Wednesday was our Field Trip to see firsthand how the bio-fortified Orange Sweet Potato developed by Harvest Plus is integrated into the farming community and ultimately finds it way to the dinner plate. It was quite the trip with nearly everyone at the meeting participating. We crammed ourselves onto a tour bus, which bears little resemblance to any most of us have come in contact with. After every seat is taken, the arm rest on the right side of each row folds down to create another seat, eliminating the isle. You can imagine how packed we were. The first stop was over an hours drive away on roads, the best of which, would hardly qualify as a highway, and the worst of which were bone jarring dirt roads with massive potholes that could consume a vehicle.
Our first stop was the BioCrops Laboratory and Katente Farmers group in Namalere. The Director, Dr. Talengera, provided a tour of the facilities. Because the area were to visit was small, our group was split into two halves, I being in the first group. We began the tour by removing our shoes to enter the main building, with the only thing we were allowed entry to being the central hall with a small table and some specimen jars containing cultures of OSP (the orange sweet potato that Harvest Plus is working on to improve vitamin A consumption), cassava (another crop HP is working on) and coffee (having nothing to do with HP). We all looked interested in what he had to tell us, but I personally was able to understand about 10% of what he was saying, mainly having to do with the heavy African manner of speaking English. Others in our small group had similar experiences.
We visited the greenhouses where cultured plantings are grown for distribution to the farmers in the area have been trained in proper multiplication techniques. Other than the unique manner in which the enclosures are built with dark fabric walls and roof, it pretty much looked like any other greenhouse. The plants are isolated there to prevent infection carried by a certain type of fly. I also have a picture of one of the more upscale toilets in the area. Note the roll of toilet paper hanging from the entry. I don't know why its hung so high - none of the women in our group would have been able to reach it. Fortunately, none had to use the facility. There is almost no running water in rural communities, and certainly no modern toilets. A few have closed pit toilets like the one shown here. Most have open latrine toilets that ash is spread on regularly to keep smell and insect populations down.
We then headed off to visit a nursery and see a demonstration of clean material handling and field multiplication. I won't bore you with all that went on, but I've included pictures of the visit, both there and at a root production garden and a trader who was there to buy roots for planting. We were given a special lunch and were entertained by local women with songs created to spread the benefits of the Orange Sweet Potato. It was quite the event. I cherish the picture I have holding the lovely children. they are all so inquisitive and friendly. A stand at the farm sold muffins prepared with flour made from the OSP, and we bought pretty much everything she had to sell. We gave all children in the picture with me large muffins I wish I could have done more, but there really was nothing to be done. What HP is doing is making a real difference in their lives, and the whole community is incredibly gracious. The distances between stops and the return ride home took hours of bus travel. We didn't arrive back to our hotel until nearly 7:00 pm. I was covered head to foot in a dusting of red dirt from the trip and sent every stitch of clothing I was wearing to the laundry.
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