Manure Auger Increases Consistency

Our team is using a new tool this season to spread chicken manure more consistently across the fields.  Increased volumetric consistency along the lines reduces root burn and offers more regular amounts of nutrition and organic matter for each of the plants.  

A small front end loader scoops a couple hundred kilos of chicken manure and an auger bored into the scoop evenly disperses the manure in a line as the vehicle drives.  Piece of cake.

This is the first one of these machines to be used in the Jordan Valley and early adoption is exactly what we are about!  

Nutrient Tracking Map

Above is an image of the real time nutrient tracking system developed for AC4D farm open field crops.  Each valve, 1000m2, is watered and fertilized independently so that nutrients can be compared with crop requirements given the plant stage.

Hydroponic Improvements & Nutrient Management System

Stabilizing pH, maintaining nutrient level, and balancing N-P-K ratios in a reliable and cost effective way is one of the major hurdles to implementing hydroponics as a water saving technique into Jordanian Agriculture. 

To that end our team is working with a number of global partners to standardize and professionally produce the home grown, low cost (roughly 1/10th of commercially available systems), pH and nutrient management system that we have perfected over the last 3 years in the Jordan Valley.   

We expect to take delivery of 10 of these machines in January and immediately deploy them across hydroponic early adopting farms in Karama, South Shuna, Madaba, Jawfa and Dohuk, Iraq.

An Arduino, the $30 brain of our hydroponic control system

Tanner, our highly skilled intern, has developed a spreadsheet that allows us to project nutrient requirements and applied nutrients onto a digital map of the farm displayed on a TV screen. 

This map graphically displays where nutrients are needed before we see negative effects on the plants.  Intuitive, preemptive nutrient management allows us to significantly reduce pest infestations, crop loss, and chemical treatment at NO ADDITIONAL COST to the farm.   

Transitioning from anecdotal decision making to numerically based, analytical, decision making is one of the greatest needs in global agriculture.  A little know how on readily available software (Google Sheets) allows our team to collaborate and share what has been done and needs to be done in real time. 

A map of the JV farm with the first layer of data superimposed, valve placement.  Crop requirement and applied nutrient data to be superimposed this week.

2017/18 Season Totals

A few statistics for thought:

Hydroponic Tomatoes Produced:  12.5 Metric Tons
Hydroponic Peppers Produced:  6.3 Metric Tons

Tomato Yield per m2:  15 Kg
Pepper Yield per m2: 5 Kg

Total food produced and delivered to refugees:  150 Metric Tons
Total cost to run farm:  $49,330

Boxes Produced:  15,132

People fed:  75,660

Cost per Kilo:  33 cents (inclusive of distribution, delivery, and all administration costs)

While overall cost per kilo of produce continues to drop, yields from the hydroponic systems remain far below what I want from them.  They have improved about 30% from last season due largely to more consistent and precise regulation of fertigation solution, both pH and nutrient load. Trimming and pest control remain major barriers to improved production due to a lack of skilled labor in the area.

In the coming season we will be using refractometers to evaluate the baseline sugar levels in the leaves before transpiration increases during the warm hours of the day.  This will give our team a stronger feel for how much nutrient is being absorbed by the plant.  That information will better inform our irrigation scheduling, our nutrient load, and our hydroponic systems flushing schedule.  

Short Term Loss? Long Term Gain!

Bioremediation is the oldest, most cost effective, and most natural strategy for improving soil health.  When local farmers refer to "resting" a piece of soil they are often mislead in their understanding of the processes that are at work when a piece of ground is taken out of production and can therefore fail to make the best use of time spent out of production.   

The Problem:
Salt cations accumulate in soil creating an environment where very high pH and very high sodium levels hamper plants ability to absorb needed nutrients.  In addition, the loss of soil structure and organic matter breakdown creates a root environment in which reduced oxygen and low carbon content also reduce plant productivity.

The Process: 
By deep plowing (turning over) "tired" sodium affected soils; oxygen levels are improved, UV light kills soil borne pathogens, and the hard pan (densely packed soil crust) is broken allowing for the quick infiltration of rain and irrigation water to flush the root zone of sodium.  Following that plowing with seeding of barley or wheat stabilizes soil, rebuilds structure, and incorporates sodium into the stem and head of the cover crop.  Cover cropping with clover can also fix a small amount of nitrogen into the soil, the limiting reagent in plant growth early next season.

The Solution:
Well structured, well flushed soils which have had carbon incorporated into them are much more productive the next time they are used.  In this way land that would normally need multiple years of "rest" are rejuvenated in a single wet season and available for use with much greater consistency.  This improves inter annual yield.

