Global Partnership Tower Vol 32 Issue 1 By Arrey Ivo

1 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012African Centre for Community and Development is on Facebook. Click link below to follow us:http://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Centre-for-Community-and-Development/103686769685856 Tower Global Partnership A Publication of African Centre for Community and Development. P.O.Box 181, Limbe, Cameroon http://youtube.com/user/AfricanCentreforCom http://www.africancentreforcommunity.com Professionals in project and programme management, sustainable development, poverty alleviation schemes, research and development, environmental sustainability, sustainable livelihoods, communication, Agriculture, social capital mobilization, Green Economic schemes, audio-visual schemes for development, strategic management., communication, event management, rural development, Poultry, etc. We accept partnerships and professional

2 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower Enhancing our vision on ink, prints and Electronics African Centre for Community and Development has advocated over time a culture of translating development management to the relevant scenarios of communities and needs. We have interviewed stakeholders from all areas of the various levels of communities and have worked with experts where the areas are grey to arrive at holistic inroads in our interventions as well as in the contributions we regularly give to our collaborators and networks. The goal has not only been to educate but to make development sustainable and replicable hence the reason why our newslet- ter “Global Partnership Tower” and our inclusive workshops or radio programmes have been tailored to meet most vulnerable sub-populations. After some redesigning coupled with a reality to meet more diverse users in development, this edition of Global Partnership Tower and many more to come will merge professional and field experiences with the voices of stakeholders to arrive at a comprehensive picture needed for long lasting development in still developing communities in Cameroon, Africa, Asia and the world. Poverty and the strategies to fight poverty remain an attractive unavoidable dimension as well as food security or the need to manage our environment and resources sustainably. The need to expose people and organizations who are bridging the gaps and inequalities in our world remain a focus as well as our forthright assertion towards educating the masses on best ways to empower themselves. We incidentally benefit from this medium by highlighting the thrust of African Centre for Community and Development so that relevant stakeholders worldwide will see the best ways to support our initiatives or to network, partner or collaborate with us. This is vital as in a resource scarce globe cross-organizational learning and resource sharing remain the best proven techniques for achieving stability and growth. So we welcome ideas and tools that will help us achieve our goal. In this edition we shall discuss issues related to poultry farming, the just recently celebrated World Women’s Day and many more. To us women are intrinsic to any meaningful development and they must be highlighted . We hope you enjoy this edition and subsequent editions and can contribute articles on development that can be replicable or that can better the stations of our human family. Geography should not be a limitation as we are flexible and willing to include innovative strategies to our fabric for sustainable change. Thank you. Arrey Mbongaya Ivo (Left) Director of African Centre for Community and Development. Editor in Chief at Global Partnership Tower http://www.africancentreforcommunity.com http://youtube.com/user/AfricanCentreforCom Email: ivo@africancentrecommunity.com

3 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower Women celebrated their Day in Cameroon and talked to African Centre for Community and Development. Mrs Etta Manyi Stella (left) advocated for a more just society in which women will not be discriminated and left to stay unem- ployed just by being women. She decried the general lack of employment of women but did not hesitate to fill in that they will after all be celebrating their Day. Interview is courtesy of Arrey Mbongaya Ivo. Full video edition will be published soon. The representative from CAYAD NGO (left) talked about including women in gov- ernance and threw light about their intervention to increase women participation in upcom- ing elections in Cameroon. This she told African Centre for Community and Develop- ment will put more women in the decision making processes of the country. Interview courtesy Arrey Mbongaya Ivo Full video interview will be Published soon. Woman from apostolic church of Cameroon calls Towe Farmer asserted women were pivotal to the for prayers to redeem deviant men who do not sup- growth of their given societies. port their women

