{"id":3275,"date":"2019-07-08T22:44:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T22:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=3275"},"modified":"2019-07-10T06:47:20","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T06:47:20","slug":"somaliland-farmers-happy-with-skills-training-by-agricultural-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2019\/07\/08\/somaliland-farmers-happy-with-skills-training-by-agricultural-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Somaliland farmers happy with skills training by agricultural students"},"content":{"rendered":"

HARGEISA (SoOHA) –<\/strong> Agriculture\u00a0<\/span>students\u00a0<\/span>from universities\u00a0<\/span>in Somaliland\u00a0<\/span>have been helping local farmers to master improved farming methods in order to strengthen their production.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Twenty-five<\/span>\u00a0students from Hargeisa, Golis and Beder\u00a0<\/span>u<\/span>niversities in Hargeisa\u00a0<\/span>have been volunteering their knowledge and introducing skills to\u00a0<\/span>500 farmers\u00a0<\/span>across Somaliland, including\u00a0<\/span>in Gebiley, Arabasiyo, Abarso, Adadley, and Dacadr-budhuq<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mubar<\/span>i<\/span>k Mohamed Iman<\/span>, a farmer\u00a0<\/span>in Adalu\u00a0<\/span>v<\/span>illage<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0told Radio Ergo that\u00a0<\/span>the training had already brought results after years of preventable crop losses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I learnt many things<\/span>!\u201d he said. \u201c<\/span>Some crops do\u00a0<\/span>well<\/span>\u00a0in warm weather<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0others\u00a0<\/span>in cold weather<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but because we did not understand\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0<\/span>the seeds ended up rotting.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0The other problem was\u00a0<\/span>that we had no knowledge about\u00a0<\/span>crop rotation<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Th<\/span>e\u00a0<\/span>four-month<\/span>\u00a0training<\/span>, that has been ongoing since April, covers\u00a0<\/span>crop rotation<\/span>, pests and disease, market demand, consumer taste<\/span>, local<\/span>\u00a0ecological conditions<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>planting techniques.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mubarik\u00a0<\/span>has<\/span>\u00a0planted maize, tomatoes, peppers, beans and watermelon on his one-hectare\u00a0farm<\/span>\u00a0and has converted to the new methods.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>My crops\u00a0<\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>dried\u00a0<\/span>up\u00a0<\/span>several<\/span>\u00a0times\u00a0<\/span>due<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0lack of intervals<\/span>\u00a0in planting\u00a0<\/span>and failure to\u00a0<\/span>prevent\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Saynab Ahmed Abdirahman, a farmer in Arabsiyo village<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0commend<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0the training\u00a0<\/span>she received from the university students. In particular, she learnt how to use c<\/span>hemical\u00a0<\/span>pesticides safely and effectively.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I sometimes feel guilty and regret the\u00a0<\/span>thoughtless<\/span>\u00a0way I used to keep the chemicals. My children used to play with the pesticides because I k<\/span>new little about the harm they could do.\u00a0<\/span>N<\/span>ow I keep them out of reach<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0children,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Saynab told Radio Ergo<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The crops on Saynab\u2019<\/span>s farm including maize, beans, tomatoes, and chills are\u00a0<\/span>growing in a\u00a0<\/span>healthy<\/span>\u00a0way and she is pleased<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The salad, green pepper, tomatoes,<\/span>\u00a0pepper and onions I harvested recently are of<\/span>\u00a0high quality and\u00a0<\/span>good quantity,\u00a0<\/span>so I can see this training was\u00a0<\/span>very<\/span>\u00a0productive,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0she commended.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Said Dahir Muse<\/span>, a third-year\u00a0<\/span>agriculture\u00a0<\/span>student\u00a0<\/span>involved as a trainer, said the initiative stemmed from a student survey of t<\/span>he challenges\u00a0<\/span>facing local farmers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We realized<\/span>\u00a0there was<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>need\u00a0<\/span>for\u00a0<\/span>awareness and train<\/span>ing after intensive observation. T<\/span>he problem\u00a0<\/span>we saw\u00a0<\/span>wa<\/span>s that the farmers use only\u00a0<\/span>tradi<\/span>tional method<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0of farming and have<\/span>\u00a0no knowledge about<\/span>\u00a0modern farming methods,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0he said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Radio Ergo<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HARGEISA (SoOHA) – Agriculture\u00a0students\u00a0from universities\u00a0in Somaliland\u00a0have been helping local farmers to master improved farming methods in order to strengthen their production.\u00a0 Twenty-five\u00a0students from Hargeisa, Golis and Beder\u00a0universities in Hargeisa\u00a0have been volunteering their knowledge and introducing skills to\u00a0500 farmers\u00a0across Somaliland, including\u00a0in Gebiley, Arabasiyo, Abarso, Adadley, and Dacadr-budhuq.\u00a0 Mubarik Mohamed Iman, a farmer\u00a0in Adalu\u00a0village,\u00a0told Radio Ergo that\u00a0the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-food-security-cluster","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t