3a Videoconferência - Cafarnaum - Parte 2

3rd video-conference - Cafarnaum - Part 2

Patricia (Project coordinator – wearing a green t-shirt): This farmer has been working with them (Power) for 10 years. He has 5 acres of land and has a lot of experience in the semi-arid.

Mr. Siddu (staff of Power – Indian NGO): He asked about the season, when you start sowing. And what kind of crops do you grow.

Elisangela (farmer – wearing a blue blouse): Corn, beans, castor, sorghum…

Alan (translator – wearing a green t-shirt): This is custered apple’s seeds.

Antonio (farmer – wearing a white polo shirt): We are explaining how we store the seeds in our community. This seed can be the target for many insects. One way is to use chemical products, but this is not good for human health. So, re-using these bottles that would be rejected and pollute our environment, we re-use it to store the seeds. Mr. Osmar (farmer – wearing a green shirt and hat) is showing other soda bottles with seeds. You have to fill the bottle with seeds and tap it tightly. The science is here. You have to tap very tightly.

Airo (farmer – wearing a yellow/green shirt): The technique to take out the air is the key. Once you took out all the air, no insects will attack.

Ariel (technician at IPB, Brazilian NGO – green t-shirt): Besides the plastic bottles, farmers also use 200 liters recipients made of plastic or zinc. When there is not enough seed to fill the recipient, they use the candle technique. They put all the seeds that have to be stored inside the recipient, then light a candle inside it as well and finally close it. When the fire of the candle consumes all the oxygen inside the recipient, the problem of insects attacks is solved, since there is no oxygen for their survival. The candle stays inside the recipient. If you try to take it out, oxygen will go in again, which is not desired. So, the candle stays there.

Jurandir (farmer – white t-shirt) shows the process used in order to fill the bottles with the least air possible inside. You have to fill the bottle a little with seeds and beat it in any surface, then put some more and beat again, and again, until it is completely filled out. Then you tap it tightly.

Patricia: He said that the government sometimes provide certified seeds. The government pays 75% of the cost and the farmers have to pay 25%. This is only for small farmers. For those who have up to 5 acres of land.

3ª Videoconferência - Cafarnaum - Parte 1

3rd video-conference - Cafarnaum - Part 1

Patricia (Project coordinator – wearing a green t-shirt): Today’s theme is commercialization.

Patricia: The central Indian government fixes the prices of the season’s products. They also different federations that sell different products. In that season’s harvest, the government establishes the price for those products. Each federation specializes itself in a product or a group of products. It’s like Marcos mentioned in the case of Coopaf, that it is becoming more specialized in the commerce of oil seeds.

Patricia: They harvest peanuts, corn, onion, aubergine, ladies’ fingers…

Alan (translator – wearing a green t-shirt): They have a federation and, the main difference to us is that they government establishes the prices.

Marcos (technician from a cooperative – wearing a whit t-shirt): I would like to know if the farmers are subsidized. Whether the governments help the farmers or not. Because there has been a proposal here, not a government’s proposal, but farmers’. The proposal was that the government should invest in the small farmer with a condition. If the small farmer produces well, s/he has the obligation of selling the production to the government in order to produce biofuels. On the other hand, if he had a bad harvest, as it happened this year, s/he would be subsidized with the amount he borrowed to plant. I would like to know whether this process happens there.

Patricia: The kind of the subsidize they have is through seed distribution. They have branches of the State Agriculture Department spread all over. These branches take care of the seed distribution. But they have also explained before that if the farmers lose their harvest, the government pays “the day” for the farmers, a kind of insurance. It is quite little money, but at least they can sustain themselves.

Alan: Mr. Siddu (staff of Power – Indian NGO) reminds us that “the day”, paid by the government, happens during the off-season.

Marcos: In our region, the farmer only plant once a year. S/he plants in November with the prevision of harvesting in February. If s/he loses the harvest completely, EBDA (kind of State Agriculture Department) agents visit the farmer`s property and if it is seen that the production lost was more than 90%, the farmer receives the money of harvest insurance. The farmers receives a total of about US$ 240,00 divided in 5 monthly installments.

Marcos: In order to be insured, the person has to prove s/he is a small farmer. He applies, filling out a form. If s/he is approved, he can opt for being insured. S/he pays an unique fee of about US$ 2,40 for the year s/he wants to be insured. The municipality pays, for each farmer, a fee of about US$ 7,20.

Alan: He was explaining that there is a small bank, a medium bank (in the regional level) and a large bank (in the national level).

Patricia: It is a bank like a credit cooperative that lends to the farmers. The Directory of this credit cooperative (bank) is elected by the farmers. They define the credit policies, how it should be or not. Each season, the farmer pays between 30 and 40 rupies (about US$ 0,90) for each product they plant. Sorghum, for example, for each acre of land planted with sorghum, the farmer will pay 40 rupies. If the harvest is lost, they receive about US$ 17,40 per acre.

Alan: Mr. Siddu said he will invite one of the two senior farmers that are participating on the conference today.

Agricultor indiano mostra diversidade em seu quintal

O agricultor Jayappa, do vilarejo de Dasaiahanadoddi, próximo de Bangalore, no sul da Índia, é um exemplo de policultor, que cultiva centenas de espécies medicinais, frutíferas, leguminosas e lenhosas, em seu quintal. Ele também mantém um minhocário, caixas de abelhas nativas e viveiros com centenas de mudas.

Em parceria com a natureza

A natureza é rica e abundante.

Policultor Chico mostra com muito orgulho campo de policultura,área que antes das práticas do projeto estava sendo tomada pela erosão.

The nature is rich and abundant.

"Policulturer" (Farmer who practices the policulture) Chico shows his policulture field very proudly. Before the practices of the project (Policultura no Semi-Árido), the area was being taken by the erosion.

Francisco em seu campo

Apicultura no semi-árido

FUMIGADOR

Serve para fazer fumaça para enganar as abelhas.

APICULTURE IN SEMI-ARID
SMOKER
Used to produce smoke, deceiving the bees.

Praticando Apicultura no semi-árido

Apicultura é a arte de criar abelhas:Veja alguns equipamentos necessário para esse trabalho.

COLMÉIA É onde fica a rainha , as crias e as operárias.

APICULTURE IN THE SEMI-ARID
Apiculture is the art of keeping bees. Take a look at some of the equipment needed for this activity. The HIVE is where we can find the queen, the eggs and the worker bees.

Plantando Gergelim no semi-árido

PLANTANDO GERGELIM NO SEMI-ÁRIDO: Por Josivaldo

PLANTING SESAME IN THE SEMI-ARID
Sesame is a plant that resists to the drought very well. We plant sesame using manure. We sieve the manure, mix with the sesame seeds and put in the “planting machine”. Then we plant when we are planting the beans. The sesame is very resistant. Even when the weather is dry, it still resists. As you can see, only the sesame and the castor are alive. The two kinds of beans we planted here died.

When harvesting the sesame, you cannot have bundles bigger than these. This is a good size. It cannot lie on the ground like this one. And the place it is here… it is not a good one because it is in contact with the floor. It is better to lay something under the bundles. Otherwise, when you beat on the canvas (or plastic piece), it is mixed with soil.