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Smallholder Farmers in Kenya and Their Challenges

Smallholder Farmers in KenyaProlonged drought, rising global temperatures and economic challenges have caused food insecurity to increase in Kenya. Food insecurity affects large urban cities like Nairobi and arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) in the country’s northernmost region as impoverished Kenyans face rising food prices, making affordability hard for families in extreme poverty. Agriculture production makes up much of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is essential to feeding domestic consumers. Large farms are an important part of the nation’s agriculture sector. However, smallholder farms produce more than 70% of the food used domestically and exported globally. Without efficient production by smallholder farms, Kenya’s protracted food insecurity will continue to take hold of the country. However, smallholder farmers in Kenya face several challenges.

Lack of Access

Lack of access to various services and resources is one of the biggest problems for smallholder farmers and a main reason for stagnant economic growth. Small farms are usually located in rural areas, isolated from wholesale markets, forcing farmers to sell goods via brokers, leaving many needy farms vulnerable to fluctuating prices. Due to land grabbing by larger companies, access to fertile land is limited, making the jobs of small farmers much harder.

Without access to better markets, smallholder farmers in Kenya will continue to fall victim to multinational corporations selling products at low prices to rack in massive profits. Through methods like land grabbing and enacting repressive policies, small farmers have become dependent on larger companies for agricultural inputs needed to produce fresh crops.

Due to traditional lending institutional practices, credit remains one of the most difficult resources for smallholder farmers to access. Demand for high collateral, high interest rates and a shortage of credit lending educational services make it hard for small farm owners to gain credit.

A Need for Quality Infrastructure

Mobile communication devices are becoming essential tools for smallholder farmers, making accessing and exchanging agricultural information easier. Challenges in infrastructure have been exposed due to rural farmers’ limitations when using mobile devices. The availability of reliable power has become a concern among multiple rural counties, as well as internet connectivity issues and high prices for data packages.

Water scarcity has also become a problem that affects not only smallholder farmers but small-scale irrigation systems as well. ASAL areas depend on artificial water applications for farming. However, growing urbanization, rising water consumption and various water uses have led to dwindling water distribution throughout the nation, greatly affecting farms in rural areas.

Multinational Competition

Government-enacted laws and policies focus more on controlling large money producers, leaving small farmers at the mercy of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) looking to make a profit. To develop, promote and regulate a modern and competitive seed industry, the Kenyan government gave larger agricultural corporations control over processes like seed certification, making it harder for impoverished farmers to afford certification and obtain seeds for planting.

Seed sharing was a system of exchange that helped domestic farmers for generations. However, as a way to keep producing money, the government criminalized seed sharing, affecting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who depend on the cost-effective method that many would consider a timeless tradition.

Outside Assistance

Nongovernment organizations like Nuru are working to provide education and assistance to agribusinesses in low-income communities facing food insecurity. Through the introduction of various cultivation methods, farmers are better equipped with the resources to self-sustain and improve food productivity in the area. Since 2008, Nuru has reached more than 320,000 people in five African countries, including Kenya. Nuru farmers in Kenya have seen more than 200% of their crop yields from baseline.

Additionally, the Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to ending global hunger, has launched a five-farmer-to-farmer program in Kenya that will connect smallholder farmers to financial volunteers whose focus will be to train farmers in business planning, financial management and financial literacy and establish alternative credit scoring methods. Farmers will receive better chances at obtaining loans, making affording seeds, equipment and other resources easier.

Final Remark

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are the key to unlocking the nation’s full agricultural potential. They make up almost 70% of agricultural production without full government assistance or access to credit markets. As a way to not only put an end to food shortages nationwide, investments in smallholder farmers need to increase to provide economic improvements across Kenya.

– Immanuel Wiggins

Immanuel is based in Jackson, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Soilless Farming: Nigerian Entrepreneur Fights Food Insecurity

Soilless FarmingNigeria is renowned for its agricultural richness and significant role in the economy; 70.8 million hectares are used for growing crops, yet many challenges and factors inhibit the growth of the farming industry and stifle the sector, contributing to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Some of these factors include soil degradation, global warming, and micro-irrigation. The others are lack of up-to-date technology, low redistribution and high-cost production, and financial deficit. Nigerians face a staggering food insecurity problem, with a predicted 26.5 million people expected to experience acute hunger this year, a substantial increase from 18.6 million people last year.

