Capture carbon through regenerative agriculture and halt climate change - climate gardens now

 

Mitigate climate change by capturing carbon through regenerative agriculture - Start an organic climate garden now

 

Do you feel hopeless about climate change and the damage we are doing to our planet?  I did, but then I found a new way to look at the problem, which made the solution so obvious and so within reach. A solution that's right under our feet. Yes, the solution to climate change is right under our feet. It is the soil. Carbon can be farmed into the soil if only we start by regenerating our soil organisms to restore soil health.  Yes, Carbon farming is the solution to climate change. Come follow us let’s check it out.

Climate change is all about too much carbon in our atmosphere. Carbon is not our enemy, it's the building block of life. Everything alive is made of it. even us.  The problem and the solution are simply a matter of balance. Let's step back and look at the five pools where carbon is stored on planet Earth. Starting about 500 million years ago, when plants appeared on land, carbon began to cycle in an amazing balance. A balance that allowed for life as we know it to evolve.  Then one life form, us, figured out how to extract carbon from the fossil pool, then we burned it for energy, putting it into play and disrupting that balance. The way we manage land and do agriculture is moving even more carbon from the soil and biosphere into the atmosphere. Specifically, we've moved 880 Gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is heating up the planet and destabilizing our climate. Now the oceans have absorbed a lot of this excess carbon which is resulting in ocean acidification and accelerating a mass extinction of sea life.

How to save lives?

In order to save lives, we have to stop releasing fossil carbon into the atmosphere. Then look for ways to capture the excess carbon that is already in the atmosphere to get this cycle back into balance. You'll remember when I said that the solution to climate change is healthy soils. Plants use sunlight and water to perform photosynthesis. They pull in carbon from the air and turn it into carbohydrates sugars. Then they pump some of those sugars down through their roots to feed microorganisms who use that carbon to build soil. Bingo. Carbon can move - plants pump it in and the soil stores it. Nature's living technology is amazing. Scientists have recently discovered that applying a thin layer of compost, sets off an ongoing positive feedback loop that brings more and more carbon into the soil each year. In concert with other regenerative practices like reducing soil tillage, planting trees, cover crops and planned grazing, we can build and retain Giga-tons of soil carbon. This is carbon farming. This is regenerative agriculture and there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

More carbon in the atmosphere is bad for us, while more carbon in the ground is good for us. It makes healthy soil that is nutrient-rich full of life and holds way more water. This means more nutritious food and crops that are more resilient in the face of drought. That's good news for farmers, families, communities, nations and everyone that eats.

Remember, the way we grow our food, fiber, and fuel either puts carbon up into the atmosphere or it pulls it down into the ground. The regeneration of soil is the task of our generation. Our health, the health of our soils and the health of our planet, are one and the same

 What happens to captured carbon in the Rhizosphere?

The secret of bio-sequestration is in the Rhizosphere. The Rhizosphere is the area around the plant roots that is inhabited by micro-organisms. Plant's roots are working symbiotically with these micro-organisms. They are a very important population in the soil that makes it healthy for plants to grow such as bacterial, fungi, nematodes, protozoa amongst others.

Soil microbes in the Rhizosphere

Bacterial act like food storage banks for your plants. They are the earth’s primary decomposer of organic matter, locking up nutrients close to the plant’s roots which may otherwise be leached.  When the bacterial dies, those nutrients are released to feed the plants.

Mycorrhizae are beneficial fungi living symbiotically with the roots. The roots provide the carbon that the fungus needs to grow and the fungus transport water and nutrients to the roots. What a wonderful win-win situation.

Most of the time we see only the fungus that appears above the soil like mushrooms, but there are millions of fungi, bacterial, amoeba, etc under the soil that makes the soil fertile. Plants depend on a network of tiny fungi for water and other nutrients. Let dive below the soil to take a closer look. There is a network of living fungal threads called hyphy. Ants help to maintain soil health by aerating the earth, circulating water and nutrients. Tiny moss may dine on tiny nematodes. Nematodes consume single-cell amoebas which are very small that we can’t see. Amoeba devours thinner bacterial. Fungus and bacteria decompose death materials. In nature, nothing is wasted.

