The last few months on the farm were dictated by the corona crisis.
Until October there were very few corona infections, but there was a lot of impact from the lockdown: the income of the farm was a lot lower than we had hoped.
The sales price of goats has fallen sharply, while costs have increased. The selling prices of fruit and vegetables were also historically low because other farmers were unable to sell their harvest in recent months. For example, a papaya cost € 0.10 per kilo instead of € 0.60. This is of course nice for the buying people in the area, but for the farm it is a pity.
Prices are now picking up again. About 500 kilos of fruit and vegetables were sold this year and we hope that this will increase considerably!
The mango trees that were planted three years ago are beautiful to see – in the pictures you can see the bloom and now the mangoes! Coconut trees are also growing well. Because the rain season is now starting, the planting season of the seasonal vegetables has started. Beautiful fruit and vegetable packages could be made of this in the Netherlands! Beets, okra, eggplant, tomatoes, radishes, green beans, carrots and pepper as vegetable choices. And papaya, guava, mango and bananas for fruit.
In preparation for the rain season, a lot of work has been done on silage. The team collected leaves from farmers in nearby villages that are left over from the peanut harvest. Sorghum has also been used for silage. Silage takes place on this scale for the first time. This cannot be compared to what we see in the Netherlands! But for this area where silage was never heard or seen before, it is a first step that we hope will actually provide good food in addition to the grass and other food.
It has been decided to keep the number of goats a bit lower, in order to have more than enough food for the goats on the farm. About 50 goats and gaot kids have been sold so far this year, a good number! We have also started keeping quail and the first eggs are already selling well.
The farm has also hosted a group of young people from a church from Trincomalee (this city is on the other side of Sri Lanka). During the day these young people did children’s work in the local church nearby.
Both the team on the farm and we in the Netherlands are working on the plans for the coming years, both on the farm and in the vicinity of the farm. Would you like to pray with us that we make good choices together, so that the farm can continue to grow in its mission?