Enterprise for Youth in Agriculture

Enterprise for Youth in Agriculture (EIYA), under the company Soilless Farm Lab, engages Nigerian youth and women in modern farming techniques to sustainably stabilize food production. Its main objective is to tackle poverty and hunger by making food affordable, growing it consistently, and ensuring it is accessible to everyone.

Soilless farming is a technique used for plants to absorb nutrients through irrigation without using soil. Soilless farming brings forth many benefits, such as reduced food loss, low pesticide utilization, consuming only 10% of the water needed in traditional farming, and saving land space.

Three Benefits of the EIYA Project

Soilless Lab Farm believes in the importance of apprentices knowing how to construct the foundation for hydroponic farming – which involves the growth of plants without soil. This allows the interns in prospects to have the skill of setting their soilless farms. However, the primary goal is to teach them how crucial it is to build a solid foundational structure for plants to thrive. Apprentices explore various adaptive plant-rearing techniques, such as yield mapping and predictive analytics, to gain insights into how plants respond to different environments and conditions. This comprehensive approach not only provides practical skills but also deepens their understanding of plant growth dynamics in controlled settings.

Many Nigerian farmers lack knowledge of the business aspects of farming. As of 2020, a staggering number of Nigerian farmers are considered smallholder farmers (SHFs), with 80% of farmers and 90% of agricultural produce deriving from SHFs. Therefore, the EIYA project presents a significant opportunity for aspiring female farmers to gain expertise in crucial areas such as customer care, market viability assessment, and profitability expansion.

Another benefit of the EIYA project is that it sponsors up to 4,000 apprentices each year and provides them with set-up kits. Each group of 50 participants has access to three hydroponics plots. During the three-month training, participants receive stipends and free accommodation. While women are the primary focus, all youth aged 18-29 are welcome to join. Once the first crop is produced, apprentices are connected to off-takers to sell their produce. EIYA has created 14,534 job opportunities, established 120 start-up companies, and skilled 13,265 Nigerian youth in hydroponics to date.

Final Remark

The EIYA Project is not only a place to learn and expand Nigeria’s agriculture industry but also to tackle food insecurity among citizens living below the poverty line. As Ogbole, the food wizard, aptly puts it, “Food production should not be seasonal because hunger is not.”

– Lydie Udofia

Lydie is based in London, UK and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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AI Offers Promise for Africa’s Smallholder Farms

AI Offers Promise for Africa's Smallholder Farms More than 226.7 million people in Africa face starvation, yet the continent is poised to become the world’s future breadbasket. At the forefront of a technological revolution, Africa’s rich agricultural tradition embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI). The integration of AI into agrifood systems is expected to significantly boost efficiency, enhance yields and promote sustainable farming practices. Agriculture accounts for nearly a quarter of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the continent still depends largely on food imports. By 2030, these imports are estimated to cost up to $100 billion annually. Smallholder farms play a crucial role in this agricultural landscape.

AI and Smallholder Farms

There is extensive room for improvement and modernization in the smallholder farm industry. AI has the potential to support crop yield, irrigation, soil content sensing, crop monitoring, weeding and crop establishment. AI technology can optimize the use of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation. A change that would improve the health of humans as well as the environment. Africa faces two significant obstacles to fully harnessing the potential of AI, access to reliable internet connectivity and affordable technology. Smallholder farmers remain confined to simple devices such as mobile phones, radio and TV to access digital resources, including the Internet despite the availability of digital opportunities.

