PAMACC News: The African Forest Forum (AFF) has in the last two years carried out research works on strengthening sustainable management of Africa’s forests and trees outside forests and the role they play in meeting global and national climate change mitigation goals.
In collaboration with the Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA) and forest experts, results of the research carried out in fifteen African countries is now shared with other stakeholders to strengthen the capacity of public and private forest institutions for sustained development outcomes in the sector and especially in the fight against climate change.
According to AFF executive secretary Godwin Kowero,the science-based knowledge sharing on forest management is carried out via national and regional webinars to help participants " learn from policy and forest governance processes that hold potential to cultivate better responses in the forestry sector to the climate change opportunities and challenges on the continent.
The webinars accordingly is taking place under the theme, " National responses to the Paris Agreement and promoting gums and resins in Africa for resilience to climate change.”
Speaking at the opening of the webinars in Francophone Africa[Cameroon,Benin and DRC] GODWIN Kowero noted that good governance and collaboration among the different stakeholders was key in the drive towards sustainable management and wise use of these resources for the benefit of present and future generations.
"We need to work in synergy to attain expected results in forest management and the fight against climate change" Gonwin Kowero said.
The importance of a sound governance system in forest management was corroborated by the representative of the Central African Forestry Commission,COMIFAC.
According to the deputy executive secretary and technical coordinator of COMIFAC, Chouaibou Nchoutpouen, the different countries in Africa must respect the global environmental governance system that is built on agreements including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its landmark agreement reached in Paris in 2015, to combat climate change and accelerate and scale up the actions and investment needed for future sustainable low carbon future
" Countries-parties to this agreement are required to formulate their national visions to address climate change while demonstrating at the international level their politican will and readiness to contribute to global adaptation and mitigation efforts. A stronger response from governments and public organisations, communities and and private sectors is therefor required for results oriented actions" Chouaibou said at the opening of the Webinar workshop in Douala.
Marie Louis Avana of AFF Cameroon reiterated on the role women play in pushing the drive in suatainable forest management. " The African Forest Forum understands the important role women play in promoting forest management and thus leaving no stone unturned to encourage their actions she said.
In another presentation on the enhancement of African Forest Governance in response to Paris Agreement and related Global Climate policies and initiatives by FOKABS, Ngwa Elvis Suh, emphasised on the importance of improved governance systems in the forest sector to meet global and national ambitions.
A study carried out by FOKABS was presented with the objective of providing information that could enhance national forest governance to respond to the Paris Agreement and related global climate change policies initiatives in countries of the West and Central Africa.
The opening of the workshop also had sessions on group work and media round table discussions that permitted forest and climate change experts exchange experiences and best practices in sustainable forest management that could be replicated in other countries.
AFF executive Secretary urged environment and climate change journalists to use information provided by experts to better engage public and policy makers take steps to fight against the causes and effects of climate change.
PAMACC News (Meru, Kenya) - Armed with a ‘mulika mwizi’ mobile phone gadget, Simon Kailikia, a 33 year old smallholder farmer from Baraimu village, Tigania West in Meru County has been able to triple his farm produce, thanks to a phone based platform known as e-Granary.
“Once again, we are expecting another bumper harvest in the next few weeks,” Kailikia told the Seeds of Gold as he patrolled his five acre piece of land under maize crop.
It is the fourth season he is using the e-Granary platform, which ensures that registered smallholder farmers have access to quality certified seeds and relevant farm inputs, access to finance (credit) to fund their activities, insurance cover in case of natural calamities, access to information about Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and above all, access to weather and climate information so that crops are planted at the right time – all on a mobile phone platform.
After the harvest, registered farmers through their groups bring together all their produce and using the mobile platform, they can access the market collectively.
