Agriculture
The pilot farms, learn simple techniques for a healthy development
The Mekong Plus agronomists live in the villages and first of all they listen to the farmers. We start from the farmers’ questions and problems. They cannot afford big investments nor to take risks, as a failure would be a disaster for the family. Capital is scarce and returns must be quick: in the village context the ROI, the return on investment must be 100%. The environment and soil protection and improvement are very important for sustainable, profitable agriculture: farmers are very receptive when we can reduce the use of chemicals and reduce costs.
The best trainers are in fact fellow-farmers, who share with their peers, better than a technician from outside the village! With this in mind Mekong Plus uses the pilot farmers as models and trainers. First we help them to test new techniques, then they teach and advise other villagers. Small farm meetings are organized at the request of the villagers, usually 10-20 farmers gather around the pilot farmer. Concrete exchanges, very practical, the farmers argue and are not intimidated as they can be with an agronomist with a university degree.
Best Agriculture Practices
When you have a small plot only to feed your family, you try to get the best out of it! Often the peasants tend to put too much pesticide and fertilizer, as they think “more is better and safer”. Mekong Plus proposes a better and cheaper option: a net. The vegetables are well protected from insects and also from the heavy rains of the monsoon. Farmers can then grow throughout the year, which is not possible in traditional agriculture. Save on chemicals and grow vegetables all year round are the two key arguments to convince the peasants.
One solution to reduce the impact of pollution from the excrements from livestock is the dry litter. This serves as natural fertilizer to adjacent crops. With this technique the farmer puts a layer of rice bran treated with Trichoderma* in the pig or poultry stall. This makes them save time and water. When they sell their animals, the litter is an excellent compost.
* Trichoderma is an organic fungus; it makes the roots more resistant to stress and disease; it is also a cheap organic accelerator that prevents disease.
At harvest, the remaining straw is not burned but sprayed with Trichoderma, an organic soil-dwelling, which accelerates the decomposition of the straws. The farmer saves transporting the straw out of the field, no need for burning it, and one saves about 10 days before the next crop can be started.
The excrements are mixed with the water used to clean the pig stall, and go down the drain to the biogas tube. Within 2-3 weeks the fermentation naturally produces methane gas, which is led directly to the kitchen. This process is doubly interesting for the family and for the planet. Indeed, not only the slurry removal is essential to the health of the residents living nearby (pest and disease factors), but also biogas reduces deforestation in the region as a family without biogas uses one tree per month as firewood.
New challenges in the face of rising sea levels
The Mekong delta is facing a new challenge: the progressive salinization of water makes the land unsuitable for cultivation. The villagers try to limit the penetration of saline water with sluice gates and pumping, but ultimately they risk to give up paddy cultivation and shift to shrimp culture. Which is another source of heavy pollution. The Mekong delta is one of the worst affected regions in the world and sure enough, the poorest will suffer.
They support us
The social enterprise Mekong Quilts
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