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Tag: rural livelihoods

The Sudan Food Security Initiative: Early wins amidst conflict and crisis

Written by dmedina on . Posted in News.

As the summer cultivation season began in May 2024, Fatima Hassan, a 52-year-old farmer from New Halfa, Kassala State, in eastern Sudan, faced an uncertain future. Like thousands of other farmers in her region, Fatima lacked the financial means to purchase seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, or even hire a tractor. The ongoing armed conflict in Sudan had severely disrupted agricultural activities, leaving farmers without the necessary resources to cultivate their land.

‘When I learned about the Sudan Food Security Initiative (SFSI), I was extremely happy. The support from the initiative has given me and my family renewed hope,’ Fatima said while tending to her groundnut farm.”

Fatima Hassan weeds her groundnut field cultivated with support from the SFSI. (Photo credit: Suliman Fadlalla/CIMMYT)

Under the aegis of the SASAS program, the USAID-funded SFSI was launched in May 2024 in response to Sudan’s food security challenges. Targeting over 50,000 farmers in the New Halfa scheme, the initiative aims to strengthen resilient food production systems by providing significantly subsidized agricultural inputs and technologies, ensuring that farmers can sustain and enhance their farming practices despite the ongoing conflict in the region.

Hamid Rahama expresses his gratitude to the tractor driver ploughing his land in New Halfa as part of the SFSI. (Photo credit: Suliman Fadlalla/CIMMYT)

Sowing seeds of optimism

‘Support from SASAS came at a critical time as the armed conflict spread into new areas across the country, de-risking the crucial summer planting season. Through the SFSI, we are enabling farmers to adopt improved technologies and inputs at more affordable rates, thereby enhancing Sudan’s domestic food production,’ said SASAS Program Chief of Party Abdelrahman Kheir.

The SFSI provides each farmer with a 70% subsidy on a comprehensive package that includes land preparation for 0.42 hectares (ha), improved seeds for groundnut and sorghum, crop protection supplies, fertilizers, and agricultural advisory services. This initiative has already resulted in the planting of 14,568 ha of sorghum and 5,882 ha of groundnut. The crops are showing promising signs, with germination progressing well across all cultivated areas.

‘We had lost all hope of benefiting during this cultivation season. The subsidized land preparation, seed purchase, and other inputs have given us a lifeline. In the past, I was not able to buy fertilizers and herbicides, so my sorghum production was poor. This time things have changed dramatically, and we are well-equipped for a good cultivation season,’ said Hamid Rahama, a farmer from northern Halfa. Hamid echoes the optimism shared by many farmers in the region.”

Focus on a sustainable and food secure ecosystem

One of the most significant aspects of the initiative is its focus on building a sustainable seed production system. In partnership with 120 farmers and a private seed company, 252 ha (189 ha of sorghum and 63 ha of groundnut) were established for seed production in New Halfa. The initiative is projected to yield 360 metric tons (t) of sorghum and 270 t of groundnut seeds, thereby enhancing the resilience of the local agricultural ecosystem.

The anticipated yields from these efforts instill a much-needed optimism in an otherwise challenging situation. For groundnuts, the expected yield is 4.5 t/ha, resulting in an output of 26,000 t, enough to meet the nutritional needs of over 1.2 million people. Likewise, the sorghum harvest is projected to reach 54,000 t, providing sustenance for approximately 720,000 people.

An agricultural expert from SASAS inspects the growth of groundnuts cultivated under the SFSI in New Halfa. (Photo credit: Suliman Fadlalla/CIMMYT)
A farmer inspects the growth of his sorghum field in New Halfa cultivated with support from the SFSI. (Photo credit: Suliman Fadlalla/CIMMYT)

The bold sections indicate the changes made for grammatical correctness, including unit consistency and phrasing adjustments.

In addition to providing inputs, the SASAS program also addresses broader food security challenges by ensuring that farmers receive the necessary technical support throughout various agricultural operations. This includes the introduction of drought-tolerant sorghum varieties, which are showcased to farmers through field days and demonstration plots.

Despite the numerous challenges posed by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, CIMMYT and its partners involved in implementing the SASAS initiative remain undeterred. Although the ongoing armed conflict has compelled many local agriculture advisory companies to scale back their operations due to security and logistical difficulties, the teams remain committed to supporting Sudanese farmers and improving agricultural productivity, thereby contributing to Sudan’s overall food security.

‘We lost a significant number of improved seed production fields due to the conflict. Nevertheless, we ensured the provision of all necessary certified seeds for the SFSI, along with top-quality herbicides,’ said the CEO of Harvest Agricultural Company Isam Ali. He added that despite considerable challenges in transporting agricultural machinery due to security issues, the company completed all land preparations in a timely manner for farmers.

The early impact of SFSI is evident in the renewed hope and optimism among farmers in New Halfa, who are now better equipped to face the challenges of the summer cropping season and contribute to the nation’s food security. With the harvest dates approaching—November for groundnuts and December for sorghum—the initiative is on track to significantly enhance food production in the region, providing a lifeline to thousands of farmers such as Fatima and Hamid.

Packing improved sorghum seeds for delivery to farmers as part of the SFSI in New Halfa. (Photo credit: Suliman Fadlalla/CIMMYT)

Children, native maize, and gender perspectives

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

A farmer in Nariño, Colombia on a diversified chagra with native maize, potato, oca, squash, fava bean, and other perennial and wild crop harvests. (Photo: González, Alpala, Pinzón, Rodríguez, Bolaños, Romero, González)

In the mountains of Nariño and the Cauca Valley, Colombia—as in many other rural regions of Latin America—farming systems are usually family-operated and divided by gender. Women’s and men’s roles are separate and differ in terms of expertise, involvement, and decision-making.

Roles traditionally assigned to women often limit their capacity to bring about changes in agriculture. “Food preparation, house cleaning, family care, and especially childcare, limit their ability to participate in agricultural training”, says a team of CIMMYT specialists who recently carried out a series of participatory diagnostics in these regions of Colombia.

Participatory diagnostics are designed to document and understand farmers’ perspectives on native maize conservation and the desertion of rural regions in order to jointly develop conservation strategies for these regions. However, CIMMYT specialists noted that women farmers struggle to participate and learn when they are burdened with childcare.

