Drip Irrigation Program

 

On the far right is the Director of Ejeda Hospital, showing a FOMM volunteer one of the wells they were able to dig with the funds FOMM donors provided. We dug six wells to irrigate large vegetable gardens to provide water for the drip irrigation project. Please read the following which lays out our vision to provide water for hundreds of drought-stricken villages as well as Ejeda Hospital and Manasoa Bible School. You will find a button to make a secure donation at the bottom of the page. Thank you.

 

Program Description:  In the arid southwest of Madagascar adequate and clean water is a major humanitarian need.  FOMM has been working to create resources to help grow food with a drip irrigation program.  Centers have been established at Ejeda Hospital and Manasoa Bible School to show how to grow crops using drip irrigation.  An adequate water supply for drinking and food production is a goal of the drip irrigation program. It is a progam that will help sustain the needs for the local community with financial support from FOMM.

2023 Goals:  Expand the Drip Irrigation Program.

Amount Requested: Funds for supplies to give the farmers to keep the program going through 2023:  $5,000.00 


Drip

The southwest part of Madagascar is semi-arid.  It is either "feast or famine" regarding the crops that are grown by the farmers.  The goal is to teach the farmers how to use a drip irrigation system during the times of drought and crop failure.  This system would allow them to raise enough food to feed their family during dry periods of time and also have some crop produce left over to sell at their local markets. 

Situation:

  1. The average farm in Madagascar is 1.3 hectares or 3 acres.
  2. The small size of a farm hampers mechanization and farming equipment.
  3. The farmer uses a small spade to turn the soil.
  4. The seeds used for planting are a poor quality.
  5. Water management is not good.
  6. As a result, the farmer produces barely enough to feed their family.

Strategy:

  1. Provide a reasonably priced drip irrigation system:  a 5 gallon pail with approximately 100 feet of hose.
  2. Have educational events to train the farmers on how to use the drip irrigation kits.
  3. Establish educational training gardens at Ejeda Hospital and Manasoa Bible School to be used as teaching sites.
  4. The drip irrigation kit will be given to each farmer who completes the training sessions. Whether or not we will have the farmers pay for the second kit or a portion of the cost is yet to be determined. Most of this area is basically a cashless economy. So we will have to wait and determine if they will pay a portion of the cost in cash and/or provide some food to the needy.
  5. Work with the community to overcome cultural practices that question this way of producing enough food for the family.

Testimonial: 

I am impressed with FOMM’s operating model which includes a high degree of both transparency and accountability.  FOMM has a small but all-volunteer professional staff that live on three continents with very low administrative costs.  They guarantee that 100% of donations are directed to groups undertaking approved projects in Madagascar.  Those groups and their projects are also held to high standards of accountability, including quarterly reports and maintenance of required documentation of expenditures.”   Sonia Meehl