News Archive - 2011
Sidai Africa Chairman recognised as leading social entrepeneur
Sidai Africa’s Chairman, Dr Christie Peacock, has been elected to a prestigious Ashoka Fellowship.
Ashoka describes its fellows as “leading social entrepreneurs who we recognise to have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. They demonstrate unrivalled commitment to bold new ideas and prove that compassion, creativity and collaboration are tremendous forces for change.”
Sidai Africa Limited is a newly established social enterprise which provides livestock husbandry and vet services to farmers in remote parts of Kenya. In electing Dr Peacock to a fellowship, Ashoka has recognised her innovative work with Kenyan rural communities. Livestock are not generally viewed as assets and, as a result, their true value is not tapped. Christie has established Sidai to change this perception so that both livestock holders and livestock service providers come to be seen as professional businessmen and women. Sidai offers a sustainable solution to service delivery to remote rural communities.
This is to be achieved through the creation of a strong Kenya-wide network of Sidai-branded franchised service centres. Sidai has so far rolled out 16 Sidai franchises in North Rift, North Eastern Province, Kajiado and Narok.
Sidai is a subsidiary of the UK charity FARM-Africa and FARM-Africa Enterprises. FARM-Africa has set up Sidai as a social enterprise to further its charitable objectives in a financially sustainable manner.
Read more about Christie’s Ashoka Fellowship and Sidai Africa.
Simon Calder wins Celebrity Mastermind and donates fee to FARM-Africa!
FARM-Africa is thrilled that renowned travel journalist, Simon Calder, has won the Christmas edition of Celebrity Mastermind.
Simon appeared on Celebrity Mastermind on Tuesday 27 December, BBC One at 5.35pm. On the show he said that he had chosen FARM-Africa to benefit from his appearance on the show.
Viewers in the UK can watch the show again on BBC iPlayer until January 3rd 2012.
Simon Calder is Britain's leading travel commentator but it wasn’t always like this. He began his career at Gatwick airport, where he cleaned out planes for Sir Freddie Laker and, later, frisked passengers (for a job, that is; not a hobby).
He then started to write travel guidebooks and travel articles. Today Simon is Senior Travel Editor of The Independent. Simon also writes for the i, the Evening Standard, Conde Nast Traveller, BA’s inflight magazine, High Life and the Travel Trade Gazette as well as a host of other publications.
Every Sunday evening between 7 and 9 pm, he gives travel advice, inspiration and help to LBC 97.3 FM listeners on The LBC Travel Show with Simon Calder (also broadcast online, on digital, on Sky 0112 and Virgin Media 973). Once a month, he presents Fast Track’s Travel Clinic on BBC Worldwide where he answers viewers travel questions and queries. He also keeps a Weekly Video Diary which can be found online at the Independent and on his personal website.
He is a regular guest on national TV, often seen on BBC Breakfast News, Daybreak, ITV News and Sky News. He is often interviewed on BBC radio, particularly for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Five Live!
Commenting on Simon’s win, FARM-Africa’s CEO, Nigel Harris, said:
“FARM-Africa is thrilled that Simon has chosen us to benefit from his win on Celebrity Mastermind. All funds raised by Simon will have an immediate impact on our work which last year alone benefitted 649,000 African farmers, providing them with the skills, knowledge and tools they need to grow more food and earn more income. Congratulations, Simon, from everyone at FARM-Africa.”
Learn more about Simon Calder from his website.
Read the Independent's report on Simon's win.
FARM-Africa CEO speaks at Clinton Global Initiative forum in New York
Benefits of private sector investment in agriculture in eastern Africa
FARM-Africa CEO, Nigel Harris, recently spoke at a prestigious New York gathering of global leaders entitled “Sustainable Food Systems”.
The event was organised by the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an organisation established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States. The organisation’s mission, according to its website, is “to inspire, connect and empower a community of global leaders to forge solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.”
Nigel used his address on “Sustainable Consumption” to an audience of leaders from the public and private sectors to focus attention on the positive impact the private sector can have on development when it provides investment and opportunity to smallholder farmers.
He started by observing that the vast majority of the world’s poor are smallholder farmers; and that if this is to change, political, commercial and civil society leaders need to acknowledge that smallholder farmers represent an essential link within global food chains.
Nigel explained that greater private sector partnership with smallholders really could transform farmers’ lives, enabling them to move beyond subsistence-level farming and to become instead rural entrepreneurs, capable of building a prosperous rural Africa.