Group of women farmers discuss men’s and women’s roles in native maize conservation in Córdoba, Nariño, Colombia. (Photo: González, Alpala, Pinzón, Rodríguez, Bolaños, Romero, González)

“Even when women try hard to attend events, they cannot fully take in the new information because they are busy tending to their children.” In response, the event organizers came up with a novel solution: providing childcare during workshops. “So, mothers can focus on what they are doing during workshops, children partake in organized games and exploratory and artistic activities in a safe space where their mothers can see them.”

During a recent diagnostic “several activities were planned, like board games—CIMMYT developed memory and bingo games, as well as snake and ladder board games on principle maize practices and pests—and some art projects allowing the children to talk about how they interact with the land and what it means to them. At the end, they displayed their work about what they learn with their mothers and family in the tulpa (fire pit) or chagra,” the specialists explain.

“These types of activities are important and enriching for the children because they replace day-to-day cellphone play with recreational games about agriculture. So, it seems that we should make sure that the local children know about these types of events,” expressed the attendees.  They also reflected on how this type of inclusion helps strategies addressing generational replacement, particularly in places like Nariño, where the number of young people in the fields is notably decreasing.

With this in mind, including young people in program development and design is key to “ensuring a future rural population, given that they introduce the community to new, fresher ideas and visions,” says Don José, a farmer from Córdoba, Nariño, making note of how the Herederos del Planeta Los Tucanes represents a victory. It is a space where girls, boys, and young people can use their voices to influence issues related to natural reserves, their education, and the preservation of native seeds.

This is how the children—who originally could only hope to be expected to sit silently or play on their phones— became an important part of the participatory processes in Nariño. And now, with this support, women from rural communities, don’t just have the opportunity to expand their knowledge. They can also make positive contributions to household decisions and phytogenetic resource conservation.

Girls make a presentation about their territory to their mothers and fathers, based on the activities during the workshops in Nariño, Colombia. (Photo: González, Alpala, Pinzón, Rodríguez, Bolaños, Romero, González)

“Yes ma’am, the children’s space was the best because that way we were able to focus on the topics,” reported a woman in Cumbal. This is an example of how an agricultural extension strategy requires us to identify the preferences, interests, and incentives of men and women in relation to their gender roles in order to create environments that facilitate the development of sustainable agricultural technologies and practices. We must understand that the work women farmers perform both in the fields and within the household are inextricable from each other.

These types of strategies are crucial for combatting the environmental and food crisis because small-scale farmers implement sustainable agrifood systems and promote agrobiodiversity conservation. We find the resources essential for agrifood security in their milpas, orchards, backyards, and chagras—in Mexico and Colombia—where they handle, use, and preserve native crops and determine the selection of improved climate-resilient varieties.

Harvesting diversity and feeding hope: unlocking the potential of potatoes

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

Fatima Ali, a 48-year-old displaced woman in war-torn Sudan, takes shelter in a school at Kassala, East Sudan. She struggles to feed her five children and lives in dire conditions. Recently, Fatima participated in a training program in household farming, organized by the International Potato Center (CIP) and the Sudanese agricultural community Alzereea Alsudani (AZAS), where displaced community members were guided to build small gardens and cultivate potatoes to meet their food needs.

Displaced children in Kassala, East Sudan, learn how to cultivate potatoes in plastic bags. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“I encouraged my 13-year-old daughter Shima to participate in a training to produce potatoes for household consumption. She was very interested and active,” said Fatima.

The training marked the International Day of Potato, celebrated on 30 May. CIP and AZAS trained displaced children of Kassala to grow potatoes at home using plastic and jute bags.

“We learned how to cultivate potatoes using plastic bags, and it was fun. We now know that potatoes are rich in nutrients and can be used to cook a variety of dishes. I am glad that I can cultivate potatoes and help feed my family,” said Shima.

Children engage in a coloring session as part of the International Potato Day celebrations at Kassala. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Underscoring the potential of potatoes

The International Day of Potato highlights the multiple nutritional, economic, environmental and cultural values of the crop and its contribution as a unique food resource and a generator of income for rural families and producers. This is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

Training local women farmers of Kassala to cultivate potato in plastic bags. (Photo: CIMMYT)

The theme for the 2024 event was ‘Harvesting Diversity, Feeding Hope’. The focus was on the importance of having a wide variety of potato types versus over-reliance on a few varieties that can expose the crop to pests and diseases. With over 5,000 different kinds of potatoes worldwide, including both improved varieties and traditional types grown by farmers, the crop can meet the needs of different farming methods, cooking styles, and industrial uses.

To highlight the importance of potato and its riches, CIP and AZAS organized orientation sessions with housewives and chefs from local restaurants in Kassala. The discussions reflected on the nutritious values of potatoes and how they can be integrated into everyday meals.

A session by nutrition experts for chefs and housewives to discuss the value and uses of potatoes. (Photo: CIMMYT)

During the discussion, nutrition experts explained how potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber essential for a balanced diet. The chefs shared how potatoes are extremely versatile in the kitchen; they can be baked, boiled, grilled, fried, steamed, or processed into various dishes.

Working with partners for maximum impact

Potato is an important staple food that can ensure food security in Sudan and combat hunger. CIMMYT’s partners CIP, Mercy Crops, and Practical Action are leading the potato and sweet potato component of SASAS, along with other private partners.

With funding support from USAID, SASAS partners are working with farmers and private sector to increase potato and sweet potato production in Kassala and Blue Nile states of Sudan. By using verified potato varieties and introducing new cultivation techniques, the program aims to achieve SDG goals and enhance food security in Sudan.

Farmers in Blue Nile proudly show their high potato production. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“We work with our partners and private sector to help Sudanese farmers integrate potato and sweet potato into their agricultural production systems,” said Abdelrahman Kheir, SASAS lead in Sudan.

He added that potato is an exceptionally resilient plant that can thrive in a variety of climates across the country. “We use modern cultivation techniques and certified potato varieties to increase production. We are also enhancing the value chain and enlarging cold storage capacities,” he said.

The value of the project truly lies in its collaboration with private sectors and innovation partners to ensure at-scale and adept responses for stakeholders and dynamic situations in target areas.