Let's enjoy the wonders of nature as we explore deeper. Nature's living technology is amazing. The hyphy spreads and keeps traveling until it reaches plants roots. The fungus wrapped around the root tip. The hyphy pushes itself into the space between the tree cells where a chemical exchange takes place. The fungi provide the plants with essential minerals while the plants supply the fungus with energy-rich sugars. Win-win nutrients - energy exchange.

It gives me hope to know that Plant, People and Planet health are interconnected. But we keep destroying our soil with external chemicals and I wonder why. The application of pesticide, insecticide and herbicide; the use of heavy machinery and the practice of leaving soil bare without cover crops have left us with little or no soil life population. The ground surrounding residential areas and commercial properties a particularly lacking in soil life.

It is the duty of this generation to get the earth back to the garden of Eden that it was, by farming carbon. Let’s bring back biodiversity to a place that was devastated. Planting a garden has the power to change the world and even you can do it. Regenerative gardening actually helps us to reverse climate change by building healthy living soil. Even a small garden has the potential to impact the global crisis of climate change. Start your regenerative climate garden now and grow organic.

• Stay away from chemicals. If you don’t want it in your body, don’t put it in your food.
• Practice minimal tillage and keep the soil covered at all times. Any plant is better than no plant. They protect and build the soil
• Encourage biodiversity for more resilience.
• Grow food. Food from your backyard means fewer food miles and food shipped all the way to your grocery store.
• Composts – make it and use it. It's a probiotic regenerative source for your soil life.

We can all participate by establishing Climate Gardens that build healthier soil and help reverse climate change. Help share the good news: Go tell it on the mountains that we can rebuild soil and regenerate the land and heal the planet. We can restore soil fertility, improve water cycles, and sequester carbon in the soil. Be the change and start planting today. Let the microbes, bacterial, fungus, amoeba do the job that nature has bestowed on them. The world needs your voice now. Mother earth needs you to take action and start growing organic food. Be that change and reverse climate change through planting trees, crops, vegetables, flowers…. Just plant something today. Any plant is better than no plant. So plant your Climate Garden and share your stories with us.

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Crop & Livestock Integrated Farming System - Manure as fertilizer

 

Crop-livestock integrated farming system - cocoa, coffee, palms, fruit trees…

Coffee and cocoa plantations are dominated by smallholder farmers who play an important role in national economy. These smallholder farmers are facing problems with low productivity, low quality of products, un-used waste and dependence on external inputs. So most farmers are increasingly using inorganic fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides to boost production and control diseases and pests in agroforestry. This has led to an increase in external input cost, health risks and ecosystem pollution. To address these issues, we shall be looking at a more eco-friendly way of increasing crop production and profit at low cost, zero waste and minimal health risks through crop-livestock integrated farming e.g rearing goats, pigs and poultry in cocoa, coffee, oil palms, rubber and fruit trees farms.

Crop-Livestock integrated farming system

This practice integrates crop and livestock systems. Livestock play an important role in global food production and in agricultural and rural economies in many developing regions. The crop-livestock integration system is a sustainable, effective, efficient and environmentally friendly system of crops and livestock that builds explicitly between biomass-producing and processing, waste management, water use, energy generation and soil nutrient conservation. It provide opportunities for maintaining and extending biodiversity, livelihood diversification, provision of alternative income streams and increase crop yield at low input cost which makes this farming system more viable and profitable.

An integrated farming system consists of a range of resource-saving practices that aim to achieve acceptable profits, high and sustained production levels, while minimizing the negative effects of intensive farming and preserving the environment. The crops produce abundant animal feed as folders and crop residues. The trimmed cocoa leaves/rind, fruit leaves, cassava/beans/maize leaves and crop residues are used as supplementary feed for animals to raise body weight gain. The animals graze under the trees/plants and provide manures which are used as a source of organic fertilizer for plant/trees. The animals are also sold to provide additional source of income to the farmers. This system lead to zero waste as plants waste are used to feed animals and animals waste are used to fertilize the soil. Crop-livestock integration can also reduce the cost of controlling weeds. Birds prefer grass and smaller weeds while goats and pigs prefer foraging on broader leaves.

