SAA News
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT: Director for Monitoring and Evaluation
January.17.2020
SAA Regional Office, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is seeking for a competent Director for Monitoring and Evaluation with a strong background in Impact Economics.
The Director, M & E, is a strategic management position within SAA with the core purpose of providing leadership to the M & E function of all SAA programs in order to promote high level impact assessment of SAA programmatic interventions.
★Duties and Responsibilities
The Director for Monitoring and Evaluation will have t...Read more
Interview Series 4: A story of the Ethiopian Extension Director -How SAFE program brought me where I am-
December.20.2019
Yenenesh Egu is Director of Agricultural Extension at the Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia. She has extensive agricultural experience at grassroots level through to national-scale projects. Having studied rural development and agricultural extension at university, Yenenesh now plays a significant role in facilitation, coordination and coaching within the agricultural extension directorate.
Yenenesh was part of the panel discussion that took place during the SAA official TICAD VII side-even...Read more
Interview Series 3: How SAFE program and Christopher Dowswell Scholarship changed life of Elizabeth
December.20.2019
The Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) has two main objectives: to integrate African universities and agricultural colleges into the agricultural development process, and to expand and strengthen the knowledge and skills of frontline agricultural and rural development advisory service providers, improving their capacity to serve the needs of smallholder farm families. SAFE works with 29 universities in 11 countries, and since its inception almost 7,000 extension agents have bene...Read more
SAA Uganda Office (SG2000-Uganda) Awarded the 2019 Uganda Responsible Investment Award
December.20.2019
On 22 November 2019 at Imperial Royale Hotel Kampala, H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni recognized top Responsible Investments with the prestigious Uganda Responsible Investment award (URI Award). This was during the 2019 Uganda Responsible Investment Summit and Award Ceremony. Over 500 Investors attended and over 400 Young Entrepreneurs were in attendance.
The summit was organized by Public Opinions International in partnership with the Office of the Minister of State for Privatization and Investme...Read more
Interview Series 2: Entrepreneurship in Agriculture with Lindiwe Majele Sibanda
December.15.2019
For Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) “is a movement with an unique way of doing extension which can involve Africa’s youth”. Speaking at the TICAD V11 Side Event in Yokohama on a panel to discuss “Africa’s youth and entrepreneurship in agriculture”, she described, how she became an agripreneur – and then took full advantage of the opportunities that this offered.
“I hope this will be an inspiration and an example to young people”, she said.
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe b...Read more
SAA announces new Vice-Chairman and President
November.5.2019
The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Representative Directors of the organization. Dr Amit Roy will assume the position as permanent Vice-Chairman of the Board of SAA and Dr Makoto Kitanaka will take on his role as the new President of SAA. These appointments are a result of extensive internal discussions between the SAA Board of Directors and Mr Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, which is the core donor of SAA.
Dr Roy, the for...Read more
SAA shines in the 2nd all Africa Postharvest Congress and Exhibition
October.21.2019
The African Union Commission (AUC) hosted one of Africa’s biggest postharvest event from September 17th to 20th 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) successfully conducted a symposium titled “Accelerating the Adoption of Improved Postharvest & Agro-processing Practices in Africa”. In addition to the symposium, SAA setup an exhibition booth at the venue of the event and participated in different plenary sessions.
◆SAA’s featured Postharvest Handling and Ag...Read more
SAA hosts a symposium in the 2nd all Africa Postharvest Congress and Exhibition
October.21.2019
The African Union Commission (AUC) hosted one of Africa’s biggest postharvest event from September 17th to 20th 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
After what was remembered as a very successful event in Nairobi in 2017, Addis Ababa hosted the 2nd All Africa Postharvest Congress and Exhibition (AAPHCE) at AUC.
◆SAA’s Symposium on Accelerating the Adoption of Improved Postharvest & Agro-processing Practices in Africa
Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) in collaboration with key partners co-s...Read more
Interview Series 1: Ryoji Inaba, a former JICA volunteer to Uganda now engaging in farming in Japan
September.30.2019
Ryoji Inaba is a young Japanese farmer and former Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV) in Uganda, where he was assigned to work at the SAA Country Office for two years from 2012 to 2014. Since returning home to Aichi Prefecture and starting life as a farmer, he has worked on producing a wide range of organic farm products.
