research: Inclusive value chains

Breaking barriers in Mshewe: How Zinduka Women are Transforming Agriculture and Empowering Communities

Written by dmedina on October 22, 2024. Posted in Features.

In the sleepy village of Mshewe in Tanzania’s Mbeya District, a group of women is quietly revolutionizing their community through a powerful blend of agricultural entrepreneurship and social transformation. Since its inception in 2010, the Zinduka Women group has grown from a collective of women survivors of gender-based violence to an inspiring force for change that is uplifting families and challenging societal norms.

Empowerment through economic independence is at the heart of their mission, and their name “Zinduka”— a Swahili word meaning “to wake up, come to one’s senses, or gain consciousness,”—aptly describes the group’s journey. Supported by the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) project, these women have moved beyond the shadows of their past to redefine their future. Today, they stand as role models, not only in agriculture but as champions of women’s empowerment.

From Beans to Big Dreams

Since their inception in 2010, the women of Zinduka have faced the challenges of limited yields and outdated farming methods. Taking a leap of faith, they sought out partnerships that could provide them with the necessary tools and training. Collaborating with the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the women embarked on an ambitious two-year journey of modern agricultural training, transforming their humble bean farm into a scalable, profitable venture. By adopting improved seed varieties like the Zinc and iron-rich Jesca beans, the group saw their yields soar from 120 kg to over 500 kg per hectare—a testament to the power of education and perseverance.

Witness Kayanga, the group’s chairperson, recalls the turning point for the women of Zinduka: ‘We realized that to break the cycle of poverty and oppression, we needed more than just hard work; we needed knowledge and resources. That’s when things started to change.’

Innovation Meets Empowerment

With support from USAID, through CIMMYT’s AID-I project, the Zinduka Women’s Group has made remarkable progress. Today, 11 of the 38 group members are Quality Declared Seed (QDS) producers, enabling them to contribute to local food security by producing high-quality seeds while also generating a sustainable income. The group has also received a production machine that has significantly improved their efficiency. When not in use by the group, the machine is rented out to others in the community, creating an additional revenue stream.

The group’s association with NMB Bank has given them access to credit facilities that have strengthened their financial position. Furthermore, the acquisition of a digital weighing scale has brought much-needed precision to their work. These developments have enabled them to expand their business, and the impact is visible not only in their increased earnings but also in their confidence. One group member proudly shared, ‘We used to face heavy losses as some traders exploited us by using tampered tins, causing us to sell more grain for less. Now, we are more than just farmers; we are businesswomen.’

This support has empowered the Zinduka Women’s Group to not only improve their agricultural output but also elevate their standing in the community as businesswomen.

Recognizing the untapped potential for value-added products, they began producing bean flour, cakes, and pastries, which quickly gained popularity in their village and beyond. Bean flour has emerged as a healthier, more nutritious alternative, leading to an increase in demand within Mshewe. As part of their forward-thinking approach, the Zinduka Women’s Group is now exploring the introduction of premium packaging for their high-zinc and iron-rich Jesca beans. This differentiation will enable them to command higher prices in the market, further increasing their profitability and sustainability.

The group still needs more support in terms of access to capital and mechanization, as their production scale increases and so does their reliance on equipment and market linkages. Efficiently matching seed supply with market demand remains critical to avoid the risk of selling valuable seed stocks as regular grain. Nonetheless, their progress is a testament to how access to training, tools, and financial services can transform the lives of smallholder farmers and strengthen local food systems.

Beyond Agriculture: A Beacon for Women’s Rights

While the Zinduka Women Group’s agricultural success is impressive, it is their role as advocates for gender equality that truly sets them apart. Most members have overcome significant personal trauma, using their economic success as a shield against future abuse. The group’s work is now seen as a model for integrating gender empowerment into rural development.

Not only are they transforming their own lives, but they are actively mentoring other women and youth in the region, amplifying their impact. Their success has attracted attention from various organizations, keen to replicate their model of combining agricultural innovation with social change.

A Future Built on Partnership and Hope

USAID’s support has unlocked a future of potential for the women’s group. By equipping them with the tools to succeed in agriculture and beyond, the foundation has been laid for sustainable growth, not only for the Zinduka Women’s Group but for the entire community.

Rebecca’s Story of Turning Waste into a Livelihood

Written by dmedina on September 27, 2024. Posted in Blogs.

Rebecca Benson, a 30-year-old mother of three from Igurusi village in Mbeya, Tanzania, is living proof of how small efforts against food loss can significantly impact people’s lives. Her journey unfolded during a recent USAID field mission in Tanzania for CIMMYT’s Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) project when we visited a grain storage facility operated by the Igurusi Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society (AMCOS). This local cooperative provides storage facilities and connects rice farmers to buyers, ensuring their produce is preserved and marketed efficiently. The warehouse stores over 1,000 tons of paddy, which is dried, stored, and ready for market.

As we toured the warehouse, we noticed that between the collection and storage of produce, small amounts of paddy had spilled onto the ground. Although this might seem like a minor oversight, it quickly became clear that what could have been discarded as waste was, for some, a valuable resource.

Turning Food Loss into Livelihood

A few meters away, we noticed Rebecca winnowing paddy. Intrigued by the picturesque scene of wind blowing away chaff, we approached her and soon discovered her remarkable story. Initially shy, Rebecca gradually opened up to us and shared her story of resilience and great inspiration. Four years ago, Rebecca left a comfortable life for one filled with struggle. She had been in an abusive marriage but decided to rebuild her life after an altercation with her husband almost turned fatal.

“He would drink and become very violent. I had endured a lot but realized that he might one day kill me. I was very scared,” Rebecca narrated.

Starting life on her own and without access to her family’s land, she struggled to continue her rice farming, facing the overwhelming costs of leasing land and maintaining a farm. As her situation worsened, she found it increasingly difficult to provide for her children.

