DIOCESE OF MONGU DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (DMDC) IN ACTION
Machines being used in the Milling Department are old
and the operational performance is low
Mission Statement
“DMDC is a faith-based organization, which promotes
improved livelihood of the less privileged, through capacity
building and self-sustenance activities; and provision of
support services to the Mongu Diocese.”
In accordance with the terms of the Mission Statement, we
present a quick résumé of the operations of the Diocese of
Mongu Development Centre (DMDC) from 1st January 2005 to 31st
December 2005.
This resume will outline the performance of DMDC and discuss
issues that affect the performance of DMDC. The overall
performance of DMDC has varied throughout the year.
The performance during first half of the year was not good.
The major contributing factor to the poor performance was the
fact that during the first half of the year very few agriculture
centred activities took place in operational areas. The
performance of the different departments varied depending on the
link with agriculture activities:
Warehouse Department
The main function of the warehouse is storage of various
goods. The department manages three warehouses and one
container. During the period under review, the department
continued with the normal functions. Various goods were received
and others distributed to various destinations. The following
are main goods received:
-Maize Seed - ZIM Plough and Spare Parts- Cement - Paddy Rice
- Vegetable Seeds
The department received 38,715 Kg of maize seed of which 291
Kg was damaged. There were four different types of maize seed
received MM 441, MM 603, MM 604 and GV 412.
With logistical and financial support from the Zambian
Delegation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate DMDC imported from
Zimbabwe 350 ploughs and 2,976 assorted spare parts. The ploughs
and the spares were issued out to the Farm Shop at DMDC Head
Office and other sales outlets.
The department received 9,350 packets of cement. During the
months of February, April, September and December, there was no
cement received. The quantities of cement procured have varied
from month to month depending on the demand.
Agriculture potentially plays a significant role in the
process of social and economic development in the province. The
main crops grown include maize, groundnuts, bambara nuts and cow
peas. Rice is grown as a cash crop.
To this effect, DMDC promotes rice growing by facilitating
the easy access to farming inputs and implements to rural
households and buying rice from households in remote areas. To
ensure that this activity is sustainable, DMDC has a Rice
Promotion Revolving Fund. DMDC purchased a total of 1,580 bags
of paddy rice. The average weight of the bags of rice was 80 Kg.
The geographic distribution of purchases of paddy rice was as
follows: 1,513 from Ndanda, 15 from Nangili and 52 from Sefula.
The department received 74,050Gm of different vegetable
seeds. Varieties of vegetable seed were procured and issued out
(Tomato 25 Gms, Onion 25 Gms, Cabbage CH 3 Gms, Cabbage CH 25
Gms, Rape Hobson 25 Gms, Chinese Cabbage 3 Gms, Chinese Cabbage
25 Gms, Riana 10 Gms). At the end there was a balance of 14,557
Gms.
Milling Department
During the period the hammer mill was not operational, only
two rice polishing machines were working. In January only 62
bags of paddy rice were polished. This figure can be attributed
to the fact that rice growers had not harvested their rice. This
number rose to 425 in June. The total number of bags of rice
that were polished was 2,803. The number of rice bran produced
was 479. Machines being used in the Milling Department are old
and the operational performance is low. Secondly genuine spare
parts are not readily available.
Farm Shop
The Farm Shop sells agriculture inputs and implements as well
as cements and polished rice. Sales of agriculture inputs and
implements are directly dependant on the farming season.
- Agriculture Inputs and Implements
The sales for agriculture inputs and implements in the first
four months of the reporting period were low. However this was
expected. During the second half of the year there was
improvement in performance. This was due to the fact that
demands for agriculture inputs were at their peak. Within the
same period, the month of October had the highest sales of
agriculture inputs and implements.
The demand for cement has been fairly constant. DMDC sells
cement at a lower price than Hardware Shops in Mongu. During the
reporting period 9,924 pockets of cement were sold. On average
the dry months of the year have the highest sales of cement.
Fuel
DMDC has fuel tank with a capacity of 14,000 liters. Fuel is
only sold to Diocesan organizations and religious houses. Fuel
used by DMDC for its day to day operating is accounted for.
During the first half of the year, over 60% of fuel sold
during the reporting period was sold on credit. During the
second half of the year the percentage of fuel sold on cash
basis increased from 37% to 53%. At the end of the year the
overall credit sales of fuel were reduced from 63% to 53%.
Other Activities
- Transport Hire and Tractor Hire
DMDC has tractor and truck that is hired by individuals and
institutions to transport commercial goods and personal effects.
In addition DMDC has a boat, which is also hired out. During the
annual flood of the Barotse Plain, individuals and institutions
hire the boat for travel between Kalabo and Mongu. During the
reporting period a total of 286 different loads were carried by
tractor. These loads consisted of 152 loads of building sand,
100 loads of crushed stones and 34 of bricks.
We have mentioned a few activities carried out by DMDC. There
are others that aim to improve the quality of life of the people
in the Mongu Diocese. The project has had a number of
achievements in different aspects of agriculture. The following
are a summary of project achievements:
- The small-scale farmers and vulnerable households have
become more independent from high cost external inputs.
- The cultivation and consumption of high protein foods
(legumes) has greatly increased among our farmers.
- Rural households now have increased access to
information on sustainable agriculture.
- The sustainable agriculture program has lessened the
dependence from relief food support.
- The program has provided an alternative extension
services to complement the government offered extension
services.
- Field exchange visits and sharing of information and
innovations between farmers has been greatly enhanced.
- The program through inter diocesan interaction has
contributed to developing common strategies of
implementation and also common approaches in organizing
farmers’ delivery of agricultural services. Despite
these achievements, DMDC has a number of challenges to
face:
Challenges
The external and internal analysis, which was done, recently
provided an opportunity to identify the challenges that DMDC is
current facing. The challenges are as follows;
- Addressing the basic human needs of the less
privileged in the Diocese of Mongu in the prevailing
economic and social environment.
- Being financial viable as a non-profit making faith
based organization.
- Lack of appreciation by most of the less privileged of
the potential of sustainable agriculture in improving
their livelihood.
- Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS and gender our current and new
activities
- Marketing of DMDC products and services vis-à-vis the
increased competition.
To this effect DMDC interprets the future in the following
vision “Inspired by our Gospel values, we envisage a society
made up of communities where fundamental human needs of the less
privileged are met in full”. ( By Mr Kusiyo Lewanika, Director
of DMDC)
