Daudi Makongoro, 91, is married to Tabu Makongoro and together they have 10 children. In 2009, he joined CPAR’s CIDA-funded Farmers First program in Ragata, Tanzania. Daudi and Tabu have always relied on farming for income but land conditions in the region have worsened due to soil erosion and over grazing.

Over the last five years, Daudi has worked hard to combat the agricultural issues that have plagued the region. Daudi says, “having fertile land was only the first step, now our vision is to produce more and better produce, to conserve the land and pass on the knowledge and skills to our children.”

As a child, Daudi learned to farm from his father. Mention of deforestation, climate change and soil erosion were not acknowledged. Unfortunately, this meant many of the lands, that were once fertile, are now arid and depleted of nutrients. The lands were producing smaller crops year after year and the farmers did not know how to improve their land.

Through training and hands-on practice, Daudi learned good agricultural practices including the use of cover crops and intercropping. This has helped increase the productivity of the land without requiring money or materials from outside the local area.

These techniques have helped to prevent landslides due to erosion and have increased the amount of water absorbed by the soil during the rainy season which guarantees food security and income for farmers. He says, “We thank CPAR for introducing this project in our village, we are now able to conserve land, diversify agricultural production, increase revenue, improve the marketing of products, the recovery of the forest and above all, rediscovering other ways of seeing and living the world.”

Daudi has managed to grow banana and papaya with pumpkins as the cover crop ensuring the availability of nutrients to the soil. Daudi is earning a lot from selling these crops. He has constructed a house and is paying school fees for his grandchildren. He is also planning on buying a dairy cow.

When asked about his experience and the most important lesson he learned, Daudi said, “Sharing the lessons; I will pass the knowledge to my grandchildren, if our parents and grandparents had thought of tomorrow, of producing and improving the quality of life, my life and the life of other people would have been different. We want to teach our children something different, and leave them a fertile land and food. Our change ensures their future.”

Ato¹ Dereje Etana is a 28 year old government employee in Jarso, Ethiopia. He has been working as a Cooperative Promotion Expert in the Cooperative Promotion Office since 2009.

A cooperative involves community members, who have common objectives, voluntarily coming together to form a democratically controlled organization. This organization pools financial resources by making equitable contributions to the capital and distributing it to members on a rotating basis.

When CPAR’s CIDA-funded Farmers First program was launched in Jarso in 2009, Ato Dereje was one of the key partners involved in conducting inception activities. Ato Dereje has helped the project by facilitating trainings, organizing vulnerable households into groups and expanding his knowledge of bookkeeping and management activities.

In collaboration with the District Cooperative Promotion Office, three cooperatives were established in Jarso, with a total of 755 members, 265 of which are female. These members are all participants in Farmer Field Schools, which bring farmers together to learn and experiment with improved agronomic practices. Ato Dereje confirmed that, “The cooperatives that have emerged out of Farmer Field Schools can be taken as a model among the others I have worked with.” He said, “The members are self-motivated and active in all aspects of their cooperative to make it more efficient and effective.”

The dedication and collaboration of the members is just one of the benefits Ato Dereje believes partnerships bring. “Partnership is more than financial support; it not only adds value to the quality of project implementation, but both the cooperatives and individuals benefit in terms of learning innovative approaches and sharing new ideas.” Ato Dereje says the best examples of well-run cooperatives that he has worked with to date are those that have emerged out of the Farmer Field School approach. Over the past four years, he has observed that, “the strength and sustainability of these cooperatives will very much hinge on the determination and commitment of individual Farmer Field School groups, which have been very effective due to the continued education and constant support that member farmers provide each other.”

¹ Ato is a sign of respect for men in Ethiopia. It is the equivalent of Mr. (Mister)

Deforestation is one of the greatest challenges facing many African nations today. It is an environmental concern that impacts the daily lives of farmers across Africa. Deforestation increases the likelihood for drought, famine and poverty to develop. As populations increase, land is cleared for food production and fuel energy. The best way to slow down rampant deforestation is to support the empowerment of rural communities to plant more trees and manage existing forests in a sustainable way.

Since its foundation in 1984, CPAR has planted over 60 million trees in Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda combined, providing farmers with the means to confront the effects of deforestation and climate change. In countries such as Malawi, 90% of the population uses wood for household needs such as cooking. As a result, tree planting is considered an important activity among farmers.

For example, Mathanki Mikisoni, a Farmer Field School (FFS) member in Lilongwe District, has been planting trees for over 25 years. He says, “Before I got married, my father advised me to plant trees. He told me that I would learn about the importance of trees as my wife will need firewood for cooking – and for that reason I will need to plant trees every year.”