A happy Rebecca Benson winnowing paddy she collected from the ground at the Igurusi AMCOS (Photo: Maria Monayo, CIMMYT)

In her quest for survival, Rebecca began collecting waste paddy from spillage at the AMCOS warehouse. Initially, after threshing, it was just enough for her family to feed on, but she soon realized she could sell some of the rice to generate income. With the cooperative’s permission, she started collecting, cleaning, and selling the grains at Tsh 700 per kilogram. On average, Rebecca gathers over 20 kg of rice daily, which helps her pay rent, school fees, and feed her family. Although a tedious task to sift through the soil and rocks, Rebecca does it enthusiastically.

While she hopes to one day acquire land and return to farming, Rebecca remains grateful for the opportunity she has now. “It is hard work, and I want to improve my life and that of my children. I have not been able to save enough to lease land for farming, but that is my goal,” she said. The work also keeps her busy and has granted her independence from her abusive partner, allowing her to support her family on her own.

The Reality of Post-Harvest Grain Loss

In Sub-Saharan Africa, post-harvest grain loss amounts to millions of dollars in lost revenue and a reduction in food security due to inadequate storage facilities and improper handling during drying and transport. While AMCOS works hard to preserve crops and prevent large-scale food loss, the small quantities of spilled rice are an unavoidable consequence of handling large volumes. For Rebecca, however, these spilled grains represent a lifeline. Through her resourcefulness, she has turned what could have been wasted into an opportunity, providing her family with food and financial stability.

Empowering women in Zanzibar: the transformative impact of amaranth farming

Written by dmedina on September 12, 2024. Posted in Blogs.

Mariam Salim with amaranth grain that is ready to harvest from her vegetable field. (Photo: World Vegetable Centre)

On Pemba Island, part of Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, more women are engaging in vegetable production and value addition, bolstering household nutrition and income security. This movement is significant in areas where modern agricultural technology and awareness of nutrient-rich crops like amaranth—a vegetable high in fiber, protein, and essential micronutrients—are limited.

Mariam Salim, who lives in Mjini Ole village on Pemba Island, is among the women embracing amaranth cultivation. Along with 272 other farmers, 53% of whom are women, she attended a three-day training course on vegetable cultivation and value addition. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through CIMMYT under the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) project, and implemented by the World Vegetable Center, the training covered good agricultural practices, as well as the cultivation and processing of grain amaranth into flour.

The training equipped Mariam with essential knowledge and skills to enhance her agricultural productivity and livelihood.

Sowing seeds for success

Participants received seed kits containing eight varieties of nutritious traditional African vegetables, including African eggplant, African nightshade, amaranth, cowpea, and Ethiopian mustard. Farming a diverse range of crops supports food security and improves community nutrition.

During the training, Mariam realized the potential of growing grain amaranth for seed production. “I discovered that I could produce my own seeds and amaranth flour,” she said. “This opened up new opportunities for me to take control of my farming practices and increase my self-sufficiency.”

Seed production is a vital part of sustainable agriculture, enabling farmers like Mariam to boost productivity, diversify crops, and adopt climate-smart practices. By venturing into seed production, Mariam not only gained a valuable skill but also contributed to conserving and propagating important crop varieties within her community.

Mariam now sells seeds to other farmers, providing her with a new income source while supporting the broader agricultural community by facilitating access to quality seeds. Since the training in July 2023, Mariam has harvested 150 kg of seeds, selling them per kilogram (kg), earning US $450 and enhancing her household income security.

Healthy choices for communities

As the first woman in her community to undertake such an endeavor, Mariam is inspiring other women to explore new farming and food processing opportunities. Through the AID-I project on Zanzibar Island, more than 500 women have started home gardening to access quality vegetables for family consumption and business purposes, introducing new crop varieties and increasing household vegetable consumption.

This light bulb moment underscores the transformative power of education and knowledge-sharing initiatives under AID-I. By providing farmers with information on vegetable grain production and value addition, the project fosters self-reliance and innovation in sustainable farming practices.

Mariam’s detailed description of her seed production process highlights her dedication to agricultural innovation and community health. “It takes three months to harvest seeds, so I must be patient and committed to nurturing healthy crops,” she said. “I must also be precise in caring for the seeds through harvesting, drying, tapping, and sifting.”

The World Vegetable Center promotes home gardening among women. More than 500 participants actively cultivate and process vegetables into nutrient-dense packs. By growing their own vegetables, these women access nutritious food for their families, generate income from surplus produce, and improve health and well-being within the community.

Mariam Salim’s light bulb moment came during a training session on amaranth grain, where she recognized the potential of producing her own seeds. (Photo: World Vegetable Center)

Enhancing the resilience of our farmers and our food systems: global collaboration at DialogueNEXT

Written by Mike Listman on July 26, 2024. Posted in Features.

“Achieving food security by mid-century means producing at least 50 percent more food,” said U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security, Cary Fowler, citing a world population expected to reach 9.8 billion and suffering the dire effects of violent conflicts, rising heat, increased migration, and dramatic reductions in land and water resources and biodiversity. “Food systems need to be more sustainable, nutritious, and equitable.”

CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy aims to build a diverse coalition of partners to lead the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems. This approach addresses factors influencing global development, plant health, food production, and the environment. At DialogueNEXT, CIMMYT and its network of partners showcased successful examples and promising directions for bolstering agricultural science and food security, focusing on poverty reduction, nutrition, and practical solutions for farmers.