Small Holder Farms: Constraints and Successes

Smallholder farms are vital in Africa, contributing significantly to food production, enhancing rural livelihoods and reducing poverty. These farms typically operate on less than two hectares of land, equivalent to approximately 2.47 acres each. These farms usually cultivate a diverse range of crops such as yams, beans, rice, cassava, maize, vegetables and fruits and raise livestock including goats, cows and chickens. Individual farmers or families manage these operations, facing common agricultural challenges in countries like Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Here are some of the agricultural constraints:

  • Use of outdated technology -Regular Flooding
  • Climate change -Desertification of crop and grazing land
  • Diseases and pests -Lack of financing
  • Agricultural Infrastructure -Shortage of farming skills
  • High levels of soil degradation -Tough economic conditions
  • Impact of Energy Shortages on agriculture, food, fiber and beverage production

Smart Farming Powered by Internet of Things (IoT) Technology

AI successes feature smart farming enhanced by Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which optimizes crop management through the use of sensors, gateways, and data analysis. These sensors collect vital data from the fields, which is then stored and analyzed. This process allows farmers to access real-time insights, enabling more efficient and informed decision-making.

Nigeria is home to 38 million smallholder farmers who account for 90% of Nigeria’s agricultural produce and employ 60% of the country’s labor force. More than 72% of residents live below the poverty line in Nigeria, where smallholder farms produce the majority of the country’s staples and employ millions.

AI Successes include Farmcrowdy, Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform that connects small-scale farmers with smart farming techniques, quality farm inputs and access to superior markets to be able to earn a decent profit margin. Founded in 2016, Farmcrowdy began with 25,000 farmers. Currently, it is working with 50,000 farmers, with a plan to scale to 500,000 by the last quarter of the fiscal year 2020 and 3 million over the next 5 years.

AI successes feature Precision Agriculture, monitoring crop conditions, soil quality, weather patterns, and pest infestations. Additionally, Ujuzikilimo’s mission in precision farming aims to empower all farmers and stakeholders to make quick, informed, and data-driven decisions through the collection and analysis of agricultural data. The United Nations (U.N.). The initiative is exploring ways AI can be used to predict flood patterns and optimize Agrifood systems across Africa. Agrifood systems would predict the best times to plant, provide an assessment of soil health and monitor pest and disease outbreaks.

The Future of Full-Scale Agricultural Digitalization

The convergence of AI and agriculture in Africa offers a mix of potential benefits and challenges. While AI holds the capacity to enhance agricultural productivity and bolster food security, achieving widespread digitalization is still a goal out of reach. The claims of transformative impact often disconnect with the actual experiences of smallholder farmers, facing constraints like low literacy and scarce access to digital tools. Nonetheless, there are opportunities tailored to address both present and anticipated obstacles in smallholder agriculture, aiming to realize the full promise of digitalization in the sector.

– Pamela Fenton
Photo: Unsplash

Kilimo Salama: Microfinance To Lift Kenyan Farmers Out of Poverty

Kilimo SalamaRural poverty accounts for 84% of all poverty. Smallholder farmers struggle to meet their basic monetary needs. This is due to the low yield and productivity that they can obtain with the methods that are affordable and accessible to them, often manual and obsolete. Due to the low margins these farmers make, a bad harvest season can mean plunging into deeper poverty and not being able to survive. In response to this pressing issue, Kilimo Salama, a microfinance insurance scheme, was introduced in Kenya in 2009. The primary objective of this initiative is to protect smallholder farmers from the adverse impact of extreme weather-induced crop loss. Notably, Kenya, where this scheme originated, has, as of 2022, 7.8 million people living on less than $1.90.

Insurance for Crop Loss Due To Extreme Weather

The soil in several African countries requires sustainable farming practices to prevent degradation. However, human activities, primarily mining, have resulted in significant nutrient depletion in African soils. This depletion, intensifying over the past decade, has further decreased the already low harvest output. Another key characteristic of smallholder farming in Africa is its heavy reliance on rainfed agriculture.

The combination of soil nutrient depletion and the unreliable weather patterns countries like Kenya have been experiencing in the past decades, ranging from drought to extreme rain, makes harvests unpredictable. This puts smallholder farmers at risk of falling into extreme poverty and not being able to afford to harvest next season.

