Productive first week of field work

We had a very productive and successful first week of field work. We were able to visit 50 different farms to collect soil samples and complete surveys. My work this summer is focused on determining which crops farmers decide to plant, and how they make those decisions. I am also focusing in on maize because it has been pushed as a cash crop in this area and it can be particularly detrimental to soil fertility. I have been asking the farmers, mostly women, how much maize they plant each season, what they intercrop with maize, how much profit do they make from the sale of maize and how dependent their household is on the sale of maize. I'm also very interested in determining the fate of crop residues and the extent burning is used to prepare fields or dispose of crop residues. These kind of data in conjunction with soil analyses will help us better understand rates of soil fertility loss under a wide range of land use strategies as it seems that every household has a different plan for cropping and a different view of soil fertility. I have been asking the farmers what they think is the best way to increase their crop yields and have received almost as many answers as there have been respondents.

Working out on the farms this past week I was again struck by the exceptional kindness and generosity of the Ugandan people. We didn't have one household that turned us away when we asked for almost an hour of time to complete the survey. I can only imagine the slammed doors and unkind words we would have been greeted with if asking the same thing in the U.S. Even though these people have so little, we were the recipients of many gifts this week, including baskets, avocados, corn, jackfruit, sugar cane and coffee beans. I also acquired a young fan club in Mokobya.

     These kids were fascinated by the mzungu in their midst and they followed me all afternoon, just watching me sample soils and make GPS tracks of the sampled fields. The boy in the black t-shirt (no pants) was particularly exuberant and quite a character. I wish I understood the language because he never stopped talking even though I didn't have a clue what he was saying to me.

I feel very fortunate to be here and to be working with such great people. I only hope I can live up to their expectations and provide them with information that will help make their fields more productive.