The benefits of integrated livestock-crop systems

Integrated farming systems optimize resource utilization through beneficial synergies rather than maximization of individual elements in the system.

Agronomy – enhance the productive capacity of the land, enhance land utilization, increase soil fertility, control weed and pests

 Social - create jobs in rural areas, reduce poverty, reduce urbanization, improve livelihoods and enhance food security

Economical -   products diversification, increase crop yields, reduce input cost, reduce livestock costs, increase livestock productivity and provide multiple income streams

Health - reduce health risks from chemicals, halt malnutrition (Animal - protein, Cereals - carbohydrate, Fruits - vitamin/minerals)

Environmental – Strengthen crop resilience, enhance soil micro-organism and biological activity, improve soil structure, reduce erosion, increase soil organic matter and nutrient cycling, reduce ecosystem pollution from external inputs, result to zero-waste, reduce draught and restore ecosystems.

Animal manure as organic fertilizers

Manures are plant and animal wastes that are used as sources of plant nutrients. They release nutrients when they decompose. Manure is an important by-product of the mixed crop–livestock farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and a traditional source of nutrients for farm crops. It remains a low cost soil fertility investment niche which farmers should exploit. Manure is a valuable source of nutrients, organic matter and renewable energy. It contains soil nutrients and organic matter which is vital in maintaining and improving soil health and soil fertility. Hence, application of manure as a fertilizer is essential in maintaining and improving food security and livelihoods. Therefore ‘Manure is food security’. At Suzy-Farms we focus on raising goats/sheep, poultry and pigs for both meat and manure production.

Goat feces

Goat manure: Each goat can produce 0.6-2.5L of urine per day and 2.68kg of feces per day, which can be processed into organic fertilizer for the plants/trees. Each hectare can accommodate 4-10 goats to provide enough fertilizer from their feces. Goat manure contains 69.2% organic matter, 4.9% Nitrogen (N), 4.1% phosphorus (P), 1.9% Potassium (K), 1% Calcium (Ca) and 0.9% Magnesium (Mg). Goat manure has less odour than other types of manure and is much drier and easy to spread and work with. It is a good soil conditioner rich in Nitrogen. It improves soil texture which provide a good environment for roots to grow and also provide good water retention capacity. It can be collected and loosely spread on farms or composted for four months before used. Goat manure is the best animal manure for healthy soil, healthier plants and increases crop yield.

Poultry manure: The average nutrient content of poultry manure are 3.1% Nitrogen, 2.6% Phosphorus and 1.4% Potassium. It is also an important source of micronutrient such as Zinc (Zn), Cupper (Cu), Iron (Fe), and Manganese (MN). Chicken manure is rich in phosphorus and should be composted for 4-6 weeks before usage in farms to avoid leaching. About 15-30 birds will provide good manure per hectare.

Pig manure: A big boar produces about 7kg of feces and 7kg of urine per day. This contain 25% organic matter, 0.5% N and 0.4% P. Three to six pigs per hectare can provide enough fertilization without adverse effect.

Actualization at Suzy-Farms

Chickens foraging on farms

We have partition our 200ha of land into planting blocks of 6ha with roads (6m wide) around each block to ease management. Within each block we have pens for 150 chickens, 20 pigs and 50 goats. We do free-range or pasture grazing within our permaculture blocks with perennial crops like cocoa, coffee, oil palms, fruit trees and rubber. Within our vegetables and food crop blocks, the pigs and goats are confine on suspended pens to ease collection of feces and urine. These waste are composted for 4 months before usage as fertilizers on vegetable beds and crop fields. 