Kilimo Salama

Kilimo Salama, which means safe farming in Swahili, was created based on the learning of a pilot in Kenya’s Laikipia district. The Laikipia district’s largest economic sector is agriculture at an estimated 35.5 billion Kenyan Shillings or $217.791.410. The region experiences dry and wet seasons, causing challenges such as droughts and excessive rainfall for small-scale farmers. In the first pilot in Kenya, hundreds of maize farmers were insured against drought in 2009. Following the drought that season, the initiative compensated all farmers between a 30% to 80% payout, depending on the extent of the drought.

Kilimo Salama holds significant importance for smallholder farmers, recognizing that the effects of a bad harvest season do not end in that season, affecting subsequent seasons. By providing insurance coverage, Kilimo Salama enables smallholder farmers to continue earning money, actively engage in the local and global economy and pursue cultivation in the following seasons despite setbacks caused by drought or excessive rain. This pivotal support prevents smallholder farmers in the eight countries where the program operates from plunging further into poverty. Instead, it empowers them to generate income that can be invested in adopting more efficient farming techniques or acquiring higher-yielding seeds.

Conclusion

Programs like Kilimo Salama can help tackle rural poverty. These microfinance insurance programs are highly tailored to the needs of the communities they serve, are more accessible and are designed to be affordable and easily understood.

– Sara del Carmen Navarro Galvan
Photo: Pexels

Supporting Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Developing Countries

Supporting Smallholder Coffee Farmers WorldwideWhat is there not to love about the aroma of freshly brewed coffee in the morning? But, what most java enthusiasts do not realize is that 44% of the world’s smallholder coffee farmers are currently living in poverty and 22% live in extreme poverty. The existing coffee trees are aging and changing climate conditions threaten farms’ productivity while the risk of crop diseases increases. An outbreak of coffee leaf rust, a fungus that cripples the trees’ productivity, struck many small family farms between 2012 and 2014. Coffee leaf rust caused more than $1 billion in crop losses in Central America, which led to 1.7 million jobs vanishing across Latin America.

Farmers Below the Poverty Line

Even in the best conditions, one-third of farmers earn less than $100 per year from growing coffee and 60% of the world’s coffee is produced by farmers with less than 12.35 acres of land. Challenges arising from inefficient production methods and profiteering coffee roasting companies make it difficult to earn a living. Of the 12.5 million smallholder coffee farmers worldwide, an estimated 5.5 million exist below the international poverty line.

Coffee farmers face many obstacles, including the low international price of coffee. According to Oxfam, some farmers have little to no power to negotiate with traders and must accept the low prices offered. If farmers process their coffee by removing its outer layer, they can demonstrate their beans’ quality and negotiate a higher price. But, if their coffee is sold in its original form, they must settle for a lower price. In Peru, even with semi-processed beans, farmers are still short-changed. And while traders make extra profits for themselves, coffee roaster companies in the United States and Europe make even larger margins.

Smallholder Coffee Farmers Need Support

In the Andean region and across Central America, approximately 750,000 smallholder farmers produce coffee and cacao. Often these farmers depend on limited water resources, which are barely enough to grow subsistence crops. Low incomes result in malnutrition, minimal educational opportunities and disease. Quechua-speaking communities as well as Amazonian Indigenous communities receive little support from the government, and therefore, lack agricultural technology. This dearth of opportunity perpetuates poverty.

Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cacao in the Americas (MOCCA) is working to help smallholder coffee farmers efficiently produce more coffee and cacao. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress Program, MOCCA is carried out by a consortium led by TechnoServe, a nonprofit organization operating in 29 countries. MOCCA also partners with World Coffee Research and Lutheran World Relief.

MOCCA’s Initiatives to Aid Smallholder Coffee Farmers

MOCCA works to improve the lives of more than 120,000 coffee farmers in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Peru. It enables farmers to make much-needed improvements while addressing the underlying problems that prevent their farms from becoming profitable.

