AGRA

At the session on “Enabling Rural Finance: Multisectoral Collaboration” during last week’s SAM conference, Hedwig Siewertsen of the Africa-based Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) discussed her work helping the government of Kenya experiment with mechanisms to extend the reach of its limited funding for agriculture. In 2016, the government had USD 7 million to invest in agriculture and was considering acting as a lender to disburse that money to the agricultural sector. Recognizing that the government may be better at market facilitation than managing money, AGRA worked with officials to bring in Barclays Bank of Kenya and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) as partners. As a result, the government was able to leverage its USD 7 million to guarantee USD 23 million in lending from Barclays. This enabled 150,000 farmers as well as 300 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – including producer organizations – to access funding and non-financial assistance, such as help with business planning.

At the same session, Ousmane Thiongane of the Senegalese microfinance institution network U-IMCEC, described his organization’s struggles entering the agriculture sector. Despite agriculture being a risky proposition, the organization’s mission demanded that it serve rural areas. At first, he explained, “our rural agents weren’t well trained” in agriculture and thus the entry into rural areas “was a complete failure.” With agents lacking basic information, such as the differing cycles of potato and onion crops, portfolio quality suffered. In response, U-IMCEC began to train loan officers as “local portfolio managers” rather than credit agents. Armed with much improved agricultural knowledge, U-IMCEC was able to give farmers the financial support they need in a way that allowed for institutional stability. This included maintaining a “high-touch” model of staff-client interaction even as the organization brought in more technology. Mr Thiongane says, “We have no choice…microfinance cannot be separated from digitalization today.” While some clients remain uninterested in e-money, financial technology (fintech) is allowing U-IMCEC to reduce its operational costs.

Representing Belgium’s Alterfin, as well as the 12-member Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF), Jean-Marc Debricon discussed the differences between investing in agriculture and mainstream microfinance. For example, loans to producer organizations generally have shorter terms than loans to microfinance institutions. For the members of CSAF, microfinance investments tend to be stronger, allowing them to meet their missions of investing in rural areas where they generally accept more risk or lower returns. Mr Debricon also described CSAF’s work on Aceli Africa, which will launch in 2020 with a pilot program in East Africa. The effort is a public-private partnership mobilizing funds for agricultural SMEs through instruments such as a guarantee fund to protect investors against potential loss.

Safiatou Malet-Coulibaly of Luxembourg-based SOS Faim discussed her NGO’s work with “agri-plus” in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. She argued that producers’ organizations are critical partners for managing risk – both market risks and those related to climate change. Ms Malet-Coulibaly’s organization has supported 48 such organizations with loans, guarantees to help them access bank financing, and technical assistance relating to both finance and agriculture.

This article is part of a sponsored series on SAM (the French acronym for African Microfinance Week), a major conference dedicated to financial inclusion in Africa. The most recent SAM took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from October 21-25, 2019.

An innovative insurance package for small-holder farmers has been unveiled by Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) in collaboration with a pan-African agricultural insurance advisory firm, Pula, which will anchor the initiative, targeting about four million farmers in the country.

Stakeholders from across the fertiliser value chain at a one-day workshop on ‘Bundling Insurance with Fertiliser: A Way to Increase Fertiliser Sales to Small-holder Farmers’ in Abuja yesterday, opined that Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII) was the way to go in order to mitigate various risks being faced by smallholder farmers. According to the FEPSAN chairman, Thomas Etuh, he said the Area Yield Index Insurance can be a lever for helping farmers cope with weather and other peculiar risks while scaling adoption of fertilisers among small-scale farmers.

“We believe that through adding insurance, we will kill two birds with one stone – improve our farmers’ resilience and grow adoption of fertilizer in Nigeria,” Etuh added.

For her part, the chief executive officer of Pula Insurance, Rose Goslinga, said the insurance policy will be subscribed to automatically by farmers through the purchase of fertiliser products for their farms.

She highlighted that while Area Yield Index Insurance will first and foremost benefit farmers, it will also be beneficial to the participating fertiliser companies as the initiative will create an opportunity for them to build strong brands among farmers and gain new customers.

“Embedding agriculture insurance to Fertilizer will enable these companies to understand farmers better while providing them with real protection. In the 10 countries that Pula works, we have seen that companies adding insurance can grow their customers base by 30% in one year,” Goslinga said.

LEADERSHIP reports that the potential partnership, which would bundle insurance with up to 14 million bags of fertiliser, could see as many as 3.9 million farmers benefiting from climate insurance in 2020 and up to 19 million by 2025.

Farmers across Nigeria currently face a range of risks such as climate induced drought, excessive rainfall, pests and diseases, among other challenges that undermine their hope of bountiful harvest and income from their toils. According to a communique issued at the end of the workshop, stakeholders including Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) said Pula’s proposed Area Yield Index Insurance solution, which would compensate farmers in the event of climate or other catastrophes, is an important intervention that will help farmers manage risks and build sustainable farming enterprises that can withstand shocks.