Without healthy crops or soils, there is no food

CIMMYT’s MasAgro program in Mexico has enhanced farmer resilience by introducing high-yielding crop varieties, novel agricultural practices, and income-generation activities. Mexican farmer Diodora Petra Castillo Fajas shared how CIMMYT interventions have benefitted her family. “Our ancestors taught us to burn the stover, degrading our soils. CIMMYT introduced Conservation Agriculture, which maintains the stover and traps more humidity in the soil, yielding more crops with better nutritional properties,” she explained.

CIMMYT and African partners, in conjunction with USAID’s Feed the Future, have begun applying the MasAgro [1] model in sub-Saharan Africa through the Feed the Future Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I), where as much as 80 percent of cultivated soils are poor, little or no fertilizer is applied, rainfed maize is the most widespread crop, many households lack balanced diets, and erratic rainfall and high temperatures require different approaches to agriculture and food systems.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CIMMYT are partnering to carry out the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) movement in Africa and Central America. This essential movement for transforming food systems endorsed by the G7 focuses on crop improvement and soil health. VACS will invest in improving and spreading 60 indigenous “opportunity” crops—such as sorghum, millet, groundnut, pigeon pea, and yams, many of which have been grown primarily by women—to enrich soils and human diets together with the VACS Implementers’ Group, Champions, and Communities of Practice.

The MasAgro methodology has been fundamental in shaping the Feed the Future Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) Rapid Delivery Hub, an effort between government agencies, private, and public partners, including CGIAR. AID-I provides farmers with greater access to markets and extension services for improved seeds and crop varieties. Access to these services reduces the risk to climate and socioeconomic shocks and improves food security, economic livelihoods, and overall community resilience and prosperity.

Healthy soils are critical for crop health, but crops must also contain the necessary genetic traits to withstand extreme weather, provide nourishment, and be marketable. CIMMYT holds the largest maize and wheat gene bank, supported by the Crop Trust, offering untapped genetic material to develop more resilient varieties from these main cereal grains and other indigenous crops. Through the development of hardier and more adaptable varieties, CIMMYT and its partners commit to implementing stronger delivery systems to get improved seeds for more farmers. This approach prioritizes biodiversity conservation and addresses major drivers of instability: extreme weather, poverty, and hunger.

Food systems must be inclusive to combat systemic inequities

Successful projects and movements such as MasAgro, VACS, and AID-I are transforming the agricultural landscape across the Global South. But the urgent response required to reduce inequities and the needed investment to produce more nutritious food with greater access to cutting-edge technologies demands inclusive policies and frameworks like CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy.

“In Latin America and throughout the world, there is still a huge gap between the access of information and technology,” said Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, Laura Elena Suazo Torres. “Civil society and the public and private sectors cannot have a sustainable impact if they work opposite to each other.”

Ismahane Elouafi, CGIAR executive managing director, emphasized that agriculture does not face, “a lack of innovative science and technology, but we’re not connecting the dots.” CIMMYT offers a pathway to bring together a system of partners from various fields—agriculture, genetic resources, crop breeding, and social sciences, among others—to address the many interlinked issues affecting food systems, helping to bring agricultural innovations closer to farmers and various disciplines to solve world hunger.

While healthy soils and crops are key to improved harvests, ensuring safe and nutritious food production is critical to alleviating hunger and inequities in food access. CIMMYT engages with private sector stakeholders such as Bimbo, GRUMA, Ingredion, Syngenta, Grupo Trimex, PepsiCo, and Heineken, to mention a few, to “link science, technology, and producers,” and ensure strong food systems, from the soils to the air and water, to transform vital cereals into safe foods to consume, like fortified bread and tortillas.

Reduced digital gaps can facilitate knowledge-sharing to scale-out improved agricultural practices like intercropping. The Rockefeller Foundation and CIMMYT have “embraced the complexity of diversity,” as mentioned by Roy Steiner, senior vice-president, through investments in intercropping, a crop system that involves growing two or more crops simultaneously and increases yields, diversifies diets, and provides economic resilience. CIMMYT has championed these systems in Mexico, containing multiple indicators of success from MasAgro.

Today, CIMMYT collaborates with CGIAR and Total LandCare to train farmers in southern and eastern Africa on the intercrop system with maize and legumes i.e., cowpea, soybean, and jack bean. CIMMYT also works with WorldVeg, a non-profit organization dedicated to vegetable research and development, to promote intercropping in vegetable farming to ensure efficient and safe production and connect vegetable farmers to markets, giving them more sources for greater financial security.

Conflict aggravates inequities and instability. CIMMYT leads the Feed the Future Sustainable Agrifood Systems Approach for Sudan (SASAS) which aims to deliver latest knowledge and technology to small scale producers to increase agricultural productivity, strengthen local and regional value chains, and enhance community resilience in war-torn countries like Sudan. CIMMYT has developed a strong partnership funded by USAID with ADRA, CIP, CRS, ICRISAT, IFDC, IFPRI, ILRI, Mercy Corps, Near East Foundation, Samaritan’s Purse, Syngenta Foundation, VSF, and WorldVeg, to devise solutions for Sudanese farmers. SASAS has already unlocked the potential of several well-suited vegetables and fruits like potatoes, okra, and tomatoes. These crops not only offer promising yields through improved seeds, but they encourage agricultural cooperatives, which promote income-generation activities, gender-inclusive practices, and greater access to diverse foods that bolster family nutrition. SASAS also champions livestock health providing food producers with additional sources of economic resilience.

National governments play a critical role in ensuring that vulnerable populations are included in global approaches to strengthen food systems. Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture, Victor Villalobos, shared examples of how government intervention and political will through people-centered policies provides greater direct investment to agriculture and reduces poverty, increasing shared prosperity and peace. “Advances must help to reduce gaps in development.” Greater access to improved agricultural practices and digital innovation maintains the field relevant for farmers and safeguards food security for society at large. Apart from Mexico, key government representatives from Bangladesh, Brazil, Honduras, India, and Vietnam reaffirmed their commitment to CIMMYT’s work.