He goes on to say, “When our farmer field school was established in our village I was one of the first members to join. CPAR trained us in crop production, livestock production, and tree planting. The training in tree planting really touched my heart and changed my perspective on trees. I received information on fast growing tree varieties, learned about exotic trees, tree cutting and preservation methods, and the immediate benefits of exotic trees. Through the FFS I was also able to share my experience on growing indigenous trees with other FFS members”.

Participating farmers are equipped with seeds, watering cans, planting tools, and the knowledge and expertise to cut down portions of the trees without cutting down the entire tree. This method allows for trees to grow – while still meeting the needs for fire wood.

Environmental preservation is one of CPAR’s number one goals. Trees are a source of life. They increase food production, add moisture to the air, and combat famine.

In rural Ethiopia, female farmers face significant barriers overcoming poverty. Lack of access to productive assets including land, training and education prevent their capacity to secure a stable income. Often they rely on subsistence farming to support their family. While this helps to put food on the table, it provides little to no income for other household needs. 

CPAR’s Farmers First Program is designed to remedy these issues. To date, the overall membership of women in Farmer Field School groups has reached 60% and has provided women with the means to face their challenges head on. 

Take, for example, W/ro Asnakech Beyene, a widow and a mother of four children. Prior to joining a FFS in Jarso, Ethiopia she struggled to make ends meet. After participating in a variety of educational workshops, she learned the value of building a backyard vegetable garden. Asnakech received beetroot, cabbage, Swiss chard, onion, and tomato seeds to help diversify her diet and supplement her income.

Within three months of planting, she grew enough produce to feed her family and sell her surplus at a local market. With her increased earnings she is now saving to purchase sheep. Joining FFS has proved to be a successful and beneficial venture.

One of Asnakech’s neighbors, W/ro Shage remarks on her success. She says, “Asnakech is a strong female. She is often active and capable of applying new technologies introduced to her. The attractive vegetable production seen in her back yard is a good lesson for us. We are ready to follow in her steps to improve the diet of our children and our family livelihoods in general.”

*W/ro is a sign of respect for women in Ethiopia and is always put in front of the first name.

In order to enhance the learning experience of the farmers, each school is made up of 20-30 participants. Every farmer brings something significant to the table. Take Ivona Mateso, a resident of Bugorora Village on Ukerewe Island and a member of Nguvu Kazi FFS group. Her passion is evident in the work she does for the group.

As soon as she joined FFS, Ivona was elected as assistant secretary of the group. She believes women can do anything that men can do and now has a vegetable garden of her own to show for it. Ivona says, “I am now managing my own vegetable garden and have planted banana, amaranth, tomatoes and Chinese cabbage. I have been able to improve the nutrition status of my family and have increased my family’s income”.

One of the greatest challenges farmers face in the field is dealing with destructive crop pests, weeds and diseases. It is essential to tackle these issues early on and with eco-conscious methods. Luckily FFS training supports farmers with the skills and expertise to root out these field menaces.

Like Ivona, long-time fisherman Juma Lusato needed work that would assist in generating a steady income and help to feed his family. Fishing yielded little income and was illegal in overfished waters, a problem that affects fisherman across Tanzania. Adjusting to the limitations of fishing, Juma joined a FFS group to acquire new skills and improve his agricultural practices.

Having participated in FFS training on pest management and control, Jumo is now a recognized local pesticide producer in the region. He utilizes neem leaves to create an organic pesticide which serves as a repellent of problematic pests. By soaking them overnight in water – he is able to produce and promote effective and easy to use eco-conscious repellents.

This one-year pilot project, which runs until June 30^th 2013, demonstrates education and community participation are fundamental in helping farmer’s live long and healthy lives. Not only has it provided women and men with the means to earn an income, it has provided participants with the tools to overcome poverty.

By: Tezeta Meshesha, Communication & Knowledge Manager,
Benishangul Gumuz Food Security and Economic Growth Project

Gofa Dera from Ethiopia has not heard about this day. She is a 45 year old widow, and a mother of 5 girls and 4 boys living in Atsetsa in the Region of Benishangul Gumuz, along the border with Sudan. She grows soybeans on her half hectare plot of land, having experimented with new seed varieties and new ways of planting. Gofa Dera is a quick learner. She was trained on agricultural technology management and quickly applied what she learned; after increasing her harvest of soybeans, she is now looking to plant sesame and maize for next year. Gofa Dera regularly shares her newfound agricultural skills and knowledge with neighbouring farmers that visit her small farm; after seeing Gofa Dera’s most recent harvest, many of them leave with big hopes to improve their own farm productivity.