Quality seeds reduce hunger in Tanzanian schools

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

The Songwe Region in Tanzania faces a variety of challenges in its agricultural communities, including low productivity, poor farming practices, and limited access to resources. Low yields from white sorghum, the crop of preference in the area, contribute to food insecurity, and insufficient extension support compounds the challenges for farmers.

Schools in the region face their own problems, with students experiencing a lack of food during certain months, resulting in poor academic performance and attendance. Parents, burdened by financial constraints and the low yields of sorghum, struggle to contribute to the school feeding program, further aggravating the situation. The School Feeding Program provides at least one nutritious meal daily to students in rural Tanzania to combat hunger and enhance academic performance. Most schools in rural areas have enough farmland for learning purposes; by utilizing this land, the program aims to produce food locally, reducing reliance on parental contributions and involving the community in addressing food and nutrition insecurity.

To address these challenges, the Center for Behavior Change and Communication (CBCC), initiated a proactive intervention during the 2022-2023 farming season to increase awareness of improved sorghum seed varieties (TARI SOR 1 and TARI SOR 2) through the school feeding program in Momba district, Tanzania. This collaborative effort between the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), CIMMYT, local seed producers, and the local government aimed to address the persistent food and nutrition insecurity in the area.

School children and community members engage in hands-on learning by practicing good agricultural practices on their school farms. (Photo: CBCC)

One of the key strategies employed by CBCC was using schools as platforms for raising awareness. Schools primarily grow sorghum for food rather than trade, making them ideal places to introduce these new, higher-yielding, and nutritionally valuable seed varieties.

Leveraging school farmland

The Youth and Women Quality Centres (YWQCs) are part of an innovative model implemented through the Dryland Crops Program (DCP) through the Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Systems in Africa (AVISA) project, led by CIMMYT and implemented in partnership with CBCC and TARI. Its goal is to increase the adoption of improved variety and quality seeds among young and female farmers through behavior change interventions, with a focus on sorghum and groundnut improvement in the Songwe Region.

Using schools as focal points for raising awareness, the initiative leveraged the YWQCs to provide extension support and distribute seeds to schools. Training materials tailored to the school environment facilitated practical learning on agronomic practices such as farm preparation, seed selection, planting, fertilizer application, weeding, and pest management.

Mkama Secondary School was one of the first to enroll in the program, setting aside 0.5 acres to demonstrate the performance of TARI sorghum seed varieties. With the use of good agronomic practices, the pilot led to an increase in yield, with 350 kilograms (kg) of sorghum harvested. This was an increased improvement compared to their previous yield of 200 kg per acre on their four-acre farm, representing an increase of approximately 75%.

Concerns raised by teachers about the limited yield of local seeds, yielding less than 200 kg per acre, necessitate the urgency of implementing sustainable solutions. The low productivity observed on school farms is also attributed to poor farming practices and inadequate extension support.

Growing these new varieties offers many practical benefits. The increased yield enabled the school to provide lunch to its 129 students during the critical period when food insecurity is most pronounced (October-April). “The new improved sorghum varieties have higher yields, and TARI SOR 2 makes good Ugali,” said Johnas Marwa, the school headmaster. Motivated by their success, the school will plant TARI SOR 1 and TARI SOR 2 on all four acres of their farm during the 2023-2024 season.

Community-wide benefits

The project’s success also inspired confidence in the broader community, leading to a surge in demand for the new sorghum seeds. Consequently, eight seed producer groups and five individual seed producers decided to cultivate these improved varieties in the coming season.

Initially, some community members were hesitant to adopt the new varieties because they were not as white as the traditional local seeds. However, the impressive performance of TARI SOR 1 and TARI SOR 2 quickly won them over, capturing the attention of both farmers and parents due to their potential to reduce food insecurity at household level.

The achievements at Mkama Secondary School led to the expansion of the initiative across 19 additional schools in 14 villages. These schools were chosen based on their willingness to participate and the availability of their farmland. Out of the schools involved, only five produced sorghum on their farms, with the rest relying on parental contributions for the feeding program, but they all relied upon sorghum as the main source of food. Some primary schools only provided porridge, while most of the secondary schools only offered lunch.

Across the 19 schools, a total of 58 acres were allocated for farming sorghum. The project provided 190 kg of seeds, 21% of which were the Macia variety, a popular choice because of its whitish appearance and marketability.

Emmanuel Mwenda, national sorghum coordinator at TARI, said, “This intervention is one of a kind and will bring a huge impact to farmer communities in Momba district.”

Project legacy

The initiative has already had a significant impact and will continue to do so for future planting seasons and generations. “Given the level of effort and investment by partners, in the next season, 4 out of 10 farmers purchasing improved seed at YWQCs will choose either TARI SOR 1 or 2,” said Michel Amson from CBCC.

More than 2,000 students and 50 teachers were trained in agronomic practices by dedicated youth champions. This training caused a ripple effect, with parents visiting YWQC to purchase quality seeds too for growing on their own land.

To ensure the project’s sustainability and longevity, education officers will work with more schools and YWQCs would provide seeds on credit, with schools repaying after harvest to make the improved varieties more accessible when they are needed most.

“This initiative not only improves nutrition and food security for school children, but also benefits the wider community by increasing yields and extending meal provision periods. The collaborative efforts of various stakeholders have been instrumental in driving the success of this initiative”, says Chris Ojiewo, seeds systems lead at CIMMYT.

Rekindling and revitalizing chicken farming in Zambia

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

Priscilla Chewe, a poultry farmer in Kapiri Mposhi district of Zambia, checks on her chickens. June 2024. (Photo: CIMMYT)

In Zambia, women play a major role in agriculture and constitute much of the labour force for cash crop production and home consumption. In Chilayabale area of Chongwe district in Zambia, a group of women founded Tuyumepo Women Cooperative with support from Zambia’s Farmer Input Support Program (FISP). Initially focused on commercial soya milk and okra coffee production, members shifted to poultry production in 2022, which they had identified as a game changer. They successfully developed a business plan that was funded by the World Food Programme, providing 150,000 Kwacha (USD 5,600) for broiler chicken production. Part of the funds were used to construct a poultry house and acquire 200-day-old chicks.

