IFAD social reporting blog

India is in a nationwide lockdown, as a preventive measure to check the spread of COVID-19. Various projects in the country are responding to the situation in different ways to ease the lives of the common people.

The outcome of the Tejaswini Rural Women’s Empowerment Programme represents an increase in women’s livelihoods and translates into more active spaces for women by training them to organise into self-help groups (SHG). In remote tribal areas of Gadchiroli and Gondia districts of Maharahtra in India, trained SHG women are playing the role of Micro ATMs to help people in local communities access basic financial services.

The Women Development Corporation of Maharashtra project (MAVIM) partnered with Oxigen, a micro ATM company to develop a model of entrepreneurship for Self Help Group (SHG) women, provide access to basic banking facilities to villagers in remote areas where no Banks exist. Each of these women work as a mobile ATM for their village. Fifty women from Gondia and forty from Gadchiroli have been trained by Oxigen and are operational.

The micro ATMs allow people to deposit and withdraw their cash from their bank account and recharge their phones. Villagers can use their Unique Identity Card (Aadhar) or their ATM card to withdraw cash. Currently these machines are being used to deposit cash received by farmers from selling their crops, and to transfer money to other accounts. In the current COVID-19 situation, there are more cash withdrawals than deposits. Cash is being used for healthcare, to but food and to purchase inputs for agriculture production.

Although this model was developed earlier by MAVIM, which has partnered with IFAD under the Tejaswini project, the micro ATMs are proving to be a big help in bridging the last mile. They are particularly useful in the current lockdown as transport is limited to access banks further away. Each transaction also generates commission for the SHG women, who receive a monthly commission of between INR 2000 to 2500. This initiative is enabling the village community to access cash and goods, help them buy and produce goods, as well as generating additional incomes for the 90 ‘’Women-ATMs’’.

Este año 2020 no tiene precedentes. Desde que nuestra vida está dominada en todo el mundo por la pandemia de COVID-19, hemos escuchado una y otra vez hablar la importancia de crear un nuevo orden mundial para organizar la sociedad de otra manera después de esta crisis. De aprovechar el paréntesis que hemos tenido que dar a nuestra economía para reinventarnos.

Este no ha sido un periodo de reflexión no ha sido para todos. En medio de la crisis sanitaria, dos sectores de actividad han seguido funcionando sin parar: los servicios de salud y el sector de la agricultura y la alimentación. Porque salud y alimentación son pilares indispensables de nuestra supervivencia.

Aunque el sector agrícola no haya tenido la posibilidad de una tregua reflexiva, su reinvención es hoy indispensable. Y, de hecho, esa reinvención ya está comenzando a producirse. En ella juegan un papel fundamental los jóvenes. Unos jóvenes que tienen muy claro que hay que repensar el campo para poder permanecer en él. Repensarlo desde un sentimiento de arraigo en los conocimientos tradicionales y de apertura a las innovaciones tecnológicas que permiten adaptarse a las nuevas realidades.

El Premio a la Innovación Juvenil Rural en América Latina y el Caribe

En enero de 2020, el FIDA lanzó el Premio a la Innovación Juvenil Rural en América Latina y el Caribe en busca de esta juventud talentosa y motivada por su empeño en salir adelante y en hacerlo en el lugar en donde han nacido y elegido vivir: el campo.

La respuesta ha sido masiva: alrededor de 600 iniciativas fueron enviadas por jóvenes de 18 países de la región. Estos proyectos –realidades ya, de hecho, en muchos casos– nos han confirmado que la juventud tiene una verdadera visión de su futuro. Toda esta oleada de entusiasmo y compromiso merece nuestra atención. Es por eso que queremos compartir con ustedes algunas de las historias de los galardonados.

La innovación, conjugada con la revalorización y preservación de los espacios rurales, pero también de la cultura y de los conocimientos tradicionales, es el primer elemento que resalta cuando observamos las propuestas que los jóvenes de América Latina y del Caribe remitieron al Premio a la Innovación Juvenil Rural.

En Brasil, por ejemplo, la iniciativa Pé na terra (Pies en la tierra) se enfoca actualmente a la recolección de semillas para contribuir a la conservación de la biodiversidad local. En Colombia, otro grupo de jóvenes llamado Sembrando vida enfoca sus esfuerzos hacia la recuperación de especies nativas mediante campañas de reforestación, que adicionalmente garantizarán el acceso al agua de sus comunidades.

Acción climática – Sembrando Vida (Colombia) @premiorural

En Guatemala, los responsables de Flor de tierra están inventando estrategias de restauración de suelos degradados, resaltando la importancia de una agricultura sin agroquímicos. Porque el riesgo no está solamente en el plato del consumidor sino también en las manos del agricultor. Con el mismo concepto de entrega de productos de calidad, la iniciativa Raíz Capixaba está utilizando nuevas tecnologías para mapear digitalmente su producción y canalizarla a los mercados locales. Esta herramienta de agro-tecnología proporciona un triple beneficio: planificación de la producción en relación a la demanda local, menor desperdicio y mayor visibilidad.

Intercambio de conocimientos

Destaca también, entre las iniciativas innovadoras de los jóvenes de la región, una voluntad de intercambio de conocimientos, como es el caso de la iniciativa Fortalecimento e consolidação de grupos de coletores de sementes do Cerrado (Fortalecimiento y consolidación de recolectores de semillas del Cerrado), mediante talleres organizados por los mismos agricultores, o bien con estudiantes y científicos invitados a publicar acerca de sus productos.

Es decir, a lo que se aspira en muchas ocasiones es a crear una identidad que se pueda valorizar, tal como lo hace la iniciativa mexicana Una mano para Oaxaca, porque para permanecer en el campo se necesita promover el arraigo cultural, comunitario y territorial. Y porque para no migrar, los jóvenes rurales necesitan hoy que se reactive su economía.

En este sentido, el acceso a una educación financiera en las zonas rurales, haciendo énfasis en las cuestiones prácticas y en la potenciación de emprendimientos rurales, está cobrando fuerzas en Colombia con la iniciativa Libertat. Del mismo modo, redes colaborativas de turismo en asociación con familias indígenas en Brasil como Gralha Azul (Urraca Azul), están generando ingresos, preservando al mismo tiempo sus espacios y comprometiendo a habitantes y turistas con la conservación de la biodiversidad local.

Inclusión financiera – Libertat (Colombia) @premiorural

El Premio y los ODS

Las iniciativas recibidas están alineadas con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU. En Perú, la iniciativa Agrowayu está usando frutas y cultivos locales, como la chía o la quinua, para promover gelatinas saludables en las escuelas rurales. De esta forma, contribuyen a la buena alimentación de los niños de las comunidades, en su mayoría indígenas, y al empoderamiento de las mujeres que preparan los alimentos.

Inclusión grupos vulnerables – Agrowayu (Perú) @premiorural

Abordando la cuestión los residuos alimentarios, la iniciativa mexicana Hexa Biotech propone un manejo integral de los desperdicios orgánicos, transformándolos a través de la incubación de insectos en fertilizantes o alimentos para animales. Todo ello permite la reutilización de los insumos al mismo tiempo que reduce las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero.

Experiencia e innovación en materia de inclusión financiera, generación de ingresos, conservación, comunicación y tecnología, educación, acción climática, seguridad alimentaria y sostenibilidad, con inclusión de grupos vulnerables, son claves de una juventud emprendedora que busca hoy ser protagonistas de una transformación rural inclusiva y sostenible.

El objetivo del premio siempre ha sido dar visibilidad a estas iniciativas que a menudo pasan desapercibidas y que, sin embargo, son ejemplos de buenas prácticas que están dando resultados. Ahora que conocemos a los ganadores, ese objetivo se refuerza todavía más, pues aspiramos a que sirvan de ejemplo y sean replicadas en una región que tiene en la lucha contra la pobreza, y en especial la pobreza rural, uno de sus mayores desafíos.

Un desafío todavía más complicado y apasionante en este año 2020, este “año COVID” sin precedentes en la historia reciente de la humanidad. Un año difícil, sin duda, pero en absoluto un año sin futuro. Un futuro que está en manos de una juventud rural con ideas e ideales, pero también con los pies sobre la tierra. Esta misma tierra que nos alimenta a todos.

Haga clic aquí para más información sobre el Premio a la Innovación Juvenil Rural del FIDA.

Conflicts are relatively common in pastoral and agropastoral areas, and how they are perceived and handled has a strong influence on their outcomes. Many underlying conflicts are latent – unseen to an outsider, lying quietly under the surface, and triggered by an event or action, such as building a badly-situated water point. Asserting rights to resources and seeking to redress injustices or inequalities, conflict can become an inherent feature of pastoralists’ struggle for change. As a result, conflicts are often inevitable and percieved as legitimate by the parties involved. Development actors need to recognise this and be prepared to act appropriately to either prevent conflicts or manage them well when they are unavoidable.

A new note on preventing land use conflicts in pastoral areas, developed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with two CGIAR research programmes - Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) and Livestock - provides guidance to programme and project staff on how the increased levels of conflict over land and natural resources in pastoral areas can be prevented and/or if existing already, transformed into positive outcomes. The note builds on the earlier, more general note on Engaging with Pastoralists.

The note unpacks some of the land-related complexities associated with pastoralism and gives guidance on how to address the different parts of these complexities. The document draws from the FAO guidelines on improving governance of pastoral lands (2016), bringing in experiences from the IFAD-supported country programmes. It identifies why land tenure is a complex issue within pastoralism and discusses the combination of factors that are contributing to more insecure pastoral tenure and triggering pastoral area conflicts. The note also introduces some of the frameworks, tools and approaches that can be used as part of project design to reduce the potential for conflict.

For more information on the note, please contact Fiona Flintan (f.flintan@ifad.org or f.flintan@cgiar.org)

The International Land Coalition (ILC) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have recently adopted a three-year roadmap to inform their collaboration and jointly contribute to more equitable rural transformation and resilient food systems by improving tenure security.

Over the past five years, IFAD has invested in tenure security measures in over 60 countries, in collaboration with several partners. The ILC Network is active in about half of those countries, which represents a great potential for country-level collaboration. The strengths of IFAD and ILC partnership reside in their complementarities, which reduces overlaps and promotes efficiency. Building on this complementarity, the partnerships between IFAD and ILC can improve the efficacy of land tenure interventions, leading to substantial progress in improving tenure security for rural people.

The relationship is mutually beneficial; the ILC network can make significant contributions to IFAD's investments, especially at the country level, to promote inclusive land governance. On the other hand, IFAD-supported projects provide opportunities to expand multi-stakeholder involvement for the ILC Network, by demonstrating alternative approaches to participatory policy dialogue. At the global level, partnerships allow for joint advocacy on securing tenure of land and the dissemination of knowledge. Ultimately, the IFAD-ILC Partnership aims at securing land tenure, as a first necessary step to invest in rural prosperity and resilience to fight poverty and hunger towards the realisation of the SDGs.

Recognizing the mutual benefit of greater collaboration and the importance of fostering synergies, IFAD’s Land Tenure Desk (IFAD LTD) and the ILC Secretariat and Regional Coordination Units (ILC One Team) have continuously promoted joint programming, innovation and policy engagement between ILC supported platforms and members with IFAD regional and country teams, and other divisions.

In 2019, an initiative to strengthen IFAD – ILC collaboration was launched jointly by the two parties. It started by conducting a desk review of IFAD’s portfolio and ILC-supported initiatives to develop collaboration and joint programming. The exercise resulted in a matrix of concrete, overlapping ILC-IFAD operations. The matrix was informed by IFAD colleagues with key roles in thematic areas where land is a cross-cutting issue, such as climate change, environment, gender, youth, or indigenous people.

Early in 2020, IFAD Land Tenure Desk and the ILC’s One Team re-doubled efforts at strengthening the joint programming between regional divisions and other ILC members. This included meetings with all SKD and PMD Directors, Regional Economists, Portfolio Advisers, and joint engagements with certain Hub Directors and IFAD Country Offices. The extended institutional dialogue between SKD and PMD divisions and the ILC One Team informed the development a of three-year Roadmap (2020-2022) for increasing collaboration between IFAD’s thematic and operational divisions and the ILC network.

Approved by IFAD directors at the PMC meeting on the 7th of July, the operational document complements existing instruments that formalise IFAD and ILC long-lasting partnership, namely IFAD membership to the International Coalition since its creation in 1995, including its biannual contribution, and the recently renewed hosting agreement running until 2030.

This roadmap aims to concretise IFAD-ILC collaboration for the operationalisation of targeted activities, with a systemic approach to enhancing joint impact through securing land rights for rural transformation and resilience. The partnership is embedded in ILC and IFAD’s operational modality and is structured around three operational objectives, relating to ILC and IFAD SKD & PMD corporate goals:

Sustainable country-level impact at scale, through policy dialogue & technical support
Global and Regional policy engagement, and thematic program support across countries
Knowledge and data generation, innovation, and dissemination of good practices

To achieve the objectives, significant effort will be put in consolidating regional and thematic dynamics to allow IFAD and ILC to benefit from the central coordination and make progress on the 19 activities identified. For the operationalisation of the activities, the roadmap strongly relies on diverse stakeholders at various levels, building ownership and agreeing on the roles and responsibilities, which is essential to ensure results and long-term impacts. To this end, the next phase consists of establishing mechanisms and agreeing on the roles and responsibilities to sustain the dialogue and move forward with concrete collaborations with the full support of key stakeholders.

Finally, the roadmap will be reviewed on a yearly basis during an annual planning meeting to assess the state of specific targets, activities, the timeline, and the expected outcomes. In addition to the above, the roadmap will be supported by continuous monitoring interventions, such as joint participation at thematic, regional and country initiatives’ assessment; and regular coordination meetings.

If you are interested to know more about IFAD & ILC Strategic Partnership or the Roadmap, please contact Jimmy Gaudin.