Advantages of organic manure

1.     It provides natural fertilizer and reduce external input cost

2.     It helps in the slow release process of the nutrients and reduces leaching

3.     It helps to reduce the alkalinity of the soil

4.     It improves soil organic matter and quality

5.     It prevents soil pollution from inorganic fertilizer

6.     It serves as a source of energy for micro-organism which are beneficial to the soil and plants

7.     It increases soil humus content which enhance the water retention capacity of the soil

Agroecology through Permaculture and agroforestry

 Permaculture - incorporating indigenous knowledge & culture into socio-ecological landscape farming systems

 Welcome to our world of multi-storey mixed integrated organic farming. Suzy-farms adopts a flourishing natural ecosystem model which includes people, animals, birds, insects, fishes, trees, crops, vegetables, fruits, nuts, tubers, medicinal herbs, land and water resources through mutually beneficial synergies – no waste and close loop systems. We incorporate social aspects; culture of the people and indigenous knowledge; to re-construct a modern multi-storey integrated mixed organic farming system as practiced in the 19th century by our ancestors. The farm is managed as an integrated whole of a mixed diversified canopies of trees and crops underneath. Here we work alongside with nature, observing and planting according to the weather conditions (two crop seasons per year) and valuing plants and animals in all their inter-related functions rather than treating any element as a single product system. We try to get a better understanding of the landscape, functions and species assemblies to enable us identify where each element should be place so they can provide maximum mutual benefit to each other and the environment. Our focus is not on an individual element, but rather the relationship among them - where the whole system becomes better than its individual elements. A sustainable system that minimizes waste, pollution, human labour, energy input and maximizes benefits through synergy.

Permaculture

Our principles

Here are some farming principles practiced by Suzy-Farms

1. ·        We do not farm on virgin forest, but rather rehabilitate degraded land by planting long standing fruit trees and crops to sequester carbon dioxide and halt further timber exploitation.
2. ·        We observe and interact with the landscape to design a solution that is suitable for the particular area.
3. ·        We self-regulate and accept feedback to re-strategies toward appropriate activities that lead to project sustainability.
4. ·        We make use of and value nature’s abundance resources thereby reducing our dependence on fertilizers, chemicals and non-renewable resources.
5. ·        We produce no waste as all resources are employed or recycle.
6. ·        We observe natural patterns and society to design our projects.
7. ·        We integrate the natural relationships between elements in our design and align them to benefit each other and enhance yield per unit area.
8. ·        We make use of best available techniques which are less costly, easier to maintain and produce more sustainable outcomes.
9. ·        We incorporate indigenous knowledge and practices.
10.        We enhance biodiversity to reduce system vulnerability to climate change threats and restore ecosystems.
11. ·        We observe the natural ecosystem closely, so we can prepare ourselves for any unpredictable challenges with a timely intervention.

Dr. Nvenakeng Suzanne at the farm, Buea- Cameroon

Multi-storey layers

In our 200ha of land, we have design a sustainable ecosystem model of eight layers with many relationships between its constituent parts – timber, fruit trees, cash crops, crops, climbers, tubers, animals and soil organisms. Diverse community of animals, birds and insects occupies different layers.

• 1.     The first canopy are large timber trees with large canopies, typically 2-3 trees per ha for wood biomass and conservation purpose.
• 2.     The second layer is occupied by large fruit trees such as mangoes, plums, avocado, casa mango, bush mango and cherry planted with a triangular spacing distance of 8m*12m. Then coconuts and palms to demarcate, section each 2ha of planting space (for better management) and provide shade on roads (8m wide) within the farm.
• 3.     The third layer consist of fruit trees like oranges, apples, kiwi, guavas - planted at 8m*9m spacing. Then plantains planted at 3m*5m triangular spacing to shade coffee and cocoa.
• 4.     We have coffee (3m*2m) and cocoa (3m*4m) as under-storey because they can flourish under canopy. Then plantains 
• 5.     Next is the shrub or herbaceous layer with plants such as hibiscus, bitter leaves, scent leaves, culinary and medicinal herbs.
• 6.     The ground cover includes plants that grow close to the ground like pineapples, agave sisalana, pepper, vegetables, egusi, melon, flowers and cover crops. They fill bare patches, help to retain soil moisture, reduce erosion and add nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
• 7.     The rhizosphere includes the soil, soil organisms, plant roots, tubers, fungi, insects, worms, etc.
• 8.     The vertical layer include vines like vanilla, black pepper, beans, passion fruits etc.