FARM-Africa’s Cassava project in South Sudan in partnership with SAB Miller
To demonstrate just how beneficial working in partnership with smallholders can be for the private sector and government actors, Nigel pointed to an innovative project established by FARM-Africa in South Sudan. The project is a partnership between four actors: the private sector (South African brewing multinational, SABMiller); government (South Sudan); civil society (FARM-Africa); and, most crucially of all, local communities (smallholder cassava farmers).
This public, private, non-profit partnership is brewing beer from cassava. SAB Miller purchases the cassava from smallholders, extracts the starch which will be used to brew beer at SABMiller’s operation in Juba.
The partnership has transformed the smallholders’ cassava from mere susbsistence crop into a commercially viable cash crop: not all the cassava produced will be bought by SABMiller – farmers are able to sell surpluses in the local market as well. This is transforming the lives of small holders in South Sudan who are now generating long-term and sustainable income from cassava.
The additional income can be used by smallholders to develop their lives, and those of their families and communities, by being able to pay for educational and health expenses as well as re-investing in their farm businesses.
Nigel concluded by stressing to his audience that the smallholder farmers he has met in eastern Africa have the potential to be an essential part of sustainable global food supply chains. But for this to happen, the private sector needs to follow the example of companies like SAB Miller in providing investment and creating opportunity.
Also speaking at the briefing were: Martha Stewart, Founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; Stephan Habif, Vice-President R and D Operations North America, Unilever; and Jacques Diouf, Director General Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
BBC interviews FARM-Africa on project using cassava to brew beer in South Sudan
BBC interview here:
FARM-Africa’s Director of Programmes, George Mukkath, was among a group of NGOs and private sector companies who participated in the media launch of SABMiller’s first ever cassava beer in Johannesburg this week. The event also involved discussions on the importance of linking smallholder farmers and the private sector in the supply chain.
George Mukkath was joined by Corin Mitchell, from The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, Suzanne Vlakveld from The Dutch Agricultural Development and Trading Company, Eric Schmidt from the International Fertilizer Development Centre and representatives of SABMiller in Africa who took part in the discussion.
FARM-Africa is working with SABMiller in South Sudan, helping to integrate local smallholder farmers into SABMiller’s South Sudan supply chain. Locally-sourced cassava will be used in brewing in South Sudan after the first harvest in 2012.
FARM-Africa’s is working with local farmers to increase their cassava yields so that excess can be sold to the local brewery or to other local markets. By working in this way FARM-Africa is supporting farmers to convert cassava from subsistence to a cash crop.
Taking into account actors along the supply chain, farmers’ families and the affect on suppliers, distribution, retail and other agricultural labour, the project plans to benefit up to 15,600 people.
World Food Day 2011: global food price rises show need for greater investment in agriculture
Rising world food prices
The World Bank’s index of global food prices, Food Price Watch, recently recorded a rise of 15% in prices in just three months between October 2010 and February 2011. Global wheat prices doubled between June 2010 and January 2011 while maize prices rose by 73% over the same period.
The hike in prices is driving global food insecurity and is placing a severe strain on communities living in poverty and hunger. According to World Bank statistics, rapidly spiralling food prices have driven an estimated further 44 million people into poverty since June 2011.
This volatility in global food prices is exposing increasing numbers of smallholders in eastern Africa to household insecurity and hunger.
Over 80% of people living in remote or rural areas of Africa rely on the food they grow and the animals they keep to survive. Uncertainty caused by fluctuating global food prices means that it is now more important than ever to boost African farmers’ ability to increase food production.
Helping farmers to increase crop yields is important for two reasons: it both reduces the exposure of farmers and their communities exposure to price hikes by ensuring they have enough to eat; and it also enhances their ability to sell surpluses of food to generate additional household income.
What FARM-Africa is doing to enable African farmers to respond to rising food prices
As global food security worsens, FARM-Africa is enabling African farmers to grow more food. We ensure farmers are equipped with quality, drought-tolerant seeds and the most innovative planting and irrigation techniques, helping farmers to maximise their food yields.
And just as importantly, we are enhancing farmers’ linkages to markets and food supply chains, ensuring that surpluses can be sold at the highest price. This approach is helping African families to build long-term income, effectively breaking long-standing cycles of poverty.