Authors: Ivonald Da Cruz, Christopher Tapscott and Philipp Baumgartner

As noted by the eminent land reform scholar, Professor Michael Lipton, “The path of land reform seldom runs smooth” and South Africa’s experience has been no exception to this. A paper written by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) South Africa, Country Team explored factors impacting on land reform and the success of small scale farmers. It was found that the implementation of South Africa’s land reform programme is unintentionally undermining tenure security and by extension the success of small scale farmers.

This research is primarily informed by the ‘Innovations in Smallholder Agriculture in South Africa for Climate Change Resilience (ISASAR) Project’; an IFAD supported action research initiative that sought to investigate key issues around South Africa’s small and emerging farming sector, its food security and the building of resilience to climate change. The findings produced under ISASAR subsequently informed a spinoff paper titled Factors Impacting on Land Reform and Sustainable Small Scale Farmers – A Case Study from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa [1], this paper builds on the earlier research conducted under ISASAR, but specifically aims to contribute to the debate around South Africa’s land reform programme, by focusing on the factors which impact on the success of small scale farmers who have been beneficiaries of the land reform programme.

Tenure security was highlighted as a notable factor impacting on the success of small scale farmers. It is also noteworthy that the relationship between tenure security and land reform carries with it, in the South African context, a circular tension. The research revealed that in some instances the land reform programme, which was designed to support a class of sustainable small-scale farmers, is actually hampering tenure security, negatively impacting the success of small-scale farmers.

Findings on tenure (in)security

In a series of fourteen in depth one-on-one interviews with purposively selected farmers that benefited from the land reform programme, it was revealed that the lack of tenure security proved to be a source of anxiety, a disincentive to engage in long-term investments and a significant contributor towards their stewardship of the land.

One of the farmers interviewed had been allocated a farm on a 5-year lease, with the understanding that this would be converted to a 30-year lease, provided their ability to farm was demonstrated. At the time of the interview, the farmer had not only demonstrated a commitment to farm, but had also expressed ambitions to transition to commercial farming. However, not only had the farmer not received any official documentation confirming the existing tenure arrangement, the lack of documentation proving ownership curtailed his ability to seek finance from a bank to further scale-up farming operations. Furthermore, the interview revealed that the farmer had to both improve the infrastructure on his farm as well as build up his livestock numbers, these investments were however being put off up until greater clarity on ownership arrangements was provided. This case highlights how the lack of tenure security undermines the ability of a farmer to graduate from a small scale farmer to a commercial farmer. An inhibiting factor to the success of this farmer is that the lack of tenure security leaves the farmer unable to scale-up operations and simultaneously anxious about whether any investments towards farming operations would be worth the risk.

In another instance, four farmers, three men and one woman had been allocated land on a portion of a single farm that had been divided into four portions. The farmers had been given official documentation confirming their five-year lease, however, at the time of the interview these leases had now lapsed and the farmers have found themselves in “no man’s land” – where the previous lease agreement has expired but the new lease agreement has yet to be issued. In essence, they had been found to have no formal tenure rights even though they proved their ability to farm and have farmed on the same land for over five years. The interview further revealed that in anticipation of the possibility of receiving land under an extended tenure arrangement, the farmers were building their herds and overstocking which naturally led to overgrazing of the pasture. Moreover, the lack of tenure security and uncertainty about the farmland they would end up with served to deter all the farmers from engaging in a capital renewal of their farming enterprise, thus once again, the lack of tenure security impeded on the long-term investments farmers need to make in order to scale up operations.

Reconciling Tenure Security and Land Reform

These cases highlight the complexity of tenure security, as it pertains to land reform beneficiaries. An immediate solution to this tension may centre around the scrapping of leasehold agreements, this however, misdiagnoses the actual problem. The leasehold agreements were introduced as a measure to: deter farmers from under-utilising the land allocated to them and simultaneously halting the resale of farms acquired under the land reform programme. Officials were using the leasehold arrangement to safeguard the land reform programme, as both of the aforementioned practices undermined agricultural productivity and the racial composition of land ownership[2].

In an attempt to solve one or a series of problems, an unintended consequence of the current tenure arrangement, is that it ironically provokes tenure insecurity. There is of course the case of being in “no man’s land”, but farmers equally expressed concerns about the prized 30-year lease. Would a 30-year lease be upgraded? Would it allow for the children of beneficiaries to inherit the land? What would happen to the investments made on the farm after the end of the 30-year lease? Moreover, some commercial banks in the Eastern Cape province do not recognise the farmland owned under leasehold as a form of collateral, therefore, limiting the ability of farmers to raise credit and invest in productive activities.

A Vision for Land Reform

In spite of the issues captured here, the rationale for a land reform programme that seeks to broaden South Africa’s agricultural sector while reducing rural poverty still holds. South Africa’s land reform programme and much of the debate has however, been hampered by a narrow focus on redistribution targets (the amount of land reallocated) and modalities of transferring ownership (willing seller-willing-buyer, expropriation without compensation), but very little focus has been on supporting the very beneficiaries of land reform.

Due to the number of factors impacting the success of land reform beneficiaries, a number of inter-governmental and policy shifts are required. However, a key conclusion emanating from the paper and the ISASAR project is the importance of aligning land reform with a broader agenda of agrarian reform. Agrarian reform involves changing access to land (redistribution) as well as terms of access (tenure security – the key issue highlighted here), but it is also much broader in that it tackles social relations and the range of interventions required to ensure the success of South Africa’s small-scale farmers.

As highlighted here, the relationship between tenure security and land reform underscores that the path is indeed not a smooth one. The failure however, in any land reform programme lies not in the decision to go down the path, but rather learning the necessary lessons and subsequently adjusting to the new terrain.

[1] The paper was submitted to the 21st annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, which was subsequently postponed following the COVID-19 outbreak.

[2] A public policy position that seeks to reverse centuries of land alienation and dispossession.

JAKARTA, 4 August 2020 - The ASEAN Secretariat held a webinar to increase concerted effort and preparedness in preventing haze events, predicted to peak in August – September.

The webinar was supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia (MAHFSA) Programme.

Participants of the webinar included the ASEAN haze sectoral body, relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies, partners, and private sector actors in peatland and haze management, taking into consideration the upcoming dry season in the southern ASEAN region.

In his welcoming remarks, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community Kung Phoak highlighted the potential threats and impacts of COVID-19 on forest fire and haze issues due to resource constraints and limited mobility on intervention.

“I call upon all of us to improve and strengthen our cooperation, preparedness and coordination for a concerted response of authorities, communities and private sector in the possible event of fire and haze,” rallied Phoak.

In his remarks, IFAD Country Director for South East Asia and the Pacific Sub-regional Office Cossio Cortez highlighted that IFAD has been supporting ASEAN in the implementation of the haze-free agenda for over a decade.

He further stressed that “as countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and in view of the upcoming dry season, we must continue to join our efforts to strengthen regional coordination aiming at promoting sustainable management of natural resources and preserving the health of people in the ASEAN region.”

Key practitioners in ASEAN and Australia shared insights on the impacts and potential risks of the pandemic situation on ASEAN’s response to fire and haze events, as well as lessons learnt from the 2020 Mekong dry season and 2019 Australia bushfire crisis.

Further, they shared preparedness actions for the upcoming dry season in the Southern ASEAN region as well as the measures that deployed to prevent forest fires and transboundary haze.

Among the issues that were raised at the open discussion session included the simulation of pandemic impacts on ASEAN’s response and indications of budget constraints on haze prevention, preparedness, management and suppression, as well as the use of advanced technologies in combating forest fire and haze in Southeast Asia.

Participants noted the importance of cross-sectoral coordination by prioritising regional measures focused on strategies to implement health priorities, including regional prevention and control of communicable diseases and new emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and environmental health.

The event reaffirmed ASEAN’s efforts to (i)secure a haze-free region as guided by the Roadmap in the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution framework; (ii) increase awareness and preparedness on transboundary haze events within and across sectors and disciplines; and (iii) confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fire and haze management, and the potential risk of post-pandemic pressure on peatland ecosystems. To sustain the initiative, ASEAN Secretariat plans to organise succeeding webinars in consultation with ASEAN Member States.

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Marco Minciaroni is an Italian farmer based in Umbria and a champion for organic farming methods. His farm is a great example of how sustainable agriculture can work when implemented in the right way, and he is keen to share his knowledge with others.

Brian Thomson, Communication Manager at IFAD, interviewed him to learn more about his approach to biodynamics and eco-agriculture.

Please tell me your name, where we are and the name of your establishment.

I am Marco Minciaroni, we are in Umbria and our properties are united under the name of Castello di Montalera.

Most farms were family farms at their roots. Would you characterize Castello di Montalera as being a family farm?

My father is from Umbria, he was born in Perugia, which is nearby, and he bought this land at the end of the sixties as an investment I believe and at the time they were doing conventional farming. However, since then, half a century has passed and I really feel rooted here, so the decision to shift from conventional farming to organic farming techniques was natural. It is an expression of gratitude, respect for the land and for the local traditions.

You were influenced by the now late Giulia Maria Crespi. What were the fundamentals of her farming philosophy that you have taken forward?

Giulia Maria Crespi founded FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) and was the founder of the Italian Biodynamic Association here in Italy. So clearly she had a biodynamic approach following Rudolf Steiner.

At their family's property, called Cascine Orsini near Milan they hold courses on all these themes and they produce excellent biodynamic rice. From her I think I gained a holistic approach to farming and the encouragement to carry on the way I was going.

How does biodynamics take you forward from organic, is it a step ahead?

I would define the kind of farming I do as agroecological. I take bits and pieces from various organic techniques and one of these is biodynamics. I experiment and apply them to obtain the best result.

The way we were doing farming here was industrial farming, using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, heavy tilling monocultures... This needed high inputs and resources, expensive seeds and products.

I moved to straightforward organic farming, following what the European Community ruled twenty years ago. This meant no use of industrial synthetic products, GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) and chemical products that are forbidden or extremely limited; and the use of crop rotation and natural fertilizers.

In the past few years I have moved to a more complex way of doing organic farming which I would call agroecologic farming, which is more diversified. I am trying to have a more resilient and circular approach so, minimum disturbance of soil and minimum tillage. I till when it is necessary. I used to go down 40-50 cm and now we go maximum 10-25 cm down, because the richness is in the upper part of the soil, our treasure is there.

We limit the use of modern varieties of seeds, because a modern variety of seed expresses its best in industrial systems, which is what they have been selected for, but in an organic system it doesn't work as well. So I prefer traditional varieties of cereals, for example. They have higher stems, maybe 1-1.5 meters tall, so they are not in competition with the weeds. They have maybe longer beards or bristles for protection; their heads are more open, there’s more airflow and they’re less accessible to fungi and humidity. They do have lower yields, but you have far less inputs, far less expenses and you can compensate the lower yield using diversity and planting more crops together in an agroecological approach. And in the year the yields improve, once you learn how to cut down expenses.

Driving around the farm with you and looking out here from your home on high over the land, you see these stripes within the fields. Can you tell me a little bit about the theory why you are planting that way within these fields? Stripy agriculture, what’s it all about?

What I realized as I was doing organic farming is that biodiversity is your insurance and protection against all sorts of pests. The big problem with the property was its oversimplification. In the seventies it had been flattened out and cultivated with monoculture.

I have a little story to explain this:

Imagine you have a restaurant near a stadium and you have many empty tables. And the visiting team supporters come out and happen to be bit drunk and quite angry, not in the best mood because they lost, and they rapidly fill up all your tables and they all want to eat at the same time, and they make a big mess of your restaurant. Imagine now you have the same restaurant, but this time the tables happen to be occupied by people, so maybe there is a family or members of the opposite team. The visitors are obliged to spread out in groups. So maybe they do occupy some of your tables and make a bit of a mess, but everybody eats and it is not as dramatic as if there were empty tables.

You can apply this to the fields too. So, imagine a situation where there is no biodiversity, no other insects are present and a new species, maybe an aggressive one arrives and starts eating everything everywhere with nothing stopping it except for pesticides, but I'm organic and I don't use them. Instead, with a high biodiversity there are other insects occupying spaces, and they don't want to leave. They are the natural predators, insects like ladybirds that eat aphids or spiders that eat basically every other insect, praying mantis, you also have more birds and bats… so this keeps the overall aggressive population down. Higher diversity means higher protection, there is more competition between insects, so some may eat a bit of your crops but there isn't a big impact overall. Having many bees also increases yield, increases pollination, so the presence of insects is very important for agriculture.

These are big changes to the way you farm this land. Did you meet with any resistance to these changes within the local community, within the market value chain that you are trying to sell into?

Yes, first of all I studied philosophy and I don't come from a farming background so when I started following the properties I planted alfalfa everywhere, which was one step in the right direction and I started reading as much as I could, and experimenting. Of course, local farmers were making fun of me, and I did make my mistakes of course, and that's how you learn. But in the long run I am very happy with all my choices.

What would be the most important results and lessons you have learned over these now, 20+ years that you have been farming here?

At the beginning, in the first year, we were doing straightforward organic farming. In the past 7 years we have been intensifying and modifying our farming. First, I think I learned about being humble, respecting nature. You must not impose your ideas on the land, you must observe and listen to what the land has to say, what the natural herbs growing there tell you about the problems of the soil. Trying to work with the land, not against it, disregarding insects and animals, disturbing or distracting them, trying to convince them to go away.

I also learned about not putting all the eggs in one basket, in agriculture all of us are under the stars, so global warming and extreme meteorological effects can be seen lower the globe, more or less intensely and tragically. So always differentiate what you plant, divide the risks and plan for the future. Bad seasons do happen, so possibly plan for some extra incomes on the side. Maybe planting distinct trees around the sides of your crops. This can give you maybe fruits, nuts or berries and after a few years maybe they are valuable source of wood to sell.

I also think that theory is very different from practice and that you must really adapt to the land, the weather and your possibilities to keep in the right direction.

Tell me more about how the biodiversity here on the farm is able to move around freely, how are you helping that?

