|
Food Security is a major issue in Togo, along with the rest of West Africa. Many people starve due to lack of knowledge and ability enabling them to farm their own crops and therefore become self sufficient and no longer relying on an income to provide them with their daily meals. Under this project the students and beneficiary communities are taught how to farm in both small and large scales, so as they can be able to grow what they eat to minimize the prevalence of hunger in Togo and Africa as a whole. They are also alerted on the need of appreciating technology in agriculture to embark on obtaining maximum yield. Their interests are aroused and enhanced in agricultural work so that they would like to choose agriculture as profession or a hobby.
HAC organizes agricultural programmers, excursions to major agricultural institutions and also invites agricultural resource personnel to give speeches to the children to develop their interest in the modern agricultural systems for sustainable development. HAC is also actively farming, enabling them to assist in the feeding of the beneficiaries under the Foundation since the agricultural produce we harvest under practical work is not sold. It is in the light of sustainable agriculture that the foundation has acquired a ten-acre land for poultry and cash crop production. This is a basic and paramount programmed run by the HAC-TOGO Foundation with the following objectives:
- To broaden the children’s scopes of understanding in the highly efficient utilization of the scientific method of farming to maximize quality and quantity of farm produce, leaving the environment non-degraded.
- To teach the children principles that lead to knowledge of how agriculture could be practiced without degrading the environment (how to preserve our natural resources whilst cultivating the land for crop and animal production).
- To teach them practical oriented aspects of modern agriculture, practices that help conserve the soil nutrients, water, flora and fauna amongst other environmental friendly practices (such as organic / ecological farming).
- To create awareness to the children on the need of sustainable agriculture by the help of agricultural technology/ mechanization.
- To help inculcate the habit of can-do mentality in the children so as they could be ready to become self contained (especially produce their needs through agriculture) in the near future.
The education on the skills of growing what one eats in quantity and quality has been on the increase since the identification of population growth leading to shortage of food during the hunting and gathering era, calling for a shift from primitive system.
HAC-TOGO students are taught various vocations in agriculture, such as grass-cutter and other livestock rearing, mushroom production, food and cash crop production, processing of agro-produce, etc. to empower them skillfully and vocationally so that those who do not want any of the vocations as a profession could at least practice them as hobby; serving a lot of functions ranging from provision of backyard food to income generating. HAC-TOGO Foundation is setting a pace in training future Agricultural Contractors who would be capable of turning waste land and rented lands into agroculture industries. These children have the potentials of becoming agricultural extension workers, technical officers, counselors, directing people in production, processing and storage of crops and livestock and their products.
The organization has developed grass cutter farming for the youth to be engaged in Agro-Business. Also, Agriculture project for PLHIVs (people living with HIVs) is an effort to integrate PLHIVs in the agricultural project to make sure they are well fed and catered for using this diversified primary sector of production. Poultry farming is also another area that the organization is projecting its resources towards to start off this year.
Currently we are wishing to get land to start our agriculture program.
We look forward to soliciting funds to obtain at least 30 acres of land for developing the institution and farming so that one day in the future HAC-TOGO will become agriculturally self contained as well as growing and maintaining enough produce to market. The foundation currently educates the students theoretically and practically using the three-plot plantain farm and the deep litter system of Dark Cornish Layers on one plot.
Plans are in pipeline to obtain official theoretical and practical center of examination so as to have products of the agriculture course being certified after four years of internal training, by international agriculture and vocation examination bodies, following the educational system of West Africa. Snails are reared under the plantains too as non-traditional animals to erase the idea of producing only traditional crops and animals to these children. This is a conscious effort of the foundation to satisfy its Agriculture and food Security Program me. The organization has developed grass cutter farming for the kids to be engaged in Agro-Business. Partners and volunteers around the world have shown interest in assisting the organization but more resources are needed in order for the organization to meet its production capacity by the end of the year 2015. We therefore welcome all agriculture agencies, experts, volunteers and philanthropist organizations to come and invest in this agriculture programmed so that we as a nation can be self-sufficient in the near future.
|