4 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower A look at Women in their Celebrations...by Arrey Mbongaya Ivo Women in Cameroon usually rise against the short falls of their constrains to celebrate the international Day put aside for Women worldwide. So was the case in 2012. They however did not celebrate the Day forgetting about issues related to gender equality and empowerment which in many areas is unequal. Social, cultural and political instruments within the state are still dominated by men in many ways despite the fact that the country has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol. There are still grave inequalities that need to be addressed: The ratios of boys and girls in primary, secondary and tertiary education remains unfavour- able to the latter. More so Cameroonian women represented just 7.8% of paid workers out of the agricultural sector in 2001. A number that seriously justifies the calls by women groups for more employment and inclusion in the country. Besides certain customary practices have not favoured women. Land rights and even owner- ship is many times mediated by systems that favour men. This is not to say that systems that practice matrilineal succession like among the Kom in the North West of the country do not exist but it is rather a general zoom of the many more women who will like to be governed by a more just national system which will respect them for who they are. In the health sector there is disparity in the mortality rates between young girls and boys which cannot be totally separated from preferential treatment allocated to boys in many cultural systems. In the legislature of 1992-1996 women held just 12.8% of the seats. This number dropped to 5.2% in 1997-2001 and 10.6% in 2002 and 2006. These numbers arguably are small for a country where women are the majority. Despite this picture much is being done to improve the condition of women in the country. With the passing of the 1990 Liberty Laws , many Civil Society Organizations have been formed by both men and women that advocate for the rights and inclusion of women sub- populations in Cameroon. Also access to anti-retroviral drugs for pregnant women is basically free while more schools have built across the country to raise entry across different levels for many Cameroonians. These movements need to be more vigorous in order that women entrepreneurs will spring up to add value to the economy. More women working will also impact on the GDP of the country and favour a positive balance of payment. These movements are vital if MDG3 for Cameroon is to be achieved and if women empowerment is a priority for Cameroon and Africa. (Left) Women farmer around Mile 4 Bonadikombo area interviewed by African Centre for Community and Development on the impact of climate change on their trade. Picture courtesy Arrey Mbongaya Ivo Copyrights2012 All rights reserved.

5 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower African Centre for Community and Development Fowls Due to a persistent issue of poverty and low access to proteins in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan Africa, African Centre for Community and Development has decided to take poultry farming and village poultry in particular to new levels. The intention is to provide alternatives to expensive red meat, scarce goats and pigs in order to improve wellbeing in a region affected by diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis etc. This meant a study of traditional poultry and modern systems and the design of a strategy to better local systems through capacity building of farmers via knowledge sharing, research and via collaboration and networking. Today African Centre for Community and Development is producing village poultry in an in- dustrial scale and is performing specialized services like incubation from locally manufactured incubators at the organization, as well as engineering and propagating giant fowls in order to replace the already vulgarized fowl species that give little meat and eggs to their owners and hence impact little in households affected by poverty and unemployment. African Centre for Community and Development has developed breeders that meet both an economic, social and aesthetic dimension. However poultry farming has not rested only on chicken. The organization is also dealing in turkey farming and can boast birds that can reach up to 15 kilos. It also produces quails who lay eggs known be very medicinal and rich in healthy proteins vital to improve resilience against diseases. It also hopes that its special beautiful chicken will be adopted by organizations and individuals within and outside in a programme where adoption will lead to a token contribution to the organization and also facilitate the vulgarization of giant species within Cameroon and Africa. Egg laying is very pivotal in this kind of venture and that is why our breeders are also layers who can give us fertilized eggs for incubation and eggs for the market. After all these, our drive will be to take our incubators to another level. They will become so- lar-engineered so that communities can own them easily. Even now they are affordable as they are essentially made from recycled material and modern technologies that guarantee good regu- lation of humidity and temperature during incubation and hatching. We call on powerful and interested stakeholders to support us as we reshape history positively in Cameroon and Africa. Adaptable technologies remain the best hope for Africa. Research and Development Assistant Nzongang J.B. (above left) at the African Centre for Community and Development working to produce one of the incubators at the organization. Turkeys at the African Centre for Community and Development. They have kept their maternal instincts intact. (Above right). Please visit next page for more pictures of our poultry activities.

6 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower The Making of Local Incubators at the African Centre for Community and Development Supporting us vulgarize our incubators among village communities will buttress forever access To proteins in Cameroon and Africa. Help us launch One village One incubator scheme so that we can improve livelihoods and empower communities. Help us fight hunger and malnutrition. The incubators are created with automatic rotation system for eggs, for regulating temperature And humidity etc. They are created to be powered by affordable energy. Some of our incubators can take up to 2000 and more eggs. Expanding on fowl production for eggs is vital and we invite funding stakeholders and partners to support us in these areas.