“This insurance also provides financial security that gives farmers confidence to invest in additional inputs like fertilizer, knowing that their investment will be protected by insurance in the event of crop failure,” the communique added.

South Sudan’s farmers are returning to their farms and seeking better livelihoods. A green-powered community radio initiative is broadcasting weather and climate information that guides farmers on when to plant seeds, and so yield the healthiest crops in a changing climate. Isaiah Esipisu reports.

On a Tuesday morning on August 10, 2019 at 7.00 o’clock, Moses Okwera, a presenter at a community radio station – 93.0 FM Voice of Freedom in Magwi County – reads the news brief and then plays a signature tune to introduce a daily morning show known as ‘Wake up Magwi.’ The guest in the studio is an agricultural expert.

This catches the attention of William Otoo, a 30 year old farmer in Cherekon village, about 20 kilometres out of Magwi town in the southern part of South Sudan. Otoo immediately increases the volume of his cell battery powered FM radio handset. His main interest is to know when it is likely going to rain so that he can start planting for the season.

“Today we are privileged to have Oryem Cosmas P’Lonam, the Chief Executive Office for the Magwi Seed Company in the studio — also known as MASCO,” announces the broadcaster, as Otoo sinks into his old sofa-set ready to learn more from the CEO of a seed company that is now supplying Magwi County with improved, certified seeds for the first time in history.

Since seasonal rainfall in the region has been delayed for almost two weeks, climate and weather information becomes an immediate subject for discussion. The good news is that P’Lonam begins by informing the listeners that it is likely going to rain any time now, but with a warning that it is likely going to flood.

“This community radio has been the main source of information for me and other farmers in this area,” said Otoo.

South Sudan, which got its independence from Sudan in 2011 is yet to put in place proper communication infrastructure following ethnic violence that has continuously rocked the country since 2013.

Without grid electricity all over the country including the capital Juba, it has been difficult for telecommunication companies to invest in transmission stations, hence, accessing mobile telephone network remains a pipedream for millions in rural areas.

Internet connectivity is never there in many villages, and is not guaranteed even in major towns like Magwi, including some parts of the capital city.

The roads are extremely dilapidated, making it nearly impossible for agricultural experts including extension service providers to reach out to farmers in far villages.

“It is just about 50 kilometres from Magwi to Torit town, but it is never a surprise for one to start the journey today morning, and spend the night on the way so as to arrive in Torit the next day, depending on the strength of the vehicle, and the mechanical condition,” remarked a businessman in Magwi, who was waiting for motorbike spare parts to be transported to Torit town.

In that regard, the 93.0 community FM radio, whose transmission infrastructure is powered by solar energy with the signal reaching all the villages of Magwi remains the only source of vital information to the residents.

“Before I go for the radio show, I always do a lot of research especially about prevailing weather and climate information because it is the most important thing for farmers who have bought seeds from us, and those seed growers whom we have contracted to multiply seed for our company,” said P’Lonam.

Due to civil conflicts, many farmers had run away to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. But most of them are now returning home to reclaim their farms, which have since turned into thick forests.

“The radio station has become part of our extension service providers because when we are discussing a particular subject, people who are lucky to have access to telephone network always call in to ask questions and also to seek clarifications,” said P’Lonam.

Otoo admits that it is through listening to such programmes that he has flourished in his farming venture in the past two years. At the age of 30 years, he is the first farmer in the entire country to multiply hybrid maize seed, with support from a seed company known as Green Horizon, and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

“Rainfall seasons are not the same as it were when I was growing up,” he said. “When I was about 10 years old, my mother could always prepare for planting any time from March 25. But nowadays, the seasonal rainfall can delay for another two to three weeks, or come much earlier than expected,” said the farmer who dropped out of school before finishing the secondary level education due to civil conflicts.

Situated on a 100 by 100 metre plot of land and with a 60-metre mast donated by the county office, Voice of Freedom, which broadcasts in five different languages, covers everything ranging from local and international news to original programming on conflict resolution, the rights of children, women, persons with disabilities, weather forecasts, and agriculture among others.

The station has largely been dependent on resources donated by the community – such as volunteer time and story leads. It previously run on expensive diesel power generators until August, 2015. That’s when Internews intervened by installing 22 solar panels and setting up new electrical system to support it.

Many other communities throughout the country as well rely on such community-based radio stations to get vital information concerning their lives and livelihoods.

It is no fallacy that 50-year-old Anastasia Njeri has a big family of ten children to care for. Making ends meet had been a constant haunting reality. While she enjoys a house full of joy and children, she was always aware that the family’s income might never meet all their needs. Moreover, she has always had a dream of her children reaching their full potential through education. 

As the years went by, her dreams started fading away. No sooner had her dreams become forgotten than she came across a Village-based Advisor (VBA) in Kamuyu village that trained farmers about new, improved varieties and Good Agronomic Practices (GAP). 

“We were trained on how to use improved maize varieties. Before the training, I used to sow four seeds together with manure, and fertilizer, all in one hole at the planting stage. The result was not pleasing. It was a struggle to feed my family,” adds Anastasia.