MOCCA’s goals include:

  1. Training smallholder farmers to adopt agricultural and business practices that can increase quality, yield, sustainability and profitability. This includes pruning, stumping or replanting unproductive trees, which can dramatically improve a farm’s productivity without expanding its acreage into forest ecosystems.
  2. Augmenting research, bolstering the sustainability of research initiatives in the region and improving how research findings reach farmers. A regional coffee breeding hub offers a centralized resource to enhance varietal development, along with climate-smart solutions.
  3. Expanding farmers’ access to pure, healthy genetic planting material for planting, verifying large seed-producing nurseries and giving technical assistance in best production practices.
  4. Integrating farmers into higher value trading models by working with roasters, processors and private exporters to expand or capture greater market value. By addressing issues such as supply chain inefficiency, this plan allows farmers to obtain higher profits and reinvest in their farms, while boosting buyers’ local, sustainable supply of higher quality products.
  5. Mobilizing and collaborating with finance partners, value chain stakeholders and local governments to implement finance mechanisms for the farmers.
  6. Improving institutional capacity to deliver services that support renovation and rehabilitation. This involves collaborating with coffee and cacao institutions to expand their existing services, or introduce new ones, to support the farmers they serve.
  7. Strengthening platform support to the coffee and cacao sectors to promote knowledge and technology sharing among sector stakeholders.

In addition, MOCCA works to integrate young people and women into coffee and cacao market systems, so that these systems are more inclusive.

In February 2020, the National Coffee Association, the leading trade organization for the coffee industry in the United States, named TechnoServe the “Origin Charity of the Year.” This award recognizes the company’s work in supporting smallholder coffee farmers around the world.

– Sarah Betuel
Photo: Flickr

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Vaccinating Animals for Neglected Zoonotic Diseases

Neglected zoonotic diseases

Zoonotic diseases disproportionally affect the poorest communities around the world. These diseases and infections, known as zoonoses, are transmitted between humans and animals. Except for large scale zoonoses like SARS and H5N1 (avian influenza), the majority of these diseases are not prioritized by national and international health systems and are considered neglected. Neglected Zoonotic Diseases (NZD) have the greatest negative impact on the economies and health services in developing countries where rural communities are dependent on livestock for transportation, food and farm labor. Tackling NZDs with education and vaccination is one way to alleviate poverty in developing countries.

Human and Animal Relationships

In the developing world, not only do animals and humans live close together, but humans are reliant on animals for everything from clothing and food to fertilizer and power. These animals represent financial security for smallholder farmers (SHFs) and marginalized populations (MPs). Globally, there are 191 million people categorized as rural poor. Of those, 411 million are livestock keepers. With animals directly contributing to the livelihoods of over 70 percent of rural poor communities, it’s crucial to keep livestock healthy for a sustainable existence. Healthy animals can be used for both base income or sold to supplement household income, therefore keeping livestock is recognized as one of the leading routes to alleviating poverty.

NZDs keep animals from achieving their full economic potential—either by dying from disease or transmitting the disease to humans. Despite existing vaccines that could be effective in the prevention and control of these diseases, many SHFs and MPs reside in low resource settings without access to health care services. Other reasons for a lack of knowledge and solutions include the irregular lifestyles of mobile pastoralists, religious and cultural beliefs, and small community numbers. One of the largest problems to consider when tackling NZDs is the fact that there is little incentive for the vaccination of livestock because the animals show no signs of the disease and their economic value does not increase after vaccination.

Sustainable Solutions

NZDs are neglected because the global demand for these vaccines is low. So, one of the first steps to creating sustainable solutions is to support regional manufacturers in developing countries. This would forge a path for stockpiles or antigen banks to be created in these small communities. Aside from the manufacturing aspect, community and social engagement are needed to incentivize SHFs to vaccinate their animals. If human health care initiatives can be integrated with animal health care initiatives, pastoral farming areas could simultaneously vaccinate both their human and animal populations. In order to improve the prevention and control of NZDs, there needs to be a multidisciplinary effort by agriculture, health and environment sectors at a national level.

Conclusion

Because these diseases are not considered major public health burdens like tuberculosis, malaria or HIV/AIDS, neglected zoonotic diseases do not garner the same media attention or monetary contributions from the public or private sectors. But, it’s important to look at the numbers—at least 61 percent of all human pathogens are zoonotic, representing 75 percent of all emerging pathogens in the last decade. These neglected zoonotic diseases that disproportionally affect the poorest communities globally have some of the largest impacts. One vaccine shot could be the difference in a life of poverty or a life of prosperity.