Ryoji was part of the panel discussion that took place during the SAA official TICAD VII side-event in Yokohama on 28 August, where he engaged with other young farme...Read more
SAA’s flag bearers stood-out in AGRF
September.18.2019
The beautiful city of Accra has been bustling to receive guests who flocked from all corners of the globe to attend the 2019 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) held at the Accra International Convention Center (AICC) from 2-6 September 2019. The AGRF 2018 forum was successfully hosted in Kigali, Rwanda and this year, Accra, Ghana was the host to this prestigious continental event which attracted key actors in agriculture, heads of states, researchers, producers, promoters, the media community...Read more
Japan pledges boost to cooperation with Africa at Sasakawa Africa Association side-event for TICAD VII
September.11.2019
Wednesday 11 September – A “new era” of opportunities and cooperation in agriculture between Japan and Africa was heralded at a symposium organised by the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), at the seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VII).
‘Sasakawa in Africa: Building on the Past, Looking to the Future’ heard a commitment from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen Japanese cooperation with Africa, and saw a new agreement struck between SAA and the J...Read more
Signing ceremony of new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with JICA.
September.2.2019
On 28 August, during TICAD 7, SAA and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC).
The purpose of the MOC is to facilitate cooperation between JICA and SAA by taking advantages of strengths of each organization and promote Public Private Partnerships in Africa, to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs 2) especially Goal 2 “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agricultur...Read more
Youth Business Clinic 2018: SAA supporting youth entrepreneurship in Uganda
August.14.2019
Over the years, SG2000 Uganda in collaboration with other development partners has promoted/supported youth’s employment in agribusiness value chain as service providers and producers. This has become the driving force for youths’ employment and modernization of agriculture that is strategically positioned to the realization of the national development plan II and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically 1, 2, 5 and 8.
The sustainability of agriculture and food production relies ...Read more
Holding TICAD VII Official Side Event Symposium: Sasakawa in Africa – Building on the past, looking to the future August 28, 2019, Yokohama
July.16.2019
The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is organising an official Side Event at TICAD VII in Yokohama, on 28 August. The Side Event is dealing with a serious problem facing most African countries – youth unemployment – and examining the opportunities available through entrepreneurship in agriculture.
Youth unemployment across the African continent is projected to reach 440 million by 2030, but the former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo – who at the time was a director of SAA – has commente...Read more
Makerere University honors Late Ryoichi Sasakawa
October.22.2018
The late Ryoichi Sasakawa, the founder and the former chairman of Nippon Foundation and one of the founding fathers of Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), received Honorary Doctorate of Laws (Honoris Causa) from Makerere University on an event held on 9th of August, 2018.
In the presence of university community, distinguished guests and SG 2000 Uganda Staff, Hon. Professor Ruth Oniang’o, Chair of the SAA board, received the award on behalf of Ryoichi Sasakawa’s family and SAA. In her brief ad...Read more
Sasakawa Africa Association welcomes new Regional Director
October.17.2018
The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Mel Oluoch as new Regional Director. Dr Oluoch will be based at the SAA Regional Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Dr Oluoch, a Kenyan national, joins SAA following a career in agricultural research, rural and value-chain development, and policy formulation. He brings to SAA a wealth of knowledge and experience in project management, capacity-building, and increasing smallholder farmers’ access to new production...Read more
SAA Appoints New Country Director for Ethiopia
September.10.2018
Dr. Fentahun Mengistu is the new Country Director of SAA/Sasakawa Global-2000 Ethiopia. He has taken over the leadership, as of September 1, 2018, from Dr. Aberra Debelo, who retired at the end of August 2018 after 14 years of distinguished service to the betterment for the lives of Ethiopian smallholder farmers.
