Voices from the field

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Seydou Sidibé talking to the national broadcaster, ORTM Mali TV

“Development is a chain” Seydou Sidibé

April.4.2018 / Mali

Seydou Sidibé is a community based facilitator (CBF) at a Farmer Learning Platform (FLP) and inputs shop in Boidié, a rural commune in the Cercle of Barouéli in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali. Sidibé said: “I am the intermediary and facilitator between the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) in Mali and the village community. SAA is very important in Boidié because of the volume of work they do here. When SAA came in, they showed us the benefits of micro dosing fertilizer technology thr...

Exemplary Farmer Bashir Lema with certifi cate of recognition awarded to him by the local administration

“Implementing technologies has transformed the lives of me and my family” Farmer Bashir Lemma

April.4.2018 / 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. 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 significantly higher yields.” Bashir left education 23 years ago at grade eight, aged 14. He remarked, “Thanks to the tec...

The now beaming household, Hellen with her two youngest kids

From ‘hopeless widow to a household now full of joy: the story of Hellen Epuruge

January.30.2018 / Uganda

Nyarakoti Farmer Field School 1 is situated in Asinge C, Nyarakoti parish, in Usukuru sub county of Tororo District. It consists of 30 members, 18 of whom are women. Its enterprises include Rice production in 6 acres, Ground nuts in 4 acres, and 8 acres of Maize. Formed in 2012 and fully registered, it initially received Ugandan Shilling (USh.) 10,000,000 from SG-2000 Uganda revolving fund under Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) project and invested it in farming as a business being able to pay ...

“Acquiring business skills has transformed my life, my families”, Kawumba Carol

January.30.2018 / Uganda

30 years old Kawumba Carol lives in Bukomolo village, Nandere parish, Kadama Sub County in the Kibuku District of Eastern Uganda. Her success started when she was sponsored by SG-2000 Uganda to go for a farm study tour in Masaka, a town in the Central Region of Uganda, west of Lake Victoria, under the Farmer Based Organizations (FBOs) project.
That trip to Masaka changed Kawumba’s life, as narrated in her story: “We were taken to a model farmer, a woman whom many admired. She had banana farm, ...

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...