Alice Ruhweza, senior director at the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, and Maria Emilia Macor, an Argentinian farmer, agreed that food systems must adopt a holistic approach. Ruhweza called it, “The great food puzzle, which means that one size does not fit all. We must integrate education and infrastructure into strengthening food systems and development.” Macor added, “The field must be strengthened to include everyone. We all contribute to producing more food.”

Generating solutions, together

In his closing address, which took place on World Population Day 2024, CIMMYT Director General Bram Govaerts thanked the World Food Prize for holding DialogueNEXT in Mexico and stressed the need for all partners to evolve, while aligning capabilities. “We have already passed several tipping points and emergency measures are needed to avert a global catastrophe,” he said. “Agrifood systems must adapt, and science has to generate solutions.”

Through its network of research centers, governments, private food producers, universities, and farmers, CIMMYT uses a multidisciplinary approach to ensure healthier crops, safe and nutritious food, and the dissemination of essential innovations for farmers. “CIMMYT cannot achieve these goals alone. We believe that successful cooperation is guided by facts and data and rooted in shared values, long-term commitment, and collective action. CIMMYT’s 2030 Strategy goes beyond transactional partnership and aims to build better partnerships through deeper and more impactful relationships. I invite you to partner with us to expand this collective effort together,” concluded Govaerts.

[1] Leveraging CIMMYT leadership, science, and partnerships and the funding and research capacity of Mexico’s Agriculture Ministry (SADER) during 2010-21, the program known as “MasAgro” helped over 300,000 participating farmers to adopt improved maize and wheat varieties and resource-conserving practices on more than 1 million hectares of farmland in 30 states of Mexico.

Visual summaries by Reilly Dow.

Strengthening maize value chains in Nepal

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on May 20, 2024. Posted in News.

Stakeholders collaborate in a two-day workshop to discuss the inclusive development of maize value chains in Nepal. (Photo: CIMMYT)

From April 3-4, 2024, CIMMYT hosted the International Conference on Strengthening Maize Value Chains in Nepal, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Department of Agriculture (DOA), the National Agriculture Research Council (NARC), and the Agri Enterprise Center (AEC) of the Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“Maize holds the potential to yield manifold benefits for farmers, the private sector, and the Government of Nepal, through the development of an efficient market system,” said Judith Almodovar, acting director of the Economic Growth Office at USAID Nepal. With this in mind, the two-day conference held in Kathmandu brought together government officials, policymakers, industry leaders, and experts from Nepal and the wider region to explore avenues for advancing the country’s maize sub-sector. It served as a platform for participants from India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, representing various functions of the maize value chain to share and exchange innovative commercial maize production, post-harvest, supply chain, and marketing models and policies aimed at improving efficiency, ensuring sustainability, and fostering competitiveness.

Addressing the opening session, Honorable Minister of Agriculture, Jwala Kumari Sah, highlighted the Government of Nepal’s priority to increase maize production and marketing, emphasizing the need to provide maize for food, feed, and fodder to boost incomes and improve livelihoods. While highlighting objectives and expectations from the conference, Country Representative for CIMMYT in Nepal, Dyutiman Choudhary, shared information about CIMMYT’s mandate and global expertise in maize science, as well as interventions to develop a maize seed-to-feed model in Nepal. The organization’s model fosters public-private farmer partnerships for commercial maize production as a key approach to develop an inclusive and sustainable maize sub-sector in the country. “As a result, maize yields have doubled in Nepal and farmer gate prices have increased by 50% in the last two years,” Choudhary explained.

CIMMYT scientists and partners engage in a panel discussion on maize commercialization. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Recommendations for sustainable improvement

The conference involved five different technical sessions over the course of two days, each focused on various themes related to production, marketing, international best practices, and policies. Experts from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal were involved in insightful discussions and shared valuable knowledge and experience for advancing the commercialization of the maize sub-sector in Nepal.

Participants made recommendations for the sustainable improvement of national maize production and commercialization to meet the growing demand for food, feed, and fodder while reducing reliance on imports. These include developing high-yielding, short-duration, stress-tolerant maize varieties, and identifying models for commercial maize production, post-harvest, storage, market linkages, and supportive policies for improved investment and coordination among public sectors, market actors, and service providers to meet national maize demand.

At the closing session, Govinda Prasad Sharma, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD), notified attendees that MOALD is in the process of strengthening a national strategy for maize commercialization and that the learning from the conference will provide valuable inputs. He added that the participation of experts from neighboring countries has provided deep insights for policy development.

How improved seeds empower women farmers in South Kordofan

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on May 16, 2024. Posted in Blogs.

Fanta Mohamed, a 48-year-old widow with three children, lives in Aldagag village in South Kordofan. For years, Fanta has worked on her small farm to feed her children. Fanta used local seeds, and her agricultural yield was very poor. It made her wonder where she was going wrong. Fanta, like thousands of women farmers in remote and hard-to-reach areas of South Kordofan in central Sudan, has limited access to quality inputs and agricultural extension services.

In South Kordofan, Mercy Corps, aided by USAID-funded Sustainable Agrifood Systems Approach for Sudan (SASAS), trained 15 local farmers and producers in the Farmer Field School methodology and climate-smart agriculture with the support of officials from the State Ministry of Agriculture.

“At SASAS, we work to empower women farmers, especially those who live in remote areas such as South Kordofan. We help them with agricultural inputs such as improved seeds, new agricultural skills, and techniques to increase their production and help enhance food security amid the looming food crisis in Sudan,” said Abdelrahman Kheir, SASAS chief of party.