A rotation of wheat is planted on a small percentage of AC4Ds trial farm every winter in order to rejuvenate the land

Seasonal Totals and a Block Party

The last two months at the Jordan Valley farm have been the most productive in our four years.  In the first two months of the seven month season our team has delivered over 54,000kg (119,000lbs) of fresh produce to Iraqi, Syrian, and Palestinian refugees at four different locations across Northern Jordan.  One of the most significant pieces of encouragement for the AC4D team has come as the result of a medical day sponsored by Operation Mercy in the Azraq region this week.  The medical team coordinator relayed to us that they overall health of the 100 children at the school that we have been serving for the last year and a half has improved dramatically.  His statement was, "I don't know where all the nutrition came from.  The last time that we did medical checks on the kids we were seeing serious signs of malnutrition; lots of infections, lots of skin problems, even some kidney failure.  Now they look great!  Full of energy."  Then it dawned on him where all the nutrition came from.  We have been donating two metric tons of fresh produce to those families every week for almost the entire interim between his health checks.  Turns out huge amounts of fresh food delivered to their homes will make kids healthier.

This week I took my oldest son to distribute food to several families in the area to give him a sense of the conditions that people are living in.  It was difficult to see but a great pleasure to engage with knowing that we can make a difference in this small area with these few hundred people. 

 

Delivering food to families in the Azraq Region of Jordan

Block Party

We also hosted a meal for the farmers in our area yesterday to break in the new Zarb pit.  Zarb is a traditional Jordanian dish of chicken or meat cooked in an earthen oven. Its a big draw.  Equivalent to cooking a half beef in the front yard of your house in Texas.  Everybody in the neighborhood shows up.  We had a great time and it was a good opportunity to take the pulse of what is happening on the farms around us.  

    

 

This stand goes in the Zarb Pit and cooks for several hours

New Media for Hydroponic Tomatoes

Hydroponic Tomatoes a few days after planting in CoCoPeat

DIY Automatic Fertigation Unit

1500 m2 of Hydroponic Sweet Peppers

2016/17 This Season By the Numbers and Our Plan Moving Forward

This season, August 2016 to May 2017, AC4Ds Jordan Valley farm produced:

15,561 Boxes of Produce

Those boxes contained 157,944 Kilograms of Mixed Produce

Over 90% were distributed to Syrian and Iraqi refugees, mostly through 6 local partners

77,805 people ate fresh produce for a week 

50 local farmers participated in extension and training events (with many more visiting the farm between trainings)

Over 15,000kg of tomatoes were produced hydroponically, a major step toward providing local farmers with a sustainable, and cost effective, step forward in the quality and quantity of their production.

Hydroponic Tomatoes 2 Weeks after Planting

One major challenge that has finally overtaken Jordan Agriculture is its over-reliance on chemical pest control and fungicide.  

As of just May 17th the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) have banned the importing of Jordanian produce due to high levels of pesticide and other chemicals.  The requirement is now that all produce meets Euregap standards and Jordanian smallholder farmers are unequipped to understand and implement those standards.  This is a major opportunity for AC4D to continue to add value to the agricultural community but implementing what we have learned to link smallholder farmers with information and training in meeting new standards. 

Hydroponics is an excellent solution for meeting those criteria because it allows plants to be grown year after year in a media unaffected by salinity from poor water quality.  Low salinity means healthy plants which are more resistant to pests, viruses, and fungus therefore requiring LESS CHEMICAL INTERVENTION. 

Farmer Capacity Building

AC4D has spent a great deal of time and energy developing and improving upon a simple hydroponic production system that will allow small farmers to get out of the soil and better control the effects of salinity and pests and pathogens.  I am pleased to say that our trial has yielded over 15000 kilos of very high quality Deafness tomatoes despite the management and technical errors that come with the first year of any management system.   We expect significantly better yields next year as system management improves with a higher degree of automation, more stable and consistent nutrient and pH levels and better tools for draining the rows of excess irrigation water.  We are encouraged by the trials this year and recently had the opportunity to host 30+ local farmers, ag. extension specialists and vendors in cooperation with our partners at EcoConsult.

 

 

 

 

 

Ag. Projects Manager describing drainage system to a sub-group during the farmer field day

Sinjari Communities in Northern Iraq

AC4D was privileged to move forward with our plans to serve displaced farmers from the Sinjar area in Northern Iraq.  This last week we chose five sites from which to center agricultural production and training centers near the towns of Dohuk and Sinuni.  All of the sites will serve to produce fresh produce for displaced people both inside and outside of IDP camps.  They will also employ IDPs and provide valuable skills training in high value vegetable production.  Moving forward AC4D will continue to provide technical backstopping and farm reconstitution packages to Sinjaris who are returning home after being forced out by a year of IS occupation.  Farm reconstitution packages will include greenhouses and drip irrigation systems needed for farmers to compete against cheap imports from Turkey and Iran.

