Project Proposal Document
For
Pig Rearing and Gardening Project for Play Soccer Cameroon
Prepared by
Samuel acha
For
Funding
Date
11/17/17
Project Title: Pig Rearing & Gardening project
Project Focus Area: Enhancing sustainability of Play Soccer Cameroon programs and while improving upon the nutritional quality of the communities involved.
Name of Applying Organization:
· Play Soccer Cameroon (PSC)
Address of Applying Organization:
· Play Soccer Cameroon, P.O Box 789, NWP, Bamenda, Cameroon.
· Telephone: (859)475-3853/(609) 651-0854/ 011237677927703.
· Email: , achasamuel @yahoo.com
· Website: http://www.playsoccer-nonprofit.org
Names of Responsible Parties:
· Samuel acha, Teboh Hodio, Elizabeth Ading, Judy McPherson
Project site: Kujei, Bessi, Nnen Play Soccer Cameroon community sites
Project Duration: 12 months
Project Starting Date: As soon as funding is available
Socio-cultural, economic & political environment where project will be operational:
Batibo where Play Soccer Cameroon operates is a subdivision in Cameroon, Africa located along the Trans-African Highway, some 26 miles of Bamenda and about 100 miles east of Nigeria. Batibo is the socioeconomic, cultural and political heartbeat of the Moghamo speaking people formerly referred to as “Aghwi”. It has an estimated population of about 21,000 inhabitants with two seasons (rainy and dry season).
The Batibo culture portrays a plethora of rhythmic, music, traditional outfits, artwork, folklore and traditional rites. Batibo and its many catchment areas is the palmwine capital of the world where sweet wine locally called “Fitchuk” is a staple. Crops and animals mostly grown or reared in this area include, cassava, corn, beans, kolanuts, tomatoes, chickens, goats, cattle, vegetables, guavas, sugar cane, monkey kola, pears, peanuts etc.
Worth mentioning is the fact that for the past 12 months there has been ongoing civil unrest and uprising tensions between the English speaking regions and the French speaking parts of Cameroon with the English speaking part consisting of the North west and Southwest withdrawing their children from schools to stay at home and twice weekly ghost towns to protest against marginalization tendencies from French speaking Cameroons.
This ongoing strike action has caused a general stalemate in the educational, social, health, judiciary, economic and political structure of the English speaking parts and this is where Play Soccer Cameroon operates. There has been huge applause from the community as through Play Soccer Cameroon’s activities, it has been able to still hold twice weekly sessions and it continues to enrich children in these localities with our core program and other organizational operations.
Play Soccer Cameroon is a not-for-profit organization exempt from state income tax with its primary purpose aiming at promoting through the game of football, health/physical, social and economic wellbeing of underserved children, youth and their communities. Our program “Play for Fun, Learn for Life” is open to all children within its operating communities particularly children within the 5-15 age groups. Play Soccer Cameroon relies heavily on volunteerism and civic service for several reasons to maintain low cost structure while developing youth leadership and engaging communities.
Collaborating with the local authorities, civil society organizations and faith based organizations adds further opportunities to bring health through sporting activities within these operating localities. Play Soccer International serves as the umbrella for the Play Soccer Network of its affiliated organizations which share the same aims and objectives in different countries of the world.
Play Soccer Cameroon has had some up and down moments throughout its existence in Cameroon. The program began in 2006 and faired great for seven years but due to low performance from the Board of Directors and Management team, the program was halted for a while. It again picked up sometime in late 2016 due to the enthusiasm from the participating children, youths and volunteers.
Here in Cameroon, the Play Soccer program operates in two communities (Kujei and Nnen) located in the North West region of Cameroon in Batibo subdivision. Twice weekly sessions are held within these two sites and we are boasting of a total of 350 girls and over 400 boys participating in the “Play for Fun, Learn for Life” program being directed by over 30 volunteers.
We have also had other setbacks such as the ongoing civil unrest /strike actions that have witnessed the closure of schools and ghost towns within all English speaking regions of Cameroon. This has affected many families in these parts as they depend on subsistence farming for their livelihood. Due to the civil strike actions that is still ongoing, there has been an upsurge in the rate of teenage pregnancies, sexually transmittable infections/diseases, motor cycle accidents caused by inexperienced young boys wanting to ride a bike for transportation and a means to get money for their livelihood, and an increase in theft incidences, promiscuity, drunkenness caused by the fact that many of these youths and children are idle because of no schools, or something for them to engage purposefully.