Case-study
In western Kenya, almost 60 per cent of households are dependent on fish, either directly or indirectly, as a source of food or income. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake and provides over 90% of Kenya’s total fish supplies. Wild fish stocks in this lake and other lakes in Kenya are dwindling, however, mainly due to overfishing and pollution. As demand for fish outstrips supply, the price of fish is rising. For many people who are already struggling to feed themselves, this shortage is hitting them hard.
The Kenyan government has identified fish farming as a key sector for development as part of its economic stimulus programme. Fish ponds have been dug in 160 out of the 210 parliamentary constituencies in Kenya with the vision of helping smallholder farmers to generate income from aquaculture. The Government of Kenya has invested 4 billion shillings in this Economic Stimulus Programme, providing farmers with fish fingerlings, (young fish) and fish feed.
FARM-Africa is supporting the Kenyan government’s drive to develop fish farming. Thanks to funding from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID), we have has established a string of franchised Aqua Shops across Western Kenya.
The Aqua Shops act as hubs, supporting new fish farmers with essential materials such as fish feed and manure as well as technical advice so they can build and develop their businesses. They are also helping fish farmers by providing market intelligence and linking fish farmers to the most appropriate markets for their produce. Watch a video in which Project Co-ordinator, Susan Otieno, explains how the project is helping Kenyan fish farmers develop their businesses.
To date, approximately six hundred farmers have been trained and equipped to set up and run viable fish farming businesses.
Kilimanjaro Climb total soars to quarter of a million pounds!
Ten senior executives from the UK food sector have reacted with delight to news they have raised a quarter of a million pounds for the charity FARM-Africa, following the team’s gruelling charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
The huge total raised so far is way in excess of the sum the team expected to raise for the charity which works with farmers and their communities in eastern Africa to tackle poverty and hunger.
The team included Tim Smith (Chief Executive of the UK’s Food Standards Agency); Mike Coupe (Group Commercial Director at Sainsbury’s); and Richard Macdonald (Non-Executive Director at Moy Park and Dairy Crest and a former Director General of the National Farmers Union).
Responding to news of the team’s overhauling of the £250,000 mark, Richard Macdonald said:
“I am thrilled the UK food industry and friends have managed to raise so much money. Climbing Kilimanjaro was tough but this is way beyond our expectations. All the money goes to FARM- Africa, a great cause, showing one end of the food chain supporting the other.”
The team was determined to demonstrate the UK food sector’s strong support for African smallholder farmers who are such a vital link in the global food supply chain, and who are presently vulnerable to drought and increased lack of rainfall.
The money the team has raised will help underpin FARM-Africa’s work in transforming smallholder farmers across eastern Africa from subsistence level farmers into rural entrepreneurs. FARM-Africa is achieving this through enhancing farmers’ linkages to markets and through provision of drought-tolerant seeds that enable farmers to deliver increased yields in increasingly arid conditions.
Expressing the charity’s gratitude to the Food Sector team, FARM-Africa’s Director of Fundraising and Communications, Pam Williams-Jones, said:
“FARM-Africa is incredibly proud of the expedition team’s achievement in raising such an impressive amount to fund our work in supporting African farmers.
“And what a fantastic team effort in training and taking on this epic journey to help raise awareness for the communities we work with. On behalf of those communities FARM-Africa offers its congratulations and heartfelt thanks for the staggering quarter of a million pounds raised so far. Thank you.”
It is still possible to sponsor the team. Information is available at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/foodforafrica
Photos of the team, including summit photos, are available on request.
The team’s blog site with updates and images from the mountain is available at: http://www.kiliclimb-farmafrica.org.uk/
Ends
For further information please contact:
Ngaio Bowthorpe, Head of Communications at FARM-Africa
FARM-Africa, Clifford's Inn, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BZ
Direct line: +44 (0)20 7067 1252 Switchboard: +44 (0)20 7430 0440
Matt Whitticase, Communications Officer at FARM-Africa.
