Hanne Van den Branden, Year 8

On Monday 4th March 2024, my classmates and I went on a field trip to Songhai. We were accompanied by Mrs Mbaka, Mr David and Mrs Akinwunmi. Founded in 1985 by Father Godfrey Nzamujo, Songhai has centres in Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Congo.

Songhai has training facilities for people who are interested in agriculture. We saw many young people who have come to learn various kinds of agriculture. We were told by the guide that many of them are doing 18 months training.

Every waste is recycled or reused. The water used for watering plants is also used for the fish farm. Chaff from maize, potatoes and cassava are recycled to feed farm animals. Harvested crops that have gone bad are used to make compost. Animal excreta are added to the compost to form manure.

Animals including goats, cows, sheep, ostriches and donkeys are kept in pens. Female animals are separated from the males so that they don’t over-mate. The males are taken to the females once every two weeks. A male goat can impregnate 15 females within this period.

Foods like cassava and yam are processed to give garri, attieke and yam flour. Fresh juice is made from fruits. All food and drinks served in the restaurant come from the farm.

Soghai is a wonderful place to visit.

Syntiche Hounkpevi, Year 8

Our class went on a trip to Songhai on 4th March 2024. It was a fabulous trip to a marvellous farm of 550 hectares called Songhai. It was when we reached there at 10:10 a.m. that I realised how shiny, sunny and hot that day was. We wore our caps as the guide took us on a tour around the farm.

The guide explained that Songhai is a non-governmental organisation founded by Father Godfrey Nzamujo in 1985, but today partners with organisations such as ECOWAS, to eradicate hunger in Africa.

At Songhai, nothing is a waste. Everything is recycled and re-used. Songhai does organic production. This means that they produce everything through natural ways. They also process food such as yam, attieke, potatoes, yam and beans with machines and package them as flours. They make fresh juice from fruits and sell them in restaurants. All the foods eaten at the restaurant also come from the farm. They make yoghurt and degue which are popular in Benin.

Songhai also does many more incredible things. They train young people who have passion for agriculture. They train them in gardening, fish and livestock farming. Songhai is home to tourists from many countries in the world.

It was an enjoyable trip, apart from the extremely hot weather we had that day.