead farmers must return to their community and find contact farmers to train. Contact farmers include farmers with disabilities who are disabled but can do some gardening and caregivers of children under the age of five.

Furthermore, the BEAN project will help farmers and households implement resilient farming practices to increase the availability of diverse small livestock and nutritional crops for consumption.

To ensure nutrient preservation and better food utilization, post-harvest handling, and safe food preparation will be addressed. Disaster risk reduction and climate resilience approaches will also be integrated into agriculture practices.

Market linkages and savings group activities will also be implemented to improve household income and the affordability of nutritious food over time.

By estimation, this project will directly benefit 12,393 people including 2686 men, 2581 women, 2686 boys, 2581 girls, and 1859 with disabilities (474 men, 455 women, 474 boys, and 456 girls).

Meanwhile, a greenhouse is already underway to nurse the crops, once seeds are ready, the greenhouse will be open for the lead farmers to come and get the seeds they need and take them back to the communities to replant in their gardens and distribute to their contact farmers.

The BEAN project, funded by DFAT through the ANCP - Australian NGO Corporation Program, aims to improve food access through improved production, availability, and affordability of diverse nutritional food, as well as increased utilisation and consumption of age-appropriate nutritional food.