Dr. Fentahun was born in a farming family in Gojjam, Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Having completed his primary and secondary schools in the nearby Dangila town, driven by his rural li...Read more
![［From left] Mr. Mori (Executive Director of The Nippon Foundation), Mr. Sasakawa (Chairman of The Nippon Foundation ), Ms. Iseki (Executive Director of SAA), H.E. Mr. Soglo (former President of Benin) and Mr. Yoshimasa Kanayama (President of SAA)](../newsfiles/images/20180906121333_0_1_s2.jpg)
Courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Nicéphore Soglo and H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
September.6.2018
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MoFA) and The Nippon Foundation co-hosted the Core Group Meeting of the Eminent Persons Group on Peace and Stability in Africa on 31st August and 1st September. Five former Heads of State were invited to the Meeting, with the aim of putting forward proposals in the field of peace, security and stability in Africa.
Our former Board Directors, H.E. Mr. Nicéphore Soglo, former President of Benin, and H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nige...Read more
Mr.Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, visited Ethiopia
July.25.2018
On 19 July, the Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, Mr. Yohei Sasakawa was on transit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on his way to the Comoros for a working visit . SAA staff from the Regional Office and the Ethiopia Country Office (SG 2000 Ethiopia) warmly welcomed him and made a report of recent activities carried out in the field. Mr.Sasakawa inspired them to keep trying harder.
Annual Report 2017 published
July.11.2018
Annual Report 2017 has been published and is available on our website.
Voices from the field
“ Because of the effects of climate change, all our old varieties are abandoned”
February.26.2020 / Mali
The village of Dacoumani in Mali, like all villages in the Sahel, has had to endure the drastic effects of climate change. Notably, Dacoumani has experienced the gradual disappearance of local genotypes and decline in crop yield due to unpredictable rainfall patterns. In order to address this issue, SAA’s office in Mali – SG 2000 Mali – implemented a Climate Smart Village (CSV) extension model in 2018, as part of the Crop Productivity Enhancement (CPE) theme. The model is implemented at the Post...Read more
“I present my heartfelt thanks to SG 2000 Uganda” – The Ugandan farmers’ group benefitting from SAA initiatives
January.8.2020 / Uganda
The Bulamu Tweweyo Farmers’ group was recently selected to participate in the Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP), launched in 2016 by Sasakawa Global (SG) 2000 Uganda, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. The project aims to alleviate poverty among rural communities by increasing production of vegetable oils, primarily soybean and sunflower oil, through the introduction of new technol...Read more
“I’m really grateful” – the success story of Dorothy Anima Effa, one of SAFE’s first graduates
November.23.2019 / Ghana
This edition of Voices from the Field was written and supplied by Joseph Kwesi Sarpong, a Ghanaian national who was also among the first intake of SAFE students in 1993.
An appraisal carried out by SAA in 1992 found that 83% of Extension Officers in Ghana were largely certificate holders from agricultural colleges. The Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension (SAFE) program was launched in 1993 to support the development of Extension Officers beyond the academic qualifications they had acquired f...Read more
“I will keep practicing the lessons I have learned to improve my livelihood” How one farmer benefited from working with SG 2000 Ethiopia
October.21.2019 / Ethiopia
Wolde Gichamo, a 65-year old smallholder farmer, lives in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia. For farmers like Wolde, access to high-yielding wheat varieties has proved challenging and has forced his community to resort to local varieties, which significantly lowered their productivity.
Extension Agents (EAs) working as part of SG 2000 Ethiopia chose Wolde to host a 1000 m2 Community Demonstration Plot (CDP) and to test a new wheat variety known as Og...Read more
“My income and livelihood have improved”
September.17.2019 / Uganda
The farmer’s multipurpose cooperative reaping the benefits of collective seed production
The Bulunguli Farmer’s Multipurpose Cooperative is located in the Iganga district of Uganda. A needs assessment was conducted in 2016 as part of an agreement between SG 2000 Uganda and the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), during which many farmer groups requested capacity development in oil-seed crop production. SAA worked with eight of ...Read more
“ This foundation seed project has been an opportunity to improve our living conditions”
August.16.2019 / Mali
The Foloda Women’s Group
The Monzonblena Postharvest and Trading Center (PHTC) boasts a membership of 10 villages, and is located south of the Malian capital, Bamako. In 2017, SAA identified the villages, including Foloda, which has a population of 450 and relies on subsistence agriculture as its main source of income, to follow a needs assessment survey organized in collaboration with the national agriculture sector of Dioïla.
