Agriculture and the Diocese
Diocesan activities in agriculture revolve around 3 farms. The largest is the Farafenni Farm of 24 hectares in the North Bank Division about 19 kilometres from the Capital. The farm is concerned with the following enterprise:
wet season production of annual crops such as millet, maize in an area of 2 hectares,
dry season irrigated garden of 1 hectare for seasonal vegetables
Poultry; currently there are only 215 layers with an output of 30crates (about 900) of eggs weekly.
Cattle, with a present herd size of 11
Fruit orchard of 2 hectares with a mixture of mango and cashew trees
An apiary, with eight functional langstroth hives
Milling centre, comprising oil processing and grain milling machines
The potential of this farm, however, is greatly under-utilised. Currently about 3 - 4 hectares is under cultivation.
The farm is plagued with persistent breakdown of farm equipment. So far, in terms of performance, the farm has only registered 4 years of positive balance in the 10 years of its existence.
There are two other Diocesan farms situated in the Greater Banjul Area and the Upper River Division respectively. Due to lack of capacity and financial resources, farming activities are yet to commence on both farms.
Banjulnding Farm
The farm is already fenced, however given the location of the farm in the peri-urban area and its proximity to the Horticulture Demonstration Farm of the Department of State for Agriculture, it has been decided that as a matter of priority the farm premises should be devoted solely to house the infra-structural developments such as the future Diocesan School of Evangelism, the multipurpose centre and other envisaged developments for the Mother's Union Nursery School. No commercial farming activities should take place on the premises.
Kristi Kunda Farm
Like the Faraffeni farm, the Kristi Kunda farm, if managed properly, can be an important source of finance for the Diocese. Its close proximity to Basse puts it in a unique position to act as a demonstration centre to impart farming skills to refugees during the post crisis/transition phase.
The short term priority of the farm is to ensure a proper survey and demarcation of its boundary. The proper documents of lease or ownership should be obtained. During this period, suitable trees can be planted at intervals along the perimeter.
For the medium term, efforts should be directed towards a regular fence for the farm. A land use plan should be developed and plans for cultivation to commence.
In addition to the farming inputs, there will be the need for farm buildings and staff houses. Land use should be on similar lines to the AM farm at Farrafeni.
The objective will be to commence farming at the Kristi Kunda Farm, to increase production and to upgrade the farm for teaching and demonstration purposes. It will also take best advantage of existing marketing opportunities and to help to arrest the rural/urban drift.
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