“My VBA gave me a small 25 g pack sample of seeds of a new variety to try on my farm. When these seeds brought a bountiful harvest, I then bought 5 Kilograms of seeds of this variety to plant in the next season. These seeds have now given me over ten (90 kg) sacks of maize. This success was after I attended training conducted by my Village-based Advisor. The training was very valuable to me. I realized the importance of listening to experts and learning new ways of farming,” she says.

With her steady income, Anastasia’s dream, compelled by the desire to provide proper shelter for her family, her aspiration is not out of reach. Of all her wishes, she has dreamed of constructing a stone house for her family and moving from their small iron sheet house. From last seasons’ harvest, she was able to harvest enough food for her family and sell the excess. The income she got from the surplus enabled her to buy building materials. She is now building a new house for her family. “This is aside from providing the needs of my children who are also going to school,” she says.  

“My children can now choose what they want to be. With good income and the desire to study that they have, they can go on and become doctors, teachers, lawyers, or even farmers, you name it,” she says after enjoying the few months of improved agriculture. 

Anastasia is one of the farmers trained by Damaris, a VBA. With her enthusiasm and determination, Damaris has been able to bring together and teach over 250 farmers. The positive impact of the program is visible on Damaris’ happy and satisfied face because her community will not be hungry anymore, thanks to the training. 

A humble iron sheet house stands next to Anastasia, for now, but in the coming days there will be a stone house; this presents part of a new narrative of positive change that is taking place in this village and a symbol of the indomitable spirit of people who chose to stand tall against adversity.

AGRA believes that agricultural technologies and practices can only have a positive effect if they are communicated and implemented by farmers and end-users. Extension is the mechanism by which this process is achieved. Within our five-year strategy, one of the biggest challenges is how to further the reach and impact of government extension agents and create demand for improved seeds, fertilizers, and other yield-enhancing inputs. The ratio of extension staff to farmers in most of our target countries is 1:5,000. We aim to improve this ratio to 1:500.

Recognizing the growing role of the private sector in the lives and livelihoods of Africa’s farmers, our extension approach involves identifying and training self-employed village-based advisors (VBAs). VBAs are ‘lead farmers’ who are selected to share technologies and knowledge locally with fellow farmers. With connections to input companies, they help to promote quality seeds and fertilizers, together with good agricultural practices. This model has been particularly successful in Kiambu County, Kenya.

AGRA works through the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation In Africa (PIATA). This is a unique strategic partnership launched in 2017 that enables African agriculture actors to do business differently as they support leaders to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. PIATA members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ.

By Nancy Okwengu

20 years ago, Ms. Rita Sekilovele, famously known as Mama Seki in the wider Southern Highlands of Tanzania, used to sell traditional brew which brought with it social stigma and regular run-ins with the local authorities. One day, she decided enough was enough and switched to “milling”  maize flour.

Her first consignment was only two “debes”- 2 tins 10 kgs each. Today, her milling firm – Super Seki Investment, is the largest producer of fortified maize flour operating in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, with an assured market across Tanzania and in the neighbouring countries.

With support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) – as part of a wider ecosystem of affiliated rural organisations, agencies and businesses who work together to deliver the critical components of agriculture transformation – she has increased her mill’s capacity to buy maize from smallholder farmers spread across Iringa in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.

“We are buying maize from farmers groups representing over 2000 smallholder farmers in the region,” she notes. She supports the farmers’ groups with an assured provision of inputs. Her very limited education – she dropped out of school in class 2 – has not inhibited her quest for agribusiness to lift up the lives of smallholder farmers. “I only know how to write my name, to sign papers but I am great at counting money and handling financial issues!” she says.

Mama Seki is playing an important role in transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive to a thriving business  for the  2000 smallholder farmers she serves.Through her effort, she embodies the transformative power of agriculture in Africa.  

According to Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President AGRA,  agripreneurs like Mama Seki, are the way to Africa’s prosperity; powered by agriculture. Their small and medium-size enterprises handle 80% of the food consumed on the continent and provide a market for millions of smallholder farmers transforming their lives.

CONSORTIUM APPROACH: BUILDING LINKAGES ACROSS THE WHOLE AGRICULTURE VALUE CHAIN WITH SMALLHOLDER FARMERS FRONT AND  CENTER

While the success story of the Iringa Region green revolution can be attributed to the resolve by the Government of Tanzania, multiple stakeholders, like AGRA have supported the Government to make it possible.

In 2007 AGRA programs started providing farmers with innovative financing and high-yield crop varieties, and forged partnerships with private seed companies and small agrodealers in Southern Highlands, which includes Iringa.

Available records indicate that by 2009, about 700,000 smallholder farmers in the Southern Highlands managed to produce a record maize harvest, which was able to feed many other regions in the country that were drought-stricken. Since then, for Iringa Region, according to the regional authorities, there has never been going back.

According to Prof. Nuhu Hatibu, AGRA Regional Head (Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda), originally AGRA had five main programs to catalysts the green revolution in Tanzania -seeds, soils, market, policy, and financing. And in all operations, it was working in partnership with the Government and other stakeholders.

