self help africa - 2010 newsletter

8/14/2019 Self Help Africa - 2010 Newsletter

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Newsle t te r 2010

. p c .n25th aNNiversary ed i t ioN

Fighting Forsurvival:aFrica adapts toclimate change

oFF Farm

enterprise 5

euro Farm chieF

in kenya 12

potato production

in ethiopia 10


2/162 selF help aFrica newsletter 2010

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climate changeadapting For survival

A rican arms ace upto climate challenge

For anyone who has witnessed theconditions in which smallholder A ricanarmers survive, the threat posed by cli-mate change is rightening. In the nine

countries in which Sel Help A rica works,no-one is in any doubt that the change hasarrived and armers are the rst to see whatthe uture holds.There are around 80 million small arms onthe continent, and over 70% o all A ricansrely on agriculture or their livelihoods. In thelast ew years, new investment in armingbrought improved harvests last year, therewas a 3.5% increase in output rom thecontinent, mostly rom small arms.But A rican agriculture is particularly vulner-able to a change in growing conditions. Lessthan 4% o agricultural land is irrigated, soproduction is heavily dependent on the tim-ing and quantity o rain. The world is heating

up, and as it does, the rains will no longer allto the same pattern.Many scientists now believe that globaltemperatures will rise by up to our degreesCelsius by 2050, and rains will become ever

more unpredictable as a result. There will bemore droughts and more foods. Staple cropswill be unable to cope with a our-degree risein temperatures, and yields will all by up to40%. There will be greater numbers o pestsand soil ertility will drop.The greatest irony is that the people most atrisk rom climate change live in countries thathave contributed the least to the atmosphericbuild-up o carbon dioxide and other green-house gases linked to global warming. Thestate o Texas, with a population o 23 mil-lion, emits more carbon dioxide than all 720million residents o sub-Saharan A rica.The most vulnerable countries also tend to bethe poorest. And the countries that ace theleast harm and that are best equipped todeal with the harm they do ace tend to bethe richest. Little wonder then that develop-ing nations are asking the West or help in

tackling this new threat.Climate change has come to A rica, elt grad-ually at rst but now so common that all area ected. Droughts were once experiencedin East A rica every decade; now they are

Tsewe Tshaga with his rain-harvesting pond on his arm in Ethiopia.


3/16

C m C ng : a h t p c s h p a ccoming every two to three years. In Ethiopia,the belg rains o spring have disappeared.Farmers across the continent are strugglingthrough prolonged dry spells, fash foodsand unseasonal heat. Its playing havoc witharming practices and with lives.

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For A rican armers, the challenge is to ndways to adapt to this change as it happens,as most o them simply dont have the re-sources to play catch-up. For Sel Help A rica,the challenge is to develop new adaptation

strategies or the communities in which wework. We do this by listening to armers asthey share their discoveries, by linking in withresearch institute programmes, and by shar-ing lessons with other organisations.

Overlea , youll nd details o the ClimateFrontline project, a collaboration betweenSel Help A rica and our other internationalorganizations designed to show how climatechange is impacting on armers across thecontinent. Its part o a wider attempt by usto pool the in ormation on climate changeadaptation strategies rom our projects andshare this knowledge with others working inthe arming world.Farmers are on the ront line o climatechange, but the way in which they work rom the amount and type o crops they plantto the way in which they till the land andprotect natural resources, including orests,can help to cut carbon levels.As a global community, we must all aceup to the challenge o a hotter and moreinhospitable planet. Smallholder armers have

contributed least to global warming, andwhile they have most to lose as a result o it,they can help in nding a way out.Whether we ocus on blame or on solution,the West must help A ricas armers.

Baking heat and torrential rain has destroyed onceertile land, Ethiopia.

an x n p g mm c un c s h p a c

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h ng n nCollection and storage o rainwater is themost cost e ective way o providing waterto communities living in the dry and aridclimates o sub-Saharan A rica. We havedevised a range o rainwater harvestingmethods to support individual armers,communities, schools and others to securewater or their drinking and crop irrigationneeds and in doing so are o ten li tingthe burden o back-breaking water gather-ing rom women and children in these ruralcommunities. Roo s, roads, hillsides andground catchments are amongst the meth-ods being used to provide cost e ectivesolutions to water shortage problems.

enc u g ng c p fc nWe are assisting and supporting armers tointroduce new crop varieties. In Zambia, orexample, armers in the eastern Chipataregion have begun to grow groundnutsor guaranteed southern A rican markets,rather than relying solely on maize or cot-ton, as previously.

inc ng cc The use o treadle pumps and drip kits insmall-scale irrigation has had a pro ound

impact on arming across our programmes.Small and medium scale irrigation hasallowed large numbers o armers toproduce horticultural cash crops such asonions, mustard, cabbage and tomato,which increase ood availability and house-hold income. These activities are invaluablebecause they can also take place duringthe traditional dry season. Farmers whocan irrigate rom streams, rivers or shallowwells save a huge amount o time andlabour by deploying simple yet practicalpump technology.

d p ng ug n c pIn collaboration with agricultural researchinstitutes, we are acilitating the develop-

ment o crop varieties that are robustenough to withstand harsh weather condi-tions and others that are early yielding, andthus in the ground or a shorter time.