FARM-Africa, Clifford's Inn, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BZ
Direct line: +44 (0)20 7067 1237 Mobile: +44 (0)7515 788456 Switchboard: +44 (0)20 7430 0440
The team:
Mark Carr, Group Chief Executive, AB Sugar
Mike Coupe, Group Commercial Director, J Sainsbury’s
Nigel Dunlop, CEO Moy Park and NED Warburtons
Iain Ferguson, NED Greggs plc, Balfour Beatty plc, Berendsen plc and former CEO Tate and Lyle
Andrew Cracknell, Director Anglo Beef Processors
Richard Macdonald, NED Moy Park, Dairy Crest Foods and former Director General NFU
Martyn Wilks, Executive Managing Director Dairy Crest Foods
Charles Reed, Group Managing Director, William Reed Business Media
Tim Smith, Chief Executive Food Standards Agency
Julian Marks, Managing Director, Barfoots of Botley Ltd
Notes to Editor:
FARM-Africa,is supporting African smallholder farmers to lift themselves out of poverty. As technical experts they ensure farmers are equipped with quality seeds and the most innovative planting and irrigation techniques, helping farmers to maximise their food yields. And just as importantly, they help link farmers to markets, ensuring that surpluses can be sold at the highest price. This approach helps African families to build long-term income, effectively breaking long-standing cycles of poverty.
Eighty per cent of all African families still rely on the food they grow and the animals they keep to survive. In times of low rainfall and poor harvests, the consequences can be severe: families are often forced to survive on just one meal a day and all too often are unable to send their children to school.
Kili Climb Team reaches summit!
BBC Radio interviews FARM-Africa about its Give Poverty the Boot! campaign
Friend of Farm from Gloucester, Martin Taylor, recently spoke to BBC Radio about FARM-Africa’s work and its Give Poverty the Boot campaign. In the interview Martin talks about how churches can support Give Poverty the Boot during this Harvest Festival. Listen to the interview here.
Give Poverty the Boot!
We are asking clergy and congregations to support our work to provide African farmers with the key skills, technical knowledge and tools they need to sustainably increase and diversify the food they are able to grow on their land. This work includes helping farmers and communities develop agriculture which is climate resilient. Such innovative agriculture will help mitigate in the long-term against the increasingly severe effects of drought and extreme hunger in sub-Saharan Africa.
To help churches raise money which will have a real long-term impact in reducing hunger in Africa, FARM-Africa has sent a pack full of information and creative fundraising ideas to approximately 13,000 churches across the UK.
To make fundraising as fun as possible we are asking clergy and church-goers to get their wellies on so they can get growing food to Give Poverty the Boot. Church congregations could have a competition to see who can grow the most food in one welly. Or members of the congregation could donate plants and vegetables from their gardens to a Harvest produce sale to raise funds. Clergy could even swap the usual collection plate for a welly to collect donations at their Harvest services to Give Poverty the Boot!
Click here for much more information on how you can Give Poverty the Boot!
Leading UK Food Executives depart for Kilimanjaro challenge in aid of FARM-Africa
Leading UK Food Executives depart for Kilimanjaro challenge in aid of FARM-Africa
Ten leading executives from the UK’s food sector have set off from London to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, in aid of FARM-Africa.
Kilimanjaro is the world’s tallest freestanding mountain. It soars 19,341 feet above sea level and getting to the top is the equivalent of scaling Big Ben 61 times. Climbing Africa’s tallest mountain is a daunting undertaking, even for the team of top-ranking executives who are more than used to a challenge.
The team flew to Nairobi on 22 September and begin their climb of Kilimanjaro on Saturday 24 September. They aim to reach the summit on Friday 30 September.
Before leaving the UK, team members have been training furiously in preparation for the climb. Andrew Cracknell, Director of Anglo Beef Processors, has even fitted in climbs in the Alps and a walk up Mt Snowdon around his regular mile-long swims.
Each team member is strongly motivated by the opportunity of raising funds to support FARM-Africa’s work in supporting vulnerable rural communities in eastern Africa both to grow enough food to eat and to become the entrepreneurs of the future.
The team has already raised a staggering £218,000 so far thanks to a large number of individual donations, as well as a significant number of corporate contributions.
Before setting off, the team gathered in central London so that figures from the food sector could wish the team well at a pre-expedition dinner. The dinner was put on by leading chef Jason Atherton at his Mayfair restaurant, Pollen Street Social and was hosted by the well-known actor and global traveller, Michael Palin who is also Patron of FARM-Africa. During the dinner, Michael treated the climbers to a steady stream of amusing anecdotes and stories from his extensive travels in Africa and through the Himalayas.
