Skip to: Our current system excludes farmers’ varieties: Lessons from the farmer seed enterprises of the SD=HS project

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  • By Juliet Nangamba, Programs Manager CTDT-Zambia Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in Shibuyunji and Chikankata district were established as FFS to participate in managing diversity based on participatory plant breeding. In 2021, some FFS were identified as successful and  transitioned to participate in the farmer seed enterprise component of the SD=HS program. The learning and results […]

  • Módulo: Fase de diagnóstico Esta guía es la primera de una serie que profundizará en los diferentes módulos que componen una Escuela de Campo sobre Plantas Alimenticias Locales para la Nutrición. Este documento está destinado a ayudar a los facilitadores a completar los ejercicios de diagnóstico que forman parte de una Escuela de Campo para […]

  • Module: Diagnostic phase This guide is a first of a series that will zoom in on the different modules that make up a Farmer Field School on Local Food Plants for Nutrition. This specific document is meant to help facilitators complete the diagnostic exercises which are part of a Farmer Field School (FFS). It summarizes […]

  • The online course “Farmer Field Schools on Farmer Seed Production and Marketing” is part of the program’s work on seed production for the local market. The objective of this work is(1) to improve farmers’ access to seed of well adapted crops and varieties not offered by the formal seed sector against an affordable price, and(2) […]

  • Sahadev KC, SD=HS program officer, LI-BIRD Background The national seed system of Nepal receives many new varieties of different crops from Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). However, during the whole process of crop varietal development farmers, who are ultimate users of the new varieties are rarely involved in the research and development. Therefore, many new […]

  • Saroj Pant, Neglected and Underutilized Species Officer, LI-BIRD In Nepal, SD=HS project supports small holder farmers (particularly women) to increase their intake of nutritious food based on the local biodiversity and management of Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS). One of the approaches to achieve this goal is farmer field school (FFS) approach. This blog focuses […]

  • Rajendra Dhakal, SD=HS Technical Coordinator at Oxfam Nepal In Nepal, the Sowing Diversity=Harvesting Security project is implemented jointly by Oxfam in Nepal and LI-BIRD. Nepal was selected to implement the phase II of SD=HS in 2019, since then the project has been successful in many ways. We wish to honestly share our successes and challenges […]

  • Aakash Koirala and Niranjan Pudasaini, Senior Program Officers at LI-BIRD Community Seed Bank in Nepal A Community Seed Bank (CSB) is a local institution collectively managed by a group of farmers for the maintenance, conservation and exchange of locally available seeds (Shrestha, 2019 , Vernooy et al., 2020). Generally, CSB is considered as a comprehensive […]

  • Rajendra Dhakal Budget is regarded as a neutral tool. However, its impact differs for men and women. Women, men, girls, and boys often have very different practical and strategic needs and roles in society (See Building New Masculinities from the Peruvian Andes blog). These differences mean that budgets which appear neutral on the surface may […]

  • Juliet Nangamba The world celebrated International Women’s day whose theme was ‘Gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow.’ Gender equity is a means through which gender equality can be achieved to foster sustainable development. Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) in Zambia a partner organisation of the SD=HS programme has had a focus on gender to ensure […]

  • Angel Villavicencio Durán& Saúl Povez (FOVIDA), Ana Lucía Núñez & Carolina Oviedo (Oxfam Peru) Within the framework of the SD=HD project, executed by FOVIDA and financed by Oxfam, workshops on New Masculinities are being held with the participation of local authorities and producers from the districts of Acostambo and Ñahuinpuquio (Tayacaja), Paucará and Rosario (Acobamba) […]

  • Local food plants can support a community in difficult times, especially when dealing with erratic climate patterns or in the face of a pandemic. Through Farmer Field Schools (FFS), SD=HS promotes local food plant management to guarantee smallholder farmers’ food and nutrition security. One of SD=HS’ focus is on local food plant for nutrition. Local […]

  • The document include some general reflections from Oxfam Novib’s management regarding the SD=HS Mid Term Review (MTR), followed by specific responses to the conclusions and recommendations of the report. Between May and December 2021, Leitmotiv Social Consultants conducted the MTR of the Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security programme. SD=HS is part of the Sida-funded SeedsGROW […]

  • On 2 December 2021, Oxfam Novib held its third and concluding global workshop on ‘Bringing Farmers to the Table’. Researchers, policy makers, farmers and funders discussed how increasing the involvement of farmers in crop development and seed diffusion can contribute to sustained global food and nutrition security. Participants presented several novel initiatives with the intention […]

  • Harrie Oostingh This year we will celebrate the 50st anniversary of the UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm and the 30st anniversary of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Yet we are far from reaching the objectives of these declarations. Different reports have given evidence of an unprecedented loss of biodiversity, which for […]

  • Rajendra Dhakal In Nepal, women make up for 60% of the participants of the SD=HS project. Especially in Farmers Field School (FFS), women participants account for 75% of participants. This is encouraging as SD=HS prioritizes women’s participation in all activities and in leadership positions within FFS, community seed banks, and farmer’s seed enterprises. However, if […]

  • Two years into its second phase, the SD=HS programme is undergoing a mid-term evaluation. While the final report presents a comprehensive overview of our work and of the results seen, we wish to share a few highlights based on stories collected by partners and evaluators. The mid-term evaluation review assessed the extent to which activities […]

  • Juliet Nangamba A recurrent activity under the SD=HS program is the end of season evaluation of Farmer Field Schools. In a two-day workshop, facilitators who support Farmer Field Schools from around the country join the master trainers and project staff and look at the season’s results and the challenges or difficulties they all faced. Participants […]

  • Joshua Enyetu In Uganda, as in other parts of the world, SD=HS supports smallholder farmers to improve management of local food plants to ensure their food and nutrition security. The motors of these efforts are Farmer Field Schools (FSS). This story shows how the members of a FFS in the northern part of the country […]

  • Over the last few decades, there has been a growing appreciation of crop varieties developed by local farmers, commonly referred to as farmers’ varieties. These varieties often have attractive characteristics for both producers and consumers, such as adaptability to harsh environmental conditions and high nutritional values. Yet they are usually not sold in formal markets, […]

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