Agriculture in AEBV

Within a year an in potential economically viable business has been set up, in chicken and in pig rearing, suitable for giving practical training to 8-10 young people each.

For the set-up of the businesses, investments are made in a construction for keeping the animals, in livestock and all needed equipment.

ARM has already started some pig raising in local structures. Gaining experience is very important for the success of the project. It proves to be not easy, but many things are worked out already. This information has also helped a lot to compose the business plans. In these plans the economic situation and business development is extensively described.

The pig rearing business will have a size of 22 sows, and maximum 220 fattening places. About two groups of fatteners can be raised every year. For the pig raising business about 10 sows are already available and the expansion to 22 sows will be by self-breeding. The project invests in a good boar , some good gilts and a small first production round of 50 fattening piglets. A smaller size at the start is easier to manage and gives rest and time to optimise the production process.

Bethany Villages’ farm manager has already gained some experience with chicken on the project location. Another organisation helped ARM to build two chicken units and first (small) flocks of chicken are kept there at the moment. The AEBV project plans to build more units of the same type, every unit has space for 350 laying hens.

The farming system will be simple and can be relatively labour-intensive; there are many hands to do the work. The farm manager is responsible for the main decisions and all tasks in the businesses. He or she has a supervising role in the activities of the students on the farm.

Although educating children is the purpose of the farm, it is important to develop it into a viable business. This is to ensure the sustainability of the project and to fulfil the role of an example for the students.
The running costs of the agricultural activities should be paid from the revenues of the businesses and the profit partly goes to the educational activities of the project. The rest will be given in kind to the orphans of Bethany Village as extra protein to complete their diet.

During the project attention will be given to the follow-up for the students. If financial results are well enough, the possibility of giving the children animals as a starting capital is considered.