7 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower Poultry Activities at the African Centre for Community and Development (Above left) Poultry man Sunday shows a healthy Turkey. (Above right) newly hatched quails at the centre. They will grow to provide needed eggs to the community. (Above left) Our Giant Breeders and layers. (Above right) newly hatched chicks. They will grow into giants and layers. In order to improve access to proteins (Above left) Chicks growing fast. (Above right) Arrey Mbongaya Ivo (Director) of African Centre for Community and Development with some fowls. (Above left) Slightly older fowls. Just about 8 weeks old. (Above right) Arrey Mbongaya Ivo operates one of our dynamic incubators. Support our initiatives. Thank you.

8 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower Organic Pest And Disease Control in Cabbages by Assam Conrad. Cabbage is a leafy vegetable that is largely consumed in Cameroon. It tastes good and has a rich vitamin and mineral content. It is widely grown in cooler regions of the country. Typical cabbage growing communities include Santa in the northwest and Foumban, Foumbot, Dschang and Balessing in the West. A small quantity is also grown around Buea in the South West .cabbages do not only serve as a source of food but also serve as a veritable source of in- come to the communities that cultivate them. Some businessmen also earn their living by trad- ing in cabbages. It goes without saying that pests and diseases control has an important role to play in the yield of cabbages. As at present, this control is largely dominated by inorganic methods. Inorganic control methods are largely disadvantageous to farmers and to the environment. Some of the pesticides and insecticides when applied in the wrong doses may also be hazard- ous. Organic pests and disease control on the other hand, is done with the help of cheap, natu- rally and locally available items. Moreover, organic control is environment-friendly. Applica- tion at high doses in most cases will cause no harm to the cabbages, to the farmer or to the environment. The objective of our paper therefore is to encourage organic pests and diseases control in cabbages. To do this, we will examine how to identify cabbage pest and disease in our garden and how to eliminate them organically. We will base our work on general pests control and on cabbage worms. For a general organic pest control in a cabbage garden, mix 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of powdered laundry soap in one gallon of water. Shake thoroughly and spray directly into the pests. Continue to spray until the pests’ populations are eliminated. We will look at the case of cabbage worm from two angles namely identification and control. It is very important for organic vegetable gardeners to be able to identify the presence of cabbage worms in their garden in order to fight back. There are two ways to do so. The first method is by observing the presence of the cabbage white butterfly. It is the adult stage of the cabbage worm and its presence should cause farmers to suspect the presence of cabbage worms as well. The second method of identification is to check for the presence of the larva and the eggs. The larva which is the form that does the actual damage. It is a velvety green, inch- worm-type caterpillar. Observe the cabbage leaves carefully and inspect cabbage for any cabbage worms that have made their way to the interior of the heads. The eggs are found beneath

9 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012Global Partnership Tower the leaves and are yellow and oval shaped. To control cabbage worms, destroy any cabbage white butterfly found around your garden through physical methods to avoid the multiplication of the eggs which will eventually hatch into killer cabbage worms. Also destroy any eggs found .To prevent the worms from burrowing into more cabbage heads, insert each head into a nylon stocking, and leave it on until you har- vest the head. If you have serious infestations, purchase Bacillus thuringiensis (organic sub- stance) and apply it according to the directions. To conclude cabbages are of wide nutritional and economic importance as they are widely consumed and traded upon. Inorganic pest and disease control in cabbages involve the use of indus- trial chemicals that may be expensive to local cabbage gardeners. Their application may also cause some environmental hazards. Organic pest and disease control on the other hand improves upon the standard of living of cabbage growers and the community at large by lowering the cost of pest and disease control while ensuring a healthier environment. By exposing these simple techniques, we are encouraging organic pest and disease control in cabbages. (Left) Assam Conrad, Volunteer Field Assistant at the African Centre for Community and Development. (Right) Cabbage Farm in Bambili, North West Cameroon during an in- vestigation by the African Centre for Community and Development.