AC4D team evaluating IDP camps for suitability

Sardashte camp on Sinjar Mountain

Regional map of Sinjar Mountain

 

Seasonal Goals & Hydroponics Update

AC4D delivered its 20,000th box of mixed vegetables this month which translates to over 100,000 refugees fed for a week over the course of the project.  Our projected productivity for this season alone is to provide food for over 15,000 families (same number of boxes delivered) translating to 75,000 refugees during the 2016/17 season. 

Moving forward we are working in partnership with Operation Mercy's Refugee Relief team to explore areas in Jordan where larger refugee care providers like the UN are unable to provide services. 

Hydroponics trials are going very well.  The entire team has been very impressed by the speed and quality of the growth, the uniformity of the plants, the quality of the first 3 fruitsets, and the lack of any kind of loss due to viruses, fusarium wilt, or nematode infestation.  A few of our non-resistant varieties have suffered losses due to white fly borne virus but I have not seen a single loss in either of our resistant varieties (Master and Deafness) which constitute over 90% of the trial. 

Hydroponic Tomatoes

Jordan Valley Farm Staff Meeting

Developing a Sensor System to Inform Automation of Greenhouses

Darren Allison of Millennium Relief and Development Services has recently been engaged by the AC4D team to develop a sensor system for our greenhouses that can track air temp, humidity, and soil moisture.  The system will inform the hardware that he is developing to ventilate, water and fertigate our protected trials. 

Currently information is being generated by a series of sensors that connects wirelessly with a base station which makes the data gathered accessible for use in decision making.  It is no stretch to envision a few months from now allowing our automated hardware and algorithm to water greenhouses according to real time soil and air moisture data in order to minimize plant stress from over or under watering and excessive greenhouse temps.  Overwatering is a common cause for root rot, cold season mold infestation, and oxygen deficiency in the root zone.  Underwatering causes plant stress and severely curbs fruit production.  Finding the right balance is the key to strong harvests and low levels of crop disease.

Darren wiring up the base station for our data acquisition system

The hardware implemented thus far has cost only $226 USD making it easily accessible to local smallholder farmers. 
    

2016/17 Season Update

This season we are able to receive much lower salinity (higher pH) irrigation water which has significantly improved our early season growth.  I would also expect it to boost yields pretty significantly.  Roughly 30% of the farm is in eggplant this year which is showing excellent early season growth.  Corn is responding well and zuchinni will round out our fall offering.

Month old eggplant starting to bear fruit

X3R & Intruder not yet forked

We are trialing a new quick maturing pepper variety called "Ace" against Monsantos X3R and Intruder varieties.  Ace is much less expensive and is already flowering while the X3R and Intruders are developing stem and leaf matter much more quickly.  Only time will tell which strategy will yield better under our conditions.


 The hydroponic system is now planted.  The vast majority, 14 of 15 rows across 3 hoop houses, are planted in Deafness tomatoes.  This week representatives from EcoConsult are coming to the farm to help us troubleshoot fertilizer dosing.  The trial that was originally conceived as a cucumber/tomato system contrasting both fresh and brackish water yield has been simplified to a single (more salt tolerant) crop, tomato.  The 2 independent pumping systems have been simplified into a single fertigation system due to early stage technical difficulty.  The whole trial will now be brackish water because we are unable to obtain the quantity of fresh water needed to run all 3 houses.  No matter how well laid the plans are, the Jordan Valley will throw you a curve ball. Over 3400 Deafness tomato plants are now taking root in their perlite containers. 

  

3 of 9 storage tanks for hydroponic system - 1m3 each

Storage tanks covered to avoid algae growth - Note the two return valves to stir fertilizers in holding tanks

Lined canals allow drainage water from perlite bags to be recaptured in a closed system. 

Simple, Doable, Cheap Stuff that Farmers Can Benefit From

We have recently been focusing on building a hydroponics trial whose watering is automated.  A timer controls when water is turned on and off in each greenhouse.  Automation of the watering system is one of the necessary components of a "large" scale hydroponic system and it is probably the most daunting aspect of utilizing the technology for Jordan Valley farmers.  Pictured below is our automation system.  It cost us $110.  A rainbird timer, three electrical plugs for clean connections, and two relays to start and stop 2 independent pumps which water 3, 250m2,  greenhouses.  This is no great feat of engineering but going through the process of putting it together (thank you Darren) showed our team that even "simple" interventions need clear instructions if they are really going to be adoptable.