Almanesh Balbasha lives in Belo Jiganfoy, a neighbouring community. She is a born leader. Together with 25 other women in her community, she created a women’s self-help group and eventually became the group’s Secretary. Recognizing their productive potential, the local government gave the group five additional hectares of land on which to grow other crops. “The government saw us coming together as a group, producing carrots, beets, onions, cabbage and potatoes.  They saw that we had a shortage of land, and gave us five hectares to plant maize,” says Almenesh.  Very often smallholder farmers, and in particular women, are taken advantage of by local collectors who fix prices for their produce.  Self-help groups allow women to increase their bargaining power and to negotiate better prices for their produce.

Not far away in Tenkara, Kemise Tesfa recently joined an irrigation group where she learned new water diversion strategies that she is now applying on the group’s shared farm.  She and the 13 other women in the irrigation group grow sugar cane, corn and onions, and this year plan to add tomatoes, bananas and potatoes. Kemise and the women working with her have a clear business strategy – access more water, improve the water flow, and teach and mobilize more people in irrigation, all with the intent of ensuring sustainable income for their  community.

Yeshi Ejeta is proud of a noticeable and big achievement in her community in Dadessa. The livestock in her community can now benefit from regular animal health care. This is because of a new animal health post built in her community, complete with the capacity to vaccinate livestock – from cattle to chickens – in order to prevent disease. It’s important because owning livestock in Belo Jiganfoy is the equivalent of money in the bank, security for the future and food for today. Yeshi is on the oversight committee for the animal health clinic. “Before the animal health posts were constructed,” Yeshi said, “our cattle were treated in an unstructured manner on an open field; now we have a new health post for our cattle which benefits our communities greatly. This clinic is ours, the services are better, it will help us become stronger as a community, to better take care of our families.”

All of these women are working hard for their families and transforming their communities in Ethiopia – and they do so against incredible odds. Women generally have limited access to information, skills enhancement opportunities, finances and other inputs. These inequalities dramatically hinder development.

Like Gofa Dera, many women in Ethiopia have not heard of International Women’s Day. But they are doing amazing things in their communities, in spite of challenges that would otherwise hold them back.  Today, March 8, they are demonstrating just how important it is for all of us to acknowledge and honour them for their hard work, including their work to bring about collaboration and change. There is a telling Ethiopian saying  Dir biyaber Anbesa Yaser (When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion). When women join hands and bring together all in their communities, the achievements in surmounting challenges can only increase.

All four women are being supported through the Benishangul Gumuz Food Security and Economic Growth Project in Ethiopia. A project that supports communities in Ethiopia to grow more food, improve agricultural productivity and engage in sustainable income-generating activities in an effort to improve their food security and economic well-being. With financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the project is a unique partnership between Government of Ethiopia and six Canadian NGOs: Save the Children Canada, Food for the Hungry, World Vision Canada, Oxfam Canada, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, the Canadian Hunger Foundation and the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan.

Nechety’s household generates its livelihood from a combination of crop and livestock production. However, the 500 to 600 kg of food crops Nechety harvests annually from her small plots of land are not enough to support her family year round. As a result, the family often suffers from a shortage of food. Nechety used to have only 3 egg-laying chickens which provided little to supplement her household income. Then the Benishangul Gumuz Food Security and Economic Growth Project (BSG FSEG) distributed improved chickens to partner farmers.  Nechety was given six young hens and participated in 3 days of training on improved poultry production and management.

Nechety put the chickens and training into action, and her and her family’s lives have started to get better.  She is now able to sell enough eggs to earn about $17 in the span of just 6 weeks. This is a significant improvement. When asked about the project’s impact on her life, Nechety explains, “I am happy that I can feed my children eggs. They are simple to prepare and don’t take much time to cook. Eggs are the most delicious food and I could easily eat them when I was sick. With the additional income, I am able to pay some of my children’s school fees and my family’s medical fees. The income also helps to cover household expenses.”

Poultry projects are proving to be an excellent source of income for particularly poor female-headed households. Nechety Hora’s account is just one of the many success stories reported among 44 farmers (29 female) who have been supported by the project through income-generating activities. Considering the poultry project’s contribution towards increasing income and food security at the household level, its success is one that warrants expansion to additional households.

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Nechety is being supported through the Benishangul Gumuz Food Security and Economic Growth Project in Ethiopia. A project that supports communities in Ethiopia to grow more food, improve agricultural productivity and engage in sustainable income-generating activities in an effort to improve their food security and economic well-being. With financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the project is a unique partnership between Government of Ethiopia and six Canadian NGOs: Save the Children Canada, Food for the Hungry, World Vision Canada, Oxfam Canada, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, the Canadian Hunger Foundation and the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan.

He also had to battle climate change and the challenges associated with deforestation. Despite these challenges Mathanki believes that, “it is important for families to plant trees. I learned from my father the importance of trees and today I am so happy that my children have an interest in and a love for trees.” Deforestation is a serious challenge facing farmers in Malawi.