Women farmers apply new agricultural techniques in South Kordofan. (Photo: CIMMYT)

To address the challenges of poor seed quality, Mercy Corps contracted local supplier Alzahra Seed for Trade to sell improved seeds at a subsidized price and expand access by establishing last-mile seed retail networks. Alzahra Seed for Trade would also deliver agronomic extension training to farmers in remote villages such as Aldagag.

Fanta recalls how she and other women farmers came to know about the improved seeds. “We were at a coffee gathering at my neighbor’s house, when one of the women told us that Alzahra Seed for Trade’s retail agent had brought improved seeds from Dilling town for sale. We were not even aware of the existence of improved seeds,” she said.

With accessible and affordable improved seeds in Aldagag, Fanta was one of the smallholder farmers who bought seeds from a retailer in her village. She bought groundnut and vegetable seeds and received basic agronomic extension training from the retailer who offered it as an embedded service. In addition to getting access to improved seeds, Fanta was visited by an extension officer from Alzahra Seed for Trade.

Women farmers participate in an agronomic extension training. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Fanta recalls how she managed her farm before she was introduced to improved seeds. “In the seasons before I got the training, my farm looked disorganized. Like other farmers in my area, I didn’t care about the distances between the plants. Local seeds yielded about four or five sacks of groundnut per one feddan (unit of area in Sudan),” she shared. Post training, Fanta planted two feddans of groundnut using the improved seeds and followed the agronomic guidance. “I harvested 18 sacks from the two feddans–much higher than before.”

Increased income provides women farmers with greater financial resources, and many of them feel empowered. “Women famers in my area who have used improved seeds and followed new agricultural techniques have become stronger and feel confident enough to have a voice within our community,” said Fanta.

Women farmers enhance agricultural production in conflict-torn Sudan

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on April 30, 2024. Posted in Blogs.

Women farmers show their harvested vegetables, Kassala, East Sudan. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The ongoing conflict in Sudan continues to contribute to a food crisis threatening the lives of over 18 million people. Farmers, especially smallholders and vulnerable women, are facing extraordinary challenges in obtaining needed agricultural inputs, and access to markets is diminishing.

In Kassala State, East Sudan, which hosts hundreds of thousands of people displaced by ongoing armed conflict including Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees, the USAID-funded Sustainable Agrifood Systems Approach for Sudan (SASAS) is working with women farmers to prepare and safeguard the upcoming growing season. This work is critical to help meet the unprecedented demand for vegetables in the region and achieve sustainable development goals.

“At SASAS, we are working to empower women farmers, especially those who lost their traditional livelihood resources, and help them to acquire skills and techniques to increase their agricultural production to help improve food security,” said Abdelrahman Kheir, SASAS chief of party in Sudan.

Women farmers participate in a training on vegetable growing, Kassala, East Sudan. (Photo: CIMMYT)

SASAS works with the El-Haram Agricultural Cooperative, a women-led farmers group, based in Kassala, to help increase vegetable production. SASAS trains El-Haram Agricultural Cooperative members on modern agricultural techniques, irrigation techniques, pest control, and organic fertilizers to increase crop yields.

“SASAS trained us on new ploughing and land preparation techniques, which we never used before and then provided us with improved seeds of okra, tomato, chili, and mallow, and encouraged us to use legumes as organic fertilizers,” said Imtithal Atta, a farmer from the Alsawagi neighborhood in Kassala. “In the past, I used to buy vegetable seeds from the local market, but they grow poorly. The improved seeds given by SASAS are germinating extremely well. My income has doubled; I almost made $250 from my first harvest of vegetables.”

The ongoing conflict has interrupted traditional livelihood activities in many regions. In some areas, farmers missed the harvest, leading to a dramatic reduction in agricultural production and debilitating price increases for cereals and vegetables. SASAS is helping to restore agricultural production in key growing regions by ensuring farmers have timely access to necessary production inputs, including fertilizer and climate-adapted seeds.

SASAS staff examine the germination of vegetables in women-led farms, Kassala, East Sudan. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“For years, I have worked tirelessly on my family’s farm, season after season, without earning a good income, and I was not sure what was wrong. Luckily, this cultivation season, SASAS trained us on new ploughing techniques to better prepare the land for cultivation, using organic fertilizers to enrich the soil and offering us improved vegetable seeds,” said Fatima Ahmed, a woman farmer and a mother of three children from the El-Haram Agricultural Cooperative.

“Thanks to SASAS, both the quality and the quantity of my agricultural products have greatly improved. I am so happy that I got some good money from my vegetables. I feel empowered and now I can have a strong voice within my community. I am more confident and gained the courage to participate in important decision-making processes within my family and express my opinions without fear,” said Ahmed.

A critical part of SASAS are efforts to diversify food production in Kassala, where malnutrition among children under 5 years old, and breastfeeding, lactating, and pregnant women, are prevalent.

Women farmers process their onions, Kassala, East Sudan. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“I used to go to the main market in town to get my daily needs from vegetables, but now I buy what I need from women farmers closer to my home. They are selling me fresh vegetables at a good price. The taste of the vegetables is quite fresh and healthy, this is something I have been missing for a long time,” said Hanan, a resident of Alswagi.

“The vegetables produced by members of the El-Haram Agricultural Cooperative has led to an increased supply in the local market. I buy vegetables from women farmers and sell them here in the neighborhood market. This has cut my transportation cost as I used to buy vegetables from markets a long distance away,” said Osman, vegetables trader, also in Alswagi.

Breaking ground and redefining roles in the agri engineering sector: Anjuara Begum

Written by Nur-A-Mahajabin Khan on March 8, 2024. Posted in Features.

Anjuara Begum is 40 years old. Hailing from Jashore, Bangladesh, she works at Abdur Rahman Foundry as a grinding operator. In Bangladesh, it is rare to be a woman and work in a skilled job in engineering. Anjuara’s journey shows it is possible to break through gender stereotypes ascribed by Bangladeshi society.