Following the survey, a women’s group in Foloda was chosen to ...Read more
“ Without the SAFE program, I would never have had the opportunity to be where I am today”
July.19.2019 /
The Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE)integrates African universities and colleges into the agricultural development process, to ensure that extension staff are equipped to lead the transformation of agriculture along the value chain.Joseph Kwesi Sarpong, a Ghanaian national, was among the first intake of SAFE students when the program launched in 1993.
“There were 25 of us in total when we graduated in 1996,”Joseph explains. “After graduating, I went back to Kwadaso to spear...Read more
“I am proud of being engaged in agriculture”
June.17.2019 / Uganda
The youth agribusiness in Uganda turning agricultural employment into a winning choice
The Zirobwe Agaliawamu Agri-business Training Association(ZAABTA) is a dynamic and award-winning youth agri-business association situated in the Luwero district of central Uganda. The success of the group rests on its ability to inspire African
youth to view agriculture as an employment choice with a bright future, rather than as a last resort.
The Nokia Youth Farming Agricultural Innovation Platform ...Read more
“ This is a new type of market that we did not know before SG 2000”
June.6.2019 / Mali
The National Cereal Exchange Fair, which has over the years become an essential event in Mali for the promotion, and exchange of, grain products, held its 13th edition in Ségou from 14-15 February. The Exchange Fair, which was first launched
in 2006, was the initiative of the President of the Permanent Assembly of the Chambers of Agriculture of Mali (APCAM), in partnership with SG 2000 Mali and AMASSA Afrique Verte. In addition to providing smallholder farmers access to a larger
market, the Fa...Read more
“ Without SG 2000 intervention, we would have been battling with abject poverty”
May.7.2019 / Nigeria
The Story of the Kafin Gana Farmers’ Cooperative
The Kafin Gana Farmers’ Cooperative, in Jigawa, northwestern Nigeria, began life as a rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) in January, 2000. At that time, the cooperative had 10 members, but by 2005 this had increased to 25, including 15 men and 10 women. In its early years the group struggled to invest effectively in profitable enterprises, explains Alhaji Abdu Gana, the group’s chairman. “For over 15 years, there was no improvement...Read more
“They come from great distances to our shop” - The ‘Alen Tesfa’ women’s agro-processing cooperative
April.5.2019 / Ethiopia
Tige Gelaw is from the Awabel woreda of the Amhara region in Ethiopia, bordered on the south by the famous Abay River, known as the Blue Nile. Tige is a member of Alen Tesfa, which translates to We have Hope, a women’s agro-processing cooperative group set up by SAA in 2010.
“SG 2000 came to our kebele” Tige recalls. “The first training we received was in home economics. [They] then provided us with peppers, chickpeas and Teff flour milling machines, which relieved us of the double burden of ...Read more
Malian National Director of Agriculture ‘Very Satisfied’ with SAA Interventions
March.20.2019 / Mali
As part of the partnership between SG 2000 Mali and the National Directorate of Agriculture (DNA), national supervisory field visits are held to identify and document achievements in each of the four intervention areas where SG 2000 works: Kayes,Koulikoro, Sikasso, and Ségou. By recording these successes, they can be included in national annual reports and other databases, highlighting the successes of SG 2000 interventions, technologies,and innovations, and generating further adoption and buy-i...Read more
“ Why don’t you join Sasakawa?” The Story of the Nyarakot Group
February.13.2019 / Uganda
The Nyarakot Farmer Field School 1 is situated in Asinge C of the Nyarakot parish, in Tororo District, Uganda. It consists of 30 members, 18 of whom are women, and its activities include rice, groundnut and maize production. Formed in 2012 and fully registered, it received an initial investment of 10,000,000 Ugandan shillings (USh) from SG 2000 Uganda under the Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) project. They were able to pay back the loan within a year, and the profits from their farming busines...Read more
Supporting farmers to produce quality seed
December.22.2018 / Mali
Dr Fousseyni Cissé is a veteran scientist and rice breeder at the Malian Institute of Rural Economy (IER).