However, their excitement soon turned into despair. What had appeared a very profitable venture turned into a loss-making enterprise. The group could not understand why the birds, despite being provided with the required feed and vaccines, had a high mortality rate. They eventually abandoned the broiler production business.

Despite setbacks, the group’s determination remained strong. Like many other smallholder poultry producers in Zambia; they recognized the immense potential of chicken farming. But they were constrained by various production challenges such as limited access to improved chicken breeds or day-old chicks, limited access to key vaccines, basic chicken health services, quality feed, and essential extension services. These challenges led to poor productivity, high mortalities and underperformance of the enterprise and the chicken value chain in general.

However, a ray of hope emerged earlier this year with the arrival of the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative – Livestock (AIDI-L) in Bimbe. A sensitization meeting organized by AIDI-L reignited their enthusiasm for poultry farming. What stood out was AIDI-L’s commitment not only to provide starter kits but also to offer training on best poultry farming practices. This renewed optimism prompted members of the Tuyumepo Women Cooperative, along with other farmers in the area, to attend training sessions on poultry production at Kambekete Camp, Chongwe District, Lusaka Province on 8 April 2024.

The participants were trained on general poultry production and marketing, and how to effectively train others on the same in the targeted districts. The target trainees were commercial poultry farmers, brooders, and lead farmers. Each training was attended by about 30 participants comprising lead farmers, brooders, and commercial poultry farmers in the district.

Led by Venture37, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and local government livestock officers, these sessions covered various aspects of poultry farming, from chicken health and housing to marketing and business development.

To many, the training was an eye-opener.

“I have just realized that our broilers were dying not because of diseases, but because of poorly ventilated housing structure,’ stated Annie, a brooder and a lead farmer in the area.”

With the newfound partnership, the cooperative plans to acquire 200 chicks.

Elizabeth Mwalusoke, a farmer from Lobolola Village, Chongwe District, had long recognized the potential of poultry farming but lacked the necessary knowledge and skills on good poultry husbandry, such as appropriate housing, hygiene, pests and diseases, and their control. She was lucky to have attended the AIDI-L sensitization meeting at Bimbe and Kambekete Camp in February 2024.

“This project will definitely help us develop our chicken business.”

The venture is even more appealing to Elizabeth, who owns two hectares of farmland, ideal for chicken rearing but not for large livestock farming.

For the ambitious Festus Nchenesi, the initiative provides opportunities for expanding and diversifying his commercial chicken enterprise. Nchenesi, a retired accountant, started with 100 broilers in 2017 at his one-hectare farm after relocating from Chongwe Town. He has steadily increased the flock to 300 birds but would have kept more if it had not been for the challenges he has encountered.

His attempts to venture into improved chicken farming failed due to a lack of knowledge of chicken brooding.

“I would have over 10 chicken brooding with at least 10 eggs each. But once one of the chickens had chicks, all the others would abandon their eggs and start fighting to care for the few hatched chicks. To circumvent this, I acquired a 32-egg capacity incubator, hoping not only to build my flock but also to brood and supply to other farmers in the area. However, the 6,000 Kwacha incubator could only hatch 3-5 eggs per incubation for reasons the supplier could not even explain. I am very optimistic that the project will turn my fortunes around. My target is to have at least 1,000 improved chickens because of their good marketability and returns and reduce the broiler flock.”

Others like retired Captain Ceasar Chibiye, a commercial poultry farmer in Kapiri District, Central Province, are more than ready to seize the market linkage opportunities that the project is bringing, being one of the major hurdles the farmers have been grappling with in the chicken value chain.

Laurence Ochieng, an ILRI veterinarian, was impressed with the enthusiasm and passion of the participants. He was optimistic that the project will greatly revitalise chicken farming in target regions.

“Most of the attendees seem to be involved in village chicken rearing.  For instance, those from Shamutinta village will benefit from disease control measures such as Newcastle disease vaccination as this seems to be their greatest challenge in rearing the birds to productive stage. Most of them had lost their flocks due to diseases, predominantly Newcastle and fowl pox.”

Esther Omosa, ILRI nutrition specialist, sensitized the participants on the importance human nutrition, promising to conduct a detailed TOT training on high impact nutrition sensitive interventions that need to be implemented at community level to prevent malnutrition.

Esther Omosa, ILRI nutrition specialist, sensitizes participants on the importance human nutrition during a training on poultry production in Kapiri District, Central Province on 10 April 2024. (Photo: ILRI)

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the two-year AIDI-L project aims to help 15,000 small-scale, poultry-keeping households acquire increased access dual-purpose backyard village chicks; and reduce morbidity and mortality of poultry byfacilitating access to, and vaccination of, poultry to key economically impactful diseases such as Newcastle Disease. With a holistic approach that addresses both production and market challenges, the project holds promise for revitalizing chicken farming in Zambia. Thousands more households will be reached through media advisories on the importance of vaccinations and improved husbandry practices for chickens.

The original article was published by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). 

With courage, they are an example of innovation in the field

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

Women and the milpa in Chiapas, Mexico. (Illustration: FMG/OpenAI, 2024)

With its transversal focus on gender and social inclusion, CGIAR’s Latin American regional initiative AgriLac Resiliente shows how, through sustainable agriculture, women in the Latin American countryside are a fundamental piece to building resilient and inclusive food systems.

One of the most inspiring examples comes from the Tzotzil women’s group of Tzabaló, in Larráinzar, Chiapas, Mexico. These women have found in the Chiapas Hub a platform that has allowed them to contribute significantly to the development of their households and environments.

“We are a group of women who have worked in pig and chicken farming for some years now. In 2022, we started working with CIMMYT and DAI (Desarrollo Alternativo e Investigación AC). We liked it a lot because we see that they are interested in women. They give us the opportunity to learn which awakens our interest in working in the field because we want to help our husbands, but with knowledge,” they said.

According to their testimonies, the opportunity to train in sustainable agriculture has been transformative. Previously, their participation in agricultural activities was limited. Now, with new knowledge acquired, they are producing healthy and nutritious food.

“If we just stay at home, we don’t do much, but when we go out to the countryside, we feel free, we clear ourselves of so many tasks around the house, and we bring tender beans and fresh vegetables. Now we can produce our food free of toxins and store our maize in airtight containers without chemicals,” they pointed out.