Well, as I said before biodiversity means more protection, more pollination and higher yields. So, to attract varieties of animals, you have to bear in mind that they are all in competition with each other. You need many different kinds of plants and crops, so a high plant biodiversity is needed to create a better equilibrium. It has been very inspiring to read and meet Miguel Altieri. Through him I understood so much about agroecology. So we have stripes of plants and pollen-attracting plants that attract bees around the property, always to give a place for the animals and insects to stay specially when we are turning over the land so you can have your stock of beetles and your stock of bees and you must protect them.

Looking out from up here you can see how the land changes as it goes down to the lakeside. Is the idea that eventually these corridors will all connect?

Absolutely, one of the lucky features we have is this great national park called Lago Trasimeno, which is a lake full of biodiversity. Our property starts right at the shores of it, in the heart of the property there is the more hilly and woody side, there is more natural biodiversity. However, the plains have been oversimplified by the farming that was done in the eighties and seventies, so I'm really trying to recreate corridors of hedges and bushes. I have a project to plant fifteen kilometres of trees and bushes to connect the park with the inner parts of the property to let the animals move around and to create different air currents and somewhere the insects can stay.

What animal species have you seen return in higher numbers especially to the forested areas?

The first big change I saw were the many insects that arrived. Sadly, you can see them on the windscreen when you drive, but at night it’s all full of fireflies in the summer. Then hedgehogs and porcupines arrived. Now there are more foxes and hares, which can finally breed and stay in the tall grass. Roe deer came back and it was a big surprise to have such big animals there. Wild boars were always present, and their population increased giving us problems. Birds of prey arrived, like hawks and eagles at times. The last ones to arrive were wolves, who put everyone in their own place. The wild boars stopped being scattered in the fields and moved to the wood, it is good to have a small population of wolves at least.

So, obviously you have learned so much from so many. How important is it for you to share the lessons you have learned here on this farm with others?

I believe there must be synergy in the fields, between the plants and animals, and also between the people and the various organizations. We really need to interact to create something more. It is very important to share the lessons, especially because someone else has already been through what you are going through now and they can explain what to do, and you can help them deal with other situations. This way you don't feel alone and feel encouraged, not having to start from zero every time. It's a very important resource and the idea would be to have a very big data base with traditional knowledge we could access.

At IFAD we work exclusively with the world's poorest people, family farmers in developing countries who often live on the periphery of where land is fertile and where it's most affected by climate impacts. What lessons and what principles are in your opinion transferable from here to that scenario?
Sadly, global changes make us share common problems. I think it's very important to retake control over your local varieties of seeds, grow your own seeds instead of buying them, possibly they're more adapted to your own land and territory. This also gets you out of the commodities market. If you have your own seed your price is not susceptible to global market changes. I have the example of a neighbour who was planting tomatoes the year China started producing massive amounts of tomatoes and sending them to Italy and he didn't even pick them because he had no market for them, his expenses were too high. I would minimize expenses and inputs, so traditional methods of growing; keeping your seeds, local heritage is extremely valuable. Go for resilience, local varieties are better. A wonderful solution would be using evolutive populations. I know you are supporting one of these programs with Salvatore Ceccarelli, professor in evolutive farming. These populations made of maybe thousands of the same family of seeds but different amongst them, they interbreed in the same part of land and they evolve according to the place they are grown in.

So diversification, agroecological principals, maybe intercropping, there are interesting techniques like the push-pull method for insects: planting certain things to attract the good ones and repel the bad ones or to keep the animals outside. Cultivating biodiversity is very important also for nutrition, a more diversified cultivation gives you diversified food.

Do you think we should be offering more exchanges between farmers from developing countries?

Absolutely, many issues are shared globally because of climate change and globalization, because of how the commodities market works, how it's structured, rules and regulations, subsidies that somehow stop along the way... We all have these problems and in general if they are solved in a region they can be transferred and adapted to other places. You can shift techniques from one place to the other. Maybe specific seed varieties from an area are also very useful for other areas with similar climates. Sharing knowledge is fundamental, I’m thinking also about GIAS, the global important agricultural heritage systems, these are amazing examples of heritage agriculture and I only learned about them a few years ago. It's amazing what is happening around the globe and that's the example we should go towards.

So, bringing things back closer to home, what do you hope the future holds for you here?

Well, the complexity of the problems we have faced must be tackled with different multifunctional approaches. So not one solution for all the problems, but many solutions, even small ones, but many of them working in the same direction. A fundamental role here is played by small family farmers, they are a very important part of the puzzle and a very important source of food security for the planet. Their correct action can improve local living conditions if it's done well. It also protects the culture and traditions connected to the land. Intensive farming isn't the only solution, maybe it can be one solution but it's not the solution. So, I suggest a future which goes towards resilience and adaptation to changes, which for farmers has to be easy, low-cost and within reach. And maybe also in the direction of a more efficient distribution and development of goods and resources, maybe the water is there but you just need a little expense to dig the well, and research and technology with an agroecological approach. To better understand how nature works and how we can interact with nature more efficiently.
Great. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

To learn more about the challenges smallholder farmers in developing countries are facing around food security, tune in to Farms. Food. Future. A podcast that’s good for you, good for the planet and good for farmers - brought to you by the International Fund for Agricultural Development - and your host, Brian Thomson.

“If you have any idea about farming then you probably know that crops need to be planted at a certain time of the year. But this March, Zimbabwe went into a national lockdown, and the window for seeding wheat had passed,” says Ruramiso Mashumba, a farmer and CEO of Mnandi Africa, an organization that helps rural women in Zimbabwe obtain knowledge and better farming skills through training, access to farming equipment and collective marketing.

Ruramiso reports that the movement restrictions and their timing lead to very low wheat harvest, and her country will likely face grain deficit and a subsequent sharp increase in prices. At the same time, in March, many farmers had only just harvested their vegetable crops but had to waste their produce because markets were closed, and it was not allowed to sell by the road either.

These encounters are not unique, COVID-19 continues hurting health and economies around the world. The ongoing crisis threatens undoing decades of development progress in poverty and hunger alleviation, challenging our food production and, particularly, hitting hard the small-scale farmers, who provide half of the global food supplies. So, what we do now to protect them will have long term implications for food security in the years to come.

Is it plausible to provide critical COVID-19 relief without losing sight of the long-term food security and resilience goals? And how to leverage our experience of the pandemic crisis to the benefit of sustainable food security in the future? These questions were at the heart of discussions during the “Recovery, reactivation and resilience – sustainable food security in a post-COVID world” online event organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and SIANI on September 4, 2020.

A high-level overview

“I believe it’s possible to be fast and strategic at the same time,” says Johannes Oljelund, Director-General for International Development Cooperation at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

“Of course, COVID-19 invites political response, but it’s also key to invest in the multilateral development system to foster efficient and flexible crisis response that does not depend on the short-term reality of politics.” Last week, Sweden committed US $5.7 million to IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility, which was set up to counteract the effects of COVID-19 and ensure that food production does not stop and value chains deliver food to where it is needed.

According to Olejlund, the solutions to the ongoing crisis need to be rooted in sustainability, employ a One Health approach and promote gender equality in decision making as well as on the ground, ensuring that women have access to the necessary resources and can take advantage of the opportunities when they arise.

Coordinating the efforts between different development agencies, public and private sectors and civil society is vital for cost-efficiency, for utilizing the power of combined efforts and timely delivery of acutely needed support.

Indeed, according to Stephen Muchiri, CEO at Eastern Africa Farmers Federation, the lack of harmonized and coordinated policy response caused trade blockages between countries in Eastern Africa and led to food supply disruptions and shortages: “Trucks with produce are stuck in several kilometre-long queues at the borders and deals have only been re-started a month ago.”

“We’ve got to have a long-term perspective on what we do short term. That’s why our crisis response has to be sensitive to gender, youth, biodiversity and climate,” says Marie Haga, Associate Vice-President of the External Relations and Governance Department, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD.

In response to COVID-19, IFAD has repurposed funding from the existing 120 projects in 80 countries and collaborates with the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to support governments in the development of national response plans. IFAD also launched the Rural Poor Stimulus Facility to accelerate the recovery of poor and vulnerable rural people.

85% of funds generated through the Facility will be used to support 59 of the most at-risk countries with country-level financing, and 15% will support particularly innovative or strategic regional initiatives.

Focusing on the good

The coronavirus pandemic caught the world off guard, but it also pushed us to implement solutions we thought are years ahead. When markets were shut in Zimbabwe, farmers started to look into other ways to sell their produce, finding buyers and reaching consumers through WhatsApp groups. The use of e-commerce skyrocketed: “Online marketplaces, like the Fresh in the Box, a start-up that buys fresh produce from farmers and delivers it to customers, existed before, but it was hardly used. Now, this is how many Zimbabweans buy their food,” says Ruramiso Mashumba.

Before the pandemic field trips were the standard format for farmer training in Zimbabwe, which can be cumbersome and logistically demanding for companies and public services. On their end, farmers had to travel more than 20 km to attend such training, which takes a full day and may not always be feasible, especially for female farmers.

But now it’s possible to learn about how to select better cultivars and other farming techniques on the radio in your kitchen or at a local supermarket and the training is available in English, as well as in the local native languages. This may not deliver on all the benefits of in-person learning, but it definitely reduces the logistical burden and increases the outreach.

Kenya-based Stephen Muchiri agrees that COVID-19 triggered a digital leap in agriculture. He shared insights from his work with the e-Granary digital platform, created and owned by the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation. E-Granary facilitates demand and supply of agricultural outputs and inputs as well as access to financial and mechanization services. Connected to a network of service suppliers and buyers the platform aggregates supply and demand based on the data from farmers. When a big enough market is created, a service is delivered, and farmers can pay for it with mobile payments.

E-Granary already connects 240 000 smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. “This digital platform also makes it possible to provide targeted extension and advice, depending on a crop, time of the season and tailor it according to farmer’s gender and age. Additionally, this database allows us to record farmer’s financial history – an essential and often lacking requirement when it comes to accessing bank loans or insurance products,” explains Muchiri.

“The experiences and frameworks discussed throughout this event already exhibit many signs of resilience building,” points out Line Gordon, Director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, SRC in Stockholm. Bringing together partners from different sectors, information sharing, learning and experimentation as well as trust building are all key to higher collaboration capacity, which, ultimately, makes our societies more resilient and capable to drive change.

“We know it is possible, we just need to move steadily in the right direction,” concludes Gordon.

This article was originally published by SIANI

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people with severe food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean could rise from 3.4 million to around 14 million by the end of 2020, according to the World Food Program. The agriculture sector has been drastically impacted by the ongoing pandemic, especially smallholders with limited access to alternative markets and technology.

Can digital solutions contribute to more sustainable food system and bring information to the ones in need?

This was the main question discussed during the webinar Digital Solutions for South-South Cooperation during COVID-19. In the wake of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation (September 12), the forum brought together representatives of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Program Center for Excellence against Hunger (WFP).

In a nutshell, the speakers confirmed that digital solutions targeting smallholder farmers in southern countries can contribute to the transformation of food systems, especially in the context of the pandemic. But let us walk you through the highlights of the event to get a deeper understanding of this crucial matter.

According to Rafael Zavala, FAO representative in Brazil, digital solutions have a lot to contribute to the improvement of food systems. “We need major adjustments to those systems so that they are more efficient, incorporate technology, and make a better use of natural resources”. “Digitalization has to be an important component of South-South and Triangular Cooperation. It is crucial that it is also an inclusive process that leaves no one behind. This is the only way to be closer to better and fairer food systems,” he added.

All participants insisted that better food systems are not just to benefit smallholder farmers, but the society as a whole, arguing that in developing countries, these farmers are responsible for the production of up to 80 per cent of the food we consume. If they don’t receive the support they need and deserve, the COVID-19 health crisis could become a food – and, therefore, a humanitarian – crisis.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating digital transformation. Now, we work remotely, we enjoy culture mainly through the screens and even an event as important as the UN General Assembly is being held online. In a world where social distancing is needed to avoid the pandemic advance, it is absolutely necessary to boost efforts to also digitalize smallholder agriculture, reinventing technical assistance, access to markets, finance and supply chain services,” said Claus Reiner, IFAD’s Brazil Country Director.

Reiner added: “by having access to reliable and swift information, small-scale farmers can reduce their dependence on intermediaries, becoming more empowered. This is an important way in which Information and Communications Technology can foster rural development”.

He went on to explain how participants in IFAD-funded projects in Brazil have benefited from a digital platform set up by UN’s Global Compound to sell their products and how, in the hardest part of the lockdown, three IFAD-funded projects set up a remote technical assistant scheme.

Solutions for daily life

Digital solutions can also contribute to the promotion of short sales channels, bringing producers and consumers together. The partnership between online groups and local producers, in addition to fostering the local economy, helps to awaken the sense of community and belonging.

“There are different devices and applications already been used by smallholders. WhatsApp, for instance, is a very versatile tool. In northeast Brazil, rural women are using voice message to sell their products. The technology is helping them to overcome illiteracy limitations”, said Sergio Schneider, professor of Sociology of Rural Development and Food Studies at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

There are countless challenges and opportunities ahead regarding the use of new technologies for smallholder agriculture and agri-food issues are strategic for Agenda 2030. Collaboration between the public and private sector, information sharing, technical assistance, data protection and equal access to opportunities were some of the main topics raised in the panels regarding the issue.

Representatives from different Brazilian ministries presented tech solutions already in use in the country. For example, applications that provide real-time information about school meals in public schools, and development projects focused on smart cities.

These solutions have great potential to be shared with other countries facing the similar challenges brought by the pandemic. IFAD, through its South-South and Triangular Cooperation and Knowledge Centre in Brasilia, is determined to play an important role ensuring that the available knowledge and ICT tools are widely disseminated and tailored to the needs and reality of family farmers, traditional communities and minorities that might be excluded of the so called agriculture 4.0.

