RMI’s Pilot Agricultural Project is Off to a Good Start

The first training seminar has been held in RMI’s pilot agricultural project.  Our goal is to work collaboratively with the national C3 partner churches and its leaders to introduce farmers to agricultural education and insights in farming their land.  They are going to work in conjunction with the pastor, deacons and community leaders to teach sustainable/renewable agricultural practices on each site where farmers can learn and apply their newly obtained skills to better improve their crop quality and quantity.  They will begin with a group of farmers who in turn will apply the newly acquired skills and knowledge to their own fields.  The national church will be responsible for the land acquisition and maintaining the fields.  The US C3 Partner church will help by resourcing portions of the project.

After testing the soil and examining which crops will thrive in that particular area, they will teach and model the basics of irrigation, prevention of soil erosion, conservation and preservation, composting, crop rotation, crop storage, pest prevention and pesticide usage.  They want to introduce farmers to wise marketing practices and use of supply/demand to boost earnings and basic money management.  Another goal is to build a nursery with plants that will benefit both the farmers as well as provide the opportunity for extra income.

Tomato, green pepper, eggplant, onion, leek, and carrot seeds have been bought for the first plantings.  The farmers involved in the project also received the necessary tools to get them started.  God has already supplied trained agronomists among our own staff.  They will do the weekly training and demonstrations.  The local pastor is so excited about this project that he is planning to put an agriculture course into the curriculum of the 4th, 5th and 6th grade classes in the church’s school.  He wants them to learn to do things the correct way!  This project has quite a bit of potential -- pray with us that it will be successful and the participants will be motivated to put into practice the new things they learn.