The experience has given them not only autonomy in making decisions about their food but also a sense of freedom and purpose when working in the field where the power of group work has also been a major factor in their success.

“It is always better to work in a group than individually, but it is necessary to find a good manager or leader to guide you and teach you how to work. As a group, we have obtained knowledge that we share among ourselves, we learned to prune fruit trees, we no longer burn stubble to recycle nutrients, there is more production and the product is bigger, and we also expect good fruit production.”

Plot in Chiapas where sustainable practices have been implemented. (Photo: García, Ramírez and Meentzen/CIMMYT)

However, the path has not been without challenges. The community faces a sociopolitical context that makes collaboration between groups difficult, although these women persist and demonstrate with their achievements that female participation in agriculture is fundamental for community development.

“What we do, people see it badly and ask us why we go to the countryside to learn something that is not for us, that we leave because we don’t have chores at home, but we don’t get discouraged. When they see the results of the work, they ask us how we did it, and we tell them what we learned by not staying alone at home, and we invite them to join the group,” they mentioned, emphasizing that if you are in the group, it does not matter what political group you belong to because the only thing that matters is knowledge and the desire to improve oneself.

Their courage and determination have not only transformed their own lives but is also inspiring other women to join and follow this path of empowerment through sustainable agriculture.

These success stories are proof of the positive impact that the inclusion of women in the field can have. Their voice and experience are fundamental to building more resilient and sustainable food systems, where gender equity and the active participation of all actors are pillars for a prosperous future in rural areas of Latin America.

Mexico, a lab from which solutions are generated to address global challenges

Written by mcallejas on . Posted in Blogs.

Directors from Excellence in Agronomy visit modules and platforms at CIMMYT’s South Pacific Hub in Oaxaca, Mexico (Photo: CIMMYT)

“It was a stunning experience for me to understand the operation of a hub and see farmers interact directly with field technicians, applying the principles of Conservation Agriculture. I remember a lady from Oaxaca telling us how productive she has become using la matraca, a simple, manual seeder and fertilizer,” says Mandla Nkomo during his recent visit to the Mixteca oaxaqueña in southern Mexico.

Mandla is the chief growth officer for the Excellence in Agronomy Initiative (EiA) which, “gathers more than 10 CGIAR Research Centers whose goal is to create solutions to problems that farmers face globally. EiA works on a foundation that is driven by demand to understand the challenges farmers are dealing with, and bring forth a development system for innovation that is capable of coping with those challenges and finding solutions that can be tested, validated, and scaled,” he mentions.

His searching for a system that triggers and diffuses innovation for farmers motivated Mandla to visit the hubs in Oaxaca, Mexico. “We are here because we wanted to study all the hubs and the projects based on the methods CIMMYT and its collaborators have developed in Mexico. One of the things we consider at EiA is the successful and sustainable transition from individual use to working within a partner network.”

“What we have seen here is the work of our colleagues from CIMMYT. For the last decade, they have come up with these hubs or innovation centers situated across different agroecological regions in Mexico. What is unique about the hubs is the ecosystem they are creating, which in my opinion, is what brings excellence in agronomy,” says Mandla.

The hubs are a management approach for innovation that was developed in Mexico based on initiatives like MasAgro-Cultivos para México. Due to its big impact, it’s being replicated in Asia, Africa, and in other Latin America countries. In addition, it lies in the heart of CGIAR initiatives.

About this methodology, Mandla says those who participate in it, are trying to understand the challenges that farmers truly face. Then a platform is developed to do proper research that responds to farmers’ needs. Subsequently, they test it in modules which provides proof of the impact these solutions are having as compared to conventional farming. Finally, these solutions are transferred to areas called extension, from which large-scale innovations are implemented.

During his visit to the research platform in Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan and to modules for innovation, extension areas, seed warehouses, post-harvest modules and machinery locations at different towns in Oaxaca, Mandla Nkomo and other visitors from EiA had the opportunity of learning not only how the South Pacific Hub operates but also witnessed how this management approach for innovation is socially and culturally relevant to one of the most diverse regions in the country.

“These days have been truly amazing. They have been very useful in refining the picture of what’s possible to do and scale. Mexico is a megadiverse country with varied agroecology. Our approach can be replicated in many parts of the world. I’m very excited with what we have seen. The country that gave us corn is now providing the world with solutions that will have major impacts on global food security. So, it is now our task (me and the whole EiA team) to find ways to pass this on to other latitudes”.

How improved seeds empower women farmers in South Kordofan

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . 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.

Roots of resilience: my journey as a Conservation Agriculture champion

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Features.

I am Grace Malaicha, a proud native of the Zidyana Extension Planning Areas in Central Malawi, where my journey with Conservation Agriculture (CA) began. In 2005, I observed neighboring farmers practicing CA techniques on their land. Intrigued and inspired, I decided to embark on this path myself, joining the CA program initiated by CIMMYT and Total LandCare in 2006. I started practicing it on my demonstration plot and observed that yields were getting higher from the second year onwards.

My dedication to CA has changed not only myself but also influenced other members of my farming community. As a mother trial host farmer under the CGIAR Initiative: Diversification for resilient agribusiness ecosystems in East and Southern Africa today, I have been implementing different treatments, which include maize doubled-up legume system and improved drought-tolerant maize varieties planted under CA on flat land and comparing it to the traditional ridge tillage system that involves substantial soil movement.

But what does CA mean to me? It is more than just a set of principles that I apply like minimum soil disturbance, mulching, and crop rotation. CA reduces drudgery, secures yields, and maintains productivity in times of climate change. CA has changed my approach to farming, transforming my once conventional maize monocrop into a diverse maize-legume system. By intercropping with two crops, I have spread the risk of unanticipated crop failure, while incorporating groundnut, cowpeas, and pigeon pea into the mix, which are more drought tolerant. I increased the land area under CA and tried it on many other crops including different legumes as rotation or intercrops, birds-eye chili, vegetables, and cassava.

Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand the harsh realities of a changing climate in central Malawi, from intense heat to prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall patterns. This year, 2024, has even been worse due to the prolonged dry spells between January and February, and the erratic rainfall during this time. Despite these challenges, our CA plots have continued to thrive, showcasing the resilience and adaptability of climate-smart farming practices.

Grace trains farmers on Conservation Agriculture. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)

Recognizing the power of knowledge sharing and from the encouragement by CIMMYT and Total LandCare, I started to train fellow farmers, both locally and across borders. At first, I worked with women groups around my homestead and trained about 100 female farmers on the principles of CA. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to train other farmers in other districts of Malawi. Since 2008, I have also trained farmers in eastern Zambia and from Mozambique where all farmers speak my language Chichewa. Farmers believe other farmers more and are now realizing the benefits of implementing CA in their own fields.

I enrolled to be a local trainer in CA within my community in 2016. My passion for teaching and catalyzing change has led to the adoption of CA by numerous farmers. I embrace my commitment to ongoing learning through carefully implementing these CA trials and playing an active role during awareness meetings.

My life had changed so much. I was speaking on the radio and television. In 2012, the Minister of Agriculture visited my plot, and I was asked to speak in front of a Parliamentary Committee about my experiences as a smallholder woman farmer in Malawi. I spoke about what women can do in agriculture and what changes I made on my land. From representing my country at high level meetings, each step has shaped me into a resilient and empowered woman.

However, my journey has not been without obstacles, including hardships in my personal relationship. In 2012, I made the decision to join my husband in South Africa where I took up menial jobs to earn a living, abandoning my plot back home. But my true passion lay in farming, and I decided to make the bold decision to come back home, leaving my husband and continue with farming. Through perseverance and determination, I have overcome these challenges, and I am now much stronger.

Grace Malaicha stands in her field. (Photo: Christian Thierfelder/CIMMYT)

Today, I stand with pride in front of my CA plot, not only sustaining my family but also sending all my children to school. I now converted all my land to conservation agriculture, 3ha are under maize and 2ha under groundnuts. Beyond farming, I have investments in housing, claiming rentals in the nearby town of Salima to sustain my financial income and expand in farming.

I will continue on this path as I learned so much over the years and believe that CA may be the only climate-smart agriculture response in reach of smallholder farmers that everybody can apply, and I will continue to support others as a champion of CA.

Women farmers enhance agricultural production in conflict-torn Sudan

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . 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.

Flowers, learning, and a gender-based approach

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

Gender and social inclusion are fundamental themes for the Latin American regional initiative AgriLac Resiliente, which is why numerous regions bordering Guatemala and Honduras have been selected to implement priority actions with a gender approach.

In order to integrate a guideline that clears up why gender and social inclusiveness are relevant matters and incorporate it in all InnovaHubs activities in Guatemala and Honduras, social inclusion and gender experts from AgriLac have implemented a participatory process in the South Pacific and Chiapas Hubs to gather information and document research results to facilitate the Hub model for replication, developed by CIMMYT in Mexico and other countries.

In this way, Alejandrina Garcia in Oaxaca, Alejandro Ramirez in Chiapas, and Angela Meentzan, head of the AgriLac Gender and Social Inclusion Team, conducted individual and group interviews to learn how the different actors involved in the hubs perceived their own participation: farmers, workers, managers, and staff of the hubs, as well as partners who participated in this participatory process.

There are numerous and successful cases of rural women’s participation in the centers of Oaxaca and Chiapas that have been collected in this process. “It is expected that these case studies will become part of an annex to the guideline, just to illustrate why the participation of rural women is essential in their own vision,” said Meentzen, who highlights the case of Juanita, a Tzeltal woman from La Providencia in Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico.

“About five years ago, I started working alongside CIMMYT. Before we knew them, we were only planting maize and beans, but then we couldn’t produce any more. The plants stopped growing, and we had a lot of problems with pests, so we used to burn all the stubble. When the engineers came, they invited us to join them. At first, we weren’t that interested, but we let them teach us. They taught us how to grow other crops like sunflowers, peanuts, vegetables, and fruit trees like lemon and soursop,” said Juanita.

“Now we don’t burn all the stubble and we have crops all year round. We also grow other types of plants and use a lot of organic products that they taught us how to prepare. Our production has increased, and we sell more and more at the market. My daughter and I take care of the sale of the crops: beans, corn, vegetables, squash, corn, and flowers; the latter have given us such good results that we have earned some extra money,” said Juanita.

“The benefits we got from our land allowed us to give our children a future. Some of them have graduated from college and have jobs; others are about to graduate, but they have all learned to work the land. It feels a little harder, but I have been able to take care of both: my family and the land. I don’t know how I did it, but I did it,” said Juanita proudly, noting that the scientific knowledge gained from the research platform and Hub modules has had a real and positive impact on her and her family.

Photo: Juanita, a Tzeltal woman from La Providencia in Ocosingo, Chiapas, stands in her field. (Garcia, Ramirez and Meentzen/CIMMYT) 

Sustaining Conservation Agriculture initiatives: lessons from Malawi

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs, Publications.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has experienced the worst impacts of climate change on agriculture over the past decades and projections show such effects are going to intensify in the coming years. Diminished agricultural production has been the primary impact channel given the high reliance on rainfed agriculture in the region. Combined with a growing population, food security for millions of people is threatened.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a sustainable cropping system that can help reverse soil degradation, augment soil health, increase crop yields, and reduce labor requirements while helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. It is built on three core principles of minimum soil disturbance, crop residue retention, and crop diversification.

CA was introduced in southern Africa in the 1990s, but its adoption has been patchy and often associated with commercial farming. A group of researchers, led by Christian Thierfelder, principal cropping systems agronomist at CIMMYT, set out to understand the reasons why smallholder farmers adopt CA, or why they might not or indeed dis-adopt. Their results were published in Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems on March 12, 2024.

Conservation Agriculture plot. (Photo: CIMMYT)

“Conservation Agriculture can cushion farmers from the effects of climate change through its capacity to retain more soil water in response to high water infiltration and increased soil organic carbon. It is therefore a viable option to deal with increased heat and drought stress,” said Thierfelder. However, even with these benefits, adoption of CA has not been as widespread in countries like Malawi.

