Voices from the field

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SG-2000 Ethiopia Empowering Women through CDP-WAD

January.30.2018 / Ethiopia

28 years old single mother of three Yiftusira Ashenef is a host farmer of Community Demonstration Plot (CDP) in a 0.1 hectare plot in Wikma village of Gol Wikma Kebele, Enarj Enawga Woreda, East Gojam Zone, Amhara region of Ethiopia. She received training at farmers training center (FTC) organized in 30 members’ farmer group, of whom five were women. She first took training on agronomic practices like soil management, line planting, spacing, weeding, and post-harvest handling as well as training...

Empowering Group with Special Needs

January.30.2018 / Ethiopia

The Sashemene Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy is supported by the Nippon Foundation, and the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) as part of the initiative and rationale behind cooperation and selection of user friendly agricultural enterprises for Farmer Based Organization (FBO) members with special needs. In Kuyera, located just north of the main Shashemene town some 260 km south of the Ethiopian capital, this association had been granted 1.5 acres of land by the muni...

“We are productive!” The Loudjouraton group of Molodo

January.30.2018 / Mali

Molodo is a village and seat of the commune of Kala Siguida in the Cercle of Niono in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali. The Loudjouraton group of Molodo is a farmer organization (FO) composed of persons with special needs. The organization was created in 2015. The FO was established by 11 members in 2015 to reach 32 members in 2017 including four women and six children. The crops adopted are: rice, onion, and shallots. The members work under the supervision of SAFE, the Sasakawa Africa ...

SAA programs support women smallholder farmers in Mali

January.26.2017 / Mali

Women Assisted Demonstrations (WADs) are one of the Farmer Learning Platforms (FLPs) implemented as part of SAA’s focus country programs. In Mali, a total of 360 WADs involving 10 technologies were conducted in 120 villages in four administrative regions (Koulikoro, Kayes, Segou and Sikasso) during the 2015 cropping year. It is vitally important that women farmers are included in all stages of the agriculture value chain, and their involvement goes beyond gender specifi c programs like the Women...

Not one bean lost--something we never thought would be possible!

January.26.2017 / Ethiopia

Grain storage loss to insects is a major challenge for smallholder farmers, at times estimated to be at least 20 percent for major crops such as corn and common beans. Without crop-saving bags, farmers need to sell their crops soon after harvest or use insecticides which are not necessarily effective or may not be safe because of improper use.
Ethiopian farmers, as in many other African countries, store their grains in traditional storage facilities constructed from mud, clay, dung, and plant ...

"Implementing technologies has transformed the lives of me and my family"

January.26.2017 / Ethiopia

Farmer Bashir Lemma is from Lalonora Kebele of Begi Woreda in Western Wolega zone,
Ethiopia. He is an award winning farmer and father of seven.
He is an award winning farmer and father of seven.

Bashir said: “Since I began using farming technologies introduced by the Sasakawa Africa
Association (SAA), my quality of life has improved. One year after adopting improved seed
varieties and a line sowing method, I began harvesting signifi cantly higher yields.”
Bashir left education 23 years a...

"We realized crop failure is farmers’ failure"

January.26.2017 / Nigeria

This is the Maize Multi Actor Value-chain Platform and Disability Intervention in Tudun Wada, Kano state, Nigeria. The project is supported by SAA Nigeria’s Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) program.
Muhammmad Yaro is a maize Commodity Association Trainer (C.A.T.). He explained: “We have been organized in this maize commodity value-chain organization since January 27, 2014. I am training farmer groups specializing in the maize value-chain, which is functioning well. Last year’s harvest produced...

Maico Kaiondo, disability is not inability.

May.11.2016 / Uganda

Chivuvu savings and credit group is a social fund group located in the Mityana District of the Central Region of Uganda. Maico Kaiondo, who is blind, is the chairperson of the group. He is a respected member of the community, model farmer, and trader in Chivuvu village. He has his farm, goat yard, piggery, chicken and other poultry, and a small eucalyptus forest.

"The social fund group has 20 members. We have the committee that leads the group and I am the chairperson. All these people ...

“SG 2000 empowered our women processors”- Mwidu Naome.

May.11.2016 / Uganda

News from the Pallisa Agri-business Training Association (PATA), in the Pallissa District of the Eastern Region of Uganda. PATA is one SG 2000-Uganda model, housed in One Stop Center Association (OSCA) to promote crop value chain activities. There are other 22 sister organizations with at least 25 members each. The Association processes Cassava into good quality flour and was provided with grating and pressing machines, drying racks and tarpaulins.

Mwidu Naome, the center manager and trainer ...

"My dream to educate my children has come true"

May.11.2016 / Uganda

In Uganda Bugiri district, Nankoma sub-county, George Mutebe is now a proud farmer with his four-acre Mak Soy 3N variety bean field, after observing SG2000/aBi Trust soybean production demo in 2013. He learned proper agronomic practices for soybeans and adopted the technologies and cultivated four acres.

George recalls: “It was 2013, Mrs. Kemigisha Rosette, Program Officer of SG 2000, came to the marketing center and trained us on good agronomic practices for soybeans including planting in li...