M n g ng

Building check dams and repairing gulliesare just two examples o activities beingpromoted to manage soil moisture andcontrol water tables. Water rom dammedareas is available to armers or irrigation,while slowing down rainwater run-o canraise the water table and make groundwa-ter more accessible to local communities.

in ng n nCommunities using degraded land areencouraged to enclose this land, keepinglivestock out, planting shrubbery and treesand putting urther soil erosion techniquesin place. This allows the land to recover,and can also have an impact on localrain all patterns.

d r k r uc nAll activities identi ed on this page are parto an overall approach designed to reducethe vulnerability o communities to climatechange. These activities are part o a pro-gramme o Disaster Risk Reduction, to helppeople cope with extreme climatic events.

With the number o people a ected bysuch events expected to rise by 25% by2015, we are ocused on building localpreparedness, merging new technologieswith local know-how to give communitiesa sense o ownership o these strategies.

U ng u fc n The use o wood or cookinghas resulted in widespreadde orestation and soil erosion.In an e ort to respond,

we promote a rangeo improved cookingstoves that are beingmade available to ruralamilies. Althoughthe stove designsdi er rom country tocountry, the principleis the same thesestoves use less uelto generate similarheat and also burnwith less smoke creating a cleanerand healthier cook-ing environment in thehome.

selF help aFrica newsletter 2010 3



International concernsInternational concern about climate changeis rising, though international action lagsbehind. While there is a wealth o reports anddata demonstrating the e ect that climatechange will have at global and regional levels,the voices o individuals on the ront line areheard less o ten.Joining with our other development NGOs,Sel Help A rica has produced a report Climate Frontline A rica which allows these

voices to be heard directly. They describe, intheir own words, how climate change is a -ecting them, and how they are adapting.The reports publication is timed to coincidewith the orthcoming international con er-ence on climate change in Copenhagen inDecember. The ve NGOs involved in itscompilation believe that action to tackleclimate change must start by listening to andsupporting those on the climate rontline.

climate change

Zai holes being dug in Burkina Faso

t m cc un n Climate Frontline m n c :

Climate change is already a major challenge in vulnerable areas which is most o A rica.

People are adapting as best they can, building on local knowledge and diversi yinglivelihoods. There is lots o knowledge and good practice to share and learn rom, butmuch more support is needed - in the orm o su cient, airand reliable undingor adaptation that isspent in a coordinated,responsive and cost-e ective way.

Eight risks or armersClimate change is expected to a ect A rican agriculture in the ollowing ways:

r uc n n c p n g cu u p ucIn the tropics and sub-tropics, where crops have reached their maximum tolerance, cropyields are likely to decrease due to an increase in the temperature. In some regions thechange in weather patterns will lead to violent destructive storms and extreme fooding.

inc nc nc p ckIncreased temperature leads to a proli eration o pests detrimental to crop production.

l m It is expected that the availability o water in most parts o A rica will decrease as a result oclimate change. There will be a severe reduction in rain all in Southern A rican countries.

ex c b n ug p n unp c b n An increase in temperature and a change in the climate are predicted to cause recurrentdroughts, while unpredictable rains creates challenges at crop planting times.

r uc n n An increase in temperature is likely to reduce soil moisture, moisture storage capacity andthe quality o the soil, which are vital or agricultural crops.

l ck p uc n g p uc n c Climate change will a ect livestock productivity directly by infuencing the balance betweenheat dissipation and heat production and indirectly through its e ect on availability o eed.

a b um n u c An increase in temperature and humidity will create ideal conditions or malaria, sleepingsickness and other diseases that will a ect human resources available or agriculture.

ru u b n m g n

As arming becomes more di cult, more people will abandon the land - creating greaterurban sprawl where there are limited job opportunities.