“Reality is taking care of promoting a silent incorporation of multiple digital solutions to issues arising from the pandemic. These solutions will end up being applied to smallholder agriculture. And in the case of South-South and Triangular Cooperation, these solutions must necessarily be widely accessible, simple to use, and cost effective” concluded Ruy Pereira, director of ABC.

The Digital Solutions for South-South Cooperation during COVID-19 webinar took place on 30 September and was simultaneously translated into Spanish and transmitted via Twitter, allowing for a wider audience in Latin America to follow the discussions.

This webinar, and upcoming similar events, is part of IFAD´s SSTC and KM Centre for Latin America and Caribbean efforts to promoting relevant topics and strengthen the network of partners.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated livelihoods across the world, there have also been pockets of hope, where policy, institutional support and individual grit have come together to find new opportunities. When Sri Lanka imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 in March, the agriculture sector found itself at a crossroads. Part of the measures adopted by the Government of Sri Lanka included an import ban on many food staples, such as maize, rice, sugar, soya, turmeric and flour-based products. At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture took decisive steps to address the demand for these products – always high – by promoting local production of these goods.

Farmers rose to the challenge with alacrity. In Gonagala, a remote village in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province for example, farmers seized the chance offered by the skyrocketing local demand for turmeric – one of the goods on the banned list.

Gonagala’s farmers primarily grow rice. However, in 2019, when the Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships Programme (SAPP) -- a collaboration between the Government of Sri Lanka and IFAD that aims to expand livelihood and business opportunities in the agriculture sector for 57,500 smallholder households -- began working with farmers in the village, it was to strengthen their turmeric business.

It turned out that Gonagala’s farmers, who also cultivated turmeric and other field crops using traditional methods, were sitting on a “gold” mine of sorts. They grow a high-quality variety of turmeric, with a greater concentration of curcumin (the chemical compound that gives turmeric both its distinctive golden colour and makes it incredibly healthy). They only use traditional manure as fertiliser, forgoing chemical alternatives.

Yet, these farmers were not seeing the returns from what should have been a highly remunerative product. This was because resellers were pocketing any increased earnings, rather than passing on the gains. If the farmers could orient their production for better market access, this could change. Value addition – by processing the raw turmeric into powder before sale – could be another way for turmeric farmers to improve their profit margins. Though the village had an old facility to process raw turmeric, it was no longer operational and required significant investment.

The first crop was nearing harvest and SAPP was working on strategies to help farmers get their turmeric into high-end sale points when COVID-19 hit and Sri Lanka went into lockdown. Though agricultural activities were exempt, there were disruptions in the logistical movement of food – and a lot of confusion. Many farmers were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to sell their crop.

This is when crisis became opportunity. The import ban meant that demand for turmeric rose, and rose sharply. The SAPP staff were able to capitalise on this demand to bring several reputed buyers to Gonagala, and farmers sold their raw turmeric for LKR 250-300 per kg -- three times higher than the normal price and much higher than the LKR 50 per kg they used to get earlier. The project had also been able to support the village in renovating its processing centre, which meant that they were able to square away some of their harvest to produce turmeric powder in the village.

Because of their increased incomes, many farmers have been able to continue to pay off bank loans and mortgages, even during a pandemic. Some have had enough left over to buy motorbikes! Given that the Government of Sri Lanka continues to promote domestic production, they might even be able to start exporting soon. These results have been so persuasive that more farmers are participating in SAPP to grow quality turmeric, and other villages in the district are also exploring turmeric cultivation.

The story of these turmeric farmers is a reminder that agility and adaptability, especially in times of crisis, can help make hay even when the sun doesn’t shine.

By Tarek Kotb

Benguerdane, commune située à l’extrême Sud-Est tunisien et à quelques kilomètres de la frontière Tuniso-Libyenne, est dominée par un climat extrêmement aride et hostile et où la principale source de revenus des populations est l’élevage des ovins, caprins et dromadaires qui valorisent les larges étendues de parcours désertiques d’El Ouara sur une superficie d'environ 180 000 ha. Elle se situe parmi les zones cibles du projet cofinancé par le FIDA et l’UE « Projet de développement agro-pastoral et des filières associées dans le Gouvernorat de Médenine - PRODEFIL ».

Imen Rezgui, jeune femme de 31 ans, ingénieur agroéconomiste au chômage depuis 5 ans, est un membre actif de la société civile de Benguerdane (Association des commerçants de Benguerdane engagée essentiellement dans la lutte contre l’extrémisme violent). Imen porte un prénom d’origine arabe qui colle parfaitement à sa nature et qui signifie « Foi, Croyance et Conviction ».

Quelques mois après l’obtention de son diplôme, son père disparaissait dans un accident, l’obligeant à rester à la maison pour prendre soin de sa famille d’origine modeste et composée de sa mère et de ses 4 frères et sœurs; ces derniers sont aussi diplômés de l’enseignement supérieur et sans emploi. En 2019, Imen a pris connaissance de l’initiative « Fonds d’Appui aux Porteurs des Projets » financée dans le cadre du projet PRODEFIL ciblant essentiellement les jeunes diplômés, les femmes et les organisations professionnelles. Imen a présenté un projet portant sur l’engraissement des chamelons qui a été accepté par la commission régionale d’attribution des projets « PAP-ENPARD » à la date du 20 février 2019. Le coût total du projet s’élève à 123 723 DT. La contribution du projet a consisté dans l’achat de 35 chamelons pour 50 000 DT soit 35% du coût total du projet. Les autres composantes du projet se répartissent en l’aménagement de l’étable (20 000 DT), les équipements (2 500 DT), le fonds de roulement (49 399 DT) et des frais divers (1 824 DT). La bénéficiaire a couvert sa participation personnelle à travers un crédit auprès du Groupement de Développement Agricole (GDA) El Ouara et Hmada pour l’achat des aliments et par un appui familial.

L’élevage des dromadaires est traditionnellement une activité exclusivement masculine. Ceci n’a pas empêché Imen de se lancer dans cette activité malgré son environnement hostile. Comment une jeune femme d’apparence fragile et sans expérience dans ce domaine a-t’elle réussi dans une entreprise habituellement accomplie par des hommes endurcis ? C’est sans doute le premier cas du genre en Tunisie et en Afrique du Nord. Mais Imen est motivée et tenace; voyant un voisin qui gagne très bien sa vie en faisant ce métier, elle s’est dite « pourquoi pas moi ? »

Imen a démarré son projet en octobre 2019 et a achevé son premier atelier d’engraissement en mai 2020. Les difficultés et les entraves étaient multiples, telles que: (i) la sensibilité extrême du dromadaire qui est un animal qui est en état de stress dû à tout changement; (ii) la taille de l’animal qui rend toute manipulation difficile; (iii) la non-maitrise des techniques de production; (iv) l’absence d’encadrement sanitaire et de protection sanitaire; et (v) la non-disponibilité d’aliments appropriés dans la région.

Face aux difficultés rencontrées, on est en droit de se demander comment Imen a réussi ? Sa ténacité et son acharnement à réussir, son niveau d’éducation qui lui a permis de chercher l’information manquante sur internet, et surtout par la relation qu’elle a développée avec ses animaux. Rappelons que le dromadaire est un animal particulier et ses performances dépendent beaucoup de l’environnement dans lequel il évolue et Imen a réussi dans ce domaine en établissant une relation affective avec ses chamelons.

Par ailleurs, le projet PRODEFIL a recruté un spécialiste de la conduite du dromadaire pour assurer l’accompagnement technique et la formation de la bénéficiaire et ce à travers des visites périodiques mensuelles. L’accompagnement sanitaire, quoi qu’insuffisant, a été assuré par le vétérinaire du Commissariat Régional au Développement Agricole (CRDA) de la délégation. Le GDA El Ouara, par ses conseils et son savoir-faire local, a aussi aidé la bénéficiaire à résoudre une partie des contraintes posées. La contrainte liée à la disponibilité d’aliments spécifiques a été finalement résolue par l’achat d’un concentré de bonne qualité destiné initialement pour les bovins laitiers. Il convient de préciser que récemment des fabricants d’aliments de bétail ont développé des aliments spécifiques au dromadaire.

La durée d’engraissement fut de 6 mois. Les chamelons sevrés pesaient au départ 85 à 120 kg et à la fin 150 à 300 kg, soit un gain de poids moyen sur toute la période de 0,84 kg par jour; ce résultat est conforme aux données avancées par l’Institut des Régions Arides (IRA) (Fiche technico-économique pour un atelier d’engraissement des chamelons). La commercialisation des chamelons s’est faite au bout de 6 mois et pendant une semaine. La commercialisation a été rapide et ce à travers l’annonce faite sur les réseaux sociaux (Facebook) et par contact direct avec les bouchers de la région. A la vente de ses chamelons engraissés, Imen s’est montrée tenace en affaire et a réussi à obtenir de bons prix (2 100 DT par chamelon en moyenne); ce chiffre est en conformité avec les valeurs observées par le projet en collaboration avec le GivLait (Groupement interprofessionnel des viandes et du lait) qui effectue un suivi hebdomadaire des prix des animaux et des intrants dans les différents marchés de la région. Le résultat final est positif car Imen a pu assurer son salaire et celui de deux membres de sa famille (6 400 DT) recrutés comme main-d’œuvre pour une durée de 6 mois et surtout de préserver un budget suffisant (50 000 DT) pour acheter les chamelons nécessaires pour une deuxième bande d’engraissement. Le véritable bénéfice selon Imen est l’expérience acquise dans ce domaine.

Imen Rezgui, promotrice du projet engraissement des chamelons à Benguerdane

L’expérience d’Imen est maintenant reconnue par son environnement social et les éleveurs de la région. Sans le savoir, Imen a contribué à un changement de mentalité dans son milieu conservateur; elle a montré qu'une femme sans expérience peut aussi réussir dans un domaine traditionnellement entre les mains des hommes. En outre, elle a contribué à vulgariser la pratique d’engraissement des chamelons qui est peu pratiquée dans la région. Des voisins, d’autres jeunes intéressés et voire même des éleveurs lui demandent conseil pour dupliquer son expérience. Imen est membre actif de l’association « Les commerçants de Benguerdane » qui s’intéresse initialement à améliorer l’infrastructure et les conditions du marché des commerçants de la région afin de lutter contre le commerce frontalier illégal mais qui s’oriente maintenant vers des aspects de lutte contre l’extrémisme violent et bénéficie de petits projets financés par le PNUD et d’autres bailleurs de fonds sensibles au problème de la violence.

Forte de cette expérience, Imen, dotée de son capital qu’elle a récupéré du premier atelier, est prête à continuer son aventure. Elle s’unit avec son frère, qui vient de bénéficier d’un microcrédit de 18 000 DT auprès de l’Association de Zarzis pour le Développement Durable et la Coopération Internationale (ADDCI), pour monter un nouvel atelier d’engraissement de 35 à 40 chamelons. En outre, elle planifie de construire une étable appropriée et d’acquérir l’équipement adéquat. L’ADDCI contribue à l’insertion sociale des populations démunies en général et de la femme et les jeunes en particulier, en leur attribuant des microcrédits et en inscrivant les activités de développement dans une approche impliquant la participation effective des populations concernées comme elle contribue à la valorisation du patrimoine culturel, architectural et touristique de la région et œuvre pour promouvoir des actions pour la conservation de l’écosystème.

Deux nouveaux jeunes promoteurs, l’un de Benguerdane et l’autre de Béni Khédache, ont imité Imen et ont soumis au PRODEFIL des projets similaires portant sur l’engraissement des chamelons et que la commission régionale a récemment approuvés.

En signe de reconnaissance et en marge de la fête nationale de la femme célébrée chaque année le jour du 13 août, Imen vient d’être décorée par le Ministre de l’Agriculture et l'Union Tunisienne de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche (UTAP) comme meilleure agricultrice de Médenine.

Las comunidades de Tajcüilüjlan, Pushtan y Sisimitepep, en el departamento de Sonsonate, al oeste de El Salvador, son importantes asentamientos del pueblo náhuat-pipil, el principal grupo indígena del país. Un proyecto del Fondo de Apoyo a los Pueblos Indígenas (IPAF, según sus siglas en inglés), financiado por el FIDA y gestionado en América Latina y el Caribe por el Fondo Internacional de Mujeres Indígenas (FIMI), les está permitiendo aumentar su resiliencia frente al cambio climático y mejorar sus ingresos.

Los náhuat-pipil mantienen sus tradiciones, conocimientos y prácticas ancestrales referentes a la relación con sus recursos naturales. Aun así, sus medios de vida se encuentran en peligro debido al cambio climático y a riesgos ambientales locales.

El río Sensunapán, en torno a cuyo cauce se ubican las tres comunidades, está sometido a un enorme estrés hídrico que podría aumentar si prosperan los proyectos de construcción de nuevas represas hidroeléctricas. Aunque de momento las organizaciones populares de la zona han conseguido detener la construcción de estas infraestructuras, la escasez de agua es el principal desafío para los agricultores familiares de la región.

En este contexto, la Asociación de Cooperación para el Desarrollo Económico, Ambiental y Social (ACDESA), en coordinación con el Comité de Defensa de los Recursos Naturales del Río Sensunapán, que agrupa a las comunidades indígenas de la zona, pusieron en marcha un proyecto de gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos del que se han beneficiado cerca de 400 pequeñas y pequeños productores agrícolas.

El proyecto, financiado por el IPAF, fomenta el uso de tecnologías ancestrales de conservación del agua y el suelo. Estas técnicas se complementan con la promoción e implementación de sistemas agroforestales que diversifican la producción agrícola y que incluyen la creación de huertos orgánicos. Además, se ha puesto en marcha un mecanismo de monitoreo del caudal ecológico del río y de manejo de conflictos por agua y un programa de educación ambiental.

Gracias al proyecto, las comunidades Tajcüilüjlan, Pushtan y Sisimitepep han creado infraestructuras verdes de bajo costo que permiten conservar y aprovechar al máximo el agua.

