Gabkwi Alain Bongsum hails from Bui Division of the North West Region. His new home is Bangem where he invests time and energy on vegetable gardening.
Gabkwi recounted that he came to Bangem eight months ago through a friend and later discovered the rich soil and vegetation of the town which lured him into gardening.
“I specialize in the cultivation of vegetables and spices like parsley, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, and carrot, amongst others.” He revealed.
According to the gardener, because of the fertile soil in Bangem Sub Division, crops can do extremely well throughout the year.
Gabkwi disclosed that he buys seedlings from Dschang, West Region, where he does the nursery and subsequent transplant for greater yields. He said because of limited land to cultivate, he applies only organic fertilizer like animal dung on his farms for greater harvest.
“My vision is to grow vegetable extensively in Bangem to meet the local and national market needs. Fruits and vegetable is the core of healthy living and the more we have them in the market, the lifespan of the people is guaranteed.” He stated.
According to the Gardener, he plans to employ at least 50 youths in Bangem so that they can extensively meet household needs. However, he lamented that his major preoccupation is acquiring land to cultivate in order to satisfy the large demand of vegetables in the market.
He said presently, he cultivates on rented piece of land which is not enough for massive production of spices and vegetables. He said if empowered financially, he could acquire larger piece of land to accomplish his vision.
Gabkwi added that like Santa, Bangem has the capacity to supply the national territory with cabbage, carrot, cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, celery, parsley and all types of vegetable.
He advised youths to join him in gardening so that they can achieve this great vision of gardening in order to improve their standard of living.
“Let’s stop folding our arms expecting manna from heaven. A lazy man is a devil’s work tool.” The gardener admonished.
By Olive Ejang
