Lofa County Community College Irrigated Rice

The Lofa County Community College's Ag Farm benefited from State Sponsor in 2010. The 3.8 Hector 48 paddy lowland filed was graded with nearly 3,000 meters of drains and canals installed by a Swiss NGO in 2013. However for an unknown reason project never completed and a operation and maintenance plan that could be followed was never provided. The ACDI/VOCA NGO was contacted.

The nine step resource planning process was used to assess, analyze, formulate alternatives, help decision maker select options, implement, re-assess and revise, finalize and follow-up.






Lofa County Community College Ag Dean - Happy because water now runs.

There is more to the story
The ten days process was done entirely in the field with two 25 member groups of students
Labs were conduced, opportunity to train on equipment and participate in the decision. It was a good engagement.

Assessments

Rocks left in the primary canal was one problem.



A poorly constructed spillway with water running under the concrete was another problem.
 



A three section concrete culvert poorly suited as a water control structure.
Farm manager had breached the dam in an effort to water the paddies.

Drainage  Area for the LCCC Farm

Watershed that supports the irrigation is limited. Approximately 350 Hectors in a rainfall zone of 3,000 mm seems large. However, only 400 mm is in the hydrological cycle for the dry season. The six larger stream in the Voinjama region were measured at 2.5 liters per second or less during one dry season. This stream typically goes dry at the height of the dry season. An additional complexity is the encroachment of the County seat urban area. Climate change not withstanding unless something is done to change how homes, roads, less trees and more packed ground increases runoff and reduces infiltration; the slow seepage that feeds the stream will become less, just when it could had been used to produce food.

Analysis and Alternatives

Students learning to survey while canal grade was re-designed.
 

  For students created eight story boards of each irrigation system component for study and manager's O&M.
 

Implementation

A new Gate was installed with limited local material

 

Water raised 25 cm overnight after a late rainy season rain.



Primary canal clean-out was a priority

End Result was water to all of the paddies.

But managing this requires management and work.

 

Follow-up

The result of assessing, design, implementing and finally checking.

 

Repairs needed on most of the 48 gates from the secondary canals and 3,000 meters of ditch cleaning

Important step with the mix of crops, rice and vegetables and some sections of canal leaked adding too much water!

 

Practice Revisions

Serious Hard Work

The sandbags on the uppers ide had dislodged after a hard rain.

Five men self organized to build the rock revetment in four hours.

And The Water Runs

Student President Samark and son James

Result




Aspiration for a better future

Just a little Cultural side trip

Getting to Voinjama, Lofa County seat was a joy

Over 300 Km of Africa's last international dirt highways!

 

Housing

Worked on Veranda many mornings to prep for classes

Expect most assistant profs would had been envious.

 

Running water?

If look closing through the banister two women are replacing the 50 80 lt. barrel with well water. Four years ago would had to have pump your own water, but aid work has created more jobs. A pail of water is brought to room each morning for toilet and bath. Water is heated for evening bath. Room cost is double four years ago

 Meals

Breakfast normally at 7:30. One or two banana and bread. Monday was special, brought papaya when in country for a poultry farm visit. A real treat! Once we had avocados picked from the tree just like in California. The hot water provided for tea was purified water delivered in a bag (see blue bags on table.). This service not available four years prior.

 The café on the road to Foya, highly recommended. Not open on Sunday

Catfish soup main meal every other day; normally at 3:00 PM. Goat soap, cow soap and on lean days pepper soap.

 



Irrigation Project in Congo Basin - DRC January 2015

Story Board of the Kingabawa Rice Intensification Project



Farm Association leaders meet on project site

 

Malebo Pool Congo River

6,000 HA of Lowlands in the

N'dijil River Basin

 





N'dijil River

 

 

Current Cropping system plant rice after water level

One 90 to 120 day crop

 

 

Pump house built by Chinese and World Food Organization in 1990 stopped by DRC civil war

engines of unknown capacity. Farm association ability to operate and maintain is not clear.

 

 

 

 A Canal System had been designed. A Tunisia Engineering NGO had conducted a 2010-11 survey of the site. However the results were never made clear to the local NGO BANTA Engineer. A 200 percent blown up copy was made which should rolling relief of slight ridges and depression.

 

 

 

The association did not have the funds, equipment nor skill for a land leveling irrigation program.

Building levees across the slope was recommended.