Así, han levantado más de seis kilómetros de barreras vivas (hechas con plantas), acequias y zanjas de absorción. Al menos seis hectáreas han sido destinadas a producción agrícola diversificada, introduciéndose mejoras en las técnicas de producción de cacao, plátano y hortalizas. Los cultivos de ciclo corto (cilantro, hierba mora, pepino, rábanos, cebollino...) se combinan con especies de mediano y largo plazo (maíz elote, papaya, plátano enano y frutales). Se combinan también cultivos de mayor tamaño que ofrecen sombra y humedad, repelen plagas y enfermedades y mejoran la estructura y textura del suelo con cultivos menores.

También se han implementado sistemas de riego por goteo y aspersión, mucho más eficientes que el tradicional riego por inundación y, gracias a la creación de tres viveros comunitarios y el trasplante de más de 4.000 árboles, se han recuperado 40 hectáreas de tierras degradadas.

El proyecto ha fortalecido la organización local en otros muchos aspectos. En el marco de la pandemia de la Covid-19, la Asociación y el Comité, en coordinación con el municipio de Nahuizalco, establecieron puntos de control sanitarios en las entradas de las comunidades indígenas para prevenir contagios. Este hecho, complementado con acciones de orientación y promoción de buenas prácticas de higiene, ha conseguido mantener el número de casos extraordinariamente bajo.

Volviendo al tema de la producción agrícola, las parcelas diversificadas han aumentado su producción y, con ello, los ingresos de las familias que las cultivan. Este es el caso de la familia de Fernando Ramírez, formada por 11 personas.

Fernando se dedicaba principalmente a la albañilería en donde obtenía un salario diario de USD 15 dólares. Era un trabajo bueno, pero temporal, y exigía pasar una gran cantidad de tiempo fuera de casa, descuidar la atención a la familia y a la tierra. La oportunidad que suponía el proyecto del IPAF le llevó a hacer de la agricultura su actividad económica principal. Comenzó con un pequeño terreno de menos de 400 m² y hoy en día cultiva 5.250 m2 de terreno propio y una superficie de unos 7.000 m2 de terreno arrendado en donde planta cultivos temporales (hortalizas de ciclo corto), semi-permanentes (papaya, huertas y plátanos) y permanentes (árboles frutales y forestales).

Fernando valora enormemente el apoyo del proyecto: “nos han venido a ayudar mucho por el rescate de las técnicas que usaron nuestros tatas (antepasados). Hemos comprobado cómo las acequias y las barreras vivas son buenas para conservar el agua, que se acumula en ellas. Eso nos sirve para que el agua no se lleve la tierra, porque donde no hay barreras el agua agarra correntadas, y ya con las barreras y las acequias se van cortando las correntadas”.

Él considera que estas prácticas son replicables y recomienda a las comunidades y familias vecinas que se sumen a este tipo de proyectos: “si no cuidamos y alimentamos nuestros terrenos incorporando materia orgánica y agua, no le dejaríamos nada bueno a nuestros hijos, pues los suelos estarán cada vez más secos y dejarían de dar cosecha. Nuestro suelo y agua, son seres vivientes, de ahí depende toda la vida de la naturaleza”.

La historia de Gumersindo Zetino, su esposa Magdalena y sus tres hijos de 5, y 3 años y 4 meses es similar. Él también trabajaba como albañil, pasando largas temporadas fuera de casa. Con la llegada del proyecto, hace algo más de año y medio, decidió priorizar la agricultura y ahora cultiva un área de cerca de 4.500 m². Ambas familias han visto mejorar su producción y sus ingresos, lo que, unido a la disminución de sus costos de producción por las buenas prácticas aplicadas en sus campos, ha permitido la introducción de mejoras en su hogar y en su alimentación.

Refiriéndose al proyecto, afirma: “Necesitamos de estos espacios de cooperación a nuestros esfuerzos y luchas. Este apoyo nos da oportunidades para conservar la tierra y el agua, para hacer siembras de hortalizas y otros cultivos que nos ayudan bastante a mejorar nuestra vida”.

Gumersindo cultiva una amplia variedad de productos: vara de Brasil, bambú, coco, guineo, plátano, cacao, maíz elote, yuca...

“Tener varios cultivos es bueno. El que siembre no se va arrepentir de sembrar, porque esto da ingresos y no requiere mucho trabajo. Yo quisiera tener más terreno y sembrar más para cuidar mejor de mi familia sin menester de ir a trabajar a otros lugares fuera de la comunidad, a las fábricas y otros lados. Es mejor mantenerse aquí cerca de casa y que acá mismo se generen los billetitos”.

Gumersindo invita a unirse a la causa: “Recomiendo a otras personas que se unan a esto. Está magnifico: podemos mantenernos con las siembritas y, si hay más siembritas, más cosechitas y más alegres nos sentimos. Podemos comer, tener ingresos y ayudar a otras familias”.

Take a philosophy student, a few hundred hectares in Umbria and throw in some passion for the environment. This is the story of Marco Minciaroni, a man who doesn’t take the easy road when it comes to farming.

When I got in touch with my old school friend Marco Minciaroni, he was really happy and excited for us to visit and to share his passion for the land and the innovative work he is doing.

Inheriting the property from his father who bought it as an investment, the farming up to that point had been conventional, using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and heavy tilling monocultures.

With a background in philosophy, which Marco studied at university, he decided to shift from conventional farming to organic farming, applying a holistic approach, including some philosophical ideas, as well as exploring historical methods of agriculture and reading, reading lots of books.

Situated in Umbria, not far from Perugia and overlooking lake Trasimeno, much of what Marco farms is sold in bulk to Italian bio companies, which then make their own products, but he also has his own label, Castello di Montalera, which is sold to bio and herbalist shops and small supermarkets.

He was first inspired by Giulia Maria Crespi founder of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) and of the Italian Biodynamic Association in Italy. Marco attended a number of courses that were held at Cascine Orsini near Milan, property of Ms Crespi’s family. Here he was encouraged to pursue his chosen route which, in Marco’s own words, he describes as “…agroecological. I take bits and pieces from various organic techniques and one of these is biodynamics. I experiment and apply them to obtain the best result.”

The biodynamics approach of farming comes from the work carried out by philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner, who made a connection between scientific understanding and recognising that nature has a story to tell.

Marco goes on to tell us how, in the last couple of years, he has moved to a more complex way of doing organic farming, which he defines as being agroecologic farming using a more diversified methodology. The approach is more resilient and circular, creating a minimum disturbance of soil and minimum tillage. At one time, the farmers would go down 40-50 cm, while now the maximum depth is 10-25 cm because the richness of the soil is found in the top layers.

Instead of using modern varieties of seeds, Marco prefers traditional varieties of cereals. The reason for this is that their stems are taller, which means that they are not in competition with weeds. They may also have longer beards or bristles for protection. Their heads are more open, allowing more airflow and making them less susceptible to fungi and humidity. The downside of course is the yields are lower, but this is compensated by having far less expenses for chemical fertilizers etc. and the lower yield can be made up by using diversity and planting more crops together in an agroecological way.

As we toured the land, we noticed that in some of the fields, there were strips of alternating vegetation. What Marco realised when he started doing organic farming, was that biodiversity is an insurance and protection against all sorts of pests. In order to bring back the variety of insects needed, he created these alternating strips which act as “corridors” for them to travel through. With higher diversity comes higher protection, there is more competition between insects, even though some may eat a bit of the crops, the overall impact is small. In addition, this approach is also helping protect endangered species, such as bees, which are important for our ecosystem.

As well as being a farmer, it turns out that Marco helps animals in need. When we visited, he had saved two baby wild boars which he was taking care of until they could survive on their own in the natural environment and a couple of geese.

Marco’s top key lessons on his agroecological journey are:

Be humble and respect nature. Observe and listen to what the land has to say. The different plants growing naturally are telling you about the problems with the soil. Try working with the land, not against it, and learn about the insects and animals in their natural habitats, they too have a role to play.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Always differentiate what you plant, divide the risks and plan for the future. Bad seasons do happen, so plan for some extra income on the side, perhaps by planting trees which will give you fruits, nuts or berries and, down the line, they will be a source of wood to sell.
The theory is very different from the practice and one must adapt to the land, the weather and be open to possibilities in order to keep moving in the right direction.
The synergies in the fields, between the plants and animals, also translates to the people and the various organizations and it is extremely important to share the lessons learned, after all, someone else out there might have gone through the challenges you are facing.
The global environment we live in means that the issues one farmer has in once place, are also issues faced by farmers in another part of the world. Therefore, it’s important that, wherever they are located, the farmers return to their roots and plant their local varieties of seeds instead of buying them as they are also more adapted to their own land and territory. This also as an impact on the commodities market because with their own stock of seeds, the price is not susceptible to global market changes.

As our visit came to an end, Marco invited us for a very healthy lunch, where all the vegetables, from the tomatoes in the pasta to the zucchini in the omelette were from his organic vegetable patch and the eggs were from his hens.

As we sipped our espressos, Marco disappeared to return shortly after with a bag full of books. He pulled them out and showed us, with his great enthusiasm, the various titles he was reading, sharing with us what each author was telling him and what he was gaining from his readings.

Listen to Marco as he shares his story in his own words here

Read the transcript of the interview here

Look out for next month’s podcast which will include an interview with Salvatore Ceccarelli, Professor of Agricultural Genetics at the University of Perugia, who has collaborated with ICARDA and Miguel Altieri, a Professor of agroecology and urban agriculture at the University of Berkley, who has carried out research in California and Latin America where he has worked closely with farmers to implement the principles of agroecology to design productive, biodiverse and resilient farming systems.

(English below)

L'atelier régional 2020 du bureau Afrique de l’ouest du FIDA bat son plein. Les trois premiers jours que nous avons passés ensemble ont été riches en échanges d’expériences, en idées et en recommandations et mériteraient cette mise à jour. Nous sommes sûrs que vous aurez tous hâte de visiter le site web de l’atelier afin d’obtenir de plus amples informations sur les présentations et tous les documents partagés pendant ces trois premières journées ainsi que sur l'ampleur des expériences et des meilleures pratiques dans les différents pays et projets.

Pour rappel, près de 100 invités du Cap Vert, de la Gambie, de la Guinée Bissau, de la Guinée, du Mali, de la Mauritanie et du Sénégal, participent à cet atelier qui se déroule sous forme de webinaires sur Zoom en raison de la pandémie de COVID 19, jusqu’au vendredi 20 novembre 2020.

Les principaux objectifs de l'atelier sont les suivants : mener les examens annuels des portefeuilles des pays; présenter le rapport d'avancement de la mise en œuvre/impact des 12 projets en cours ainsi que leur plan de travail et leur budget annuel d'ici 2021 ; partager les connaissances et les expériences, notamment en ce qui concerne la reprise économique dans les zones rurales et la réponse à la COVID19, et organiser des tables rondes sur les innovations technologiques pour l'agriculture familiale et l'avenir de l'agriculture en Afrique pour les 10 prochaines années (Agenda 2030) et (2064, plan de l'Union africaine).

Les participants auront l'occasion de bénéficier de divers échanges techniques et pratiques destinés à renforcer leurs capacités à mesurer l'impact et à améliorer les performances des programmes financés par le FIDA au profit des populations rurales les plus pauvres de la région.

La première journée a été marquée par les discours d’ouverture de Thouraya Triki, directrice de la Division de la production durable, des marchés et des institutions du FIDA ; John Hurley, économiste régional principal WCA, FIDA - Benoit Thierry, représentant bureau régional Afrique de l'Ouest, directeur pays Sénégal ainsi ceux des directeurs pays de la Gambie, Mauritanie, Mali, Cap-Vert, Guinée et Guinée Bissau. Les différents intervenants sont tous revenus sur l’importance de l’atelier 2020 qui porte sur la thématique du futur de l'agriculture en Afrique de l'Ouest.

Le deuxième jour, une table ronde a permis de mettre en avant les questions sur l'augmentation de la population et la création d'emplois grâce au développement et la modernisation de l'agriculture dans la région. Un panel facilité par Suwadu Sakho Jimbira, spécialiste de l'environnement et du climat au @FIDA avec des interventions pertinentes de Aboubacar Diaby, Directeur des services gouvernementaux en Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre à African Risk Capacity ; Brahima Cissé, Expert en commerce intra-régional et transport des produits agricoles en Afrique de l'Ouest au CILSS ; Ousseini Ouedraogo, Secrétaire Exécutif au Roppa ; Mohamed Manssouri, directeur, Centre d'investissement de la FAO; Amath Pathé Sène, responsable environnement et climat pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre au FIDA.

Le même jour un quiz introductif sur le thème de la journée a été suivie de la présentation des Programmes de Travail et de Budget Annuel pour 2021 et en cours pour les projets AGRIFARM (Guinée) ; INCLUSIF (Mali) ; FIER (Mali) ; PADAER II (Sénégal) ; POSER (Cap Vert).

Le 3ème panel de l'atelier régional du hub Afrique de l'Ouest a été consacré à la gestion des savoirs avec le retour d'expériences des projets. Des guest-speakers notamment Ramatoulaye Cissé, directrice commerciale, Wizall Money, Labaly Touré, directeur et fondateur, Géomatica, Seyni Ba, directeur marketing, Club Kossam, Thibaut Roussel, directeur du développement, Orange Techno center ont successivement partage leurs expériences avec les participants avant de faire des recommandations.

L’expérience du club Kossam dans la collecte des produits, le stockage et la distribution aux consommateurs urbains, une chaine de valeur structurée, a été aussi partagee avec les participants.

Cette troisième journée a aussi été l’occasion pour le représentant régional du FIDA en Afrique de l’ouest, Benoit Thierry de présenter et d’expliquer la plate-forme Weconnect Farmers développé par le bureau Afrique de l'ouest du FIDA, en collaboration avec plusieurs partenaires techniques et financiers: www.weconnectfarmers.com

Restez connectés, le meilleur reste à venir.