Zai brings landto li eAdapting to climate change is one o themain challenges aced by armers acrossA rica, and sometimes the solution lies in thepast.Sel Help A rica is promoting a range o mea-sures to improve the soil ertility o degradedarmland in both the Bam and ZondomaProvinces o Burkina Faso. Soil bunds, ertilitytrenches and the promotion o manure mak-ing and compost are amongst the approach-es being championed by SHAs local partnersASCDIS and PER, who have been reviving theancient tradition o Zai holes, or plantingpits to support agricultural production.The holes, between one and two eet wide,are excavated to a depth o eight inches andthen lled with organic ertilizer, manure and

crop residues.Insects and natural decomposition aid thebreakdown o the Zai, which collect and storewater during the rainy season. The result, ac-cording to researchers who have studied thespread o zai hole planting practices through-out the region, has been extraordinary.Hundreds o thousands o hectares o semi-arid land that could no longer be cultivatedhave been restored to productive use.In the past year, more than 20 acres o landin Boussou has been covered with Zai holesas part o a programme to rehabilitate land.The use o Zai holes dates back centuriesin West A rica, but their modern successowes much to a revival sparked around 30years ago by a sorghum armer in BurkinaFaso. Increased yields led to a gradual spreadthrough West A rica and now urther a eld.The Climate Frontline publication documentsthe use o Zai holes in Malawi, where41-year-old Etrida Luhanga has enjoyed bum-per harvests despite alling yields elsewhere.Etrida uses the Zai method known in Mala-wi as maize pits which she lls with bocash

manure. Spreading adaptation strategies suchas the Zai hole to other armers across A ricais a key ocus or Sel Help A rica.

Climate Frontline isavailable rom Sel HelpA rica. It can also bedownloaded rom ourweb-site at:www.sel helpa rica.net


5/16selF help aFrica newsletter 2010 5

oFF-Farm enterprisealternate ways to earn a living

For Sibeso Mukela and NalisheboMusheba, the sale o sh in localmarkets provides a valuable

supplementary income to subsistence armingin Zambias impoverished Western Province.The two riends, who are members o the

Lyambali Fish Farming Group, establishedtwo years ago in the Litoya area o SenangaDistrict, generated 40/35 rom the saleo armed river bream in local markets lastmonth alone.

Hal the 30 members o the Lyambali FishFarming Group are women and, accordingto Sibeso, they all played an equal part in theexcavations and other labour required whenthe sh pond was rst being constructedon a low lying wetland area adjacent to the

village, back in 2007. We built the pondtogether and dug a channel rom a nearbystream to bring water to it, she says. Thesh pond is populated with 1,000 ngerlingsat any one time and these are harvested onreaching maturity a ter six months.We always lose some o our sh to diseaseand to predators, but to date it has beena good enterprise and we are happy to beinvolved, she added.The sh arming group was established asa commodity producer group by Sel HelpA ricas local partner, Keepers Zambia Foun-dation (KZF), and was provided with trainingin sh arming and assistance with sourc-ing local markets or their produce by theorganisation.

Fruits o the orest

Net profts rom fsh arming

Sibeso Mukela & Nalishebo Musheba at their sh pond.

A orestry regeneration project beingundertaken in Northern Malawi is atestimony to the bene ts to be gained

when communities are supported to worktogether to a common goal.As a direct result o the local conservationscheme, dozens o householders are nowearning an income rom the production andsale o medicinal plants and other non-timberorest products, while many more are usingthe restored orest as a habitat to rear colo-nies o bees and harvest honey.Householders in Ngalaglala and people rom

more than a dozen outlying villages rstcame together more than seven years ago ina bid to tackle widespread de orestation andthe consequent erosion o soil on the nearbyNkhala Hills.With assistance provided by FAIR, Sel HelpA ricas collaborative programme in Malawi,the villagers worked to reinstate 120 acres onatural orest and put in place an agreementor its uture management. Their combinede orts have succeeded not just in restor-ing the orest as a nature habitat or local

wildli e, but has also established the NkhalaHills as an environment that supports a rangeo income generating activities or villagers.

Plant derived medicines are highly sought-a ter in Malawi, where natural botanicsare used to treat a wide range o ailmentsincluding malaria, cancer, diarrhoea, and thepalliative care o people living with HIV/AIDS.

P n m c n g ug - n M

To ensure the ongoing protection o thereinstated orestry, the community has beenassisted with the ormulation o its own by-

laws, which have been registered with theMalawian Government under the countrysForestry Act.

Local communities speak o the positivee ects o the a orestation o Nkhala Hills onthe local micro-climate too and say that the

project has also reduced the amount o waterrun-o rom the hills, the extent o soil andgulley erosion and has allowed surroundingland to be reclaimed or productive armingactivities.

Queen beesnow 1,000

Eritreas six-year-old beekeepingdevelopment programme has

reached a notable milestone with thedistribution o the 1,000th colony reared atthe queen bee rearing centre being sup-ported by Sel Help A rica at Mende era.The acility is one o three rearing centres weare backing as part o a national programmeto promote apiculture as an alternative in-come generating activity or rural households.Although environmental and climatic condi-tions continue to challenge beekeepers, whoo ten ace hive absconding rates o 20%,the project has been a signi cant success. By

providing training, supports and an extensiveprogramme o planting o oraging cropssuch as sunfower, rapeseed and euphorbia,hundreds o rural amilies have been helpedto establish success ul small beekeeping en-terprises. Work is also under way to organisehive owners into honey producer associationsin Maekel, Emni Haili and Eritreas SouthernRegion.