Growing up in Jashore, Anjuara was married before the age of 15. About a year after giving birth to a son, her husband died leaving her to take on the sole responsibility of raising a child. She started working as a cleaner at Talukder Light Casting. Soon, she found her interest lay in sand molding and grinding which were considered to be skilled tasks traditionally carried out by the male employees. Over time, Anjuara graduated to working as an assistant in different sections of the foundry: casting, the furnace, and operating the grinding machine. For six years, she continued as an assistant with no formal training, often learning from the machine operators and supervisors around her.

Anjuara Begum operates a grinding machine at the foundry in Jashore, Bangladesh. (Photo: Asmaul Husna/CIMMYT)

In 2019, Anjuara joined the nearby Abdur Rahman Foundry, where for the first time she attended a formal skill enhancement training for women in the light engineering sector. She was able to access this opportunity through the USAID-funded Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia–Mechanization Extension Activity (CSISA–MEA) as Abdur Rahman Foundry is part of CSISA–MEA’s agriculture-based light engineering activity. The training provided her with hands-on experience in grinding, drilling, sand molding, and painting. It not only imparted the technical skills she needed for her current job, but also the confidence to excel in a field where women are traditionally under-represented.

“The training was an eye-opener,” Anjuara said. “I was so happy to get a certificate–a first for me!” She shared how her confidence at work increased and about her promotion to the position of grinding machine operator–the first woman in the Jashore region to work in this role. There were other benefits to the new position–a more formal position than her former place of work where she was only a temporary employee; paid holiday and sick leave; and festival bonuses. Currently, she earns around US$ 80 a month–the same as the men in the foundry working at a similar skill level. Before the training, her salary was around US$ 55.

Anjuara tells us that the best part about the job is the respect she gets from family and the cooperation from her co-workers. As she continued to break barriers and excel in her profession, her success began to resonate within her community. Women in the neighborhood now view her as an inspiration. She is an example of how societal norms can be challenged when provided with equal opportunities and the right kind of support. Her success has ignited a spark of hope among women who had long been relegated to the sidelines.

CSISA–MEA’s light engineering training for the female workforce as part of its gender inclusive activities has not only transformed Anjuara’s life but has also catalyzed a shift in the perception of women’s capabilities within Bangladeshi society.

Women farmers turn the tide on soybean production

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on March 4, 2024. Posted in Blogs.

Juliana Moises tends her soybean plot. (Photo: CIMMYT)

From the rich plateau landscapes of Angonia district in the Tete province of Mozambique emerges a tale of determination and hard work. Juliana Nicolau Moises, a mother of four, has been a devoted soybean farmer for more than a decade, tending to a crop whose pods carry the potential for value-added products, including milk and porridge for her children. But one wonders, what motivates smallholder farmers like Juliana to invest their efforts in soybean production.

“I have never looked back on producing soybeans,” reflects Moises. “This legume crop has allowed me to feed my family and meet my household needs, let alone the cash income from sales of the surplus crop. It has taken a lot of hard work and resilience to navigate through the complexities of soybean production.”

Entering her second season of implementing the Chinyanja Soy Use Case trials with CGIAR’s Initiative on Excellence in Agronomy, delivered in partnership with CIMMYT and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Moises eagerly anticipates a bumper harvest in the early planted fields. She has been avidly implementing trials on planting dates to establish the implications of early, mid, and late planting on soybean yield. Let alone the required attention to detail, she exudes a deep understanding of the significance of the trials by carrying out key agronomic practices to ensure a good harvest. This will not only nourish the health and wellbeing of her family but also symbolizes the fruits of her dedication.

Moises’s commitment extends beyond the trial she hosts as she implements her learning from the project to other fields, using innovative approaches like the double-row planting method. In soybean farming, this involves planting two rows of seeds on a wider ridge established on the traditional spacing that farmers use on maize. Traditionally, farmers in Angonia have been planting single rows of soybean on ridges spaced at 90 cm used for maize, thereby resulting in low soy plant populations and ultimately low yields. This different technique optimizes the plant population and land use efficiency, improving yields, and facilitating easier weeding.

Moises’s soybean plot in Angonia, Mozambique. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Despite the promise of enhanced production, challenges persist. Southern Africa continues to face a growing demand for soybeans, with annual productivity of 861,000 metric tons (mT) falling short of the 2-million-ton demand. In Mozambique, vibrant soybean farms blanket the landscape, yet smallholder farmers like Moises grapple with underdeveloped markets and climate-related adversities, such as droughts and floods currently worsened by the El Niño phenomenon.

“As a devoted soybean farmer, I have met my own fair share of challenges. One of our biggest challenges is the labor requirement across the production season,” shared Moises as she navigates through her fields. “We need machinery for planting, weeding, and harvesting in order to reduce the labor and drudgery associated with soybean production. In addition, markets remain a challenge.” Her unwavering commitment inspires neighboring farmers, creating a ripple effect of hope and determination in the community.

Sharing the same sentiments is Veronica Ernesto Gama, who teams up with her husband every year to tend to her soybean field. Having started in 2007, their yields have sustained the food basket of her family while meeting nutritional needs. “In the past, I used to just scatter around soybean seeds in one place, but after these trials, I have learned the significance of applying the agronomically recommended spacing and the need for quality improved seeds to ensure a bumper harvest,” said Gama.

The power of collaboration

Addressing these challenges head-on is CGIAR’s Excellence in Agronomy Chinyanja Triangle Soy Use Case, a collaborative effort aimed at strengthening the soybean industry primarily by empowering farmers with improved agronomic practices and decision support. Solidaridad, an international non-government organization (NGO) pursuing digital platforms for scaling agronomy, serves as the demand partner of the Excellence in Agronomy Chinyanja Triangle Soy Use Case, while CGIAR provides technical support. Solidaridad’s role is vital in catalyzing demand for the product or service in question. Research outputs drawn from the trials will be used to develop a mobile phone application on the Kvuno, a social enterprise borne out of Solidaridad. The platform will support farmers with onsite advisories on planting dates, site-specific fertilizer recommendations, variety selection, and crop configurations.