– Trey Ross
Photo: Flickr

Sustainable Agriculture in Mauritania

Sustainable Agriculture in Mauritania
Mauritania is a rather large country in western Africa that has abundant natural resources like iron, oil and natural gas. Unfortunately, water and arable land are not at the top of the list. Nearly two-thirds of the nation is desert. Despite the lack of water, nearly half of the nations 3.8 million people make a living from livestock and cereal grain farming. Sustainable agriculture in Mauritania is essential to put this land to its best use and help the rapidly urbanizing population economically.

Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Mauritania

According to the FAO, the amount of food produced domestically in Mauritania each year only meets one-third of the country’s food needs, leaving the other 70 percent to be imported from other countries. The FAO has been working to increase crop output by promoting and supporting agriculture farming in Mauritania. One such program is the Integrated Production and Pest Managment Program (the IPPM) in Africa.

This program covers nine other countries in West Africa. Since its inception in 2001 as part of the United Nations new millennium programs, the program has reached over 180,000 farmers, 6,800 in Mauritania. In Mauritania, the IPPM program focuses on simple farming techniques to increase both the quantity and quality of the crop yield each year.

These techniques include teaching farmers how to chose the best seeds to plant along with the optimum distance to plant the seeds from one another. The program also educates farmers about the best use of fertilizers and pesticides. Overuse of these chemicals can pollute the already small water supply and harm the crops. The program also teaches good marketing practices to help with crop sales.

Programs Working With Government Support

It is not only outside actors that are promoting sustainable agriculture in Mauritania. The government has been helping as well. A report by the Guardian from 2012 explains the government’s new approach since 2011. The plan includes new irrigation techniques, the promotion of new crops, such as rice, and the training of college students in sustainable agriculture techniques through subsidies.

Data from the World Bank in 2013, showed that the program was slowly succeeding; however, too little water was still the biggest issue. The World Bank and the government of Mauritania are still working towards those goals by building off of the natural resources available. According to the CIA, a majority of the economy and foreign investment in Mauritania involves oil and minerals.

A Work In Progress

Data is not easy to find on the success of these programs after 2016. What can be noted, though, is that programs run by the FAO and other international organizations are still fighting for sustainable agriculture in Mauritania. They have been able to sustain using money from mining and oil that is coming in each year.

While these are certainly not the cleanest ways for a government to make money, it is a reliable way for the foreseeable future. The government has already proven that it is willing to spend this money on its people. Hopefully, the government will continue to invest in its people and sustainable agriculture in Mauritania.

– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr

Iboga Growers and Sustainable Agriculture in Equatorial Guinea

sustainable agriculture in Equatorial Guinea

Agrarian-minded agents have shared farming methods online that enable sustainable agriculture in Equatorial Guinea for traditional tribespeople who grow Tabernanthe iboga, a shrub that has many uses in traditional tribal medicinal practices.

One important use of Tabernanthe iboga is to provide hunters and fisherman with stamina and a reduced need to eat and drink as they are hunting and fishing. Iboga also has a lot of other medicinal properties that make its cultivation and use important to the people who live in Equatorial Guinea and surrounding areas. Tabernanthe iboga has been shown to help with diarrhea and various disorders of the mind, and some traditional healers even claim that it helps lessen pain in people who have AIDS.

The Internet Helps Iboga Growers

Before learning new farming methods that encouraged sustainable agriculture in Equatorial Guinea, some of the farmers growing Tabernanthe iboga employed more environmentally destructive slash and burn methods to harvest the plant. Through self-agency by using information about farming available online, the farmers learned about the importance of not removing the whole plant so that the crop can continue to grow in the future, and the need to replace the soil so that the nutrients required to grow the plants do not get destroyed.

The farming methods that were shared online by agrarian-minded agents and used by Iboga growers provide a beacon of light that promotes and supports sustainable agriculture in Equatorial Guinea. However, companies that are not agrarian-minded have passed laws that restrict farmers in Equatorial Guinea from sharing their seeds with other farmers. Such laws, which are designed to protect the profits of biotechnology firms that have created new seeds, hurt farmers in developing countries.