Thousands o trees have been planted in Nkhala Hills.

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6/16

women in developmentempowering women, powering aFrica

6 selF help aFrica newsletter 2010

Loans spark enterprise cultureAs mothers o young amilies, EdithNakiyemba and Mirabu Mokoda saythat a ew years ago it would have

been unthinkable or them to be able toborrow money to start their own businesses.But as ounder members o the Bamukiisasavings and credit co-operative (SACCO)established by Sel Help A rica in Namwend-wa district in Uganda three years ago, thewindow o opportunity was opened or botho them.32-year old Edith, a mother o seven, estab-lished a small enterprise buying and sellingagricultural produce, be ore using the pro tsto purchase a second-hand sewing machineand renting a small premises in which to setup a local tailoring business.I do alternations or people and also makedresses and suits or people or special occa-sions, she says. Edith has used the revenueshe has generated rom her dress making todiversi y her income even urther too and a -ter initially purchasing three emale goats shehas built her herd up to six in the past year.She is a member o a small womens develop-

ment group in the village and is involved ine orts to set up a parish-based savings andcredit co-op or Bamukiisa.

Mirabu Mokoda used her rst loan rom thevillage SACCO to develop a small retail trad-ing post in Bugobi and returned to the co-opor urther loan support when she decided totrade agricultural inputs and produce in herbusiness, alongside household goods.

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n, bu n i bu n

A mother o six young children, Mirabu saysthat until the SACCO was created she wouldhave had no chance o borrowing money orany purpose at all.I had nothing that I could o er as securityagainst a loan, but now I have a business,and have also started my own herd ogoats, she says. The creation by Sel HelpA rica o a micro- nance programme had

allowed dozens o women in Bugobi to gettheir eet onto the ladder and move beyondsubsistence, she says.

Edith Nakiyemba is pictured at her tailoring shop in Namwendwa.

Water kit pays o or RoseIt took 57-year old grandmotherRose Magure just one year to repaythe loan she took out to buy a drip

irrigation system rom Sel Help A rica inElementaita Division, Kenya.A member o the Kioambogo Farmers Asso-

ciation, Rose received training on the use oirrigation equipment, a drip kit and 250gmso red creole onion seeds on a revolving loanbasis at the outset o the project in Autumn2007.The post election violence that erupted just

months later ollowing Kenyas disputednational ballot threatened to seriously disruptRoses e orts as she prepared to get her rstcommercial onion crop to market, but theenterprising grandmother says that she soldlocally and thus succeeded in keeping herventure on track.I made 12,600 Kenyan shillings ( 115/100)rom that harvest and used the money torepay the loan and buy more onion seed,she says.Within just two years she has also increased

the amount o land she is arming with dripirrigation rom an initial one-eight o an acreand says that she has enough onion seed toplant a hal an acre with the crop in the com-ing season.

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n ng, upp g n np g mm n k n u

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Up 80% m k n a c n b m n. a ng

n p n b mm k ng, g ng f nc c ng , m n p k n p n ng, ng n p c ng g n n m.

M n u a c n m n n fn nc mun n

, n n bn n n n un b cc n m b c upp nnpu b mc un p .

Rose Magure shows the onions she is growing.



In Ghanas Upper East region, it istraditional or guests to the home tobe o ered groundnuts when they call

and or visitors to bring a parcel o nuts withthem when they go to see their relatives. Thetradition illustrates the cultural importance oa crop that has been devastated as a result odrought and excessive fooding in thecountrys three northern regions in recentyears.In 2008 Sel Help A rica targeted a groupo 20 women members o the Nayire tribalgroup in the Talensi-Nabdam district o Duusito initiate a groundnut programme in theircommunity. A ve-kilo bag o improvedvariety groundnut seed was provided to eachmember. Group chairperson Souk Kam-

bey estimates that a ter harvest, all o hermembers were able to return six kilos to therevolving seed und, as promised, so that theseed can be revolved to other households sothat they too can start to produce ground-nut again. In a short time we will have ullyreinstated groundnut production within thislocality, Souk Kambey predicts.

Groundnut day

Members o Chibombo savings and credit co-op.