 

 Other complications included the river flooding and the wide range of soils to manage as this Vertisol. $2 million in U.S. had been granted two years prior for project. only thing to show for funds was the storeroom/meeting room. Dike failed, engines in pump house on hold, canals, and ditches no action nor functional plan. everything waiting for more funds. Project needed a complete plan before another $2 million could be invested.

This was enough of a concern  once completed the Train the Trainer program with the Host did not just write news article or make college tours. Rather made the point to tour Washington, D.C. and present slides of program to USAID and USDA program mangers, and Senators' and Congressmen's staffs to highlight the need for good planning before more funding.



The BANTA NGO does have a five member technical staff



Low level levees could be build to 'fit' the landscape A simpler solution





The flat topography and lack of references makes this a difficult project.

This point based on the Tunisian survey would be the main drain start point.

Many of the 'garden farmers' are new to the township displaced from the civil unrest in the east.

This garden is the rice seedling bed that will be transplanted.



The original river 'people' of the lowlands still fish the Congo. Here just above the falls.

The broken dike shown above may had been breached by fishermen wanting to access the flooded lowlands. Such conflicts in resource use will be common, and also difficult to forecast.

Self with the Kingabwa Farm Association leaders

 

 

 

 A little Cultural side trip



Camp TinTin above the Falls on the Congo River

- W. Mitty would Approve

Mergo and Beinvenu



Fishing on the Congo



 

Dinner - la Poisson local prepared meal of fish with cassava



Smallholder Oil Palm Project Support II (SHOPS II)

  Oil Palm Processing

  Current problem is proccessinng of the native oil palm variety Dura 

 

 

Amos W. Dolo Stands at his kernel processing business.

Amos is an Oil Palm processor, farmer and school principle for Ganta, Nimba County.  

  

Oil Palm kernels are separated from shell in a water bath. Shells sink, oil rich kernels float.

Step seven in process when Kernel Press used. (See last frame of a Kernel Press)

Oil Processor foreground. Buyer in back waits w/20 lt. jug value $15 value.

LPMC Plantation Gabanga, Bong County: Supports 100 HA plantation. Farmer supplies equipment and land for 1/3 oil, tenants supply labor.

Step _5_ in process   .

Market Display of jars and packages cooking oil. Going to the market is a daily event. Palm oilis used in all local cooking. The oil palm native to West Africa, but now after ten years of cilivil war only one-half of the oil used in Liberia is produced locally.

  Palm Oil is extracted from the outer layer tin pericarp (flesh). Oil is collected in 20 liter jugs.  





Oil Palm fruit is prepared in a one barrel operation for oil extraction at the Amos Dolo 26 HA farm

The Oil Palm fruit is heated three hours.

LPMC Farm - Step one.

Operation is tended by crew of six. This includes, feeding fruit into funnel, manual power, waste removal below extraction chamber and oil collection from pan.

LPMC Farm - Steps three, four and five.

 

 

The Oil Palm fruit loaded into Freedom Mill II. Oil is pressed from the tin pericap - Step two.

 

 

Incomplete oil extrusion of the Dura fruit is the critical stage of manual operation which requires the modification. It is believed the thicker and tougher pericarps of the native Dura. The larger kernels are the cause of the three chamber press to only partially squeeze the oil out. A fourth chamber will be used in a new model.

This Oil palm Fruit is from a 37 year old Tenera tree which has reverted to a Dura size Kernel. The tin pericarps are 5 mm thick the fruit is 2.5 by 3.5 cm. Wild Dura has larger kernels and thinner flesh. A second loading is needed to break the skinks and extract the oil.

Improvements are being made to the extruder chamber to extract the oil from the larger kernels.

Pit for old style Oil processing. Fruit is placed in the burn pit to heat. Then when hot wooden stick mallets were used to mash to apart. Oil floated to top and was dipped with a ladle.

Production may have been 1 to 10 liters per day. The Manual Freedom Mill II can produce 240 liters in a day when serviced by six people

 

 

The old oil Palm groves many as this one over 30 years old need of replacement with new trees.

The Dura variety fruit is now more prevalent in the old groves and also is found in the wild in Nimba and Bong Counties. This has made the need for better oil processors now.

The Kernnel processor is a value added machine

In addition to extraction of the higher value oil of the kenneral the by-product meal is cattle feed.