The team members are:
Mark Carr, Group Chief Executive, AB Sugar
Mike Coupe, Group Commercial Director, J Sainsbury’s
Nigel Dunlop, CEO Moy Park and NED Warburtons
Iain Ferguson, NED Greggs plc, Balfour Beatty plc, Berendsen plc and former CEO Tate and Lyle
Andrew Cracknell, Director Anglo Beef Processors
Richard Macdonald, NED Moy Park, Dairy Crest Foods and former Director General NFU
Martyn Wilks, Executive Managing Director Dairy Crest Foods
Charles Reed, Group Managing Director, William Reed Business Media
Tim Smith, Chief Executive Food Standards Agency
Julian Marks, Managing Director, Barfoots of Botley Ltd
You can sponsor the team, and follow its progress on the mountain via the team blog:
UK Food Executives set to reach summit of Kilimanjaro
Team of leading UK food executives set for final push to top of Africa
A team of ten senior UK food executives is preparing itself in freezing conditions on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro for a final push to the summit.
The team, which includes Sainsbury’s Group Commercial Director and a former Director-General of the National Farmers Union, set out last Saturday. They are now at Kibo Base Camp (4700 metres) and within striking distance of the summit of Kilimanjaro.
At 10pm tonight (Thursday 29 September) UK time they will set out in a demanding final push for the summit. The team will spend about eight hours climbing the final 1200 metres in the dark and in oxygen-thin air before reaching the summit at sunrise (approximately 6am UK time).
Conditions at Kibo base camp, where the team is resting before the final ascent, have been described on the team’s blogsite as “miserably cold and bleak”. There is no water for washing as it has to be saved for the final climb; and it is difficult to sleep due to the extreme altitude.
The team blog, including climbers’ posts from each day of the expedition, is available at: http://www.kiliclimb-farmafrica.org.uk/
The team of executives is climbing Kilimanjaro to raise funds for FARM-Africa, a British charity working with vulnerable farmers and communities in eastern Africa to tackle poverty and hunger.
So far the team has raised a staggering £220,000.
The expedition team:
Mark Carr, Group Chief Executive, AB Sugar
Mike Coupe, Group Commercial Director, J Sainsbury’s
Nigel Dunlop, CEO Moy Park and NED Warburtons
Iain Ferguson, NED Greggs plc, Balfour Beatty plc, Berendsen plc and former CEO Tate and Lyle
Andrew Cracknell, Director Anglo Beef Processors
Richard Macdonald, NED Moy Park, Dairy Crest Foods and former Director General NFU
Martyn Wilks, Executive Managing Director Dairy Crest Foods
Charles Reed, Group Managing Director, William Reed Business Media
Tim Smith, Chief Executive Food Standards Agency
Julian Marks, Managing Director, Barfoots of Botley Ltd
The expedition team flew from London to Nairobi on Thursday 22 September. They started the climb on 24 September and expect to reach the summit on Friday 30 September.
FARM-Africa interviewed on BBC World Service
Fighting hunger for the long term
Drought is being reported in the Horn of Africa with global media calling it the worst drought in 60 years. FARM-Africa’s approach to ending long term hunger is to provide long term solutions to the communities we work with.
FARM-Africa is working alongside local communities to help them prepare for droughts which are becoming more frequent as a result of increasingly irregular and unpredictable rainfall.
FARM-Africa’s expert technical staff work with remote communities to help share practical approaches to climate resilient agriculture for example the introduction of drought-tolerant and disease-resistant seeds and drip irrigation techniques. We also help communities to develop contingency plans which they can put in place when emergencies like drought occur.
For example In Moyale, northern Kenya, FARM-Africa is working with eight schools and their surrounding communities to improve access to water by building and rehabilitating shallow wells. Water allows local people to meet their immediate household needs and to care for their livestock when water is scarce.
Congratulations 2011 London Marathon Team
On Sunday 17th April ten brave runners took to the streets of London to run 26.2 miles and raise money for FARM-Africa. Each and every one of them finished the marathon despite the heat, and the money raised is rapidly approaching the £25,000 – a huge achievement in every way.
Thank you to all who took part and came along to support.
2,700 people benefit from a new borehole in Kenya
At the end of 2010, FARM-Africa drilled a new borehole in Nzeluni village, Mwingi district, eastern Kenya. It is now providing 2,700 people with access to clean water.
Since the borehole was drilled, the cost of water in the village has reduced from KSh15 (20p) to KSh3 (4p) per 20 litre water container. People in the village now have a much shorter distance to walk to collect water – walking an average of 3km compared to 12km in the past, giving them more time in the day to work on their land. As well as this, people in and around the village now spend less time waiting to draw water – waiting an average of 30 minutes at the new borehole compared to 90 minutes in the past.