Sel -help has turned out to be thebest help or the group o womengathered in the shade o the

village meeting hut in Chibombo, Zambia,Traditionally, when smallholder armers havebeen unable to access credit rom banks,development agencies have encouragedthem into credit and loan co-ops by providingseed capital or the rst set o loans. But inChibombo, the capital came rom within.We came together in 2007, said JoyceKonta. There were 15 o us who begansaving together, bringing 500 kwacha (7c/5p)to our weekly meetings. A ter six months, thewomen had enough to make their rst loan.They discussed their ideas and decided whichone o them should get the money. The bestidea was chosen, on the basis that i it ailed,there would be no capital to make anotherloan.The business idea was modest buyingchickens in the village, taking the bus to the

capital, Lusaka, to sell them and using theproceeds to buy and sell second hand clotheson the way back home.It made the expected pro t, the loan was re-paid with interest, and the next woman in the

group was given a loan. Many months later,most o the women have borrowed, andrepaid. The unds have in most cases beenused to pay school ees or their children.The women o Chibombo have learned anenormous amount about saving, credit,business and mutual dependence - and theyhave achieved what seemed impossible.More than two years into this project, thereare over ten groups with over 100 womenrunning viable savings and credit cooperativeswithout having received a single cent in und-ing rom outside.Sel Help A rica, through its local partner The Organisation or the Promotion o Mean-ing ul Development (OPAD) has providedtraining, support and advice along the way,but the entire capital and so the entire risk was the womens own.Weve very happy with what has beenachieved, says OPADS Voice Vingo and thebene ts are not just in credit. The women

discuss health issues when they meet andnow buy seed in bulk to get a better price.Soon, we will register these groups with thenational credit and savings movement.

Inspiring gardenKenyan widow Ruth Kipsang livedwith mounting ears that shewould not be able to pay her

orphaned grandchildrens school ees, thatshe would not be able to clothe them, oreven that she wouldnt be able to eed them.The ormation by Sel Help A rica o a

women-led rural development initiative inKoibatek District changed all that.It allowed Ruth to take a leading role in anawareness campaign that seeks to promotecrop diversi cation and a range o sustainablearming practices in her community.As a leading member o Tuiyobei WomensGroup, Ruth attended a number o trainingcourses and now uses her own homestead asa demonstration plot to promote the armingactivities she is undertaking.Ruth Kipsang produces a variety o crops

including sweet potato, beans, cassava, kale,cabbage and carrots in her 1.5 acre vegetableplot and has also succeeded in increasing thedaily yield rom her dairy cow rom 1.5 toour litres by improving its diet and care.

w p j c i c m mm c n n nu

I used to earn an income doing casual work

in peoples houses, washing clothes andgathering rewood, but that was impossiblewhen my our grandchildren came to livewith me, she said.With this project I have discovered that mysmall arm contains hidden treasures.The Sel Help A rica project, which hasreceived unding support rom USAID, hasanother dimension that is close to RuthKipsangs heart.Since her grandchildren lost their parentsto HIV/AIDS, she has wanted to help othersto avoid the tragedy which be ell her ownamily.The Tuiyobei Womens Group is registeredwith Kenyan Social Services through theConstitutuency AIDS Control Council (CACC)and its members lend their support at a locallevel to national e orts to arrest the spread oHIV/AIDS.We provide people with in ormation, helpto remove the stigma romamilies who are living withthe virus andalso encourage

householders atrisk to attend or HIV/ AIDS counseling andtesting, she explains.

All credit to Zambian groups

Souk Kambey with groundnuts


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10/16

organising agricultureFarmers working together

Ethiopia is one o a hand ul ocountries in East A rica wherethe potato is a major ood crop.

Although the government estimates thatnearly one-third o a million acres nationallyis under potato production, yields are

traditionally very low (approx 4 tonnes peracre), with many armers using small anddegenerated tubers rom their last cropbecause they cant buy better seed stock.Sel Help A rica, whose rst work involvedthe distribution o Irish potato stock in 14regions o Ethiopia rom 1985 to 1987, isnow running a major programme to improveaccess to quality seed potato stock to small-holder armers.

Geshu Waktola arms on the rolling plainso Holeta, 40km west o Ethiopias capitalAddis Abeba, on a seed potato multiplicationproject that is supported by Sel Help A rica.Hes a member o one o 28 small primaryco-operatives that make up the Robi Berga

Co-Operative Union. All told, the unionrepresents 25,000 armers.Working in close collaboration with the state-run Holeta Agricultural Research Station, theprimary co-op members initially providedeld-testing or the research institute and inreturn secured access to improved grade seedpotato stock that members multiplied in theirown hand-built di used light stores (DLS).I joined nine o my neighbours and attended

a armers eld school established by SelHelp A rica to show us how to becomepotato multipliers, says Geshu.Seed potato producing members o RobiBerga Co-Op Union are now selling theirhigh-grade stock to Ethiopias Ministry oAgriculture and to a number o other NGOsworking to develop agricultural production inthe country.

t p n b p uc ng

m n p n b ngbu n e p

They say we are responsible or producingmore than hal o all seed potato now beingdistributed in Ethiopia, Geshu adds.This programme has been good or me, butit has also been good or people right acrossthe country. Farmers who are using ourimproved seed varieties are now getting upto 20 tonnes an acre, he reports proudly.A ather o seven, Geshu has his owndi used light store to multiply potatostock. Apart rom the initial training at thearmers eld school we received nothing ornothing, he says.We built the stores ourselves and returnedan amount o seed potato equivalent to thatwe received at start up to the Robi BergaUnion, who then gave it to other armers toget them started, he says.

