Wally Wiebe Family
Wally Wiebe moved to Nicaragua in 2007 from La Crete, Alberta. He came with his wife, Esther, and family of four – Caleb, Hannah, Elijah, and Rachel. The Lord touched Wally and Esther with a desire to minister to those less fortunate. They work with the Evangelical Free Church of Canada Mission (EFCCM) in Nicaragua as Directors of «La Semilla» (The Seed) Ministry focusing on cultivating holistic community development and applying biblical principals to business and social situations. The current sustainable agriculture programs of La Semilla Ministries are financing crop inputs and connecting struggling subsistence farmers with the information and resources they need to be able to provide a steady and sufficient income for their families. The results are increased yields, better markets, and increased dignity for these rural folks. Woven into all they do is the idea of a practical application of the love of God – He is…
The Challenge of Technology
Much of our work here at La Semilla Ministries is with smaller producers who typically are producing enough food for themselves to eat, plus a little more to bring to market. Our goal is to help these producers think past agriculture solely as a way of maintaining themselves, to seeing agriculture as a business that can provide the financial resources their family needs to make a living from the land year-round. One of our challenges in this regard is to help producers think in bigger ways, dream bigger dreams. Including technology. In order for producers to be able to cultivate enough land provide for their families 12 months of the year, there are some technologies that could be implemented, such as: mechanical land clearing and soil preparation prior to planting, mechanical planting where land slopes will permit, and thrashing machines to help speed along harvest. It’s amazing the time and…
Here at Finca La Semilla We’re Planting, Harvesting, and Praying for Rain
Our Finca La Semilla is a 5 manzana (8.7 acre) farm located on km 31.7 of the Panamerican highway, which is also where the La Semilla Base is located. We’ve been farming on this formerly abandoned cafetal (coffee farm) for the past five years. In that time we’ve planted piña (pineapple), aguacate (avocado), citrus trees, experiemnted with harvested rainwater-irrigated vegetable crops in greenhouses, and developed about two acres of pitahaya (dragonfruit). We have often found ourselves frustrated at the difficulties of growing crops here, especially considering the drought we have been up against these last two years. Yet, despite lack of rain, high winds, and acid rains and soils from volcanic winds God has–through the gift of local know-how and talent especially–blessed us with bountiful harvests of piña, pitahaya, and various fruits and veggies. The rainy season is coming to a close for this year (although we’re…
Second Planting Cycle Looks Promising
Sometimes agriculture has it’s challenges! I often say that one of the reasons that I like agriculture so much is that it keeps us humble and very dependent on GOD! After the drought of 2014, our producers here in Nicaragua were looking forward to a return to normal in 2015. Alas, it was not too be. Generally, the first planting cycle begins in the last two weeks of May, as the rainy season makes it’s return. In 2015, the rains were late and planting didn’t begin until the end of the first week of June. Average annual rainfall for our area of Nicaragua is 1200 mm. Most of this will fall during the rainy season of May to November. The rainy season ought to be a prolonged period of substantial rainfall, but June 2015 gave us only 8 days of rain. The total accumulation wasn’t too bad at about 200…
UPANIC is pleased with new inoculant strain
La Semilla has had a relationship with UPANIC since the start of our technical agriculture program in 2013. UPANIC produces inoculants for various types of crops in use in Nicaragua. As part of their (and our!) desire to advance agriculture in Nicaragua, UPANIC is constantly evaluating their strains of rhizobia bacteria that make up their products. In this current growing cycle, La Semilla Ministries is cooperating with 3 different locations of a test of a new strain. On November 11, representatives from UPANIC, several independant ag consultants, and staff from La Semilla made a preliminary evaluation of the plots. Also attending were a camera crew from Channel 6 here in Managua to capture the latest results, and promote the use of inoculants to producers in an ag program being aired locally on Sunday afternoons. To the right, you can see the size of the nodules that the bacteria are helping to…
Farmer’s Field Day always pleases!
As we work with the small ag producers here in Carazo province of Nicaragua, one thing we know for sure – there is much to learn! One of the keys to the success of our Sustainable Agriculture Program has been an event we call «Dia de Campo» or field day. It’s an event where we bring producers together to share growing experiences, listen to speakers on pertinent production topics, and give producers an opportunity to purchase farm tools they need at a very favourable price. Enough said. If you want the details, I invite you to watch a short video. Please navigate to the «What’s New» tab, select «VIMEO PAGE» and choose «2015 Annual Farmers Day».