To date, the initiative has drawn the willingness of 70 farmers in the Angonia district of Tete province, who are implementing different suites of trials, including nutrient omission, planting date, plant configuration, and fertilizer usage. Excellence in Agronomy has come at an opportune time for smallholders’ journeys in soybean production, emphasizing the importance of optimized spacing and improved agronomic practices.

As the story unfolds in Mozambique, women like Moises and Gama are the unsung heroes driving soybean production. Their dedication, coupled with initiatives like Excellence in Agronomy, paint a picture of progress and potential. Their commitment inspires many surrounding farmers who draw inspiration on the trials in their fields. As the sun continues to rise over the dusty soils of Angonia, it showcases not just Moises’s fields, but the bright future of soybean production in the hands of resilient women farmers.

Enhancing partnerships for agricultural development

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on January 19, 2024. Posted in News.

Annual AID-I meeting participants gather for a group photo. (Photo:Christabel Chabwela)

Implementing partners of the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative (AID-I) project, or MasAgro Africa, converged in Arusha, Tanzania, for the project’s first annual review and planning meeting. The event, which brought together 58 participants from 28 allied organizations coordinating and implementing activities as part of the flagship USAID-funded initiative, provided an opportunity to review progress towards targets set at the project launch in September 2022. During the event, partners also took time to collaboratively plan for stronger implementation in the project’s second year, while discussing challenges faced in the previous year and coming up with practical solutions for these. Similar planning meetings took place in Malawi and Zambia during the same month.

Speaking during the meeting’s opening session, USAID Tanzania Mission Feed the Future Coordinator Melanie Edwards expressed excitement about the achievements of in-country partners in the past year. “The Tanzania component of the project was performing very well,” she said, “and it was exciting to see the proposals coming, meaning that the number of partners was expanding.” Edwards noted that there is still a lot more to be done by the AID-I project and a call for new partner proposals was going to be issued soon to augment ongoing work. She also emphasized the importance of expanding the number of partners and was eager to see planned activities for the second year of the project.

Speaking on behalf of the Government of Tanzania—a key partner in the AID-I initiative—Abel Mtembenji outlined the government’s priorities: increasing productivity, creating decent jobs, enhancing extension services, improving resilience for food security, and expanding market and credit access. Mtembenji was pleased that AID-I interventions aligned with these and encouraged stakeholders to coordinate their efforts with the Tanzanian government to enhance the sustainability of project activities. He further encouraged stakeholders to notify the government of their initiatives to foster collaboration during implementation. Mtembenji recognized the support from USAID, through CIMMYT and thanked all partners for their participation and contribution to agricultural development in Tanzania.

Showcasing early successes

The AID-I initiative provides targeted assistance to up to three million African smallholder farmers by improving soil health and fertilizer management; strengthening local seed systems; connecting to financial products and services; and delivering extension and advisory services. An update presentation made by SAS Program Manager Grace Mwai revealed that through its 42 partners across Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, AID-I had in the past 12 months set up 125 mega-demonstrations for the 2022-2023 season. Forty-two of these were managed by farmer groups themselves, with 60% managed by women.

Across all three project countries, AID-I also reached approximately 5.3 million farmers with various agronomic advisory messages through radio and television, 160,000 listeners through interactive voice response (IVR) messages. Over 9,000 farmers were linked to inputs and outputs markets, of which 40% were women. Mwai added that the project had also conducted 5,143 seed company demonstrations—of which 2,400 took place in Tanzania—and had harvested and processed 13,000 metric tons of certified maize and legume seed, which was expected to directly benefit around one million smallholder farmers across the hub.

Partners demonstrate seed packages to meeting participants. (Photo: Christabel Chabwela)

To highlight achievements from the first project year, partners showcased their products through posters and display items like seed packets during a structured session based on the World Café method. This activity allowed participants to interact and ask questions about various innovations being scaled under AID-I. More than ten partners displayed their products, and all participants at the meeting were given 15 minutes to visit other tables and share how many tons of seed they had produced and how many farmers they could reach during the season.

On the second day of the meeting, partners organized themselves into three small groups based on the three AID-I pillars—Seed Systems, Agriculture Advisories, and Market Linkages—to discuss forthcoming activities and what they hoped to do better in the coming season. The meeting concluded with discussions on issues including financial reporting, establishing and nurturing collaborations, and leveraging technology for improved project outcomes. During his closing remarks, Legume and Seed Systems Specialist under AID-I, Peter Setimela, emphasized the importance of timely proposal submission for the second year.

CIMMYT and WorldVeg in an MoU to enhance sustainable food production, boost youth and women employment

Written by dmedina on January 2, 2024. Posted in In the media.

CIMMYT, in collaboration with World Vegetable Center, has embarked on a partnership to enhance sustainable food production and employment for youth and women. This initiative aims to advance food security and poverty reduction by promoting diversified, resilient agricultural practices and strengthening cereal and vegetable value chains, contributing to the Sustainable Develpment Goals.

Read the full story.

Empowering women smallholder farmers in Africa with climate-resilient and nutritious maize varieties

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on October 17, 2023. Posted in Blogs.

In the vast landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is the backbone of many communities, the quest for improved maize varieties is a vital step for ensuring food security in the face of climate change. Women, who represent approximately half the clients of maize breeding programs, have been essential in the realm of agricultural research. While significant gender-based differences in trait preferences exist in many African-staple crops, these appear less drastic in maize. However, there are gendered differences in management practices and productivity in maize-based systems.