A Rainbird timer and two relays, one for independent control of each watering system

Simple / Doable / Inexpensive / Reproducible / Locally Sourced / Effective / Proven

These words are the hallmarks of our smallholder farmer engagement program.  Hydroponics is shown the world over to reduce the need for chemical treatment of crops, to enhance production volume and produce uniformity, to reduce labor costs, to end the need for physical and chemical soil preparation, to REDUCE the quantity of synthetic fertilizer required, and to save a very significant amount of water.  We believe that with simplification and clear communication hydroponics can be a profitable and environmentally positive intervention even in a developing world market.  We believe that it can be a feasible tool for smallholders to reduce costs, enhance productivity, and increase crop quality to command higher market prices.  

We will keep readers up to date with specific production numbers and costs as the season progresses.        

Genetically Modified Crops

Have a look at this very well done report from Bangladesh by Al Jazeera to understand the AC4D teams position on the use of GMO varieties.

http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/gmo-eggplants-aubergines-bangladesh/index.html#2220


GMOs are a tool that can be used to fight pests, salinity, poor soil quality, extreme temps, and a lack of water.  They make marginal land more productive, one of the main barriers to production in the developing world.  It is myopic for activists in the US and Europe to attempt to deny smallholders valuable tools for food production.    

Looking Back & Looking Forward

Looking back at last season AC4D produced over 125 metric tons of vegetables, all of which went to feed Syrian refugees, Iraqi refugees, and impoverished Jordanians.  We held farmer field days to build community in our region.  We learned a great deal about on-farm water and salinity management and we worked to share that knowledge with other farmers in our area.

Looking forward to this season we are:

• delivering 140 tons of high quality produce to feed over 70,000 people from 3 to 4 different distribution points across northern Jordan 
• building a new farm in the Karak Region to facilitate year round food production for our refugee feeding program
• pioneering the use of hydroponics in our area to increase crop volume, quality, and revenue per drop of water utilized
• spreading a wheat production process that will enhance staple crop yields in Jordan, Iraq, and Syria
• partnering with others to develop a network of ag. extension and production centers across Northern Iraq 
• planning to integrate a small ruminant production / grazing management component to our Jordan activities

  

Hydroponics

Over the last few years a lot has been said about the potential of hydroponic and aquaponic production systems.  In my own view, to this point, they have not shown themselves to be price competitive when compared with other, simpler, production systems for the developing world. 

However, there is a tipping point when new techniques and technologies become well established enough to move beyond proof of concept and begin to compete on a crop-per-dollar level.  I believe that we may have reached that point with hydroponic production in Jordan.  This is primarily because local system designs have begun to take advantage of local materials and expertise bringing down the cost of conversion to those systems very significantly.  As a result the AC4D farm will begin work on converting two of our existing traditional greenhouses into hydroponic greenhouses to be planted this September with the rest of the crops.  These houses will provide roughly 1000 square meters of test beds for soil less production. 

Calculated risk on behalf of smallholders who must mitigate their own risk is right.  This concept is at the core of all of our trials.  I will be highlighting and reflecting upon the steps in our conversion process this summer in order to facilitate local adoption.  A consultant engineer working under contract with USAID will be our technical advisor as we plan and implement the project in the next few months.


Why use a technology that facilitates the use of far less water when saving water is not the ultimate goal of smallholder farmers?    

Aquaponics allows us to farm the same "ground" year after year without increasing soil salinity to the point where cultivation is not profitable. 

In open field systems "active deferment" measures like plowing before the rainy season to leach salt from fields and the use of barley to pull salt up into a plant that can be carried off property are effective means of lowering salinity and increasing soil health.  With greenhouse production deferment is not a good option as too much is invested in the greenhouses to defer their use.  Something has to be done to solve this issue.  Hydroponics delivers a long term solution without having to move greenhouses every few years.

Our trial will show us, and local farmers, whether the additional quality and quantity of produce supplied by a hydroponic system substantiates its additional startup and operational costs.   

5 rows per 9 meter wide greenhouse

Drain water collection and fresh water mixing tanks set in ground to facilitate gravity drainage

Tuff is used for rooting material and locally made drip line and grow bags bring down costs significantly

Simple materials and designs for drainage and waste water recovery

    

Sow Food Security, Harvest Peace

A future farmer from Ghouta, Syria.  His family is one of the thousands of recipients of AC4Ds refugee feeding program.  As goes his ability to return to his family's farm in Ghouta and rebuild a life, so goes Syria's hope for rebuilding a future. 

