Success Story: Sharing the Secrets of Success
Learning new approaches to farm management
Mr. Obenbisongayuk is a 56-year old sub-chief and cocoa farmer in Osing village, Eyumojock Sub-division, South West Province. Following a community sensitization meeting in the nearby village of Kembong, he was selected by his community to participate in a training program for Farmer Field School facilitators.
At the time, Mr. Obenbisongayuk managed his two hectare cocoa farm by following a calendar of activities with production averaging 400 to 500 kg per hectare. He fermented his cocoa for only two days, as opposed to the 4 to 6 day standard, and sold his cocoa for whatever price was offered. He did not place a high importance on pruning, environmental and health protection, or quality.
As he trained to become a facilitator, Mr. Obenbisongayuk learned new approaches to managing his farm. He learned to conduct an agro-ecosystem analysis to diagnose problems on his farm before taking action, and how to utilize integrated crop and pest management techniques to control common pest and disease issues.
Mr. Obenbisongayuk was eager to apply his new knowledge to his farm and would often call his elder sons from the training to give instructions. For example, he asked his sons to start clearing, pruning, and conducting targeted spraying for mirids before the rainy season began.
Demonstrating his knowledge to the community
When he completed his training and returned to his farm, he was pleased with the results. For the first time, his farm produced early season cocoa – 97 kg which he sold for 58,000 CFA francs (~US $116). He sold the second harvest for 197,000 CFA francs (~US $394) and is expecting to make two more harvests this year.
Mr. Obenbisongayuk’s neighbors are amazed at his accomplishments and are interested in learning his secrets to success. He is applying the adult learning principles and facilitation skills he learned during the facilitator training to share his knowledge with others in the community.
On an informal basis, he has been invited to conduct on-farm demonstrations of pruning techniques for his neighbors and friends. He is looking forward to facilitating a Farmer Field School in the next training cycle.
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