To consolidate the gains made over the years and after a lot of research, discussions, and collaborations,  AGRA  introduced the consortia model in 2017.

The model enhances collaboration with the local governments, farmers, and businesses to deliver integrated programming at farmer-level. The government, development agencies, and businesses come together within a defined geographical area to collaborate to achieve agriculture transformation with smallholder farmers front and center.

The consortium for Iringa Region is known as Ihemi-ludewa Consortium. Thanks to investments by AGRA and the PIATA  partners the consortium has reached over  150,000 smallholder farmers. These farmers, in turn, reach out to their peers spreading practices that have made the region an agricultural powerhouse.

According to the AGRA President, the consortium model brings “together organizations that have the experience, skills, and knowledge to address the problems currently faced by farmers.”  It weeds out duplication, is more effective in reaching out to the wider community of smallholder farmers and putting the local governments at the forefront of the green revolution to create the desired business environment.

She describes the model as best suited to provide novel and holistic solutions to the constraints faced by smallholder farmers and providing the necessary linkages across the crops value chain needed for long term solutions and sustainability. More importantly for Tanzania, the consortium model works to make the public-private sector-driven Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP phase 2) a success. The aim is to “transform the agricultural sector towards higher productivity, enhanced commercialization and smallholder farmer income for improved livelihood.”

AGRA works through the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation In Africa (PIATA).  This is a unique strategic partnership launched in 2017 that enables African agriculture actors to do business differently as they support leaders to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. PIATA members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency forInternational Development (USAID) the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ. In Tanzania, farmers have translated it to mean “PiATA Tija”, or solution-based agriculture.

TRANSFORMED LIVES

AGRA 3-year support to Ihemi-ludewa Consortium (2017 to 2019) has been linking farmers to input and out markets leading to increased maize, beans, and soybean production.  In essence, supporting farmers to increase incomes and improve livelihoods through innovations that are scaled up.

In the video below, Mr.  Victory Mhanga one of the smallholder farmers who has benefited from the program explains how his farm productivity has doubled and about the assured market.

AGRA 3-year support to Ihemi-ludewa Consortium (2017 to 2019) has been linking farmers to input and out markets leading to increased maize, beans, and soybean production.  In essence, supporting farmers to increase incomes and improve livelihoods through innovations that are scaled up.

In the video below, Mr.  Victory Mhanga one of the smallholder farmers who has benefited from the program explains how his farm productivity has doubled and about the assured market.

It is not only crop yields that have increased. Lives are getting transformed too. With the assured market for his harvest, Mr. Mhanga, as well as over 2000 farmers from various villages, have an agreement to sell part of their harvest to Mama Seki.  With the increased harvest, he is able to have adequate food for his household and excess for sale, to better the lives of his family. He is happy to move away from subsistence agriculture to farming as a profitable venture.  

True to  its name, originally  “Lilinga,” which means fort in the local Hehe language, Iringa has transformed itself as a fort of food security. 

As a result of the increase in production seen in Iringa and other regions, Tanzania is becoming food self-sufficient while selling the excess to other nations within the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) blocs.

GOVERNMENTS ARE CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF CONSORTIA

The success in Tanzania hasn’t been by accident. Every engagement has been deliberate. Mr. Wilfred Myuyu, Acting Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS) for Iringa,  President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), noted that since the consortia in Iringa was formulated, the regional government has been involved. It helped in identifying the needs of the districts and ensuring the project was implemented smoothly.

The local government has been promoting national agriculture policy in the region that calls for high productivity, use of modern farming methods and improved markets. The government is also the primary provider of agricultural extension services in the area and permitted its staff to get involved in the project which is critical in the implementation of Agricultural Sector Development Programme 2 (ASDP – 2)

He commended PIATA TIJA for promoting agriculture resilience, sustainability, and economic inclusivity and noted that the market-led model with the support of the government promoted by AGRA Ihemi Ludewa consortium should be replicated in other regions in Tanzania.

Mr. Muyuyu commended PIATA TIJA for promoting agriculture resilience, sustainability, and economic inclusivity and noted that the market-ledmodel with the support of the government promoted by AGRA Ihemi/Ludewa consortium should be replicated in other regions in Tanzania.

The AGRA President told the regional authorities that agriculture there is no single partner that can move agriculture forward alone. To reduce fragmentation and ensure alignment to government priorities,  she emphasized the critical role played by the central and local governments.

In the video below Dr.  Kalibata calls on the governments to hold actors including AGRA accountable to ensure delivery against set target.

PRIVATE SECTOR PLAY

The private sector also plays a key role in ensuring the smooth implementation of the whole agriculture value chain in attaining the green revolution. Through PiATA TIJA platform, private sector companies that provide inputs like fertilizers and seeds have increased their sales tremendously. Seedco Company noted that it has increased its sales by 70 percent. Through the introduction of the consortium model, there was increased access to services and inputs which are catalysts of increased yields. To maintain the momentum, as envisioned in ASDPII, a continually improving business environment is desirable.