Global Partnership Tower 10 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012 The Impact of Ankara on Agricultural Productivity by Assam Conrad Global food crisis is a key topic for discussion in many international meetings and media nowa- days. Every community and nation is contributing its own quota in resolving this problem. Cameroon is equally a part of this global effort. In order for us to make any meaningful contribution, we must avoid or modernize old and archaic farming methods characterized by the use of rudimentary tools, shifting cultivation and the burning of grass. The making of Ankara which is widely practiced in the savanna region of Cameroon is a typical example .Ankara is the burning of grass under the soil. Most local farmers have remained adamant to stopping this practice irrespective of the numerous efforts by the state and civil society organizations. Our concern therefore is to find out why indigenous communities still hold strong to this practice, the consequences of such a practice on agricultural productivity and the possible solutions. Local farmers are holding tight to the making of Ankara for a number of reasons. According to the wife of the Fon of Nsongwa, a village situated close to Bali in the Northwest whom we met during one of our field visits, local farmers stick to Ankara with the believe that ash from burning grass helps improve crop yields , especially in egusi and pumpkins. Other local farmers believe that Ankara is an effective means to fight weeds such as elephant grass that proves to be very stubborn. The consequences of practicing Ankara are far more devastating on the contrary. One of such consequences is that the process of burning destroys beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps that improve plant health by eating up harmful pests. More so, the heat from burning also kills nitrogen fixing bacteria found in the soil. Such bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into soil nitrates much needed by plants. Earthworm whose importance in improving soil fertility cannot be undermined is also killed in the process. More over, Ankara is usually prepared in the months of January and February when both grass and the soil are still very dry to make burning and tilling easier. Though burning takes place under the soil, the possibility of fire jumping into a nearby farm cannot be completely overruled. If it thus happens, productivity may be seriously affected if on-growing crops such as cassava and plantain are burnt down. Besides, Ankara further makes the soil very dry and reduces its ability to retain humus and can easily be washed away by run-offs. Soil leaching is also an eminent setback .This is the reason why farmland prepared by the use of Ankara cannot be cultivated for more than three consecu-

Global Partnership Tower 11 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012 tive years. The resulting effect is shifting cultivation, another outdated farming method .All these consequences tend to affect agricultural productivity adversely. Poor harvests lead little money for households and skipping of certain children especially girls. Finding a solution to stop the use of Ankara may not be easy because it is connected to the men- tality of the local farmers most of whom are very conservative in their ideas. However, a possible solution is to organize the farmers into groups and prescribe an alternative but similar farming method while providing them with farm inputs and guiding them in the process. Working in a group compels the member s of the group to work according to the guidelines set down by the group. Also a farmer field school will help educate the farmers on better methods to engage in their farms and also help to provide them with necessary inputs for higher yields. When farmers are being provided with inputs, they will be forced to practice the alternative methods. Another solution may be to encourage the farmers to keep animals while cultivating crops in order that the animal dung can provide the natural manure they seek from Ankara .They can deal with elephant grass by digging deep and removing all the roots and destroying them by burning on one defined spot on the farmland. In conclusion, the whole idea of Ankara is a purely traditional one. It does not improve or sus- tain the soil’s fertility. Thus productivity is not improved as well. Therefore it is necessary to implement measures capable of discouraging the use of Ankara while proposing another farming method such as organic farming with cheap and readily available inputs such as animal dung and fowl droppings for use as fertilizers in order to improve output and better food security in the region. (Above left) the practice of Ankara. (Above right) The wife of the Fon Nsongwa working with her kids. She was interviewed by African Centre for Community and Development .

Global Partnership Tower 12 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012 Other Pictures of Women during Recent Women’s Day Celebrations in Cameroon Women march at the Middle Farms Field in Limbe. Pictures courtesy of Arrey Mbongaya Ivo Above left: Bafaka Women’s Leader talking to African Centre for Community and Development . Above Right: Arrey Mbongaya Ivo (Director) of African Centre for Community and Development Interviewing civil society activist on women issues... Happy Exchanges during Women’s Day 2012. Pictures courtesy of Arrey Mbongaya Ivo

Global Partnership Tower 13 Vol 32 Issue I 27/04/2012 African Centre for Community and Development is online. Join our many discussions and contact us for a more firm working relationship. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Centre-for-Community-and- Development/103686769685856 LinkedIn (Holistic Approach to Sustainable Development, HASD) http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Holistic-Approach-Sustainable-Development-HASD-2998648 Our Main Page: http://www.africancentreforcommunity.com On Eldis: http://community.eldis.org/falcazo On You tube: http://youtube.com/user/AfricanCentreforCom Now you know our platforms and have an idea of what we do. We encourage partnerships, collaboration and funding to help us reach a bigger audience. Together we can be bigger. Emails ivo@africancentreforcommunity.com ivoemmanuelarrey@yahoo.com This is an exclusive work of the African Centre for Community and Development. Copyrights 2012. All rights Reserved.

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