“There are regions within Malawi where CA has been promoted for a long time, also known as sentinel sites,” said Thierfelder. “In such places, adoption is rising, indicating that farmers are realizing the benefits of CA over time. Examining adoption dynamics in sentinel sites can provide valuable lessons on scaling CA and why some regions experience large rates of non- or dis-adoption.”

Thierfelder and his co-authors, Innocent Pangapanga-Phiri of the Center for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), and Hambulo Ngoma, scientist and agricultural economist at CIMMYT, examined the Nkhotakota district in central Malawi, one of the most promising examples of widespread CA adoption.

Total LandCare (TLC), a regional NGO working in Malawi has been consistently promoting CA in tandem with CIMMYT in the Nkhotakota district since 2005.

Results from both individual farmer interviews and focused group discussions revealed that farmers that implement CA saw higher yields per hectare than those who practiced conventional tillage practices. In addition, farmers using CA indicated greater resilience in times of drought, improved soil fertility, and reduced pest infestation.

Why adopt CA?

The primary factors enhancing CA adoption in the Nkhotakota district were the availability of training, extension and advisory services, and demonstration plots by the host farmers. Host farmers are farmers that have been trained by a TLC extension officer and have their own plot of land to demonstrate CA methods. In addition, host farmers train other farmers and share knowledge and skills through farmer field days and other local agricultural exhibitions.

“Social networks among the farmers serve a vital role in CA adoption,” said Ngoma. “Seeing tangible success carries significant weight for non-adopter farmers or temporal dis-adopters which can persuade them to adopt.”

Maize demonstration plot. (Photo: CIMMYT)

During focus group discussions facilitated by the authors, farmers indicated that demonstration plots also removed fear for the unknown and debunked some myths regarding CA systems, for example, that practitioners show ‘laziness’ if they do not conventionally till their land.

“This suggests that CA uptake could be enhanced with increased, targeted, and long-term promotion efforts that include demonstration plots,” said Ngoma.

Similarly, the longer duration of CA exposure positively influenced farmers’ decisions to adopt CA methods as longer exposure might allow farmers to better understand the benefits of CA practices.

Why not adopt CA?

Farmers reported socioeconomic, financial, and technical constraints to adopt CA. An example is that farmers might not have the labor and time available for weed control, a necessary step in the first few years after the transition to CA.

“Weed control is an important challenge during the early years of CA adoption and can be seen as the ‘Achilles heel’ of CA adoption,” said Thierfelder. CIMMYT scientists therefore focused a lot of research in recent years to find alternative weed control strategies based on integrated weed management (IWM) using chemical, biological, and mechanical control options.

Examining the stover in a maize plot. (Photo: CIMMYT)

In most cases, the benefits of CA adoption are seen only after 2 to 5 years. Having such a long-term view is not always possible for smallholder farmers, who often must make decisions based on current conditions and have immediate family obligations to meet.

As a contrast to adopters of CA, non-adopters reported a lack of knowledge about CA as a whole and a lack of specific technical knowledge needed to transition from more traditional methods to CA.

This scarcity of technical support is often due to the lack of strong agriculture extension support systems. Since CA adoption can be complex, capacity building of both farmers and extension agents can therefore foster adoption and implementation of CA. This reinforces that farmer-to-farmer approaches through host farmers could complement other sources of extension to foster adoption.

Next steps

The authors identified three policy recommendations to accelerate CA adoption. First, there is a need to continue promoting CA using farmer-centric approaches more consistently, e.g., the host farmer approach. Using a farmer-centered approach facilitates experiential learning and can serve as a motivation for peer-to-peer exchange and learning and can reduce misinformation. The host farmer approach can be augmented by mega-demonstrations to showcase CA implementation at scale. In addition, rapid and mass extension delivery can be enhanced by using digital technologies.

Second, CA promotion should allow farmers the time to experiment with different CA options before adoption. What remains unclear at the policy level is the types of incentives and support that can be given to farmers to encourage experimentation without creating economic dependence. NGOs and extension workers could help farmers deal with the weed pressure soon after converting from full to minimum tillage by providing herbicides and training.

Third, there is a need to build and strengthen farmer groups to facilitate easier access to training, to serve as conduits for incentive schemes such as payments for environmental services, and conditional input subsidies for CA farmers. Such market-smart incentives are key to induce initial adoption in the short term and to facilitate sustained adoption.

Sow, grow, and thrive: a pathway to improve cassava farming in Zambia

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . Posted in Blogs.

For decades, women farmers like Maureen Bwalya from the Musa camp in Kasama district of northern Zambia, have upheld the tradition of cultivating cassava on ridges. These small piles of soil created by hand hoes, 30-50 cm tall and 50 cm wide are intended to reduce water logging and facilitate cassava growth. But forming row after row takes a significant amount of physical labor. Establishing ridges follows a traditional practice known as chitemene, a Bemba word which means “place where branches have been cut for a garden.”

Chitemene, a slash and burn technique once common in Zambia, involves cutting down standing trees in the Miombo woodlands, stacking the logs, and then burning them to create a thick layer of ash believed to enhance soil fertility. The ashen fields are initially cultivated with pearl millet and followed by crops like cassava. As years progressed, this method has been associated with adverse environmental impacts disrupting the ecosystem balance due to increasingly shortened fallow and recovery periods. However, with the ever-changing climate, Bwalya and other farmers recognize the need for sustainable practices that require less labor.

Alternatives to the traditional methods

Since childhood, Maureen Bwalya, a mother of seven from Musa Camp in the Kasama District of northern Zambia, has dedicated her life to cassava farming. Thriving under very low fertility and acidic soils, cassava has offered a lifeline amid the challenges of rural agriculture. When the Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Farming Systems in Zambia (SIFAZ) project was introduced in the northern province, where cassava is a strategic crop, Bwalya saw a valuable opportunity for change to cultivate better practices that not only improve cassava yields but also replenish soil fertility in her fields.

“When I started these trials, it was a tough transition,” said Bwalya, reflecting on her journey. “Shifting from ridge planting to flat land cultivation posed its challenges as this practice was new to me. But with time, I have learned the advantages of intercropping: increased yields, less labor, and enhanced productivity, all of which enrich my farming practices.”