The new borehole has other benefits too – a vegetable garden has been planted close to the borehole. The vegetables are watered using a simple drip irrigation scheme that FARM-Africa helped to install.
To ensure that the borehole remains in good working condition, ten people in the village have been trained in basic borehole maintenance, record keeping and management skills. The small fee to use the borehole of KSh3 (4p) is being used to meet all of the running and maintenance costs for the borehole.
International Women's Day - 8th March
In Africa 60 to 80 percent of the agricultural labour force are women. At FARM-Africa we believe that Africa’s farmers, many of whom are women, can contribute greatly towards feeding the continent.
Women, the farmers of Africa, have a life-changing role to play in increasing food production to bring an end to hunger.
International Women’s Day is a chance to celebrate the wonderful achievements of women around the world and on this, the centenary of this day. At FARM-Africa we want to celebrate the hard work and successes of a group of women in the SNNPR and Oromiya regions of Ethiopia.
Since 2009 FARM-Africa has been working directly with rural women in 172,000 households in the two regions to improve their involvement in economic activities, working with them to gain a better understating of their legal rights, and to become more involved in community decision-making.
In order to improve women’s involvement in economic activities Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs) were set up to enable women to gain access to credit. Leadership training has been provided to 665 members and 192 VSLA kits to help start the groups have been shared. Through the Village Saving and Loan groups household security is already improving with women being able to access loans without having to sell household items to do so.
FARM-Africa has worked with the community to select and set up 65 Women’s Asset Groups (WAGs). The aim is to reduce poverty levels and improve food security in the poorest households in the project area These groups, made up of women from 2,560 households are receiving assets such as sheep and goats and skills to improve their household security.
The members of the WAGs have received training in animal husbandry, the seeds and skills to grow fodder to feed their animals and have established an insurance fund for their animals. In the last year 5,100 sheep and goats have been distributed, and their offspring will be used to pass on to future participants.
Fifty six women have been trained and equipped as Community Animal Health Workers, with a further 34 receiving refresher training. They help not only the group members but provide assistance to the wider community too; they have already helped to treat 18,625 animals!
Women are learning the skills to become traders of butter, grain, sheep and goats.
The project is also raising awareness of gender and legal rights. Over the last year 29,630 people, men and women have received training in consultation with government partners.
Fifty one women have been trained as Community Based Legal Advisors (CBLAs). Their role is to help women in the community to learn about women’s rights to protect themselves and other women against violence and discrimination. These women receive basic legal training, uniforms, reference books and lunch allowances to help them to travel outside their Kebeles to handle cases. In last year 103 cases have been handled.
This project shows just some of the ways that FARM-Africa is working to support women in eastern Africa, enabling them to improve their household security and livelihoods.
FARM-Africa wins award at National Agricultural Exhibition, Tanzania
Towards the end of 2010, FARM-Africa exhibited the findings and produce from our forestry, schools and sesame projects to hundreds of people from across Tanzania at the Annual Agricultural Show in Arusha.
Not only was this exhibition a place to share our knowledge and learnings, but some of FARM-Africa’s farmers even made some sales! Mr Khufo sold every single one of the 71 jars of honey he had on display, earning him an impressive 355,000 Tshs (£152). Mr Khufo received ten beehives from FARM-Africa as part of our forestry project and has become such as successful beekeeper that he now has 25 beehives in total. Mr Bayo, sold 25 raffia mats made by members of a FARM-Africa raffia group – making a total of 300,000 Tshs (£128) for the group.
As well as exhibiting our forestry project, project staff, representatives from the District Education Board, and teachers trained in FARM-Africa’s discovery learning approach exhibited findings from our Agricultural and Environmental Education Project. The project’s activities were displayed at the show in the hope that many more districts in Tanzania will adopt our education model in their schools – meaning more families will learn practical farming skills. The exhibit attracted the attention of secondary school pupils attending the exhibition and, by the end of the show, over 700 people had visited our exhibition and 1,000 brochures were taken away.
All in all, the entire exhibition proved a very successful knowledge sharing experience, and to top it off, FARM-Africa scooped third prize for their exhibition!