GOING TO SCALE: AGRICULTURE POWERING INDUSTRIALIZATION AND REGIONAL TRADE

While commendable, the progress in Iringa will mean nothing if it remains an isolated island of success. Tanzania should consolidate these gains to position itself as the regional food powerhouse and make great strides in agri-industrial development.  For this to happen, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Hussein Bashe said it was important for all resources invested in the sector to create the desired impacts. Unfortunately, he said, this was not always the case.

So, it is paramount for the central government to have full knowledge of all invested  resources for accountability and monitoring purposes. This would ensure there are visible impacts in creating wealth for smallholder farmers.

He rallied agriculture stakeholders including AGRA to ensure investments made in the sector have the desired impacts for the smallholder farmers in every sense of the word.

He offered government’s commitment to reduce  challenges to agricultural transformation by working with development partners and neighbouring countries. He also called for harmonization of standards and better coordination within the region.

Industry and Trade Minister, Mr. Innocent Bashungwa said that improved agriculture productivity, value addition and processing,  and trade will be the surest path to Tanzania’s prosperity. He committed to work with the ministry  the Ministry of Agriculture and partners like AGRA for ago industrialization.

Dr. Kalibata AGRA has committed to work with the Tanzanian Government to develop a 6-year flagship on Agro-Industrialization for Markets, Jobs, Growth and Food Security. Its main focus will be commercialization and value addition as outlined in component 3 of Agricultural Sector Development Programme 2 (ASDP – 2), while stimulating outcomes of the other components of the programme. This will ensure that the transformation witnessed in Iringa is scaled up across the country and that investments are aligned to national priorities.

They could face a lot of challenges, but the people of Kiambu County look more determined to rise above them through farming. After all, they have over 250 Village-based Advisors (VBAs) who are geared with the right spirit and determination to teach them the latest information to make farming the source of improving their lives. 

Unfazed by the painful experiences of food insecurity and poverty that they have undergone in the past, they remain steadfast in pursuing farming, which remains their core and inspiration to keep going.  

Not even poor rains or an escalating economic crisis can bring down their determination. Such is the story of many as narrated by Jane Njoka, a technical advisor with a local NGO who is advising the County Government of Kiambu and Damaris Kinyanjui, a Village-based Advisor in Thiririka village. 

As Jane aptly puts it, “Nothing is hard when you love what you do,” Theirs are stories worth telling over and over again. 

Jane and Damaris work together to train farmers and closely to monitor their progress. 

Damaris is one of 250 VBAs identified and trained by Jane in partnership with sub-County Agricultural Officers who have also passed knowledge and information on Good Agriculture Practices (GAP). So far, these VBAs have trained 29,300 farmers who have started to adopt the use of the improved maize varieties and farming techniques to ensure food security, poverty alleviation and improve nutrition for the smallholder farmers and their families.

“Our farmers suffered for years because they were using seed of inappropriate late-maturing maize varieties. They were also using other poor agronomic practices, such as planting three or four seeds per hole. They were also using fertilizers and the wrong way. As if it’s not enough, fall armyworm became a new menace that led to losses upon losses. In short, farming was not attractive,” says Jane.

With the support and collaboration from the Country Government of Kiambu, seed and fertilizer companies, and a small catalytic grant and technical advice from AGRA, VBAs have been able to offer improved extension services about improved early-maturing maize varieties and GAP to improve the food security and incomes of smallholder farmers at the Village level. 

Embu County Government is now replicating the approach. The VBAs, who are also self-employed, earn commissions on the sale of seed and fertilizer as a reward for bringing together and training farmers. 

“From their gardens, each family has sufficient food to eat, and there is still a lot extra for selling in the market. With the income, families can pay for children’s school fees and still spare for other needs such as supplementing their diets and health care,” says Damaris.

The enthusiasm of farming in this County has spilled over in many families around the area. Families that once had nothing are now confident and sure of a better life. “People anchor on each other. Trust is built when you work with the communities; we are together lifting each other. Fond dreams are being realized,” adds Jane. 

A look at Damaris reveals sadness crosses her face when she thinks of the rest of Kenya that suffer from food insecurity and that has not accessed the right knowledge and information about overcoming hunger and poverty. But she is quick to smile it away, wanting to put up a brave front, she says, “We have seen that it can be done. Because of this project, we can eat. It is hard work, but that is what work is supposed to be. We are showing an example that the entire country can adopt to ensure there will be available food in plenty for everyone.”

AGRA believes that agricultural technologies and practices can only have a positive effect if they are communicated and implemented by farmers and end-users. Extension is the mechanism by which this process is achieved. Within our five-year strategy, one of the biggest challenges is how to further the reach and impact of government extension agents and create demand for improved seeds, fertilizers, and other yield-enhancing inputs. The ratio of extension staff to farmers in most of our target countries is 1:5,000. We aim to improve this ratio to 1:500.

