Boosted By the Success of TIPA Project

Pierre Faye - Posted on January 19, 2009

Last month we met Birame, President of the farmers of TIPA project. Birame Loum is a busy man. Boosted by the profits he got last year, Biram and the other farmers involved in the project are eagerly preparing to start a new round of dry-season harvesting.

“I was amazed by my profits by working in this project. I have dreamed a long time ago to buy one cow. My dream has become a reality thanks to the drip irrigation project,” Birame says.

“I have seen the result so there is no doubt that this project is a real success,” says Birame.

The Techno-Agricultural Innovation for Poverty Alleviation, [TIPA] project was launched last year, in the Tattaguine community by World Vision and the Israeli Embassy. This project helps people to grow cucumbers, onions, okras and other products during the dry season.

As a result of this project, Birame and 50 other farmers have enough profits to be able to help them take care of their family’s needs.

Birame was the farmer who earned the most and he received about $300 profits from the sale of his goods. “I am taking care very well of my family, I have bought a cow and I have saved money to survive at lean time [the dry season]. Definitely, this project has a real impact over my family,” Birame says confidently.

“World Vision, in partnership with the Israeli Embassy, has provided the technical expertise and some valuable advice, while at the same time teaching us new techniques of growing vegetables while using rationally the water, which is so scarce here,” Birame says.

“In the beginning, those who had never heard about drip irrigation were skeptical. I had the chance, thanks to World Vision, to participate on an exchange visit in another place where World Vision has been testing it,” says Birame.

“Back in my village, I shared with others about the experience I had seen. I was convinced that it was possible to do the same thing in our area if we were committed and willing to make it happen there,” says Birame. [hi3]

In fact, many of the farmers taking part in the drip irrigation project have failed at drip irrigation before. They still remember the tough time when they have stayed two years, with a broken pump, and were forced to carry water manually from an open well to water their crops.

“Today, we have committed partners, such as World Vision and the Israeli Embassy,” Birame says.

Part of the profits gained through the project by the farmers will be given to the community to be invested in educational and health needs.

The experience the farmers got through this project will also help the partners of World Vision and Israeli Embassy in their evaluations that they are making, determining the success of this project.

The TIPA farmers are ready to work hard again, to achieve even more than they did last year. “We have learned so much last year we are indebted to World Vision and all the partners who have greatly contributed to make this dream a reality,” Biram says.

Come back next month to see how the farmers are working on their plots.

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