I love Agricultural Extension :))

In order to do a Resource Profile Study (RPS) for the region of Centre West (CW) for an assignment, me and my group (soofiya, tenusha, amir, rihvaan, jivin and danny) carried out a Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) in the area. Since we had only 2 weeks to do so and only 2 days free to visit planters in their fields, we carried out the RRA in only 2 sub zones (1 in CW3 and the other in CW2)  which are Carreaux Laliane and La Marie.

Friday 17th September 2010 – Carreaux Laliane
We were already at Reduit by 7:30 and took the bus about 20 minutes later and got down at Jumbo Phoenix. We walked to Closel and then to Carreaux Laliane and met 5 planters. I know, this figure shows that we did not get information from many planters and the reasons for this are that firstly, we had not contacted any planter before going there and secondly we had never done an RRA and did not really know how to approach a farmer (which I admit was not easy!). On that day, everything went well and we got the information that we needed from the planters, BUT we also met planters who did not want to collaborate at all (saying that students nowadays are not interested to work in the field and because of that they will not be giving us any information). We ended our RRA at around noon and went to have lunch at Phoenix Les Halles (meaning that we walked from Jumbo – Closel – Carreaux Laliane – Les Halles, and finally took the bus back to Reduit where we discussed what we had seen and noted). 

Below are some pictures of that day:


Friday 24th September 2010 – La Marie
The day started just like the previous week.  We all met at Reduit and took the bus before 8 o’clock and arrived at La Marie by 8:30.  We went in the first street that we found after the “Maison des Eleveurs” and got a planter right away. This time, it was easier to approach the farmer and retrieve maximum information from him and we got 9 planters in total. We could have got more, but there were only labourers in the field after 10 and the owners were not present. At La Marie, we could see that the type of planter was different from those that we met the week before and also the cropping system, educational level of planter etc. was different. We went further in the street that we began, and passed through a cremation area, a kind of bridge, a river whereby the water was used for irrigation purposes and seen many type of crops, technology used etc. We ended the RRA around noon and went to Vacoas for lunch and then headed back to Reduit to discuss on the assignment.

The pictures taken at La Marie are below:

The reason I have written about this RRA is because I have enjoyed it so much that I cannot describe. Agricultural Extension is challenging, but this is why I have chosen to do agriculture and now I have no doubt that I have made the right choice! 🙂

About Nawsheen Hosenally

Nawsheen Hosenally, a national of the Republic of Mauritius, has over 6 years of experience in the agricultural sector, specifically focusing on the engagement of youth in agriculture through the use of ICTs. Currently, Nawsheen is the co-Founder of Agribusiness TV, a web TV that features success stories of young agricultural entrepreneurs in Africa. Nawsheen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Mauritius, and a Master’s degree in Management and Information Systems from the University of Manchester.

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