The following statements are taken from a website called, "The Hill" in an article by Jose Graziano da Silva, the director of the Food and Agriculture Organization.   

Consider Syria. More than two-thirds of the population now require humanitarian assistance, including 8.7 million people who do not have enough food. About 4.8 million Syrians are refugees, and even more are internally displaced. Most have been uprooted because their livelihoods have been destroyed – sometimes by unaffordable food rather than direct violence.
 
We have found that US $200 in support enables a Syrian farmer to produce two tonnes of wheat, enough to feed a family of six for a year and provide seeds for future planting. That is a fraction of the economic cost of food aid, not to mention the dramatic human costs.

Interventions to ensure food security and protect and rehabilitate the agricultural sector have a large and often unnoticed contribution to make, as beyond their obvious role in addressing hunger, they can also help mitigate and even prevent conflicts. Peace and food security are often mutually reinforcing.

Farming is the primary activity of the world’s rural poor, who are also the most vulnerable to the consequences of civil strife, which nowadays is the most common form of armed conflict. Fostering broad-based agricultural prosperity can enhance social cohesion, reduce tensions over rival claims to natural resources and, by creating rural jobs, undercut the recruiting base of violent extremism around the world.

Increasing evidence shows that timely and robust food security interventions can enable individuals and communities to build resilience to conflict and hasten their recovery from it.


As important as direct food aid is during a time of conflict, it is the rebuilding and steady development of the agricultural sector that will create the food prices and rural incomes necessary for sustained peace.
 

Take Away Genetic Modification and the Poorest People Will Suffer the Most

I have to re-post the Ag. section of this Forbes article by Dr. Robert Fraley because it is too important a concept not to echo.

"The Real Cost of Eliminating GMOs"

"Consider the economic consequences if the critics of genetic modification were to have their way and eliminate this technology, in spite of the overwhelming scientific consensus in its favor. PG Economics, a British agricultural economics consulting firm, calculated that in 2013 farmers worldwide realized a net economic benefit of 20.5 billion from planting GMO crops.  Farmers in the developing world, many of them poor and working small plots, actually get a higher return on each dollar invested in GMO seeds than their counterparts in the developed world, PG found. 

Meanwhile, in 2014 researchers at the University of California Berkley published a study examining the impact of genetic modification on food prices.  They calculated that in 2010, the adoption of genetic modification lowered corn prices by 13 percent and cotton prices by 18 percent.  One of the researhces, David Zilberman, professor of agriculture and resource economics, estimated that without bioengineered crops, the price of food would be 5 to 10% higher than it is now - especially for meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and processed food.  Also important is the impact that GMO crops can have on the amount of time small holder farmers and their families spend controlling insects and hand weeding their fields.  In many African countries, as much as 90% of the farm work is done by women and children.  In these societies, therefore GMOs offer kids a chance to go to school instead - and thereby escape generational poverty traps.  Take away genetic modification, Zilberman noted, and "The poorest people will suffer the most." 

Supporting Research:
Technology's Role in the 21st Century

The Economics of Sustainable Development

Water Cocktail and a Delivery Truck

Thanks to the creativity of our farm foreman and an abundance of canal water from early season rains our trial and demo farm is able to reduce by half or more the amount of salt that we are putting on crops via irrigation water.  This demo is crucial for our, and local farmers, success in both reducing the amount of salt put on fields over the course of the season and in our ability to flush soils toward the end of the rainy season by applying extra water to rows.  Reducing salt loads strengthens plant health, reduces disease, immediately improves productivity, and allows plants to reach their full size potential.   

Brainstorming with the Oregon farmers has also led us to the conclusion that we should slit old irrigation pipes and apply a great deal of low salinity water to greenhouses after spring production is finished.  In doing so, fresh water will dissolve salt locked in the root zone and carry it down out of the area where plants can take it up. 

Early cold weather this season has slowed down production dramatically, we have produced roughly half the number of food packages that we had produced at this point last year.  We are expanding our planted area during January by an additional 3000 square meters in a bid to get late winter and spring production up. December yielded only 850 8-10kg food parcels.  Much lower than expected. 

In better news we have received a donation for a much needed delivery truck.  This generous and far sighted donation by Cattle for Christ International will allow us to deliver up to 350 food parcels at a time - several days per week.  This much needed expansion in our ability to deliver will make a huge difference starting in February when production picks up due to warmer weather and better plant maturity.  We cannot thank our partners with Cattle for Christ enough.