  Guild concept

We use the guild concept to carefully bring together compatible animals, insects and plants that form symbiotic relationships which results to healthier plants, ecosystems and resources for humans. Some plants are grown to produce food, fertilize the soil (legumes), attract beneficial insects (flowers for bees to aids pollination) or repel undesirable pest (Red acalypha, marigold and Tithonia plants).

Our mutual support guild group include sister or companion crops that complement, support and provide mutual benefits to each other. Examples include planting maize and beans together, where the root nodes of the beans fix nitrogen for the maize plant and the maize support the vines of the bean. Lady beetles are introduce as predators for aphids, mites, caterpillars, and scale insect. Wasps are introduce to control aphids, worms, caterpillars, borers, bugs, weevils and flies. Other predators that are commonly used to control pest are dragon flies and praying mantids. Flowers are planted to attract insects that act as pollinators. Coconuts and cocoa are good examples of resource partitioning guild group because coconuts has a shallow root system while cocoa is a tap-rooted plant, so they can draw nutrient from different levels.

People and culture

Indigenous people are very much bonded to their soil and landscape, so much that their health and mental wellbeing depend on maintaining these ties with their local home site. Preserving indigenous knowledge and plant species may create an environment for enhancing community welfare and inclusiveness – the Ubuntu mindset.

We are using a holistic approach to life and work to create a land management approach; that depends on cultural values, local knowledge and indigenous species; which enhances the socio-economic and environmental aspects of the landscape - people, planet and profit. A blend of modern and indigenous knowledge can make people and local communities to be self-reliant and resilient to threats. We are taking local actions in solving global issues like climate change, food security, employment, poverty alleviation, hunger, pollution, biodiversity and species preservation amongst others.

Practices

Earth worms

 We are relying on the benefits from combining timber, fruit trees, shrubs, crops, livestock and fishes through agroforestry and permaculture to create a more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable ecosystem. We incorporate indigenous knowledge, processes and relationships that are valuable in landscape ecosystems. Our multi-storey model helps to maximize space for food production and effective use of resources like sunlight and nutrients. Dead leaves, shrubs and woods are buried to increase soil water retention. This local technique enable us to practice only rain feed farming as the shrubs and woods absorbs water to sustain crops during the dry season. Thus nutrient are naturally being recycle in wood, leaves and shrubs as they decompose. This leads to high water holding capacity of organic matter which enhance the soil structure and drainage systems. Our zero burning practice preserves soil organism and earthworms - which break up green and dead leaves to produce nutrients and worm castings respectively. These castings fertilize the soil, increase plant growth, decrease heavy metals, aerate the soil and improve water retention.

Our houses are built from locally available natural materials (lime mortared stem walls, thatch, wood, sticks etc.) that produce healthy living environment and better air qualities without jeopardizing human comfort, health and wellbeing.  Rain water is harvested and use for livestock, fish farming, drinking and irrigation of vegetables.

Animal husbandry

Animals are a critical component of Suzy-Farms. We rear goats, sheep, chicken, ducks, rabbits, geese, pigs, snails and fishes. They forage to recycle nutrient, eat fallen fruits and left-over crops and in return produce waste that are used as manure to fertilize the farm. Animal waste can also be used for biogas production. Water from our fish ponds are used to irrigate and fertilize vegetables. We use dry grass and leaves to mulch. Mulching absorbs rainfall, reduces evaporation, provides nutrient, increases soil organic matter, creates favorable habitat for soil organism, suppresses weed growth and reduces erosion. Thereby generating a more low maintenance, healthy, efficient and productive ecosystems. Let’s all cooperate with nature to care for the earth and its people.