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IFAD's West Africa office 2020 regional workshop is in full swing. The three days we spent together have been rich in sharing of experiences, ideas and recommendations and deserves this update. We are sure you will all look forward to visiting the workshop website for further information on the presentations and all documents shared during these first three days as well as on the extent of experiences and best practices in different countries and projects.

As a reminder, nearly 100 guests from Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal, participate in this workshop which takes place in the form of webinars on Zoom due to the COVID 19 pandemic, until Friday, November 20, 2020.

The main objectives of the workshop are: to conduct annual reviews of country portfolios; present the progress report on the implementation / impact of the 12 ongoing projects as well as their work plan and their annual budget by 2021; share knowledge and experiences, especially with regard to economic recovery in rural areas and the response to COVID19, and organize roundtables on technological innovations for family farming and the future of agriculture in Africa for the next 10 years (Agenda 2030) and (2064, African Union plan).

Participants will have the opportunity to benefit from various technical and practical exchanges aimed at strengthening their capacities to measure the impact and improve the performance of IFAD-financed programs for the benefit of the poorest rural populations in the region.

The first day was marked by opening remarks by Thouraya Triki, Director of IFAD's Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division; John Hurley, Senior Regional Economist WCA, IFAD - Benoit Thierry, Regional Office Representative West Africa, Country Director Senegal as well as those of the Country Directors of The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Cape Verde, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. The various speakers all returned to the importance of the 2020 workshop which focuses on the theme of the future of agriculture in West Africa.

On the second day, a round table made it possible to put forward the questions on the increase of the population and the creation of jobs through the development and modernization of agriculture in the region. A panel facilitated by Suwadu Sakho Jimbira, environment and climate specialist at @FIDA with relevant interventions by Aboubacar Diaby, Director of Government Services in West and Central Africa at African Risk Capacity; Brahima Cissé, Expert in intra-regional trade and transport of agricultural products in West Africa at CILSS; Ousseini Ouedraogo, Executive Secretary at Roppa; Mohamed Manssouri, Director, FAO Investment Center; Amath Pathé Sène, environment and climate manager for West and Central Africa at IFAD.

The same day an introductory quiz on the theme of the day was followed by the presentation of the Work Programs and Annual Budget for 2021 and in progress for the AGRIFARM projects (Guinea); INCLUSIVE (Mali); FIER (Mali); PADAER II (Senegal); ASK (Cape Verde)

The 3rd panel of the regional workshop of the West Africa hub was devoted to knowledge management with feedback from projects. Guest-speakers including Ramatoulaye Cissé, Sales Director, Wizall Money, Labaly Touré, Director and Founder, Géomatica, Seyni Ba, Marketing Director, Club Kossam, Thibaut Roussel, Development Director, Orange Techno center successively shared their experiences with the participants before making recommendations.

The experience of the Kossam club in product collection, storage and distribution to urban consumers, a structured value chain, was also shared with the participants.

This third day was also an opportunity for the regional representative of IFAD in West Africa, Benoit Thierry to present and explain the Weconnect Farmers platform developed by the West Africa office of IFAD, in collaboration with several technical and financial partners: www.weconnectfarmers.com

Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

By Tarek Kotb, Country Director, Sri Lanka and Nepal, IFAD

Across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to food shortage and the loss of market opportunities and jobs. Rural communities have struggled to get timely access to inputs, and in many cases have seen their links to markets vanish. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has noted, the pandemic has threatened to undo decades of progress on eliminating hunger and transforming rural lives and livelihoods. Sri Lanka is no different – over 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Inclusive and sustainable agribusiness development -- a powerful tool in raising rural incomes, contributing to national food production and leading to rural job creation -- was seriously affected, with a disproportionate impact on smallholder farmers, women and youth producers.

At the onset of the pandemic, the Government of Sri Lanka took quick steps to mitigate the spread of the virus by going into lockdown, while simultaneously trying to make sure agricultural food chains were not hindered. But the crisis has underlined the need for robust and resilient agriculture value chains that allow food to reach every person in Sri Lanka. This is in line with the government’s draft Overarching Agricultural Policy, which identifies the promotion and development of food value chains as a key priority area.

To facilitate knowledge sharing among the various entities who work on agriculture value chains in Sri Lanka, the UN’s three Rome-based agencies – the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP)– and Sri Lanka’s premier policy think-tank, the Institute of Policy Studies, organized a virtual dialogue earlier this month. The idea was to better understand the impact of the pandemic on Sri Lanka’s food systems, and to share experiences and innovative solutions that could help build stronger food systems in the country. As the UN Resident Coordinator for Sri Lanka said in her opening remarks, the UN entities working to end hunger, ensure food security and reduce poverty are committed to learning from each other and complementing their efforts. The dialogue also saw keen participation from the Directors General of the Department of National Planning and Agriculture, respectively; as well as senior officials from the ministries of plantation, foreign employment promotion, livestock development and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Throughout the dialogue, it was clear that value chain development is not only about increasing production to sell to market, but that it is making agriculture pay better, especially when it targets smallholder farmers to increase their food purchasing power. An added source of income has knock-on effects, like diversifying household diets and reducing the risk of smallholders depending exclusively on their own production for food security.

Here are five ways to strengthen agricultural value chains:

First, build capacity of producers and promoters to identify profitable technological solutions to improve production, storage, packaging and marketing. The government, financial institutions and insurers are crucial partners in providing well-informed agricultural extension and business development services, easy access to feasible financial products for both producers and promoters and, most importantly, crop insurance -- essential for some crops in particular agro-environments.

Second, focus strategically on food security. The public sector is not always able to identify and encourage cash crop production in scenarios where smallholder producers prefer to grow food to consume at home. For example, 40 percent of legume farmers were expected to diversify into turmeric. But this did not happen, because the focus of the state extension services was more on legume production.

Third, establish the know- how needed to successfully grow and market value chain commodities, especially those essential to food security. For example, during the pandemic period, the government banned imports of food products such as quality seeds of potato, maize, onion and chili. The IFAD-supported Smallholders Agribusiness Partnership Programme had to move quickly to bring in agents with field presence and the ability to move around during the lockdown, to facilitate partnerships for the production and marketing of seed potatoes and seed chili. Around 1,200 farmers were involved in these partnerships. We also learned the lesson about the need for seed banks for strategic food crops, but we learned it the hardest way.

Fourth, make available financial instruments for value chain partnerships. Public financial institutions are typically reluctant to lend to agriculture because of the inherent risk in the sector and the low creditworthiness of most rural producers. This is the case even where IFAD offers a 100 percent refinancing facility. To address this, IFAD has put in place two value-chain financing products: one that allows financing institutions to issue bulk loans to companies involved in value chain partnerships so they can extend in-kind working capital loans to producers; the other, a large loan to cooperative rural banks for on-lending to value-chain partners. Both instruments are designed to minimize the risk involved in lending.

Finally, develop a crop and climate insurance service. The absence of such a product has created a sort of reluctance all along the value chain. Farmers have to face crop losses because of climate shocks and extreme weather events, like in the case of onion seeds and maize, and banks are also unable to recoup their losses. All of this builds reservations against financing value chains. A policy dialogue is very necessary to elevate this issue to the highest decision-making authorities.

IFAD strongly believes that the development of value chains can significantly contribute to securing more food for the nation, especially smallholder farmers. As part of robust and resilient value chains, smallholder farmers will have better access to agricultural inputs, finance and market information, as well as non-farm facilities such as last mile rural roads. IFAD, and its partner UN organizations, remain committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring that we eliminate hunger and poverty, and achieve food security for all.

By Isabel de la Peña

Political will, adequate targeting and innovative gender approaches are needed to avoid hunger and food insecurity's further increase in Latin America and the Caribbean. This sentence, which was true at the end of 2019, is even more true at the end of 2020, after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region. Major investments should be done across the region, especially targeting rural territories that are being left behind, to secure Latin Americans' and Caribbeans' access to healthy and nutritious food.

This is the main conclusion of the report Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020, which IFAD launched last 2 December 2020 together with FAO, WFP, PAHO and UNICEF.

The Panorama 2020 shows that, after five years of sustained increase in hunger and food insecurity in the region, 2019 has registered a further deterioration of the situation. 7.4% of the population (47.7 million people) suffered from hunger in 2019, and almost one third (191 million people) faced food insecurity.

What is more worrying is that this data does not account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the LAC region particularly hard and is expected to significantly worsen what was an already dire situation, especially for the most vulnerable population groups (women, youth, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities). Projections estimate that LAC may lose 30 years of progress against hunger and food insecurity due to COVID-19.

The main focus of Panorama 2020 report is particularly relevant for IFAD, since it concentrates on analyzing territorial inequalities and identifying the territories that are being left behind¹in terms of malnutrition (both chronic child malnutrition- or stunting- and overweight). Many of these lagging territories are rural areas, especially some of the most remote territories of the Andean, Amazon and semiarid regions.

The average level of stunting in LAC’s lagging territories stands at 27.6%, whereas in non-lagging territories the average is 11.9%. More importantly for IFAD, the report shows that rural territories, with high poverty rates, low income, low schooling, high informal employment and weak access to services, are those with the highest levels of stunting. On top of that, rural territories with a high presence of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants are also more prone to the double burden of malnutrition (the coexistence of undernutrition with overweight and obesity).

For IFAD, the Panorama 2020 proves once more the need of investing in rural areas and family farming if we want to deliver on the 2030 Agenda and its promise of building a global society that leaves no one behind and has put an end to hunger and extreme poverty . First, because rural areas are the territories more affected. Second, because in rural areas lies the possible solution to these problems.

The role of family farmers, responsible for 70-80% of food production, is central to the promotion of nutrition-sensitive and environmentally and socially sustainable food systems . The role of the region's authorities, supported by international financial and development institutions such as IFAD is to put in place policies and programs that allow farmers to walk towards that objective.

Such policies and programs should target lagging territories and aim to:

Improve economic access to healthy diets (in particular, social protection programs, productive inclusion and support to farmers’ livelihoods);
Foster production and physical access to foods that ensure adequate nutrition (especially, promotion of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and value chain development, including promotion of short marketing circuits, and strengthening of school feeding programs engaging family farmers)
Optimize food utilization and food quality (by promoting healthy consumption habits and adequate and hygienic handling of food).

The complex nature of the food security and nutrition scenario described in the Panorama calls for multi-dimensional approaches and strategies that can address the diverse causes of malnutrition.

The unprecedented challenge posed by COVID-19, together with its projected disastrous impact on the already worrying food security and nutrition situation, calls for stepping up our efforts to promote innovative approaches to bring about inclusive, sustainable and nutrition-sensitive food systems.

Those approaches should include an innovative gender perspective, as well. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women, not only due to the increased workload in care, but also to their high dependence on informal jobs, which has led to a greater loss of income and jobs among them.

Gender and nutrition have always gone hand in hand, given women’s reproductive role and their traditional responsibility for family nutrition. That said, the magnitude of the the challenge of changing behaviors (particularly when it comes to shifting dietary practices and food consumption patterns), can no longer be considered the sole responsibility of women: there is an urgent need to meaningfully involve men. The time has come to double our efforts in addressing toxic masculinities, rethinking the role of men while promoting approaches and sensitization strategies that portray family food and nutrition security as a shared responsibility.

An interactive LAC map showing the territories that are being left behind for stunting and overweight and obesity in children under the age of five is available here.

By Tarek Kotb, Country Director, Nepal and Sri Lanka, IFAD

This year we embarked on the process of designing a new country strategy for IFAD’s engagement in Nepal, as the current strategy – called COSOP in the IFAD lexicon – expires next month. Country strategies are significant tools because they provide a framework for making strategic choices about IFAD’s operations, identifying opportunities where IFAD financing may be most effective and needed, and facilitating results-based management. In the COVID-19 era, it is imperative to develop a COSOP that supports quick and deep recovery from the pandemic, and empower local governments to achieve sustainable economic development and resilience.

In the case of Nepal, with which IFAD has enjoyed a productive partnership since 1978, when our first integrated rural development project in the country was launched, the new COSOP is intended to run from 2021-26, dovetailing with the Government of Nepal’s five-year planning cycle. The proposed country strategy aims to accelerate economic recovery and sustainably improve the incomes of small producers and the rural poor through increased access to financial support and markets. The COSOP also aims to increase rural poor climate resilience and supports federalism by increasing the capacity of local and rural institutions.

A crucial aspect is that the process of designing the new COSOP is consultative, recognizing that both global and national partnerships are essential to achieve Agenda 2030. Partnerships are at the heart of IFAD’s work and are necessary for the development of smallholder agriculture and for rural transformation. Our most recent consultation drew from the rich and varied experiences of the Governments of Finland, Germany, Switzerland and the United States, as well as from development partners, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, GIZ (Germany’s development agency), Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and USAID, with whom we also discussed opportunities to potentially unite our efforts and more effectively expand livelihood opportunities for Nepal’s rural poor.

These partners commended the COSOP’s strategy and were appreciative of the objectives and thematic areas featured (nutrition, food security, value chain, youth, climate change, inclusive rural economy, institutional strengthening, water security, etc.). They also noted that these areas align with their strategies for Nepal developed or in process of development/updating (WB / Finland).

An earlier consultation with the UN agencies highlighted opportunities for alignment with the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, which identifies the strategic priorities for the UN engagement in Nepal, including the system-wide response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The new COSOP builds on IFAD’s 40+ years of dedicated development initiatives in Nepal. In the 1980s and ’90s, IFAD initiated projects for smallholder development, women's empowerment and the development of leasehold forestry. One consequence of these projects was creating institutions and a current network of savings and credit cooperatives, the Small Farmers’ Development Bank and the Women's Empowerment Division of the Government of Nepal.

More recently, since 2013, IFAD-assisted projects have focused on high-value products and inclusive agricultural marketing. These projects aimed to concentrate support in selected growth spots and market corridors, particularly in the poor areas of the hills, mountains and Terai. Investments in basic infrastructure and climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions were also part of the programme.

