Theme: Seed Enterprises
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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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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
Sowing Diversity=Harvesting Security newsletter Campaign URL Copy Twitter 0 tweets Subscribe Past Issues RSS Translate English العربية Afrikaans беларуская мова български català 中文(简体) 中文(繁體) Hrvatski Česky Dansk eesti keel Nederlands Suomi Français Deutsch Ελληνική हिन्दी Magyar Gaeilge Indonesia íslenska Italiano 日本語 ភាសាខ្មែរ 한국어 македонски јазик بهاس ملايو Malti Norsk Polski Português Português – Portugal Română Русский Español Kiswahili Svenska […]
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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
Sowing Diversity=Harvesting Security newsletter Campaign URL Copy Twitter 0 tweets Subscribe Past Issues RSS Translate English العربية Afrikaans беларуская мова български català 中文(简体) 中文(繁體) Hrvatski Česky Dansk eesti keel Nederlands Suomi Français Deutsch Ελληνική हिन्दी Magyar Gaeilge Indonesia íslenska Italiano 日本語 ភាសាខ្មែរ 한국어 македонски јазик بهاس ملايو Malti Norsk Polski Português Português – Portugal Română Русский Español Kiswahili Svenska […]
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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 […]
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Institutionalizing participatory plant breeding: a solution for farmers rights
By Diana Mapulanga, Communications Officer, and Edwin Abwino, Programme Assistant – CTDT Zambia Through the SD=HS project, CTDT is keenly working to foster collaborations between the breeders and smallholder farmers in the development of new crop varieties through Participatory Plant breeding using the farmer field school (FFS) approach. This is seen as a mechanism that […]
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Our current system excludes farmers’ varieties: Lessons from the farmer seed enterprises of the SD=HS project
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 […]
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Online course for Farmer Field Schools on Farmer Seed Production and Marketing
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) […]
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SD=HS in Nepal newsletter | April 2022
Sowing Diversity=Harvesting Security newsletter Campaign URL Copy Twitter 0 tweets Subscribe Past Issues RSS Translate English العربية Afrikaans беларуская мова български català 中文(简体) 中文(繁體) Hrvatski Česky Dansk eesti keel Nederlands Suomi Français Deutsch Ελληνική हिन्दी Magyar Gaeilge Indonesia íslenska Italiano 日本語 ភាសាខ្មែរ 한국어 македонски јазик بهاس ملايو Malti Norsk Polski Português Português – Portugal Română Русский Español Kiswahili Svenska […]
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Newsletter
Newsletter #4 Campaign URL Copy Twitter 0 tweets Subscribe Past Issues RSS Translate English العربية Afrikaans беларуская мова български català 中文(简体) 中文(繁體) Hrvatski Česky Dansk eesti keel Nederlands Suomi Français Deutsch Ελληνική हिन्दी Magyar Gaeilge Indonesia íslenska Italiano 日本語 ភាសាខ្មែរ 한국어 македонски јазик بهاس ملايو Malti Norsk Polski Português Português – Portugal Română Русский Español Kiswahili Svenska עברית Lietuvių […]
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SD=HS Annual Report 2020
As part of Oxfam Novib’s SeedsGROW international program, Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security, or SD=HS, is a joint effort of the world’s leading civil society organizations with a firm track record in the field of plant genetic resources to empower smallholder farmers. Our mission is to support indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers – men, women […]