Recognizing the growing role of the private sector in the lives and livelihoods of Africa’s farmers, our extension approach involves identifying and training self-employed village-based advisors (VBAs). VBAs are ‘lead farmers’ who are selected to share technologies and knowledge locally with fellow farmers. With connections to input companies, they help to promote quality seeds and fertilizers, together with good agricultural practices. This model has been particularly successful in Kiambu County, Kenya.

AGRA works through the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation In Africa (PIATA). This is a unique strategic partnership launched in 2017 that enables African agriculture actors to do business differently as they support leaders to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. PIATA members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ.

By Nancy Okwengu

Just kilometers from Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi is a garden that was once unproductive and is now a greening proof that if people are given the right information and skills and are willing to work on it, nothing is impossible. Veronica Nyakio is the daughter of Michael Waweru, an avid farmer who is now aged and retiring from active farming but happily handing over the newfound secret to his 30-year-old daughter. 

Veronica is a proud youth, as she presents the fruits of adapting to new and improved farming practices with the support of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). “From this garden, our family now has sufficient food and has earned enough income to cover other needs that the family identified, ” she says.

Veronica is one of 29,300 farmers that have so far been trained by Village based Advisors (VBAs) in Kiambu County. Her story is a result of training and support has become a catalyst for farmers to acquire new knowledge and learn new techniques that helped expand their horizon for the benefit of their families. In the end, it taught them to stand on their own and become models of empowerment in their community. 

“Before the training, we used to plant maize seeds anyhow, but now I have learned to grow early-maturing hybrid varieties and apply optimum seed spacing. That added to correct methods of manure and fertilizer placement and fall armyworm control, I have been able to harvest ten times more than before,” she adds. 

The income her family got helped them to buy a water tank. “Accessing water was a nightmare because I had to spend hours ferrying water from a distant source to our home. But now that we have a water tank, I can finish my house chores in record time. With extra time, I can attend to the chickens, cows, and goats that also drink plenty of water and now produce more milk and eggs, respectively,” she adds.

The dear daughter to Mr. Waweru says, “I love my parents, and I pray that they live longer. Now that we can supplement their meals with milk and eggs, my parents look healthier, and I know they will live long. We have been tough that breakfast is an important meal of the day, and their breakfast is now full of much-needed nutrition.”

Veronica also used to cook from a kitchen with a broken roof, from the sale of the bountiful harvest she and her parents were able to buy new iron sheets and now cook from a comfortable kitchen. 

The family is also able to create jobs for others who help them with the construction of various structures on their farm. 

With more than 50 animals (cows, goats, sheep, and chickens) on their farm, the family is also able to harvest manure from the animal waste matter. 

A new beginning has dawned for the family of nine. Before now, their maize store was an empty structure idling and having no use. But now the store is never empty and stands as a sign of certainty for a future food source and evidence of hard work and optimism. 

AGRA believes that agricultural technologies and practices can only have a positive effect if they are communicated and implemented by farmers and end-users. Extension is the mechanism by which this process is achieved. Within our five-year strategy, one of the biggest challenges is how to further the reach and impact of government extension agents and create demand for improved seeds, fertilizers, and other yield-enhancing inputs. The ratio of extension staff to farmers in most of our target countries is 1:5,000. We aim to improve this ratio to 1:500.

Recognizing the growing role of the private sector in the lives and livelihoods of Africa’s farmers, our extension approach involves identifying and training self-employed village-based advisors (VBAs). VBAs are ‘lead farmers’ who are selected to share technologies and knowledge locally with fellow farmers. With connections to input companies, they help to promote quality seeds and fertilizers, together with good agricultural practices. This model has been particularly successful in Kiambu County, Kenya.

AGRA works through the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation In Africa (PIATA). This is a unique strategic partnership launched in 2017 that enables African agriculture actors to do business differently as they support leaders to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. PIATA members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ.

By Nancy Okwengu

His large, calloused hands and weather-beaten face could quickly identify the 86–year old Michael Waweru as hardworking. He is and no less. After he got training from his local Village-based Advisor (VBA), things just fell into place for Waweru’s family. “We now have enough food, not forgetting more income and happier lives,” the father of four says with both humility and pride. 

For many years Michael and his family had been harvesting meager yields because they were using inappropriate late-maturing varieties and poor agronomic practices. AGRA’s partners have been part of supporting his family through the improvement of farmer extension service delivery by the County Government to introduce early-maturing maize varieties, and train farmers in Good Agronomic Practices (GAP) to improve food security.

He beams brightly as the sweet realization that, “There is money in agriculture,” throwing away the notion associating agriculture with being poor and dirty. 

From his low-yielding to now a promising garden, hope has sprung in his home. Before enjoying the benefits of the training and improved seeds, food was scarce in his family. More often, they harvested food and had none to store for future use. But now they can harvest enough maize, save what they need until the next farming season and still have some extra to sell. Some of the proceeds from the selling has enabled him to achieve his dreams. He now has five cows, four goats, over 20 chickens, which help to supplement their diet with more protein, a diet that was once imbalanced. 

He also has a water tank and harvests rainwater that supports the family and domestic animal consumption as well.

