Andrew Natsios, former Administrator of USAID and current Advisory Committee Chair of HarvestPlus Continue reading
Biofortified Staple Crops: Empowering Smallholder Farmers to be Food System Change Agents
Stories tagged: smallholder farmers
Helping the World’s Most Vulnerable Through COVID-19
Dirk Schattschneider and Iris Krebber, Co-Chairs of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) Continue reading
Three Ways to Make Technology Inclusive for Smallholder Farmers
Agricultural Businesses Are the Key to “Decent Work” in Rural Communities
Decent agricultural work can be a vehicle for economic growth. Kristin Williams, Communications Manager at Root Capital, tells Farming First how investments can empower smallholder farmers.
Farming is hard work. This is especially true on the world’s 500 million smallholder farms, which rely almost entirely on informal family labor. There, farmers rise before the sun, and toil in plots of land just large enough to grow food for the table and perhaps one or two crops for sale. Sudden shocks—like drought, flood, or disease—can wipe out the fruits of their labor in an instant. If they’re lucky, they can get their crops to a nearby market; once there, they have little recourse if buyers refuse to give a fair price.
Billions of people make their living in this difficult way. And it’s no coincidence that they comprise much of the world’s extreme poor, surviving on less than $2 per day. But the connection between farming and poverty is not a foregone conclusion. Yes, farming is hard work; but with targeted investments it can also be “decent work.”
Chris Mitchell: What Encourages Smallholders to Adopt New Practices?
In this guest blog post, Chris Mitchell of Bain & Company discusses a new paper, Growing Prosperity, compiled in collaboration with Acumen, that focuses on optimizing interaction between farmers and pioneer firms—entrepreneurial companies that develop and offer market-based innovations to serve the poor.
Pioneer firms are bringing innovative solutions to resource-poor farmers in places where governments and traditional aid have fallen short. But what needs to happen to spur sustained adoption of the innovations on offer that will allow these firms to serve hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of smallholder farmers? The work of these pioneer firms is simply too important to remain small scale, and there is potential for a real breakthrough in the next 5 to 10 years. With this study, we hope to shift the odds more in favor of pioneer firms and the smallholder farmers they serve.
Three key findings from our research point to what these firms and other actors must do. Continue reading
TV show is ‘shaping-up’ Kenya’s farms and rural livelihoods
Shamba Shape-Up is a new reality TV programme in Kenya that visits shambas (Swahili for small farms) across the country and aims to give both farmer and audience the tools they need to improve productivity and income on their farms.
The programme, hosted by African actor Tonny Njuguna and Naomi Kamau, focuses on increasing farmers crop productivity by providing expert advice on livestock, crops, soil fertility and storage. Typically the film crew will spend 4 days with one household, allowing enough time to build any improvement structures and invite the experts in to offer advice. Experts include veterinarians, soil analysts and specific crop specialists from partnering companies in Kenya.
In the first episode the Shape-Up team visit George Mungai’s farm. George has a variety of problems from low yielding potato crops to a lack of light for his children’s study. Dr Jane Ininda, a Crop Improvement Officer at AGRA, visits the farm and suggests that George changes the seeds he uses to adapt to the increasing amount of drought in the area. The seeds Dr. Ininda gives George offer a much shorter maturing time, enabling George to access the food in five months instead of seven.
The farm is then ‘shaped up’ by providing George with fertilisers and improved storage facilities which help decrease crop waste and enhance food production. George’s family is also provided with solar powered lights. As Paul Njuguna, Brand Manager of D.light explains:
For reading, ordinary kerosene lamps are not bright enough. Their eyes will deteriorate in the long term and they will tire very quickly
But the helpful tips don’t just benefit George and his family, throughout the programme viewers are encouraged to access all the information and advice via text message – an innovative method of educating Smallholder farmers across Kenya.
David Campbell, the show’s creator and director, comments on the shows innovative approach to informing farmers:
We have a potential 5.6 million rural audience but there is no agricultural information on TV. We want to establish a series that gives farmers information in an educational and entertaining way.
The show partners with many of the global leaders on effective and sustainable farming such as AGRA, Syngenta and IFDC. These organisations are often desperate to spread the simple advice that could increase agricultural yields and Shamba Shape-Up offers them an ideal platform to reach their intended audience in an informative, yet entertaining, manner.
From the show’s viewing figures it is evident that this entertaining programme is an effective way of reaching Africa’s Smallholder farmers. Shamba Shape Up’s estimated audience in the first series was around 7 million, with this number rising to 11 million by the end of series 3. As the show’s organisers explain:
If even just 10% of the viewers of series one adopt new practices as a result of the show, that’s 700,000 farmers who’s sustainable livelihoods have become more informed and productive.
All the episodes can be viewed online: http://www.shambashapeup.com/all-episodes
For more information about the show visit: http://www.shambashapeup.com/