IFAD’s work has successfully reached significant number of women households, lower caste groups, indigenous peoples and other disadvantaged groups. To date, IFAD has supported 18 projects for Nepal at a total cost of US $849 million with IFAD financing of US $354 million. We have reached over one million poor rural households or about 5 million people from various categories of Nepal rural communities. IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation noted that these interventions contributed to significant increase in the productivity of crops and livestock, as well as on income and net assets of programme participants, making food more widely and easily available.

The next step is to refine our strategy based on these tremendously productive consultations and get on with the urgent task of helping rural communities to recover quickly from COVID-19 and address the deep challenges faced by the most vulnerable people in extremely remote areas.

Find out more about IFAD and Nepal

By Giulia Barbanente and Jimmy Gaudin

IFAD and FAO have brought together their shared experiences in the GeoTech4Tenure programme, to support IFAD Country Teams and IFAD supported projects to strengthen the impact of tenure activities in the context of agriculture and rural development programmes. The Combining Geo-Referencing Technology and Participatory Methods for Securing Tenure Rights (GeoTech4Tenure) Technical Guide and its learning programme, aim to support participants in ensuring they better considered land tenure security in the project they are involved in. It also provides them with a framework within which to work closely with communities and stakeholders, through participatory methods, to use geospatial technologies to define, record, monitor and manage land tenure rights within the project and for a sustainable future.

This learning programme intends to enhance the capacities of IFAD Country and Project Teams and other development partners by providing guidance on actions they can take to ensure a participatory approach to the establishment of secure tenure rights to underpin rural transformation projects. The guidelines have been developed in a manner that is consistent with the principles of Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT). In particular, the course explores resource requirements for securing tenure rights, a process for effective and inclusive participatory planning, defining, distributing, monitoring and maintaining land rights, and guidance on technologies that can support and enhance these discussions and outcomes.

In short, the learning programme comprises three phases:

Guided by tenure experts, participants will work online (at their own pace) and participate in live instructor-led sessions to further develop their understanding of the basic principles of land tenure security as set forth in the Voluntary Guidelines and apply those principles to their own country context;
Building on the principles established in Phase one, participants will take part in live instructor-led workshops, complemented by self-paced pre- and postworkshop activities. During this Phase participants will consolidate their knowledge of land tenure security and focus on the use of participatory methods, with complementary geo-spatial technologies for securing land tenure. Throughout the course participants will identify and prioritize actions that could be implemented in their own projects to achieve sustainable land tenure rights; and
Participants will have an opportunity to seek guidance and support for implementing their recommendations through post-workshop mentoring. At the end of the learning programme participants will receive a Certificate confirming they have completed the programme.

The Learning Programme is designed for decision-makers from public and private land-based investments, who have identified weak tenure security as a challenge and intend to support participatory actions to increase security of tenure. Selected participants will become better able to facilitate participatory decision-making and the process of securing tenure rights through documentation, as well as identifying the most appropriate technologies to strengthen and support this process. Participants will have an opportunity to actively engage with colleagues at the central and local level in creating a joint plan of action. Finally, they will join an influential network of professionals who can improve land governance through participatory methods, and use of appropriate geo-spatial technologies.

To date, the project has gathered 93 expressions of interest received from more than 30 countries; the list is not exhaustive and more applications are expected in the future. In the coming months, IFAD and FAO will continue collaborating on delivering the project activities. These include the pilot training planned for early next year with the expected participation of approximatively 40 participants. This pilot training will serve to inform, revise and finalize the training module. Other trainings will follow in other languages, based on the demand. Once finalized, the guidelines and the training module will be available on both IFAD and FAO online learning systems.

The programme is funded by the Innovation Challenge Fund in IFAD with additional resource contributions by IFAD’s Land Tenure Desk and FAO’s Land Tenure Unit in the Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division. It is implemented by FAO’s Land Tenure Unit in close collaboration with IFAD’s Land Tenure Desk.

For more information on the programme, please contact: GeoTech4-Tenure@fao.org.

Semi-arid areas are found all over the world and cover up to 18% of the earth's surface¹. These areas are hit hard by drought and climate change, and are home to family farmers, pastoralists, small-scale producers and indigenous communities, populations that suffer exclusion and are among the most vulnerable groups on the planet.

DAKI-Semiárido Vivo, a project that was created to help tackle the climate crisis and develop resilient and sustainable livelihoods for the populations of the semi-arid regions of Latin America - the Gran Chaco Americano (in Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia), the Brazilian Semi-arid Nororiental and the Central American Dry Corridor - presents a great opportunity to transfer their successful practices and learning to other semi-arid regions of the world and thus improve the living conditions of their populations.

DAKI is a unique project that will identify and systematize successful experiences in climate-resilient agriculture and train technicians and farmers to monitor and guide the transition from a conventional to a climate-resilient agricultural system.

This is an innovative knowledge management project that allows good local practices in Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) to be scaled up to the continental level by promoting alliances in the semi-arid areas of the region between indigenous and peasant organisations, between different civil society organisations and between all these actors and public and intergovernmental bodies in order to promote public policies in the sector. This allows good practices to reach millions of people and become an input for training and education for governments, technicians, researchers and leaders of indigenous and peasant organizations.

As it is a plan "with great potential to generate permanent changes in the living conditions of the populations of Latin America's semi-arid zones", according to Antonio Barbosa, DAKI's coordinator, the learning that is generated could benefit other semi-arid regions of the world.

In this sense, "DAKI is an opportunity to extend the exchange of experiences beyond Latin America. This will further open up the boundaries and scope of the project's work, reaching out to more countries outside its area of operations," explained Hardi Vieira, Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Brazil, during the virtual seminar introducing the project to members of IFAD in Rome, Asia and Africa, and several UN divisions².

If the good practices selected to generate the basis for a knowledge management process are useful for all the semi-arid regions of Latin America, it is possible that similar practices could also be replicated anywhere in the world with common characteristics. In addition to systematisation, there will also be a methodological process that could be replicated at a global level as a knowledge platform.

An important partner of DAKI and one that could contribute strongly to this work is the International Land Coalition (ILC), a global alliance which both IFAD and some of the project implementing organisations are members. The ILC, in addition to supporting the Semi-Arid Platform in Latin America since its formation, also has members in Asia and Africa who work in semi-arid areas facing similar difficulties in agricultural production and in coping with climate challenges. "The ILC's regional offices, in articulation with IFAD, have the potential to generate exchange programmes that will allow us to expand DAKI's impact on a global scale," explains Zulema Burneo, Coordinator of the Regional Coordination Unit of the ILC Latin America.

A first step to expand the exchange of experiences beyond Latin America is to do it well in this region, to advance the systematization and methodological process and then to begin to cross data, information and possible global alliances between civil society organizations, public and intergovernmental bodies," explains Gabriel Seghezzo, coordinator of the Semi-Arid Platform in Latin America, one of the organizations promoting the project. "We need to gather all the knowledge accumulated in these arid and semi-arid areas and bring together the good practices in CRA to take this knowledge not only to Latin America, but to the world," he adds.

Fernanda Thomaz Da Rocha, IFAD's Senior Regional Technical Specialist on Rural Institutions for Latin America and the Caribbean, considers that "the registration and documentation of the process and involvement of organisations and partners is fundamental for the practice adopted by DAKI to be replicated in other parts of the world".

"We have an enormous effort and responsibility ahead of us. Surely DAKI Semi-Arid Live will be a huge door of opportunity if we do it right," said Gabriel Seghezzo.

DAKI is an initiative financed by IFAD and implemented by the Semi-Arid Platform in Latin America, the Brazilian Semiarid Articulation (ASA), and the National Development Foundation (Funde) of El Salvador.

For more information, you can visit: https://www.semiaridos.org/noticias/daki-semiarido-vivo/ and watch DAKI presentation video (in Spanish).

¹FAO. Carbon sequestration in drylands. http://www.fao.org/3/a-Y5738s.pdf

²The webinar was held on 12 November.

“Farmers’ organizations play a crucial role in the eradication of poverty and hunger in the three regions” introduced Escipión Oliveira Gómez, Assistant Secretary General for the Department of Structural Economic Transformation and Trade of the Secretariat of the Organizations of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) at the virtual launch of the FO4ACP programme in the Caribbean. He added, “This programme is working to make linkages across the three regions. Linkages, that do not always exist among the Caribbean countries and that we hope to see created during the implementation of this programme.”

The Farmers’ Organizations for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific programme (FO4ACP) is a capacity development programme aimed at increasing income and improving livelihood, food security and nutrition of family farmers in the targeted geographical areas, through strengthening farmers’ organizations and better integration of family farmers in value chains. The programme builds upon a long history of collaboration between IFAD and farmers’ organizations and lessons learned from the implementation of several programmes such as the Support to Farmers’ organizations in Africa programme (SFOAP), MTCP II, FFP/Africa and FFP/ASEAN. Longstanding relationships have been built with the farmers’ organizations at national and regional level in Africa and Asia and more recently also in the Pacific. While Africa and the Pacific started implementing the programme late 2019, the activities in the Caribbean are about to start after the virtual launch event organized on 11 December 2020.

“What brings us together today, comes a long way”, testified Mamadou Cissokho, honorary president of the Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteus Agricoles de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA) and leader of the African farmers’ movement: “For more than 25 years, IFAD has been working with farmers’ organizations, strengthening them to become real agents of change and interlocutors of the national governments in charge of agricultural development. It took us ten years of work to create solid and strong national farmers’ organizations and cooperatives that became active actors of political processes. But we got there. Now, in West Africa, where I am from, no agricultural policy is developed without our inputs and public funds are available to implement activities under our responsibility.”

After looking back, Mamadou Cissokho also looked towards the future and called upon the other farmers and farmers’ organizations to take action: “This programme is our programme. So, I would like to say to my brothers and sisters in the Caribbean, this programme is there for you and you are responsible for its success. You can also create similar dynamics to strengthen organizations in your countries and aim at the creation of a regional network in the Caribbean. It is your responsibility; you need to take action. We, the networks of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, will be there to help you realize in the Caribbean, what we were able to do in our regions. Today we have strong farmers’ organizations and networks that can negotiate, that can implement and that can put in place what is important for us farmers. It is possible.”

Tamisha Lee from the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers reacted with enthusiasm: “The Caribbean is very happy to finally be apart of FO4ACP. We look forward to learn from our brothers and sisters in Asia, Africa and Pacific and look forward to sharing our experience. The Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers is committed to doing our part to ensure its success.”

FO4ACP also plays an important role in IFAD’s contribution to the UN Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF). Through its support to local, national and regional farmers’ organizations around economic initiatives, advocacy and policy and institutional strengthening of the organizations involved, the programme actively contributes to the development, improvement and implementation of public policies on family farmers and is at the same time IFADs largest initiative in support of citizens engagement in this context.

Within the context of the UN Decade of Family Farming, FO4ACP now also extend its activities in the Caribbean through a new operational partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), also the co-lead of the implementation of the UNDFF together with IFAD. FAO in consortium with PROCASUR was competitively selected as the main implementation partner of the programme in the region. FAO and PROCASUR will implement the activities in Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia. The second implementation partner that was selected is AgriCord, also part of the programme’s implementation in Africa and previously involved in the work with farmers’ organizations in Asia. The intervention of AgriCord will focus on the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

“Apart from specific activities in the countries of intervention of the programme we believe strongly that a regional component needs to be added to strengthen the work done at the country level and to strengthen the advocacy and policy work. We will therefore also consider regional structures such as the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) and the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), Luis Beduschi, Regional Policy Officer, FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean added.

For the implementation of the activities, FAO called upon PROCASUR for their methodological approach to build constructive dialogues with family farmers and organizations in the sector, with a special focus on women and youth and intergenerational dialogues and to build new effective and sustainable capacities and skills for the partner organizations, promoting organizational transformation processes, new practices and solutions, that improve their participation in value chains.

Yvonne Chileshe, Expert Commodities and Value Chain Development at the OACPs and focal point for the FO4ACP programme concluded: “For us, the OACPS and also for the EU, FO4ACP is a very important programme. Sharing experiences from Africa, Asia and Pacific is extremely important and the fact that we are able to do this in the framework of this programme, puts the Caribbean in a favourable position at the beginning of its implementation in the region. Ownership, sustainability and building synergies were at the core of the discussions during the launch, all elements of great importance that we need to continuously bring forward in our actions.”

While Africa, Asia and the Pacific count with inclusive regional farmers’ organizations networks, smallholder and family farmers in the Caribbean countries have not yet united in the same structured way at regional level. With many different countries, each with its own cultural, political and linguistical specificities, the landscape of farmers’ organizations in the Caribbean differs from what is known today in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

The launch of the FO4ACP programme opens a new regional dimension within the global programme that will be an important asset to strengthen the activities in the countries with local and national farmers’ organizations. It is it is through the regional dimension that farmers’ organizations will be connected and opportunities to learn from each other will be created. The peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing among the organizations are the greatest added value the programme creates.

Jean-Philippe Audinet Lead Global Technical Advisor, Rural Institutions at IFAD wrapped up the launch event with encouraging words for the participants: “We hope that today, we start a long journey together. Our objectives are not objectives we can achieve over night: zero hunger and zero poverty in rural areas. One of the major ways of achieving these objectives is uniting smallholder farmers in strong farmers’ organizations that can help farmers face the challenges in the markets, in the policy areas and in the society in general.”

Furthermore, the programme will ensure to make linkages with all IFAD country programs in the region, so that stronger farmers’ and rural producers’ organizations can both contribute to and benefit from larger investment projects funded by IFAD.

The FO4ACP programme is co-funded by EU, OACPS and IFAD. IFAD supervises and coordinates the FO4ACP programme.

For more information on the FO4ACP programme you can download the brochure here (EN, FR, SP) and join our community of practice on Dgroups to exchange with other farmers’ organizations.