Michael rests in his homesteads and occasionally walks around to survey his achievements that, though have come at old age, are a treasure. His once less productive land is now filling with improved crops. “We have enough food, but now we are inspired to aim higher by working hard and together,” he says. 

One of his children, Veronica Nyakio, has taken up farming, and she too has a long story to tell after just two years of adopting the Good Agronomic Practices. 

“We are thankful to AGRA ‘s partners for helping open our minds to new ideas. We realized that there are better ways of doing things. It changed our attitude towards farming and also life in general,” he concludes. 

AGRA believes that agricultural technologies and practices can only have a positive effect if they are communicated and implemented by farmers and end-users. Extension is the mechanism by which this process is achieved. Within our five-year strategy, one of the biggest challenges is how to further the reach and impact of government extension agents and create demand for improved seeds, fertilizers, and other yield-enhancing inputs. The ratio of extension staff to farmers in most of our target countries is 1:5,000. We aim to improve this ratio to 1:500.

Recognizing the growing role of the private sector in the lives and livelihoods of Africa’s farmers, our extension approach involves identifying and training self-employed village-based advisors (VBAs). VBAs are ‘lead farmers’ who are selected to share technologies and knowledge locally with fellow farmers. With connections to input companies, they help to promote quality seeds and fertilizers, together with good agricultural practices. This model has been particularly successful in Kiambu County, Kenya.

AGRA works through the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation In Africa (PIATA). This is a unique strategic partnership launched in 2017 that enables African agriculture actors to do business differently as they support leaders to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. PIATA members include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ.

By Nancy Okwengu

Des Moines, Iowa, and Accra, Ghana, are 6,000 miles from each other. This distance was bridged in recent weeks when these very different cities, in very different parts of the world, hosted two critically important symposiums on global food security.

The conferences reinforced each other with similar messages and goals.  The goals identified at both meetings were global food security, eliminating hunger by focusing on increased agriculture production to drive the local economies and establishing peace through agriculture.  

The World Food Prize was established in Des Moines by Dr. Norman Borlaug in 1986, the only person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in agriculture.  He became known as the father of the “green revolution,” creating new and improved seeds for Mexico, seeds that then spread to India and Asia. His last dream was to extend the green revolution to Africa and “take it to the farmers.”  Over the last 20 years Ambassador Ken Quinn has built the Prize into an extraordinary week-long meeting that brings together the world’s leading experts in agriculture.

The Prize symposium opened this year with Mark Green, the Administer of the United States Agency International Development, announcing the establishment of a new bureau for Resilience and Food Security to “bridge the gap between food assistance, humanitarian aid and food security, helping families and communities take ownership of their lives and livelihoods.” 

In Ghana, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, another winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, shared Borlaug’s dream but also recognized that Africa needed a unique and different approach to a green revolution.  Africa is composed of 54 sovereign countries with little in the way of extension services or infrastructure to reach rural smallholder farmers. 

With backing from the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, Mr. Annan became the first Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, AGRA. Dr. Agnes Kalibata, the President of AGRA and former Minister of Agriculture in Rwanda, hosted AGRA’s 10th Forum in Ghana in September. The Forum attracted 2,800 delegates from 79 countries.

The presence of the private sector has grown significantly along with the size of the event.  The African Union has urged all countries in Africa to devote at least 10 percent of their respective budgets to agriculture and the African Development Bank under the leadership of Dr. Akin Adesina is making investments in agriculture a major priority. Get the Register Opinion newsletter in your inbox.

Ambassador Quinn attended the Forum in Ghana and Dr. Kalibata hosted a panel in Des Moines on AGRA.  AGRA also joined with the Tony Blair Institute and the Volcani International Partnerships from Israel to release a report on Israeli agriculture and its applicability for developing countries.    

The President of the Democratic Republic on the Congo, H. E. Felix Tshisekedi, presented in Iowa and announced that the Congo and many African countries were making agriculture a priority for economic development. The Congo has been known for mining, but in the future there would be an emphasis on agriculture as a source of employment and income. This diversification is critical not just for Africa but also for global food security as Africa has more uncultivated and underutilized agriculture land than anywhere else in the world.  

Dr. Borlaug’s dream of a green revolution in Africa is taking root. Africa is “leapfrogging into the future” in the words of Dr. Kalibata. 

It is important to recognize the challenges ahead.  The agriculture technology that exists today is not yet reaching many of the farmers who live in very rural areas without roads to give them access to modern inputs and access to markets. The seeds must also be combined with education to convince farmers that the cost of seed and other inputs will increase yields enough to justify spending the precious few dollars they may have.  

While the challenges are significant, modern technology is helping and holds great promise.  Africa has advanced rapidly in communication and iPhones are being used for education and finance. While cell phones can’t deliver seeds, drones might be able to fill the gap.  

Beyond these logistical challenges, agriculture policies and regulations need to be harmonized across the continent and the new African Free Trade Agreement implemented. 

Africa has the potential to feed itself and those who gathered at the symposiums in Iowa and Ghana are focused on that mission.  Fulfilling the dreams of both Borlaug and Annan is within reach.

