Equipment

When we tell people that we are working on an ag project in Rwanda, we know we're talking to a true farmer when their first question is, "what kind of equipment are you using?" We've had a lot of questions about the equipment side of things so we thought we would devote a whole post to machinery: what we're using and how we got it there.

After 4 years of talking about farming in Rwanda, taking scouting trips to look at possible sites, meeting with local leaders and a gazillion different business plans and project proposals, we decided to take a giant leap of faith and just start buying and shipping equipment. Justin spent countless hours researching machinery and watching online auctions for good deals. Last July, one month after our twin boys were born, we pulled home our first piece of Africa-bound equipment, a 21 foot disc. It was a painful 10 hours from Streator to Alhambra with 3 children under the age of 2 and a crabby wife all in the same vehicle. Needless to say, this was the last time the kids and I were invited on equipment fetching trips.

By the end of July we had collected a 10 foot chisel plow, a 21 foot disc, 2 field cultivators, 1 cultimulcher, 2 John Deere 7000 planters (8-row narrow), a pull behind sprayer, a Suzuki Samauri and countless tools and accessories. Any part that we thought might break, we bought 2 of.

In order to make all of this equipment work for Africa, almost all of the pieces had to be altered which made for a very long and hot summer for two faithful helpers, Eli and Dalton. In order to accomodate narrow African roads and small field size, the disc was cut down to 14 foot, the cultivators to 12 foot, the planters cut from 8 to 4 rows. In addition, many off-road accessories, including off-road tires and suspension lift, were added to the Samauri which we would later be very very thankful for.

At the beginning of August, we started the adventure of packing a container. The above list doesn't seem like a lot of equipment, but attempting to pack it all into a 40 foot container is a real challenge. One that could not be accomplished without the help of some very wise (cough...old...cough) men, namely Berry, Bruce, Don, Donny, Jerry and Dwight. We still owe you guys a steak dinner.



Lunch break with Ada as the entertainment





Just enough room for the Suzuki



Clears with inches to spare

 

If we thought packing a container was an adventure, we would later find out that unpacking and putting together the contents of a container after it has been out to sea for months, is an adventure in a different class all together.

One of our favorite and most gratifying moments came in the weeks when Justin was working with some local men who were hired to help put the machinery back together. He and the men had worked all day to put one of the two cultivators together and at the end of the day, Bernard asked if he and Stephen could try to put the second one together by themselves. Justin handed over the key to the toolbox and hoped for the best. When he arrived the next day at 11:00am, Bernard and Stephen already had the second machine put together. These two men have proven to be among our best workers. They are eager to learn new skills and so appreciative to be given the opportunity to work.

Two of our favorite Rwandans, Bernard and Stephen

This is exactly the kind of impact we hope to make with the farm. In addition to simply adding to their commodity chain in order to drive down the price of food and seed, we hope to impact lives by teaching skills and investing in communities by starting businesses.

What are you guys doing over there?

For the last 4, almost 5 years, Justin and I have been involved with agricultural development in Rwanda. Recently Justin spent over a month in Africa as all of the plans and proposals of the last few years finally started to come together. A lot of you have asked what in the world we're doing there so I thought I would start a blog to explain in a little more detail what it is we're working on, how it all came to be, and what we're hoping will be the result.

Let me start by giving you a brief history of Rwanda and current agricultural climate. When most people think of Rwanda, all that comes to mind is the 1994 genocide, civil unrest and violence, which may have been a fair assessment 15-20 years ago. However, the people of Rwanda and the current government are working tirelessly to reverse this image in the eyes of the world. They recognize that as long as people think of machetes first when they think about Rwanda, the country will never be a major player in the global market.  

Since the genocide, Rwanda has become a country of hand-outs, largely fueled by guilt for turning a blind eye to a country in tragedy. These donations and contributions served the country well in the immediate aftermath of the genocide, but have since developed a dangerous mindset in which donations are no longer seen as gifts, but are expected and depended upon for survival.

The agricultural climate is nearly as grim. Almost 90% of Rwandans are involved in farming and yet much of the country still falls well below the extreme poverty line. Rwanda imports a large portion of it's food supply and seed from neighboring countries even though, from what we've seen, the soil is fairly fertile and weather couldn't be more favorable for agriculture. In our minds, that equation doesn't make sense.

In the summer of 2006, a group of Rwandan business leaders, government officials, and farmers came to the States to tour the country and get some ideas for how to develop agriculture in their country. They were interested in our Extension system and wanted to tour local farms which is what brought the group to File Family Farms. Justin and my dad gave them a tour of the farm and explained that because of modern farming practices and mechanization, we were able to farm over 2000 acres with only 2 men. We had no idea at the time how that little visit and tour of our farm would impact our lives.

In November of 2008, Justin and I traveled to Rwanda for the first time, just 3 months after Ada, our oldest child was born. Our very first impression of Rwanda was it's beautiful hills. Every one of her 1000 hillsides is covered by tiny plots of ground, carefully worked by hand, mostly by women, with meticulous care.

Finally, after years of negotiations with different districts within Rwanda, one local leader has decided to partner with us. The area we are working in is called Mpanga in the Kirehe district, which is about 3 hours southeast of the capital city of Kigali, very near the border of Tanzania. We have been given a 110 acre parcel of ground on which we hope to develop a model farm. The goal of the farm is two-fold:


The immediate need of the Rwandan people is better and more seed. Currently Rwanda imports two thirds of it's seed from other countries which still doesn't meet the needs of the local farmers. A division of the Ministry of Agriculture has commissioned us to multiply seed for distribution. As of today, we have roughly 100 acres planted in corn for the purpose of seed multiplication. In addition, we have on our team the Lead Corn Breeder for Beck's Hybrids, Ben Orebaugh working on developing a white corn seed more suitable for Rwandan soil and growing conditions. He has developed a demonstration plot on this parcel of ground with over 80 different varieties of seed being tested. So far, the results look very promising: emergence is consistent and early vigor is exceeding expectations.

The second goal of the farm is to become a learning center for all of Rwanda, starting with the district of Kirehe. What we've learned about the Rwandan farmers (which is largely true of farmers in general) is that they are a "show me" kind of people. They rarely will accept a new practice until they are able to see favorable results. So, instead of going to their farms and telling them how to change their operations, we hope to bring them to our site and display how we were able to improve our yields through modern techniques and quality seed.

This gives you a very broad view of our history with and hope for the future of Rwandan agriculture. Check back as we add more details on the equipment we're using, the land preparation, and updates on the site as our crop continues to grow.