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About Suzy-Farms Corp

History of Suzy-Farms Corp

Field Survey Oct. 2013 (Dr. Nvenakeng Suzanne Awung)

We are grateful for the opportunity to have met and worked with 41 local communities around Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP) during our research field survey from October to December 2013. Our project was focus on assessing the level of community involvement in the MCNP REDD+ conservation projects. Results showed that food insecurity, malnutrition, land grabbing and poverty were some of the factors preventing full community engagement in MCNP interventions. Providing alternative livelihoods to generate new income streams (animal husbandry and aquaculture) and inter-spacing fruit trees in crop farms were highly recommended to enhance food security and local adaptive capacity to climate change threats. Our research will be useless if we cannot lead the changes recommended in our own publications. Suzy-Farms agri-aqua inclusive business is aim at addressing these issues of food insecurity, poverty, malnutrition, well-being, employment and provision of alternative livelihoods to enhance local adaptive capacity to climate change threats and engagement in conservation initiatives.

Executive summary

Suzy-Farms LTD is an inclusive agri-aqua corporation situated in Bonduma, Buea, Cameroon. It is involved in the primary, secondary and tertiary production and transformation of agri-aqua products or various types, investment and development or farming and breeding techniques to encourage agri-business. This is aimed at improving community resilience to food insecurity, poverty and climate change threats. We nurse and grow crops and fruit trees like mangoes, paw-paw, oranges, avocadoes, quavers and plums to enhance nutrition. We also breed and rear fishes, birds and animals such as broilers, layers, catfish, tilapia, pigs, goats and rabbits; and supply the market at a competitive price and make profit. We also produce animal feed and add more value to our products by processing them to meet our customer’s desire. Local farmers are train in animal husbandry and aqua-culture to provide alternative livelihood, generate income, eradicate poverty and improve their well-being. Our business plan is executed by our skilled management team of less than 50 workers.

Problem statement

Climate change, population growth and land grabbing for large scale projects have increased the level of food insecurity in Cameroon. The government also banned the importation of chicken in 2005 and this led to further shortages of animal protein. The mostly cereal-based diet is also deficient in proteins and often leads to malnutrition. To address these issues, Suzy-Farms engages in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery.

Mission

Suzy-Farms seeks to become an inclusive leading provider of food in Cameroon and most especially in the South West Region. This will be accomplished by selling our products (meat, fish, eggs and fruits) at a competitive price while exceeding customer’s satisfaction. We aim at addressing socio-economic and environmental challenges within our communities.

Objectives

Our objectives are to;
·    Enhance food security as leading provider of fruits, vegetables, food crops, chicks, fingerlings, catfishes, tilapias, chicken, eggs, pigs, goats and rabbits in Cameroon.
·   Include low income groups along our value chain by integrating local farmers as producers, consumers, distributors and employees in our venture.
·    Alleviate poverty by generating profit for multiple stakeholders along our value chain through the provision of new income streams for local farmers.
·   Create an enabling ecosystems around our business to ensure economic viability and sustainability of our venture by sharing knowledge and technology with local farmers.
·  Enhance community’s adaptive capacity to climate change through the provision of alternative livelihoods for local farmers.
·     Deliver an innovative and effective end-to-end business model to alleviate poverty and enhance viability, social impact and scale potential of our venture.

Keys to success

Suzy-Farms adheres to four instrumental keys to success

• Strict financial control to maximize our production efficiency.
• Putting the need of our customers at the core of our value proposition. Our low production cost is easy to adapt and has a higher impact on the low-income group.
• Optimum health of our animals and birds (vaccines, medication, feed quality, aerated housing) to ensure a low mortality rate.
• Our 100% customer satisfaction philosophy ensures that our customers’ needs are met on time at their satisfaction to enhance our business profitability.

Business model

Bomana community participants

Our business model is design to create, deliver and capture values for our customers. Our proximity design enables us to work directly with our customers, listen to their challenges and develop our products and services from their perspectives. This will generate a mutual and trustworthy relationship. We seek to understand the challenges of our customers (end-user insight) and provide services that allow local farmers to pool their resources together, learn from experts, exchange best practices and effectively market their product (functional benefit). Local farmers are included in the value chain and their capacity are continuously enhanced to enable them grow as entrepreneurs (emotional benefit). We provide a win-win situation by empowering local farmers to become more entrepreneurial and continue expanding their business while using our services and products (reason to believe).  Thereby, enabling our entrepreneurship more desirable, profitable, impactful and more viable than traditional employment (key payoff/tagline). Low-income groups are often the most costly customers to serve because they often live in remote areas with irregular cash flows. Our innovative business model generates new income streams for them and deliver high quality product to low-income consumers through barter trade system. 

