Savings and crops grow

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In recent weeks, John and Shanty have created a more organized system of agriculture training in Lunsar. Savings group activity is beginning to pick up, with five active groups representing 114 participants, of which 75 are women. Still in their infancy, the savings groups soon will experience their first share-outs.

The agriculture program now includes 20 active model plots with 35 extensions. The high number of extensions tells us that members of the participating churches and communities are impressed with the activities and results of the models and want to see what the impact might be for them personally. These model and extension plots, which represent 45 farmers, are cultivated in bananas, pineapples, maize, cowpeas, okra, groundnuts, cucumbers, peppers and watermelons. This represents great diversity in crop selection, which lowers risk for farmers while presenting more market opportunities and value.