SAA works in collaboration with IER to produce quality seed for farmers. At the demonstration sites for seed production in the Sikasso region, SG 2000 Mali supports an IER-led project to promote two quality seed varieties.
The IER Lowland Rice Unit, based in the Sikasso Cercle at Lokorola village, is among the different agricultural research stations (Lowland and Upland) for different...Read more
Women at the Forefront of Model Cooperative
November.27.2018 / Ethiopia
Fatouma Burka is treasurer of the Borata Arjo Grain Marketing Primary Cooperative Society in the Bubata Arjo kebele of the Oromia region, Ethiopia. The group was established in 2010 with 27 members, all but one of whom were women, and the following year were registered and certified by the cooperatives promotion office. Current membership has now surpassed one hundred members, ten of them men. They are now a member of the Uta Wayu Cooperative Union – one of the most successful unions in Ethiopia...Read more
WOMEN’S AGRO-PROCESSING ENTERPRISES: A source of income for rural women in Nigeria
August.1.2018 / Nigeria
Since 2012, the Postharvest Handling and Agro-processing programme (PHAP) of Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG 2000) in Nigeria has been promoting improved agro-processing technologies and techniques in rice, maize and soya production, with the aim of empowering women – particularly those in rural areas.
Through SG 2000 interventions, several agri-business enterprises
were established, and women’s agro-processing cooperatives currently operate in Adamawa, Kano, Gombe, and Jigawa States. Several techn...Read more
Lop Ape: A farmers’ group for the love of one another
August.1.2018 / Nigeria
Christiana Jeron Buba is from the Pokwangli II town, situated in the Tungo District of the Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. She is an active member of the Lop Ape farmers’cooperative group. ‘Lop Ape’, in the local parlance of Hausa, means“a farmers’ group for the love of one another”. The group has a membership of 20 people, 15 of whom are women. They mainly cultivate maize, as well as cowpea and rice.
Christiana said that, thanks to Sasakawa Global 2000 Nigeria’s(SG 20...Read more
“Those who see us want to be our partners”
July.30.2018 / Mali
The Yiriwa Djè Union of Tingoni, located in the Baraoueli Cerclearea of the Ségou Region, Mali, is made up of 17 cooperatives with a membership of 1,068 people, including 370 women and 698 men. Its holistic approach is based on the crop value chain, which runs from production to the demonstration of new technologies, to marketing through group sales and favourable market research.
The creation of the Union was the result of the support offered by SG 2000 Mali through its Village Development C...Read more
Unity and Hard Work Does Pay Off: The Andinet Primary Cooperative
June.23.2018 / Ethiopia
The Andinet Primary Cooperative can be found in the Debre Libanos woreda of the Dire Jibo kebele, North Shewa zone, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia.It was first established in 1977, although it wasn’t until 2004 that a new organisational structure brought renewed vigour and focus to the group. What started as a modest collective of 51 people now has a membership of 854, including 650 men and 204 women, and a working capital of 750,000ETB, under the guidance of the Sasakawa Africa Association.
...Read more
Increasing Youth Participation in Agriculture: Katamba’s story
June.1.2018 / Uganda
29 year-old Katamba is a farmer from Bulera sub-county, Mityana
district, in the Central Region of Uganda. He is married with three children. He started working with SG 2000 Uganda in 2015, as
a host farmer under the Nabumbugu Youth Development Group,
made up of 30 members (15 men and 15 women). He was motivated to join the group in 2014 after being impressed by the outputs from a maize demonstration.
In the same year that he joined the group, he was selected to host a maize demonstration ...Read more
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