Maureen Bwalya gazes through her plot. (Photo: CIMMYT)

Implemented over the last five years by CIMMYT, in collaboration with FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, SIFAZ aims to advance the intensification of farming practices and catalyze widespread adoption among farmers in Zambia. In the Musa camp, key partners took on the challenge of advancing better farming techniques with cassava. Their collective objective was clear: to identify methods that minimized labor intensity while maximizing yields. Through rigorous trials, including comparing flat land planting against traditional ridge systems and experimenting with intercropping cassava with common beans and groundnuts, promising results have been seen.

The outcomes yielded thus far have been nothing short of inspiring across farmers. It has become clear to farmers and researchers that cassava planted on flat land, particularly within a Conservation Agriculture (CA) framework, was not only feasible in high rainfall areas but also yielded significantly higher returns. Despite observing fewer root structures, the roots themselves proved to be robust and weighty, ultimately translating to increased productivity for smallholder farmers. Furthermore, farmers have confirmed that cassava from the CA plots tastes better than the one from the ridged portions.

“As a cassava trial implementer,” Bwalya said, “I undertook various trials exploring intercropping cassava with beans and groundnuts, across both flat and ridge systems.”

Thriving and innovating

Her six-hectare plot has become a hub of experimentation, with 0.3 hectares dedicated to the ongoing trials. Encouraged by the successes and promising yields witnessed on flat land, Maureen extended these sustainable practices to the remaining expanse, intercropping maize with cassava. Her results have been noticed, drawing the interest of over fifty neighboring farmers, inspired by her flourishing plot.

As the harvesting season approaches, Bwalya faces no shortage of opportunities to market her produce. From cassava cuttings to nutrient-rich leaves and tubers, she never runs short of eager buyers in local markets, ensuring a steady income for her family.

Navigating through the different trials across the Kasama district, pockets of adoption in some farmers’ fields are noticeable. Through collaborative partnerships and community engagement, SIFAZ strives to empower farmers with the knowledge and tools stemming from the trials to become more food secure in the face of evolving climatic challenges.

A community leader in Baliakandi inspires women empowerment in agriculture: Promila Rani Mondol

Written by Nur-A-Mahajabin Khan on . Posted in Features.

Thirty-three-year-old Promila Rani Mondol lives in Baliakandi Upazila in Bangladesh with her husband, four daughters, and mother-in-law. The family’s main source of livelihood is agriculture. Promila has become a successful machinery solution provider (MSP), under the USAID-funded Feed the Future Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia–Mechanization Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA). She and her husband are the main earning members of the family.

In Rajbari district, around 100 miles away from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, agriculture is the primary livelihood for the community. Farmers engage in crop cultivation across three different seasons, focusing on crops such as rice, wheat, maize, jute, mustard, spices, and vegetables. In 2014, Promila’s family had barely two acres of cultivable land, and her husband was the sole breadwinner. Their average monthly income was US $91, which made it challenging to cover everyday expenses. To increase their family income, she began assisting her husband in crop production activities by planting seeds of jute, maize, wheat, mustard, and spice crops.

In 2014, the family became involved with the CSISA-MI project. Initially, they owned a power tiller. The project assisted them to purchase a power tiller-operated seeder attachment for land cultivation and line sowing. In 2018, Promila received training in line sowing techniques, including seed calibration using the power tiller operated seeder (PTOS) machine which was equipped with a starter kit. She began line sowing Rabi crops such as wheat, mung beans, sesame, and mustard. During the Kharif season, she engaged in line sowing jute.

After the launch of the CSISA-MEA in 2019, Promila participated in several activities including hands-on training on rice transplanter operation, one-acre mechanized rice transplantation demonstration by CSISA-MEA for her service business expansion, seedling raising training, two-day training on agricultural machinery operation maintenance and troubleshooting, and two exposure visits on rice transplanter service business models. With the assistance of CSISA-MEA, she organized several meetings to connect mat seedling (seedlings grown on a special mat or seedling tray), entrepreneurs, farmers, and MSPs, which led to the expansion of her business prospects. Additionally, CSISA-MEA linked her with the Department of Agricultural Extension, where she procured 1,750 seedling raising trays and 750 kg of seed support for mat seedling raising, significantly boosting her business growth.

In 2023, Promila bought a rice transplanter before Aman season (mid-July to mid-November-December) with a 50% government subsidy. CSISA-MEA helped her get the government subsidy and connected her with the VPKA foundation, which provided her with loan at a low-interest rate of 4%, along with a flexible repayment plan.

Promila Rani Mondol uses a rice transplanter to plant rice in the field in Rajbari, Bangladesh. (Photo: Asmaul Husna/CIMMYT)

During the Aman season, she provided rice transplantation services in 20 hectares of land benefiting approximately 150 farmers. During that season, her total earning was US $1,640. Additionally, in 2023, she earned approximately US $1,047 by line sowing aus rice and jute; and line sowing wheat, sesame, and mustard by PTOS during the Rabi season. Through her network of contacts with farmers across three blocks (shalmara, baliakandi, and nobabpur in Rajbari district), she offers machine rice transplantation services using the seedlings.

What sets her apart is not just her success as an MSP, but her commitment to breaking gender norms and inspiring other women in her community. Currently, with an annual income of US $2,276 and a profit margin of US$1,184, she has become a community leader, encouraging 15 other women to venture into farming and seedling raising services.

“With just one day of cultivation and seeding service, I can cover my daughter’s tutorial expenses for an entire month. The support from CSISA-MEA has made me more self-reliant as an MSP and increased my confidence in meeting family expenses,” says Promila.

Currently, 15 women in her community offer farming and seed planting services. Others, such as Sunita Rani, Niba Rai, Rakoli, Dipti, Mita, and Angoli, are inspired by her. While seven women can now operate the rice transplanter machine in the fields, others are showing an interest in the same. This is a significant and positive change in the community initiated by Promila.

Her impact extends beyond her own success; she has sparked a positive change in her community’s perception of women in agriculture. As the vice president of the MSP Networking Committee in Rajbari district, she continues to shoulder responsibilities, contributing not only to her family’s well-being but also to the larger narrative of women empowerment in Bangladesh.

Women farmers turn the tide on soybean production

Written by Julian Bañuelos-Uribe on . 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.