Marshall Matz, formerly Counsel to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, has specialized on global food security at OFW Law in Washington, D.C. for 40 years.

Ephraim Kofi Kenney does not like to work in the fields scaring pests away. But today he must.

A flock of migratory birds has repeatedly invaded his parents’ rice plot outside Accra, Ghana’s capital, and the 16-year-old has been tasked with keeping the invaders away from the young crop.

If he fails, there will be no harvest on the one-acre (half-hectare) farm this season.
“This work makes me very tired. I can lose my voice because of shouting at the birds,” said the youth, as he tugged at a rope attached to a bell he was using to scare off the hungry creatures.

“I wish there was a way to make it easier.”

Nearby, farmers and researchers are experimenting with one possible answer: A drone that can help farmers protect their crops from the effects of climate change and ward off hungry birds at the same time.

In a project run by the Netherlands-based Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) rice farmers are being taught how to use drones to carry out jobs such as spraying fertilizer more efficiently and mapping scarce water sources, said George Madjitey, CEO of GEM Industrial Solutions.

But there turns out to be a bonus: The drones can emit a noise to keep the birds from undoing all the farmers’ hard work, said Madjitey, whose social enterprise is one of the local firms supplying drones for the project.

The drones cannot operate at all times – but they can help cut down on the need for work like Kenney’s, which can keep young people away from their studies.

As climate change brings more unpredictable and extreme weather, small-scale farmers are increasingly turning to technology to help them find ways to keep their farms sustainable, agricultural experts say.

While drones have become a staple in farming tool kits in many parts of the world, Ghana’s rice farmers are for the first time learning how the devices can help them adapt to the prolonged droughts the country is experiencing.

With dry spells killing crops and drying natural sources of food across Africa, migratory birds now spend more time feeding on grain fields they come across because they don’t know how long it will be before their next meal, said Kunga Ngece, a Nairobi-based development expert.

According to Madjitey, a single drone can scare away birds on a farm as large as three acres (1.2 hectares).

“The drone makes work easier for farmers because it can operate over a wide range of land. Also, the children are able to stay at home with their families and do their homework instead of being on the farm,” he said.

Complex problems

According to Ghana’s minister of food and agriculture, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, about 80% of the country’s farmers have been impacted by drought this year.

Crop yields have dropped by about 7% since a decade ago, and the country loses more than $200 million every year to droughts and flooding, he said in a press conference during the 2019 African Green Revolution Forum held in Accra.

Since the CTA launched its Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground project in Ghana three years ago, starting with cassava and cashew nut farmers, more than 2,800 farmers in rural Ghana have become involved, Madjitey said.

Rice farmers have been included since September, he said.

When farmers join the project, they organise into cooperatives of about 100 people. Each cooperative then pays for, uses and maintains a set of drones, which can cost upwards of $1,000 each, he said.

The farmers are grouped by neighbourhood, so a single drone can cover two or three farms each time it goes on a flight, said.

Usually, one or two farmers in each cooperative are trained to use the drones and they operate the devices for all the farmers in the group, he added.

“This ensures the technology reaches as many of them as possible,” Madjitey said, as he walked around an irrigation project in Kpong, one village involved in the drone effort.

The use of drones in agriculture is part of a global move toward technical innovations that allow farmers to work faster and more efficiently.

According to a report on the digitalisation of agriculture in Africa published by the CTA in June, technology can be a “game changer” in supporting and accelerating the industry across the continent.

“With so much at stake, it is no surprise that most African countries have prioritised agricultural transformation as a key pillar of their national strategies,” added the report.

Agnes Kalibata, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which works with small-scale farmers, said the continent’s farmers have long lagged behind the rest of the world when it comes to technological innovation.

“Africa has been going round and round in circles, but digital innovations now present an opportunity to change things. Drones are helping farmers solve complex problems in a simple way,” Kalibata told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

For example, she noted, drones can be used to collect field data – such as crop inventories or the status of irrigation infrastructure – over a wide area.

This data can help farmers and policymakers plan for and adapt to the ongoing effects of climate change, she said.

Young innovators

Helping farmers adapt to climate change also presents new business and job opportunities, said Giacomo Rambaldi, head of the drone project at CTA.

Since its launch, Eyes in the Sky has been working with business startups run by young people in more than 20 Africa countries, he explained.

The project trains youth in rural areas to operate agribusinesses, such as creating and selling innovations that can improve production for smallholder farmers.

“Some of them are doing really well. They are employing other people and they have quite successful operations,” said Rambaldi.

One reason drone technology has not seen more uptake among African farmers is that many African countries either have no laws regulating the operation of drones or ban their use by civilians, he noted.

In countries like Ghana where drone technology is allowed, however, some farmers are seeing the benefits.

As well as helping them save time and labour, farmers point out that drones cut down on the health risks associated with being in daily contact with chemicals on crops and microbes in muddy fields.

“Drones have taken away all these discomforts,” said Susan Fiebor, a farmer in the village of Asutsuare.

Originally published on WEF