Theme: Seed Enterprises
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Develop while protecting and protect while developing: The Story of Ruixiang Ru form Inner Mongolia
By Farmer Seed Network in China In honor of women’s day, SD=HS will dedicate the whole month of March to highlighting the great work and strides made by women across the countries where we work. Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, is the birthplace of millet and has an 8,000-year history of dry farming. In 2000, it […]
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Empowering other women farmers: Teresa Carrillo’s story in Guatemala
By Sahira Tello, ASOCUCH In honor of women’s day, SD=HS will dedicate the whole month of March to highlighting the great work and strides made by women across the countries where we work. Teresa Carrillo Cruz, 51 years old, lives in the community of Villa Alicia, in the municipality of Todos Santos Cuchumatán Huehuetenango. She […]
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SD=HS Newsletter | February 2023
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Crop diversity for Food security in West Africa
A partnership initiative between CIMMYT, ICRISAT WCA and OXFAM Background Environmental and socio-economic conditions in many zones of West Africa are rapidly changing. Unstable governments and unprecedented variability of weather conditions are affecting millions of farmers, who are already facing food insecurity on a regular basis. Government services, financial services, input supplies are all compromised […]
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SD=HS Newsletter | January 2023
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Building Bridges between Practitioners and Academics
“It is one of the most interesting courses I ever took because it brought scholars and practitioners together and allowed them to interact with grassroots cases.” –Yiching Song, Farmer Seed Network in China This blog looks at the experience seven SD=HS colleagues who presented some of the case studied as ground for group work, to […]
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From the Fields to the Classroom: Joseph Mwitumwa’s reflections
Joseph Mwitumwa is a Seed Production and Marketing Officer with Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) Zambia. Together with six colleagues from different countries, he participated in the Smallholder Engagement in Seed Systems course held at Wageningen University and developed in partnership with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, the Production Ecology & Resource Conservation and Oxfam Novib through […]
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John Tigere on empowering farmers in Zimbabwe
“Nearly everyone in Zimbabwe is a farmer and even those in towns still have one or two beds of vegetables on their backyards.” John Tigere works with Community Technology Development Trust in Zimbabwe (CTDT). His focus is on farming as a family business and as such he works with Farmer Seeds Enterprises to facilitate the commercialization of […]
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“Stay rooted in the reality on the ground” Yiching Song’s advice to work on seed systems
“I am crazy about seeds, and I consider supporting farmers and farmers seed systems my life mission.” Since 2000, Yiching Song has been aiming to link farmer seed systems and the formal system. In 2013, she established the Farmers’ Seed Network in China (FSN) to work through Farmer Field Schools and engaged farmers through Community […]
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Breaking Barriers: Juliet Nangamba’s Journey
“It is fascinating to make the connections between climate change, seeds systems, food systems, livelihoods, women, land, and indigenous knowledge surrounding seeds, and how they impact aspects of culture, traditions and life.” Juliet Nangamba works as a programmes manager with Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) Zambia. She focuses on seed and food systems projects and […]
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SD=HS colleagues participating in Wageningen University course
Over the weekend of 21 and 22 January, seven colleagues arrived in the Netherlands to participate in a course titled “Smallholder engagement in Seed Systems” at Wageningen University. We extend them a very warm welcome! The course was developed in a consortium with Wageningen University & Research, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, the Production Ecology […]
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Strengths and weaknesses of organized crop seed production by smallholder farmer: A five-country case study
By B Dey , B Visser, HQ Tin, A Mahamadou Laouali, N Baba Toure Mahamadou, C Nkhoma, S Alonzo Recinos, C Opiyo and S Bragdon. In many countries, smallholder farmers play a key role in food crop seed production. So far, the community roles, operational structures, seed production efficiency, aspects of sustainability, and the social […]
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Strengthening action in supporting climate resilient communities through peer-to-peer knowledge exchange
By Connie Formson, SD=HS Lead, Farmer Seed Enterprises “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead Perhaps one of the most profound experiences is the sharing of knowledge, ideas, and information among peers. During the week of 12-16 September 2022, […]
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SD=HS in Zimbabwe newsletter | July 2022
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Snapshot: Murewa local market in Zimbabwe
By Dzikamai Zingwe, Field Officer at Champion Seeds A team of Seed Production and Marketing Farmer Field School facilitators visited various potential seed buyers as part of market research survey. This took place in the frame of the Training of Trainers for Seed Production and Marketing (SPM), as it helps participants plan for a SPM […]
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Zimbabwe end of season evaluation
By Bernard Muradya Oxfam Southern Africa MEAL Officer Yield improvement The Seed Production and Marketing component of the SD=HS project in Zimbabwe employed the Farmer Field School model in proving technical capacity to seed growers in the four targeted districts. During the 2021-2022 farming season, a total of 15 Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) adopted seed […]
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SD=HS in Zimbabwe: an overview
By Patrick Kasasa, SD=HS program manager CTDT Zimbabwe The SDHS project in Zimbabwe has made great strides in improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers through strengthening the role of smallholder farmer in the utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. This was achieved against the backdrop of political and economic turmoil that the […]
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Farmer-Led Seed Production: Community Seed Banks Enter the National Seed Market
Ronnie Vernooy, Jai Rana, Gloria Otieno, Hilton Mbozi and Pitambar Shrestha Abstract: Smallholder farmers around the world obtain their seed from various sources, which can vary over time. In some countries, smallholder farmers are gaining ground as local seed producers and sellers. This study focuses on the seed production and marketing operations, achievements, and challenges of […]
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SD=HS in Zambia newsletter | June 2022
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Farmers Seed Enterprises successfully pass first inspection for seed production
By Joseph Mwitumwa, Seed Production and Marketing Officer – CTDT Zambia CTDT Zambia supported a total of 88 smallholder farmers drawn from six FFS with trainings in seed production and marketing. This is to strengthen farmers capacities in production, facilitate access to quality seed and provide them with options to improve their livelihoods. Out of the […]