Kyrgyzstan signed the Paris Agreement in 2019, thereby joining the global community in the fight against climate change. The main tool of the Paris Agreement is the so-called nationally determined contributions (NDCs). They present a country's commitments towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change impacts. Kyrgyzstan is in the process of updating its NDCs under the lead of the Ministry of Economy.

Remote sensing with satellites and GIS present new tools that can be used to inform the update. Satellite derived information can give insights on e.g. vegetation development, land degradation, erosion, or flood risks. This session presented what types of earth observation products exist that may be of interest for the update. Participants discussed which products are best suited to inform the NDC update.

This information session was jointly organized by UNDP, GIZ and IFAD. Presentations including “Earth observation for sustainable development products”, “Sibelius data cube”, “Technology based adaptation to climate change”, “Forest management information system” were held by the State Agency on land resources, the Sibelius initiative and the Earth Observation for Sustainable Development (EO4SD) programme.

Baktygul Ysabekova, UNDP coordinator on NDCs, spoke of what Kyrgyzstan is doing towards updating NDCs in the country; Meder Toitonov, regional coordinator of a GIZ project “Technological adaptation to the climate change in rural areas of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan” presented their efforts.

Background: Climate change is a global threat to humanity, which can affect the lives of people around the world and the development of countries. Climate change and its acceleration can already in the near future adversely impact energy, industry, infrastructure, agriculture, and natural resources.

The Kyrgyz Republic, like many other countries in the global community, by ratifying the Paris Agreement in November 2019, committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a cause of climate change, by between 11.5% and 13.8%, and confirmed its intention to transform economic activities to a low-carbon model and to increase climate resilience. These commitments translate into the provision of NDCs, which bring together each country's efforts on reduction of national emissions and climate change adaptation. NDCs shall be updated every five years. The country plans to develop updated national measures that contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement goals in the spring of 2021. They will be presented at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC to be held in November 2021 in Glasgow, UK.

The NDC process is supported by UNDP as well as other development partners, and expert consultation support is provided as part of the technical assistance.

It was “perhaps the most important session of the conference,” said John Colmey, managing director of the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF).

Hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the session ‘A One Health approach for environmental, animal and human health’ was held on 28 October at the GLF Biodiversity Digital Conference: One World – One Health. The mission of the conference was to to advocate for the importance of biodiversity in preventing future crises of global pandemics and climate change.

Over 4,800 people from 119 countries attended the conference online. ILRI’s session was extremely well attended, with close to 900 live attendees participating. Fiona Flintan, governance scientist and technical coordinator at ILRI, chaired the session. It began with a series of expert presentations addressing how a landscape approach can help prevent and mitigate future pandemics providing the backdrop to an integrated One Health system.

First came a video presentation from Dennis Carroll, Chair of the Global Virome Project Leadership Board. “We need to move from being reactive to virus threats, to being proactive,” warned Carroll, saying that it needed to be understood what could cause viruses that circulated within a wildlife community to spill over into humans. He cited that the biggest prediction of spillover is where land use changes significantly and humans move closer to wildlife species.

Carroll praised the collaboration of scientists in global efforts to research and develop a vaccine for COVID-19. “Let’s make sure our politicians learn from us.”

Watch: Integrating One Health into the Landscape Approach to prevent future global pandemics

Second to speak was Bernard Bett, head of the One Health Center in Africa (OHRECA) at ILRI. He presented a warning look at the consequences of landscape policies built without a One Health approach. A film showed the problems faced by Maasai pastoralists in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. Fenced conservancies have restricted pastureland that was once freely available for the Maasai to graze livestock on.

Without sufficient land, the pastoralists are forced to take their livestock into the game reserve. This brings the Maasai community and livestock into contact with zoonotic diseases such as rabies. They also suffer livestock losses from Malignant Catarrhal Fever, spread via wildebeest, and predator attacks.

“A One Health approach helps reduce further destruction and fragmentation of wildlife habitats, incorporating biodiversity values, while at the same time considering the health and nutrition needs of people,” concluded Bett.

Watch: One Health - Wildlife, Livestock and Human Health in the Mara-Serengeti

Next Fernanda Thomaz da Rocha, senior regional technical specialist for IFAD (the International Fund for Agricultural Development) presented the Bahia Pro-Semiarid Project - an agroecology intervention in Brazil. Adopting agroecology at the farm and landscape levels can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, reverse land degradation, and support community nutrition through agricultural production. The approach also engages and provides livelihoods for traditional people, women, and youth.

“This holistic approach is typical of One Health, working at the interactions between the environment, livestock and humans,” said Thomaz de Rocha.

Watch: Agroecology experiences in IFAD-supported interventions in Brazil - The Bahia Pro-Semiarid Project

Download the presentation

The final presentation was by Enkh-Amgalan Tseelei, national coordinator for the Rangeland Ecosystem Management Project ‘Green Gold’ of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Mongolia.

The central goal of the project is “healthy rangelands, healthy livestock, healthy food, and healthy Mongolians”. The rangeland is monitored for the effects of annual pasture use, while transport, sale and processing of livestock are monitored using a traceability scheme and veterinary certification.

This establishes a mechanism of responsibility between veterinarians, police, quality inspectors, and the meat industry. “The idea is really to link rangeland health and animal health with consumer food safety, and to make sure that the customers are provided with healthy products,” said Tseelei.

Watch: Implementing One Health in Mongolia's rangelands

The presentations were followed by a live discussion featuring Doreen Robinson, chief for wildlife at the UN Environment Programme, Martina Fleckenstein, Global Policy Manager of Food Practice at WWF, Phuc Pham-Duc, vice deputy director of the Center for Public Health and Ecosystem Research (CENPHER), and Bernard Bett.

Issues discussed included how One Health addresses far more issues than just zoonotic diseases and calls for more incentives to address the root causes on the ecological level. Risk-appropriate policies along the entire food chain are required, with international collaboration. Barriers between existing policies should be broken down. Many countries have institutionalised One Health but the environment needs to be included more. Nutrition is also an issue which can be hidden and less clear cut than a disease, but malnutrition can run for many years.

People need to prepare for the future, by developing a One Health mindset. Food systems need to be transformed and supply chains made more transparent. There is no single solution, and what is needed is an integrated solution. The next year brings major opportunities for experts to integrate One Health in the overall discussion. These include the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (CoP), the UN Biodiversity CoP, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

In closing, Colmey said the landscape approach and One Health have been running in parallel for almost 25 years. He confirmed that he is now absolutely committed to bringing One Health into everything that GLF does.

"We've always talked about landscapes as productive, prosperous, equitable, resilient. I'm going to propose to our charter members that we change from 'resilent' to 'healthy'," he promised.

Watch the full session

This article was originally published by ILRI

On 25 February, the Government of Guatemala and Guatemala’s UN Country Team jointly launched a national dialogue process on the UN Food Systems Summit that will take place in New York this September.

The opening of this dialogue took the form of a high-level event hosted at Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Relations. Keynote speakers included Rebeca Arias Flores, the UN Resident Coordinator in Guatemala; Dr David Nabarro, Senior Advisor on Food Systems Summit Dialogues; Carla Caballeros, CEO of the Guatemalan Chamber of Agriculture; Pedro Brolo, Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the President of Guatemala himself, Alejandro Giammattei.

You can watch the recording of the event here.

In his speech, Dr Nabarro congratulated the Republic of Guatemala and the UN Country Team for being among the first countries to organize dialogues like these. He highlighted the importance of finding consensus on the necessary changes in food systems that will contribute to their long-term sustainability, as well as the importance of women, youth and indigenous peoples being involved in the decision-making process.

This opening session was followed on 26 February by a webinar that addressed the themes of the Summit’s Action Track 1: Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all. This event featured a panel discussion, organized by IFAD, on how to move towards a Zero Hunger world and, in particular, a Zero Hunger Guatemala.

Guatemala’s national dialogue on the UN Food Systems Summit will continue until June. Five further sessions are planned, each with a focus on the Summit’s Action Tracks: Shift to sustainable consumption patterns, Boost nature-positive production, Advance equitable livelihoods, and Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress. These events will be followed by a final recapitulating session.

This series of dialogues is of particular relevance in a country where, according to the joint IFAD-FAO-WFP-UNICEF-PAHO report Panorama of Food and Nutritional Security in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020, about 45 per cent of its people (7.8 million persons) suffered from food insecurity in 2019 and 16 per cent (2.8 million) from hunger.

The deliberative process taking place during these events will involve UN agencies, departments of the Government of Guatemala, NGOs, and private sector organizations and representatives. The conclusions reached during these dialogues will be delivered by the Government of Guatemala to the Summit’s Steering Committee.

As stated by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Dr Agnes Kalibata, this autumn’s summit must be a “People’s and Solutions Summit.” Guatemala, with the support of IFAD and other UN agencies, is already doing its part to make it so.

Last year, despite the start of the pandemic, the Rural Youth Innovation Award generated an enthusiastic response throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Almost 600 youth initiatives across 18 of the region’s countries competed for one of 10 prizes.

The success of the award’s First Edition opened the door for a second one, which was launched on 3 March from Costa Rica through a virtual event organized in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA). This Second Edition seeks to identify and reward innovative youth-led initiatives to overcome the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the region’s rural communities.

Last year, Una Mano para Oaxaca was the winning initiative in the Education category. This organization presented a post-disaster reconstruction methodology, grounded in traditional uses and mutual help practices, that was implemented after the 2017 earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Perseida Tenorio, one of its founders, participated in the Second Edition launch event.

“It’s a crucial moment in history: every year natural resources are depleted; entire cultures disappear; wars, plagues and hunger put our and our loved ones’ lives at risk,” she remarked. “This is why is so important to have spaces for learning and sharing acquired knowledge. This is why this award is such a good initiative. It gives young people a window of opportunity for them to transform their social context through innovation, education, technology and, above all, love: love for our people, our region, our cultures, our countries and Latin America.”

The Rural Youth Innovation Award is an initiative of the LAC Knowledge and South-South and Triangular Cooperation Centre, based in Brasilia, Brazil. It also has the support of the China-IFAD SSTC Facility.

The candidates must present an innovative and sustainable rural development initiative already in implementation by young people (18 to 35 years old). The initiative has to be an example of good practices or applied technologies and would ideally be replicable – or even scalable – in other rural areas. It must fall under one of the following categories, changed slightly from the previous edition: Marketing and Market Access Solutions; Connectivity Solutions; Financial Inclusion; Recycling and Alternative Energies; and Women’s Empowerment and Gender Inclusion.

Applicants have until 4 April to register their initiatives. A panel of experts will then evaluate them and identify 20 finalists. The 10 winners will be announced in an award ceremony at the end of June. They will benefit from media promotion, in-kind rewards, and opportunities for knowledge exchange.

Despite the pandemic’s effects on the event schedule, the Award Team kept working, motivated by the great response to its First Edition and inspired by the quality of the initiatives coming in from across the region – initiatives that, despite the circumstances the region is going through, seek to take the future into their hands and encourage the development of a society free from poverty and hunger, leaving no one behind.

Once more, the Award Team is pleased to share with IFAD colleagues its enthusiasm for working with and for Latin American rural youth.

By Sooyeon Kim, UNV-Environment and Social Inclusion Specialist, ECG/NEN, IFAD

The Sustainable Agriculture Investments and Livelihoods (SAIL) Programme in Egypt supports empowering women's leadership through various capacity building training and grants for income-generating activities. Maryam Abdel Rehem Abdallah living in Elwafaa village, West samalout in Middle Egypt is one of SAIL beneficiaries.

After the death of her husband, Maryam lived in a challenging economic condition. She monthly received only EGP 300, approximately 20 USD, from the national Takaful and Karama cash transfer programme but had no other income source to raise three children. To support living, she found her way into sewing. She loved sewing since young. She began to teach herself and bought a second-hand sewing machine. Once starting her sewing activity, she faced problems such as finding suitable material at reasonable prices, hiring skilled workers to assist her, and lacking advanced skills to produce high-quality products.

Soon when the SAIL programme initiated in her village, she actively attended various events and communicated with SAIL regional team to learn from what kinds of activities she can benefit. SAIL assisted her by providing advanced sewing training and linked her to the sewing unit in her area to ask for any technical assistance.

Maryam also applied for a grant to expand her business. She was genuinely excited when she passed the first screening step. To receive final approval, she attended professional vocational training, where she learned how to prepare an economic feasibility study, design a business plan and produce a marketing strategy. She also participated in some technical training to make sure she has the basic skills to start her project. After all, Maryam was eligible to receive the grant for starting up her own sewing workshop.

This was undoubtedly a turning point in her life. She began to actively communicate with local shops to research market demand. She was able to make small-scale deals. In the meantime, she prepared a separate room at her house to set up a sewing workshop. She convinced other skilled women in the village to bring their machines to her workshop, work together, and share the income.

Slowly things got better. Maryam succeeded in finding better sources for materials from the capital, Cairo, and signed a contract for cargo services to regularly bring in the materials and distribute the final products outside her village.

Now she has seven sewing machines in the workshop, and three women are regularly working with Maryam. When the production line is busy, three other expert women temporarily join her to lend their hands. Besides, she was able to add other supporting machines for cutting and ironing for a better quality of the products.

The SAIL team is regularly following up with Maryam and provide additional assistance when requested. For example, she asked for further advanced training from the project to improve the products' quality, address market demand, and the basics of machine maintenance to overcome any malfunctions.

"Thanks to generous support from the SAIL programme, I could fulfil my dream. Now I can generate enough income to improve my family's standard of living and continue to support my children's education," Maryam said.

Maryam has become a successful role model in the village. She motivates other rural women to build their capacity and participate in income-generating activities.

"With assistance from the SAIL, I am reaching out to more women who have participated in sewing training sessions and have their own machines. In the near future, we will be able to form production groups and expand our business together. I am truly grateful for this opportunity which enabled me to become a better mother and business owner".

** This article has been produced with the contribution of the SAIL programme team.

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