Seed potato producers Geshu Waktola and Hailu Tegenya sort their seed potatoes in a di used light store inHolleta, Ethiopia.

Seed potatoes sprout success

10 selF help aFrica newsletter 2010

FaCts aBoUt orGaNisiNGaGriCUltUre

s h p a c p n ngn upp m - m g n n c - p , mc n n p uc c mm

g up .

t mp b ccm k p c , ng n

n g ng p n m n c c n

n m b b n

c p c n u n n ( uc g up g n c m , g n ngn p n n pu c ng m

npu ).

I would rather be a satis ed poorman than a hungry rich man,Simon Nderu concludes with a

hearty laugh, as he refects on the journeytaken by members o the Ushindi FarmersSupport Group in Gilgil, Kenya, since theybegan producing sweet potato commercially

just over a year ago.Although the tuber is a rich source o vita-mins A, B and C, the sweet potato has ora long time been regarded as a poor mans

ood and was ignored by most Gilgil armersin avour o maize and other cereals.That changed when members o the UshindiGroup began to work with Sel Help A ricato develop sweet potato production and

Simon Nderu agreed to set aside space onhis arm to bulk sweet potato vines or groupmembers. Simon describes how sweet potatohas allowed him to reduce substantially theamount he spends on ood each week. It isa very resource ul ood that can be eaten orbreak ast, lunch or or dinner.The 23 members o the Ushindi Group havescaled up their production o sweet potatothis year, with Simon Nderu allocating an acreo land to the crop.

We harvest the crop together and arrangeor transport and sale o our surplus in themarket. This crop is the answer to hungerand it can withstand the harshest o weatherconditions, he says.the

Sweet satis action in Kenya



A Kenyan ruit growers group isplanning to buy a juice extraction

unit this year, as it seeks to addvalue to an enterprise that has become themain source o income or members in recenttimes. The 17-strong Eburra Passion FruitGroup began producing the crop on a smallscale on lands outside Gilgil ve years agoand expanded its activities a ter receiving

training and support rom Sel Help A rica.Group members, who include six women

and eleven men, bought an additional 2,800new seedlings, increased to over ve acresthe land planted with passion ruit trees andsourced new markets at local hotels andin the markets o Gilgil town, where theyare receiving 70 Kenyan schillings per kilo( 0.64/50p) or their produce.

Farmers leadingthe way

The 12 ounder members o theAsugie small scale irrigation groupin Gogne, Eritrea didnt realise the

infuence they would have when they rststarted work on a pilot horticulture project in

their area two years ago.But the success o their irrigated activities hasbecome a model or others, and in the pastyear six similar community irrigation groups,involving a total o 55 local armers, havebeen ormed in their district.Situated in the hot and dry western low-lands o the countrys Gash Barka province,landowners in Gogne relied primarily onherding and subsistence agriculture until SelHelp A rica began a programme to promotehorticultural production in the region.

w k c g upk p n m n n nc ,n n u n g ncc u

g m ng c I was able to produce ood on my armor just ve months each year and used to

spend the rest o the time selling rewood,palm ruit, and doing other jobs, says groupmember Ismael Gu e. Now I can arm allyear around.

The group received training in horticulturalproduction and also bene ted rom theboring o a well and installation o a dieselpump or the district. We took charge othe upkeep and maintenance, and in returnwere given access to the water or ourirrigated arming activities, Ismael explains.The Asugie group produced chilli and other

vegetables on six acres o irrigated land lastyear and earned more than 9,000/8,000rom the plot. Six new horticultural groupshave been established in the area, with inexcess o 80 acres now irrigated or arming.

An eye or the market

Passion ruit diversifcation

Focusing the attention osmall-holder armers on thecommercial potential o their land

is at the heart o an initiative being supportedby Sel Help A rica in Zambias WesternProvince.Just a year a ter work was rst started onthe European Commission- unded MarketOrientated Rural Enterprise (MORE) project atKaoma and Senanga Districts, over 2,500local arm producers have been organizedinto producer groups and are involved intargeted agricultural production.74 separate commodity groups o small-

scale armers have been created and areinvolved in growing a wide range o market-orientated produce including groundnuts,rice, cassava, maize, onions, tomato, cabbageand sweet potato.The groups, which vary in size rom 15 upto 50 members, have each received train-ing and support with the production o theagreed commodity on a portion o their armholding and are being assisted by MORE withthe marketing, sale and distribution o theirproduce to local and regional outlets.