Seed Sovereignty Addressing Restrictions

A political movement called Seed Sovereignty is attempting to repeal the legislation that makes it a crime to save and share seeds. This movement is attempting to restore the right to use seeds to the farmer so that sustainable agriculture in Equatorial Guinea and other areas of the world is possible without needing to buy new seeds each year.

Farmers who violate the law and decide to share the seeds from their harvest with other people can go to prison. In some areas of Africa, the farmer who defies the law by sharing his seeds can spend up to 12 years in prison. Agrarian-minded agents take the opposite approach and empower farmers in places like Equatorial Guinea to protect the plants they grow by sharing their seeds and environmentally-safe farming techniques with others rather than putting them in prison for sharing their knowledge with other people.

An Online Repository of Sustainable Agriculture in Equatorial Guinea

The promotion of methods that support sustainable agriculture practices is needed to help preserve biodiversity and empower farmers in impoverished areas of the world. They offer this help by sharing the knowledge required to farm without destroying the environment so that farmers can produce without worrying about destroying the natural resources that they depend on for food and medicine.

Farmers in Equatorial Guinea have access to new methods to sustainably grow Tabernanthe iboga because of the information shared online by agrarian-minded agents. Tabernanthe iboga is an important plant in Equatorial Guinea, it is a part of their rich culture, and farmers can ensure that Tabernanthe iboga will always be there by growing it using sustainable farming methods.

– Michael Israel

Photo: Google

Feed Production and the Impact on Poverty and Conservation in Kenya

poverty and conservation in Kenya
In Kenya, Bidco Land O’Lakes is developing an encouraging partnership with farmers to assist in producing quality animal feed. Commercializing Kenyan farms with the assistance of quality feed would provide economic gain, and the partnership’s goals work to address poverty and conservation in Kenya.

Bidco Land O’Lakes and African Farmers

The partnership began in 2016 when Bidco Africa and Land O’Lakes combined the organizations’ strengths. Bidco Africa is the largest consumer goods company in East Africa with more than 35 years of market knowledge and customer insights. Land O’Lakes, Inc. is a big producer in feed technology and formulation, supporting a commitment to quality. Combining the two groups collective knowledge, the partnership implements the goal to increase farmer productivity and well-being.

Land O’Lakes International Development

Another organization affiliated with Land O’Lakes, Inc. is the Land O’Lakes International Development nonprofit, which has developed the base for dairy industry growth in Kenya for about two decades. This nonprofit assists societies in building local economies through agriculture and business development, and connecting farmers to markets. The organization “collaborates locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth.”

In many developing countries, agriculture, the basis of feed product, and other natural resources are the foundation of economic growth; however, around 11 percent of the world’s surface is suitable for agriculture and of that percentage, around 38 percent has been degraded by inadequate natural resource management.

The Land O’Lakes International Development nonprofit addresses inadequate natural resource management through the importance of sustainable agricultural practices. The organization promotes conservation and efficiency in natural resource usage through flexible sustainable strategies that strengthen agricultural production, such as quality livestock feed.

Poverty and Conservation in Kenya

Kenya’s economy and people’s livelihoods are extremely contingent on natural resources. Addressing poverty and conservation in Kenya could start with sustainable practices of agricultural and natural resources.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) made most of the Land O’Lakes International Development work achievable. However, the Land O’Lakes International Development Fund (IDF) develops additional financial earnings through non-U.S. government donors that increase the efficiency and success of the programs.

USAID’s Work

USAID promotes good farming conventions and effective land management so as to increase agricultural productivity. Sustainable agricultural production promotes conservation and preservation of farming lands while also increasing agricultural productivity.

In Kenya, USAID assists in laying a foundation for long-term economic growth through sustainable agriculture. The organization promotes community-based natural resource management so as to effectively eliminate conservation challenges associated with development.

Kenya’s new constitution ratified in 2010 bids “community land” to any group composed on the basis of ethnicity, culture or mutual interest. The group can then have free, community usage of the land and development of the selected area of land.