After decades of work on maize improvement projects, CIMMYT has made a bigger commitment to researching, supporting and delivering drought and heat tolerant maize to smallholders in Zimbabwe. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Recognizing the need to bridge this gap, the CIMMYT-NARES (National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems) regional maize breeding networks in eastern and southern Africa have embarked on a transformative journey to empower farmers, especially women, through their innovative approach to maize breeding. The breeding networks are focused on ensuring smallholder farmers have access to a steady stream of climate-resilient and nutritionally enriched maize varieties that thrive in today’s stress-prone environments. To ensure these new maize varieties meet the needs of diverse users, including women, the breeding networks continue to adapt approaches to increase gender-responsiveness.

Linking science with the realities on the ground

Testing the performance of potential new maize hybrids coming from the breeding pipelines within farmers’ realities is critical to the ultimate success of these new varieties. In collaboration with over 400 farmers in southern Africa, the CIMMYT-NARES maize breeding network conducts extensive on-farm trials to evaluate the performance of these new maize varieties. A similar approach is adopted in eastern Africa. What sets these trials apart is the fact that over 40% of these trials are led by female plot managers. Farmers evaluate these varieties within the context of their own realities, including their own management practices, and provide valuable feedback to the breeding teams on the potential of new varieties.

By involving women in decision-making processes, CIMMYT-NARES networks ensure that their preferences and needs are considered when selecting the most promising hybrids for product advancement, announcement to partners, varietal releases and ultimately commercialization. This inclusive approach not only empowers women but also harnesses the collective knowledge and experience of the farming community. CIMMYT’s research recently showed that there is a relatively high degree of joint management within maize plots, and since 2022, the on-farm trials included a target of approximately 30% jointly managed plots.

Gender is only one axis of social difference that impacts agricultural production, variety selection, and end uses. Social differences including marital status, age, education level, ethnicity, wealth, access to capital, market access and livelihood orientation do play a role in the adoption of new varieties and farm productivity. By embracing the diversity within farming communities, CIMMYT-NARES networks are actively working towards understanding different farm types, while ensuring that the improved maize varieties are tailored to meet the diverse demands of the regions.

As the CIMMYT-NARES maize breeding networks continue to make innovative strides in breeding climate-resilient and nutritionally enriched maize varieties, they are not only transforming agriculture but also empowering individuals and communities. Through collaborative efforts, with the woman farmer at the heart of the approach, they are paving the way for a future where farming communities can thrive and contribute to food and nutritional security.

Community Business Facilitator: providing a service to farmers while increasing community access to nutritious food

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on October 13, 2023. Posted in Features.

Bhumi Shara Khadka is a 35-year-old community business facilitator who has made significant strides in agriculture and community development. Her journey began after completing training in sales skill development and technical capacity building for community business facilitators (CBF) organized by the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) in June 2022 and April 2023, respectively. This training opened up new opportunities, and she soon secured a job as a CBF. However, her ambitions didn’t stop there.

In February 2022, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) recognized her potential and recommended her for a role as a community business facilitator with Laxmi Agrovet, a local agribusiness. To prepare for her new position, Ms. Khadka underwent additional training in various areas, including running sales meetings, farm mechanization, post-harvest handling and the fundamentals of sales and marketing. With these tools in hand, she set out to make a difference in the lives of farmers and the broader community.

To date, Khadka has conducted 97 sales meetings with farmer groups where she explains improved production methods, plant protection, post-harvest handling and how to market agriculture products effectively. She also demonstrates and sells Laxmi Agrovet agri-inputs such as seeds, fertilizer and tools. She gets a 20% commission on sales, bringing her an average net monthly income of NPR3,375 (US$26). Her role as community business facilitator also involves linking farmers with the local government agriculture program. As a result of her efforts, three farmers have each acquired a mini power tiller at a 50% subsidy.

Bhumi Shara Khadka at her vegetable farm in Surkhet district, Nepal. (Photo: Nabin Maharjan/CIMMYT)

Inspired by Khadka’s example, Chitra Bahadur Rokaya, acting director of the Agricultural Regional Directorate in Surkhet, Nepal, has expressed his desire to visit farmers and learn more about the activities of community business facilitators like Khadka during the technical capacity-building training to CBF in April 2023. Rokaya has expressed gratitude to trainees who attended the IPM training organized by CSISA and would visit the field sites of the trainees, if possible.

Khadka has also used her knowledge as a business facilitator and IPM trainee to establish her commercial vegetable farm, which, with her investment and CSISA’s technical support, now occupies five ropani (0.01 hectares). Her husband helps out and Bhumi sells the produce at local markets in Melkuna and Badichour, Surkhet, with traders often coming to the farm to buy from her directly. Last year, she earned NPR227,000 (US$1,733) of which her net income was NPR63,500 (US$485). Since starting the farm, the family’s food habits and those of her neighbors have changed for the better. Last year, the family kept a quarter of the vegetables she produced for their consumption, and she gave about 10% to neighbors.

Last year, under Khadka’s facilitation, 48 farmers cultivated vegetables on an average of 0.02 hectares each, each achieving an average net profit of NPR63,500 (US$485). Khadka also owns a power tiller, which she rents out for others to use, earning NPR35,000 (US$267) last year from this service provision activity.

In addition to her business and professional success, Khadka completed high school in 2014, underlining the significance of her accomplishments. Khadka’s remarkable journey is an inspiring agriculture success story, showcasing the transformative power of women empowerment in rural communities. Her dedication, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit have improved farmers’ lives and elevated the entire community’s access to nutritious food. Her unwavering commitment to her work has brought her well-deserved recognition, and she is a beacon of hope for others in similar fields of endeavor.