Negotiations are under way too with a num-ber o national agro-processors and ood pro-duction companies to buy produce rom thecommodity groups an e ort that recentlybrought a tangible result or 30 rice produc-

ers in Sikuyu village, when they entered intoa contract to supply several tonnes o rice toZambias National Milling Company.Group member David Lianga says that theprice o 100,000 Zambian Kwacha ( 15/13)they are receiving per 50 kg bag o grain is25% more than they were getting in thelocal market. He is hope ul it will be a securemarket or his rice or years to come.The MORE Project has also helped tomatoand cabbage growers to nd new marketsor their produce in local schools, hospitalsand other institutions, and has helped a num-ber o vegetable producer groups to sell their

produce to hotel and resort operators on thebanks o the nearby Zambezi River one othe regions principal tourist attractions.

The Asugie irrigation group in Gogne, Eritrea hasbecome a model or others.

Members o the Gilgil Passion Fruit group are pictured in one o their orchards.



supporters newshow our Friends are helping

SHA in AmericaSel Help A rica has established a sisterorganisation in the United States. Sel HelpA rica Inc was set up in early 2009, with thetwin aims o spreading the lessons learnedin the last 25 years to a wider audience, andattracting increased unding or new pro-grammes. Initially, the US operation will ocuson the cities o New York and Washington.t Us fc c n b c n c ugn @ p c .n c m u c n@ p c . g.

Farm chie backs Sel Help A rica

Farmers combine or world record

Farm chie Padraig Walshe speaks to sunfower armer Joseph Kibe in Mitimingi, Kenya.

The head o the European Farmers Union

(COPA) gave a ringing endorsement to thework o Sel Help A rica, on a act ndingvisit to Kenya this summer.Farm chie Padraig Walshe spoke o the vitalrole that agriculture had to play in the liveso A ricas rural poor, as he visited projectsand communities working with Sel HelpA rica in the country.The COPA President, who is also at the helmo the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) said itwas only by ocussing on agricultural produc-tion that many millions o A ricas rural poorwould be li ted out o poverty.Close to 80% o Kenyans rely on armingor their survival. It is vital that the organisa-tional structures are in place, so that they can

get access to markets and a air price or their

produce, he said.Mr. Walshe added that by working at grass-roots level, promoting crop diversi cation,irrigated production, strengthening armingstructures and improving access to markets,Sel Help A rica could have a real impact inthe ght to eradicate poverty.During his act nding visit with Sel HelpA rica board member Joseph ODwyer andCEO Ray Jordan, Mr Walshe also met withrepresentatives o the Kenyan Federation oAgricultural Producers and with representa-tives o Kenyan smallholder armers.Sel Help A rica is the designated charity othe IFA.

A group o Irish cereal armers combined toachieve a remarkable record-breaking andundraising eat in late summer.The Combines4Charity organisers both shat-tered the Guinness World Record when theyassembled the largest number o workingcombine harvesters in a eld at the sametime, and also netted in excess o a quarter oa million euro (220,000) with their e orts.A total o 175 harvesters rom across thecountry took part in the event, which saw theharvesters take just 15 minutes to harvest a

120-acre eld o wheat.The event broke the existing world record - o56 combine harvesters that had been as-sembled in Australia - by some distance andraised much more or charity when thou-

sands o people turned up to support a amilyun day that was organised in conjunctionwith the spectacle.Sel Help A rica was one o our Irish charitiesto bene t rom the remarkable and novelund-raiser.Meanwhile, Sel Help A rica was associatedwith a urther charity bid to gain a place inthe record books when a young Irish gol pro-essional attempted an assault on the worldrecord or the astest individual round o gol ,in August.

Robert Hogan (24) narrowly missed out on aGuinness World Record when he completedhis 18-hole round at Foxrock Gol Club inDublin in a time o just 30 minutes.

Gi t rom goatsA major UK producer o goats milk

and other dairy products has lent itssupport to our goat developmentactivities in A rica. St. Helens Farm

in the Vale o York has thrown its supportbehind our livestock development work,by providing one penny (1.2 cent) romevery carton o milk that is sold in Octo-ber to Sel Help A rica.With a 550-acre arm and a herd o over3,500 goats, St Helens Farm is a majorsupplier o goats milk, cheese, butter

and other products to retailers Tesco,Sainsburys, Asda and Waitrose.

Food air charitySel Help A rica was the designated char-ity at this years Ludlow Food Festival, oneo the leading ood and drinks airs in theUnited Kingdom.The three-day estival washeld within the grounds o Ludlow Castle inShropshire, and attracted upwards o 20,000

visitors.Established in the south Shropshire markettown in 1994, the Ludlow Food Fair hasgrown to become a major tourist attractionand trade air or artisan UK ood producers.