Historically, there has a been a collision of the right of people to use traditional, community lands for their own development needs and the need to conserve natural resources. Community ownership usually chooses to develop the land for economic growth or chooses to conserve the land.

However, in an article by Janet Ranganathan of the World Resources Institute, she describes that the “current mindset of society is to put economic development and nature in separate boxes,” but in reality, “development and ecosystem services are intertwined.” She promotes the idea that development organizations can assist developing countries in advancing economically while conserving the environment by evaluating ecosystems and natural resources as assets that generate benefits.

Increased Productivity

The feed partnership with Bidco Land O’Lakes and Kenyan farmers promotes the two goals of conserving natural resources and promoting economic development. Both groups provide hands-on trainings to the farmers to increase sustainable agricultural productivity in addition to quality feed production.

Combining the need for economic development and conservation of natural resources, the Bidco Land O’Lakes partnership increases productivity of agricultural feed, and addresses poverty and conservation in Kenya.

– Andrea Quade

Photo: Flickr

How Crowdfarming is Optimizing Livestock Production in Ghana

livestock production in ghana
With adequate rainfall, plentiful vegetation and a low pest population, Ghana’s Northern Savannah Ecological Zone is an optimal environment for cattle production. Despite this prime landscape, livestock production in Ghana has remained low. Insufficient or otherwise absent livestock policies, uninformed ranching practices and lack of funding are among the many factors responsible for underperforming livestock production in Ghana.

Limitations of Meat Access

Over the years, the domestic meat industry has become so problematic that it became cheaper for Ghana to import its meat from South America and Europe. Furthermore, poor cattle production has contributed to nationwide nutrition issues. According to USAID, about 1.2 million Ghanains face food insecurity, and anemia and iron deficiency afflict much of the population.

Recognizing meat access limitations, nutrition deficiencies and cattle mortality in the country, Kamal-Deen Yakub, Damian Brennan and Luis Grolez came together to find an innovative solution to such a persisting problem. In 2013, the trio launched Farmable, a “crowdfarming” platform that connects investors to smallholder cattle farmers in the country.

Crowdsourced funding enables farmers to take better care of their cattle, receive education in agricultural best practices and business development and sell in the domestic market, ultimately improving livestock production in Ghana over time.

Here’s How it Works:

  1. Investors visit Farmable to select a farm in Ghana and start a new cow, which they can name and give certain attributes. Popular funded cows include Borat Cow, Moochacho and Moominator. Alternatively, crowdfunders can invest in a cow that’s already on it’s way to becoming fully funded.
  2. Once a cow has 20 investors, it is linked to a real cow on the farm of the investor’s initial choosing.
  3. Farmhands tag the cow, and investors can track the cow’s health and progress online through preparation for sale in the domestic meat market.
  4. After the meat sells, the investor can reap profits. Investments help continue farmer education, production and marketing efforts.

Since launching, Farmable has helped to revolutionize the cattle ranching industry for participating farmers. “The company has succeeded in bringing together 7,500 cows owned by 600 smallholder farmers. We have sold about 1100 cows through the platform direct from the farms,” cofounder Kamal-Deen Yakub told The Borgen Project.

Education and Optimization

In light of these successes, Farmable has had to put the crowdfarming platform on a temporary hold as it gears up for its next phase. The company is focusing on educating farmers and optimizing production in the interim: “We engage farmers through partnership with existing incubators working to build capacities of smallholder farmers,” Yakub explained.

Farmable recruits subject-matter experts from the University of Ghana, local veterinary officers and experienced farmers to provide training for participants.

Livestock Production in Ghana

Over the next few years, Farmable plans to establish renewable energy cattle ranches in Ghana to promote sustainable practices and cut down on costs. The company will use dung and agricultural waste to produce manure and biogas respectively to sustain these renewable energy ranches for free. Yakub encourages potential donors to stay tuned for this important next step.

The crowdfunding platform will go live again in the coming future, and Yakub hopes investors “are ready to participate in the crowdfarming and become cow backers.”

– Chantel Baul

Photo: Flickr