The story gets better because through Play Soccer Cameroon’s revival within these communities, it has gone a long way to benefit the children and youths as many youths have been involved in the activity sessions while out of school. There has been several clean up campaigns, several health caravan workshops with topics such malaria, diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, cholera, STIs, typhoid fever, meningitis, teenage pregnancies, injuries from motor cycle/ car accidents etc.. discussed, partnerships with other local civil society groups, hospitals, and community mobilization efforts towards creating a piggery farm and local vegetable farm that can both enhance sustainability for the organization while also offering an avenue for children and youths within these communities to be free from crime and other indulgences.
It’s our hope that we can continue to operate while making positive impact on the communities we serve and even expand to other grassroots communities. Though we rely heavily on volunteerism it still makes it very difficult for us to meet our day to day program objectives and satisfactorily meet our goals. We are looking to build grassroots capacities and skills rather than dependence on philanthropy as a way forward for Play Soccer Cameroon’s independence and sustainability. With hopes that the art of social enterprise can be harnessed we are most certain that this will give us that leap to continue to be successful at implementing our core program curriculum and opportunity to bring health through sports within the community.
In this regard, we are envisaging a piggery/garden project that would teach vocational/nutrition/small scale agriculture as well as business/finance skills to our participating communities that can generate some revenue for the organization to sustain its program as well as the public good with education and employment. Our participating children, youths and families shall be able to engage in growing these ventures so that they can in turn witness their own fruits of their labor while creating sustainability and also providing fortified and supplemental protein and good vitamin/mineral sources to the communities when these products are marketed.
In our gardening project we intend to grow simple but very tasty huckleberry, green/black beans, peas, cabbage, beet roots, carrots, celery, sweet corn and broccoli on the small piece of land accorded to Play Soccer Cameroon by one of our local board member which Play Soccer Cameroon is most grateful towards such a contribution. We intend to ensure that this gardening project is purely organic therefore we shall use only waste from our piggery to mulch and fertilize the land to enable a healthy yield.
Why pig farming
Among the various livestock species within this locality, piggery is the most potential source of meat production and more efficient feed converter. Apart from providing meat, it would also provide manure for our gardening project, employment opportunities to the local youths and generate funds for the Play Soccer Cameroon program to grow while benefiting other communities.
The advantages of pig farming are;
· The pig has got highest feed conversion efficiency i.e, they produce more live weight gain from a given weight of feed than any other class of meat producing animals except after chicken broilers.
· Pork is most nutritious with high fat content and low water content and has got better energy value than that of other meats, rich in riboflavin, niacin and thiamin.
· The pig can utilize wide variety of feed shifts vis a vis; grains, forages, leftovers, etc.
· They are prolific with shorter generation interval. A sow can be bred as early as 8-9 months of age and can farrow twice a year. They produce 6-12 piglets in each farrowing.
· Pig farming provides quick returns since the marketable weight of fatteners can be achieved within a period of 6-8 months as well as there is a good demand for pork products such as pork, bacon, ham, sausages, lard, etc.
· Pig farming requires small investment on building and equipment.
Project Proposal for Pig farming/rearing as an Income Generating source for Play Soccer Cameroon
Infracstructure Needed: The Play Soccer Cameroon program has been donated an adequate amount of land by one within the Batibo community by one of its board members start the project. Immediate starting requirements for 15 animals (10 pigs and 5 sows) are:
· A shed of size 7 feet x 30 feet with cement floor and bamboo/wooden walls, a roof with CI sheds to house the animals.
· Fenced open enclosure of size 45 feet x 35 feet for the animals to move around freely and bask in the sunlight during the day.
· Separate troughs sheds for water and food.
Feeding Materials Needed: The pig feed will depend on what is most readily available within the locality and also the price. The higher the proteins, the more expensive the feed can be. In most cases, rice and rice husk are the most expensive ingredients. Most commonly used feeds are low quality. Play Soccer Cameroon will use rice, rice husk, banana stem, cocoyam peelings, left over food, vegetables to ensure that the pigs grow healthy with the most protein to improve our community’s protein ratios.