It is directly linked to climate change and its effects, which include increased temperatures, decreased rainfall, soil erosion, and drought all negatively impact agricultural production. In a country where 90% of the population use wood for fuel and the majority of people require land for small-scale farming, the increasing population is causing further deforestation.  To combat these negative effects knowledge about different agricultural and forestry technologies is necessary.

In 2012, Mathanki’s became one of the first farmers in his village to join the newly established Tilandilitseni Farmer Field School group. He participated in training on crop and livestock production, as well as nursery establishment and agroforestry. Agroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.

It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. (definition from http://www.internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ijas/about ). Mathanki was particularly interested in the training on tree nursery establishment and agroforestry, building and expanding on his existing knowledge of the importance of trees.

Not only did Mathanki learn about the benefits of growing exotic trees which are fast growing trees. These will compliment indigenous trees because the rapid growth of the exotic trees will offer an alternative source of firewood, allowing indigenous trees the time they need to grow to reach maturity. He was also able to share his knowledge and experiences on planting and growing indigenous trees.

Mathanki’s Farmer Field School group established a tree nursery site where they have raised 3,000 exotic seedlings and Mathanki has received 125 tree seedlings from the Farmer Field School nursery that he has planted around his house and gardens.

He explains that, “With this year’s good rains, my trees have taken root and I will continue to take good care of them to ensure their survival. They will provide me with a source of much needed wood fuel, shade, manure and poles.” He is also able to sell tree products such as firewood, poles and charcoal from his forest.

The money he makes from the sale of these products he uses to purchase household items such as soap and cooking oil. Despite the environmental challenges, the knowledge he and his neighbours have gained on agricultural and forestry technologies, has drastically improved their livelihoods.  Mathanki remains enthusiastic and passionate, “let us plant trees, they can provide a solution to limiting climate change and alleviate a lot of problems and challenges faced by farmers today,” said Mathanki.

Santa Anyige plucking ripe tomatoes from her garden

At the time, Santa grew cassava and pigeon peas, but both were labour intensive crops. Santa believed she required a diverse selection of crops to help produce a higher income for her family and contribute to their overall diet.

Santa decided to become a member of the Baradanga Farmer Field School group where she was able to learn about the cultivation of tomatoes and cabbages, which are highly nutritious and marketable foods. “With the training on vegetable production and analysis of profitable crop enterprises I received from our Farmer Field School, my thinking changed, I embraced vegetable growing in the subsequent season. With cabbage and tomatoes, I do not need to till huge chunks of land like before to realize a commendable amount of income,” said Santa.

Santa is now able to provide nutritious food for her family on a consistent basis, and her farm is efficient and profitable. She says “I plant only half an acre of tomatoes and cabbages and am able to earn nearly four times as much as a full acre of cassava. Not only has this helped improve my income and nutrition, it has also made farming more pleasant and less labour intensive for myself and my family,” said Santa.

Despite having access to these items, she prepares meals at home from cassava and pumpkin leaves. While these may fill a belly, they do not contribute to a balanced diet. She says, “I was unaware about the importance of eggs for children. I now understand that for children to grow-up healthy, they need a variety of food”.

In Karatu and Bunda Districts, many households possess little knowledge on nutrition and balanced diets. Thus, they face the challenge to provide a nutritious meal for their families. Like Mwabia, heads of households are focused on making sure their families have food to eat. Little consideration goes into the nutritional benefits for the food that is chosen.

When Mwabia joined the Mbogamboga Mwiruruma Farmer Field School (FFS) in her village she was surprised to learn the importance of including proteins and vegetables in meals. She says, “I never cooked groundnuts at home before this training. It opened up my eyes, now I understand the importance of having nutritious food at home”.

Through the training, the group gained theoretical as well as practical knowledge on nutrition, food storage and food preparation. The theory portion, of the training, covered topics such as nutrition for children under five, pregnant women and people living with HIV. In the practical portion, participants had a chance to practice how to prepare porridge mixed with eggs and cassava and pumpkin leaves mixed with groundnut sauce.

After the training, Mwabia and 12 other women in her village teamed up and established a vegetable garden. The group is now producing vegetables such as spinach, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes and green collard vegetables. They are also exchanging knowledge they gained with other villages in their district.

Mwabia remarks, “I now have easy access to vegetables and I keep chicken at home so I can have access to eggs. I have also planted papaya trees so in the near future I’ll have fruit at home”.

Women in the Mbogamboga Mwiruruma Farmer Field School group admit that the biggest challenge was the lack of knowledge and availability of nutritious food. “Through this nutrition training we have learned a lot about the importance of different food varieties and it is contributing to a healthier community!” Mwabia says.