FARM-Africa launches ground-breaking business model
LONDON, UK, 17 January 2011
FARM-Africa, a UK non-governmental organisation that is committed to the economic empowerment of Africa’s marginal farmers, today announced that it has received funding to develop the first franchise business model that will establish a chain of new veterinary stores to provide quality, accessible and affordable livestock services including clinical services, veterinary drugs, farm inputs, animal feeds and artificial insemination in Africa.
The franchise model has been devised to ensure scalability and to allow it to become globally applicable across developing countries where the livestock sector can contribute to economic growth and development. Two thirds of the world’s 1.04 billion rural people living in absolute poverty rely on their livestock for their income.
Through a US$5m grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation FARM-Africa will establish at least 150 stores across Kenya over four and a half years to help 300,000 under-served livestock keepers in rural Kenya gain access to affordable livestock products and services.
The social business will draw on over two decades of FARM-Africa’s practical experience of establishing sustainable livestock services.
Livestock account for 50% of the agricultural capital stock in Sub-Saharan Africa*1. For most smallholder farmers, livestock are the primary household asset as well as providing meat, manure, dairy products, traction and transport. The growing demand for livestock products by urban consumers in Kenya and the region presents an opportunity for the owners of livestock to trade their way out of poverty.
In remote rural areas livestock keepers lack access to high quality, affordable livestock products and services. During the1980s Government veterinary services were scaled back resulting in a lack of suitable livestock services in remote areas. The high demand for animal health products, coupled with a lack of regulation and supervision has led to a thriving market in unqualified and illegal traders who commonly supply and sell sub-standard or out of date products.
The grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help FARM-Africa to improve and expand livestock keepers’ access to quality livestock products and services. It will train a network of providers to roll out new ways to improve animal health and production and improve the incomes of livestock keepers.
FARM-Africa will work with a range of related projects supported by the foundation. The franchise network will provide a nationwide delivery infrastructure for vaccines developed by GALVmed, as part of their “Protecting livestock, saving human life” project.
“The launch of this innovative social enterprise comes at a crucial moment for the livestock sector in Kenya where there are many new business opportunities for livestock keepers. Our new company will deliver high quality good value products to those currently without them in a financially sustainable manner. The franchising business will open access to the highly dispersed rural market for input suppliers and open up new livestock marketing opportunities. The new business will help farmers overcome constraints to livestock health and productivity, so improving the food security of livestock keepers and their income and welfare. This new approach to delivering services in rural areas is sustainable and we anticipate it will be scalable across Africa.” said Dr Christie Peacock, former CEO, of FARM-Africa who has moved over to Chair the new livestock franchise business.
“The livestock sector in Kenya contributes 5% of the gross domestic product, making up 22% of total agricultural GDP*2. To support poverty reduction in Kenya, the huge potential of the country’s livestock sector must be supported through modernisation, appropriate technology and improved access to high quality animal health services and inputs. The livestock sector provides impetus for economic development. Therefore the grant will help Kenyan livestock keepers to overcome hunger and poverty.”
“Livestock are a vital asset for many smallholder farmers in developing countries,” said Gregg BeVier senior program officer for the Agricultural Development initiative for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Through establishing financially viable stores in Kenya, poor farmers will have the tools to improve the health of their livestock, increase incomes, and build better their lives for themselves and their families.”
Steve Sloan, Chief Executive, of GALVmed said, "I am truly delighted to hear the news of FARM-Africa's recent grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and both pleased and proud that GALVmed played a small part in the early days of this development. The work of GALVmed and FARM-Africa has always been seen as complementary and this development will significantly enhance the capacity to bring products to the market for the benefit of Africa's poor farmers and to increase the sustainability of the income of livestock keepers."
This grant is part of the foundation’s Agricultural Development initiative, which is working with a wide range of partners to provide millions of small farmers in the developing world with tools and opportunities to boost their yields, increase their incomes, and build better lives for themselves and their families. The foundation is working to strengthen the entire agricultural value chain—from seeds and soil to farm management and market access—so that progress against hunger and poverty is sustainable over the long term.
About the business
FARM-Africa aims to establish at least 150 livestock franchises and will work with public and private partners to improve the incomes, welfare and household of 300,000 livestock keepers in Kenya, by significantly improving access to affordable livestock products and services from a quality controlled financially viable franchise business model. www.farmafrica.org.uk
1 Delgado, C.L, Narrod, C.A, Impact of changing market forces and policies on structural change in the livestock industries of selected fast-growing developing countries FAO, 2002.
2 Statistical Abstract, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2008
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