Our Products and Services

We breed/rear layer hens, broilers, local fowls and ducks in deep litter system, battery cages and free range; breed and rear pigs, goats, rabbits, snails, tilapias and catfishes; nurse and grow fruits, vegetables and food crops and also train local farmers. “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” Local farmers work in our farms during their six weeks training period without payment, thereby ‘learning by doing’. This is a win-win approach for both the business and the farmers. Some will be retained as employees and others will become local entrepreneur in their communities.

Revenue streams

Suzy-Farms has twelve main revenue streams (chicks, fingerlings, meat, fish, eggs, animal feed, farm equipment, fruits, vegetables, food crops, processed and cooked food.) and four main customers groups to whom we sell our products. Local entrepreneurs, retailers/supermarkets, hotels/restaurant and the general public are attractive customers due to their consistent demand in these products.

•    Local entrepreneur – We supply them with chicks, fingerlings, animal feed and farm equipment. They also buy our meat, fish and eggs for consumption and/or sell to the end consumer and make extra profit for themselves.
• · Retailers – these are mostly supermarkets and small shops owner who purchase our products for retail. They are the main distributors for our products.
• ·  Hotels and restaurants – They buy our products, cooked them and sell to end consumers.
• ·  The general public – Our customers buy directly at farm gate, shops and open markets.

Target population

•  We target to include the rural population in Cameroon as producer, consumers, distributors and employees. 
•  Supply our customers with products at a competitive price.
•  Train about 25 local farmers in animal husbandry and/or aqua-culture each year.

Competitive edge

Our venture has local competitors and external competitors practicing backyard poultry, piggery, goats rearing and feed production. There is no local competitor in aquaculture in Buea. About 20% of these competitors have good technical skills in farm management. More than 80% of them self-managed their farms and about 40% prefer administering vaccination themselves. Most poultry farms rear between 50 - 500 birds and sell at the local markets. The buying patterns of different customers are often based on the price, availability, consistent delivery and health of the animals/fish. Our competitive edge is our ability to consistently produce healthy products at a competitive price. Our competitive advantages are the high level of technical skills, large scale production, low mortality rate and new market accessibility. Our employees are made up of specialists in animal-husbandry/fishery, financial manager, sales agents, and trained employees to ensure effective and efficient management of our farms. Our sale strategy seeks to become a stable supplier to customers that need a steady supply streams.
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Environmental and social-economic impacts

Our venture involves low-income groups (local farmers) as consumers, producers, distributors and employees. We target local communities and focus on enhancing local livelihoods, well-being, food security, poverty alleviation and climate change adaptability. We train local farmers on animal-husbandry and aquaculture, and encourage them to plant fruit trees in their crop farms to enhance biodiversity and increase food yield per unit area of land.

This inclusive agri-aqua business venture provides socio-economic benefits to communities by providing local employment, food security, alternative livelihoods, better nutrition, well-being and health. Local entrepreneurs will generate new income streams to alleviate poverty. Education will be enhanced as parents are able to make money and pay for school fees and healthcare of their family.  The emergence of alternative livelihood will enhance farmers’ adaptive capacity to climate change threats, reduce vulnerability, restores ecosystems and biodiversity as their dependence on the forest will keep reducing gradually, and provide commercial returns. All these are geared towards meeting up with the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the National Adaptation Plan. 

Our Management Team

Conclusion

Poultry meat, eggs, fish and small animals are the most consumed animal protein in Cameroon. Animal husbandry and aquaculture are also very lucrative because of the favourable climate, good temperature (24°C – 30°C), low cost of heating, water availability, high demand and cultural acceptability. By selling our products and sharing our knowledge on climate-change resilient agriculture, we join local farmers to enhance food supply, improve their livelihoods, generate income and eradicate poverty. A combination of local and modern agro-techniques, and livestock rearing have the potential to substantially increase food productivity and feed the growing population. We can use our passion and enthusiasm to lift others on our way up and ensure food for all by 2030.