A letter from Larry and Inge Sthreshley in Congo
December 8, 2008
Dear friends
Making bidia.
I was shopping for groceries for Thanksgiving dinner at a local grocery story here in Ashland, Virginia, where we are living while on interpretation assignment, and I noticed the employees in the store piling up sacks and sacks of nice, large potatoes in anticipation of a run on potatoes. Most of us would not consider Thanksgiving dinner complete without potatoes on the table. If Thanksgiving were a Congolese holiday, no dinner would be complete without a good portion of bidia or fufu, made from the tubers of the cassava plant, the staple food in Congo. But for many Congolese farmers, that good portion is getting harder and harder to produce. Manioc tuber yields throughout sub-Saharan Africa have been declining significantly due to cassava mosaic virus. Cassava mosaic virus causes the manioc leaves to turn a mottled yellow color and shrivel, decreasing photosynthesis and reducing tuber production by 60 to 90 percent. For a subsistence farmer, this often means hunger and absolute poverty.
To address this problem and other constraints to food security in Congo, the Presbyterian Church started a project called Micro Devru. The project is ecumenical and works with the development organizations of the Baptist, Mennonite and Presbyterian churches to distribute improved seed material to farmer associations. Through these organizations, Micro Devru introduces sustainable soil improvement technologies, such as cover crops and fast-growing leguminous trees, and distributes:
- Disease resistant, high-yielding cassava planting material (seed cane).
- Enhanced, high-yielding dwarf palm trees.
- High-yielding cowpea and peanut seed.
- Vegetable seed and essential tools to market gardeners.
All the distribution of seeds or plant material is accompanied by training in best-production practices, supervision visits and technical brochures. The farmer associations that benefit from this project have an equal number of women and men in membership and leadership. Funding for this program comes from the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Foods Resource Bank.
Harvesting improved cassava.
This year, with assistance from the Micro Devru project, PRODEK (The Development Program for the East Kasai of the Presbyterian Church), directed by Mr. Medi Kanda, has distributed five varieties of disease-resistant, high-yielding cassava, involving distribution of approximately 162,500 meters of seed cane from multiplication fields to 27 farmer groups. PRODEK measured yields as high as 20 tons per hectare on savanna fields among the five new varieties distributed. (Local varieties average six tons per hectare.) Farmers have been astonished at the yield of the new varieties.
In addition, seminars held on improved production practices help farmers obtain maximum yields and limit new infestations of cassava mosaic. Some producers have learned for the first time about cassava mosaic and its impact on production. They thought their varieties had simply become “tired.” Members of farmer groups are reporting they now have sufficient income to pay for their children’s schooling and to purchase bicycles. Medi reports that there is high demand for new cane material among neighboring communities. He noted that “You know you have a good thing going when there is theft of seed cane from multiplication fields.”
PRODEK is also distributing enhanced, high-yielding dwarf palm trees. Palm oil is used extensively in daily cooking in Congo as well as in the manufacture of soap and margarine. Currently, Congo imports palm oil as demand outstrips local production. In the last six months PRODEK distributed 21,000 palm seeds, 10,000 of which were funded by PC(USA)’s Presbyterian Women. These went to 21 planter groups as well as health center committees. This will plant 140 hectares. The palm nurseries have done well, with losses under 5 percent for the 2007-08 planting year. In the Baptist areas, where dwarf palms were introduced earlier, farmers are amazed at the number of regimes of nuts the palms produce and the quantity of oil obtained from them. Palm oil sells for $250 to $500 per ton. Under ideal conditions each hectare of dwarf palm will produce 5 tons of palm oil. In a country where the average annual per capita income is $300, these palms represent a significant source of income.
In the past six months PRODEK has also distributed 965 kilograms of cowpea and 1,550 kilograms of peanut seed to planter groups for multiplication. PRODEK obtained yields of around 1,000 kilograms per hectare with the new “Devru”cowpea varieties compared to the local variety, which rarely exceeds 500 kilos per hectare. Devru cowpeas are greatly appreciated for their flavor and rapidity in cooking. They sell for twice the price of local varieties in the markets.
If sufficient funds come in, the Micro Devru project will double in size next year and expand to include farmer associations on the outskirts of Kinshasan, on the Bateke Plateau and in Bas Congo province. If you, your church or organization would like to support this work, please contact us. For more information on Micro Devru activities, see the Foods Resource Bank Web site.
Contributions from individuals may be sent to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Contributions from churches should be sent to the normal receiving site or: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), P.O. Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678. Write the title (Micro DEVRU – Foods Resource Bank Project) and the ECO number on the subject line (DR000088) of the check.
As always we are grateful for the support you give us both financially and through prayer. Together, we all have the privilege to be a part of programs that bring resources and hope to many in need.
Blessings,
Inge and Larry Sthreshley
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 39