Human Resources/Labor Needed: Very little specialization necessary. Tasks will be routine after initial lessons received from an expert from the local divisional delegate for animal husbandry and local veterinarian. Play Soccer Cameroon volunteers and participating children and youths shall all be involved in the daily management (cleaning and feeding) of the piggery project to ensure collective ownership. From time to time services shall be needed from the local veterinarian whom Play Soccer Cameroon enjoys local partnerships for vaccinations and assistance during piglet births.
Estimated Time: Pigs with good genetics, good management and care, and good feeding patterns will reach approximately 45-55 kg (kilograms) in 6 months and 85-95 kg in 1 year.
Estimated Cost of Starting the Project: (In context of 1USD=500Fcfa)
Item # / Comments / Cost/year1 / Land / Gift Item
2 / Construction of Shed / 250,000Fcfa ($500)
3 / Fencing / 200,000Fcfa ($400)
4 / Equipment (feeders, drinkers, sign post and miscellaneous) / 200,000Fcfa ($400)
5 / Feed for pigs x 12 months / 600,000Fcfa ($1,200)
6 / Cost of 15 piglets at 50,000 Fcfa ($100) / 750,000Fcfa ($1,500)
7 / Acquisition and transportation of piglets and related cost to pen and to market / 250,000FCFA ($500)
8 / Veterinary Services /vaccinations/medicines / 200,000Fcfa ($500)
Total / 2,000,000Fcfa ($4000)
Estimated Benefits:
· Estimated selling price for 15 pigs of 6 months: 1,800,000Fcfa ($3,600)
· Estimated selling price for 10 pigs of 8 months: 2,250,000Fcfa ($4,500)
Based on the above costs, and current price of pigs, it is estimated that the piggery project will generate 1,800,000Fcfa ($3,600) to 2,250,000Fcfa ($4,500) for the core Play for Fun, Learn for Life program that will add impact on the lives of children and grassroots communities.
For the subsequent years, recurring expenditure will be for pig feed and low cost labor only because our volunteers and Play Soccer children and youths would have had the necessary skills to take care of the profit self-reliantly and overhead cost like equipment, and other related costs initially incurred in the first year would be absent in the succeeding years. With proper care during delivery, it is estimated that the number of piglets for rearing shall increase. The price of pork meat per kg is estimated to increase every year.
Markets & Customers:
Local community markets, and butchers within and without the community shall be informed of our products when it’s due to be marketed.
Potential Challenges:
Long waiting period (8-12 months) until first revenue will start getting in after sales. Waste from pigs will be used as compost for our gardening project.
Accidents and theft which we are hoping to mitigate this occurrence by building a solid fence with good materials.
Diseases such as the African swine flu, PRRS, E.coli shall be combated by ensuring the pigs are vaccinated in a timely fashion while avoiding visitors into the pen.
Gardening project
The gardening project will address food insecurities while also ensuring that children can be provided with nutritional snacks when produce from the farms are marketed. Play Soccer intends to use its participating children, youths, volunteers and parents and relatives who are willing to support add impetus through their labor in growing these crops. Added to the fact that compost or manure gotten from the piggery project will serve to ensure that our products are pesticides but organic fertilizer assured through the compost and manure from the piggery project, it is important for us to combine this activity as we would be using the same piece of land for both activities.
The small garden will grow items like beans, corn, groundnuts, peas, celery, huckleberry, tomatoes, carrots that can be easily exchanged at the local market to provide funds that can be used to meet a variety of program items such as buying nutritious snacks, drinks for children and youths during core program sessions and also program equipment and others to facilitate the daily operations of the organization.
The community involving parents and relatives of Play Soccer Cameroon children, youths and volunteers alongside the local community cooperatives and agricultural personnel shall add up to the expertise needed for the gardening project to be successful. A plus is that, Play Soccer Cameroon has been assigned a piece of land for this activity and it’s Play Soccer Cameroon’s wish that these produce shall be mainly organic since the gardening shall depend on compost and manure form the piggery project.