Skerries supportSel Help A ricas unique link with a NorthDublin community continued throughout2009, as supporters in the Irish seaside townhosted a range o events to support our workin Sodo, Ethiopia.A charity ball, gol classic, collections, musicand other und-raisers were held in Skerries,which has raised more than 65,000/60,000in the past three years. A group rom Skerriesvisited Sodo this Autumn.


13/16



diversiFicationFruit growing: an alternate enterprise

Back to bananas in UgandaSometimes, nding ways odiversi ying arm income can beound in a countrys past. The

banana is such an essential part o the diet inUganda that the local word or the ruit,matooke, also means ood.For generations, the crop has been a stapleood and source o income or small- armers,with Uganda amongst the top 20 producercountries in the world. Ugandans are also thelargest consumers o bananas eating an es-timated 250kg-300kg per person per annum.But despite the huge available markets, many

small-holder armers have moved away rombanana growing since the early 1990s, asdeclining soil ertility, bacterial wilt, bananaweevils and the breakdown o agriculturalextension service support led to diminishingyields.Sel Help A ricas Kayunga project is en-couraging a return to banana productionin the region and over the past two yearshas provided arm amilies with training andimproved variety banana plantlets to promotethe crop.61-year old Charles Mawanda and his wi eSauda (42) are part o the Kisoga TwekembeFarmer Development Group which has beenpiloting banana production in the Kayungaarea.The couple received 200 improved varietybanana plantlets and training in modernplantation management, which encouragedthem to resume a arming activity they hadabandoned nearly a decade ago.We lost hope in banana as a source o liveli-

hood, because the yields we were gettingwere no longer enough to sustain the am-ily, said Charles.In 2009 they harvested their rst bumpercrop rom the new plantation and soldenough bananas to pay school ees and buybooks and materials or their school-goingchildren.The couples plantation has also become ademonstration plot or other armers, as theproject continues to distribute banana plant-lets on a revolving und basis and encouragesmall-holder armers to return to an activitywhich can add vital income and nutrition totheir households.

FaCts aBoUt FrUits h p a c nc u g n

p m b ng c pfc n c m ng m - m m , nc u ng

p uc n u .

F u p uc n n b ua c n p uc m k b c p

, uc u n b m m c p u

b p uc ng n nc n bu n mp m .

a c c m c u ng u p uc n n

m k u p uu .

There might not seem to beanything extraordinary about anapple until you witness how

income rom growing the ruit can help li tpeople out o poverty.In 2006 Sel Help A rica brought root stockor 3,800 apple trees rom Spain and distrib-uted them to arm producers in upland proj-ect areas o two existing area-based projectsin the Oromia region o Ethiopia.

More than 40 individual and communitynurseries gra ted the ruit, while lead armersin project areas were provided with technicaltraining and assistance to pilot apple produc-tion on their arms.

Since then several hundred households inthe area have planted apple trees, whilee orts are underway at a wider levelto secure new markets or aproduct which can realise upto 2/1.80 per kilo in theruit markets o the countryscapital, Addis Ababa.A ather o eight children, AbaraGashawe is one o more than 60

armers in the Huruta area who hasbeen rearing apple trees.The young trees have yetto reach maturity, butAbara is optimistic that

within the next year or so he will be collect-ing a valuable bounty rom his small orchard.Kebebusa Meresha rom Wolmera Chokevillage in Holleta District shares this optimismand says that the 105 apple growers in herregion have already been organized into aruit producers co-operative as they prepareto sell and distribute their produce.

A mother o two, Kebebusa says thatshe has already been selling the

ruit that she harvests rom her32 apple trees in local markets,but that when the co-operative

begins marketing on their behal ,they will be able to sell to ruitmarkets and other institutionsin the city.

Gloria, daughter o Mr and Mrs Mawanda, pictured intheir banana garden.

No ordinary orchards



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t m n u c n upp k s h p a c .

w n c u c n nThere are many ways in which you can support our work:

r gu G ngComplete the appropriate orm on the right hand sideand post to your local Sel Help A rica o ce.

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w u m n c n

E 12/11will buy a bag o locally producedimproved quality seed

E 55/50 will buy a treadle pump to help anA rican armer to irrigate his cropsE 100/90 will help us to plant over 700mixed tree seedlings.

!


16/16

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Dickens Court, O Hills Lane,Shrewsbury SY1 1QUTel. + 44(0)1743 277170Registered Charity No. 298830

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304 Park Avenue South, 11th FloorNew York, NY 10010, United StatesTel: 001-917-289-0670

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Portlaoise, Co. Laois,Ireland.Tel. +353-(0)578694034Registered Charity No. 66636663

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self help africa - 2010 newsletter

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