“There is clear evidence that Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped due to use of incorrect farm inputs, late planting, use of poor seeds, inadequate financing, lack of structured markets and lack of insurance cover to cushion smallholder farmers whenever they suffer losses based on the changing climatic conditions and related calamities,” said Mutiga Wanjohi, of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
The e-Granary is a commercial solution developed by the East African Farmers Federation (EAFF) to improve social-economic status of smallholder farmers in 10 African countries in collaboration with governments, UN, Nongovernmental organisations and the private sector.
“We strive to effectively organize and aggregate the otherwise dispersed producer base, in order to achieve scale and engage as a significant stakeholder in the agricultural economy,” said Robert Kubai, the Evaluation and Learning Specialist at the EAFF.
According to Kailikia, it is the first time he has seen the benefit of smallholder farming despite having been brought up in a farming family.
“I was brought up in a farming family, and all through my life, I knew that farming was an activity for people who do not have any meaningful work to do,” said Kailikia. “But today, I have come to appreciate that farming is a sustainable business, beyond hand to mouth survival,” he said.
Kailikia says that his life changed when Baraimu Mathio Self Help Group was introduced to the e-Granary. “For all these years, I never knew that the five acre piece of land under my name had such a huge potential,” said the youthful farmer, and the chair of the group.
Before, he used to plant any seed that was available, sometimes without fertilisers and without following recommended agronomic practices.
However, in 2018, after registering with the e-Granary, he received certified maize seed and necessary farm inputs at the right time on credit. Using the mobile phone platform, he received a short message instructing him on when to plant. And later, he was alerted when the time for topdressing came.
“I was shocked because for the first time, I harvested a total of 93 bags from a piece of land where we used to harvest a total of 25 bags or 20 during a good season,” said the farmer.
Through the e-Granary, EAFF linked him to the buyers of his farm produce, who bought it at an impressive price of Sh3500 per bag. “I sold 87 bags and I used the money to construct a shop, which I now lease to my group members as a store for their produce,” he said. He has since constructed a permanent house from farming activities.
Out of the 67 members of Baraimu Mathio Self Help Group, 55 have completely embraced the e-Granary, most of them women and youth.
To benefit from the e-Granary, one has to be a member of a farmer group. Through the group, the farmer has to register to the e-Granary using a given USSD code because many smallholder farmers in rural villages do not own smart phones.
During registration, the farmer gives all the personal details, the size of the land, the location and the particular crops that they intend to farm. Using this information, the e-Granary calculates the amount of fertilisers and related farm inputs that will be required, and then the EAFF identifies where to buy the seeds, and signs a contract with a potential buyer.
With the contract in place, the EAFF is able to approach finance organisations for farmers’ loans in form of seed, farm input and insurance cover. The items are then delivered to the farmer groups, and using the documented farmer information, each farmer receives a customised package. After harvest, it is the farmer’s responsibility to pay back the loans.
“We insist on farmer groups so that farmers, group members can guarantee fellow members when loans are offered, and watch over each other so that no one farmer defaults,” said Kubai.
Today, over 200,000 farmers in the region are using the e-Granary, according to EAFF.
PAMACC News (Meru, Kenya) - Armed with a ‘mulika mwizi’ mobile phone gadget, Simon Kailikia, a 33 year old smallholder farmer from Baraimu village, Tigania West in Meru County has been able to triple his farm produce, thanks to a phone based platform known as e-Granary.
“Once again, we are expecting another bumper harvest in the next few weeks,” Kailikia told the Seeds of Gold as he patrolled his five acre piece of land under maize crop.
It is the fourth season he is using the e-Granary platform, which ensures that registered smallholder farmers have access to quality certified seeds and relevant farm inputs, access to finance (credit) to fund their activities, insurance cover in case of natural calamities, access to information about Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), and above all, access to weather and climate information so that crops are planted at the right time – all on a mobile phone platform.
After the harvest, registered farmers through their groups bring together all their produce and using the mobile platform, they can access the market collectively.
“There is clear evidence that Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped due to use of incorrect farm inputs, late planting, use of poor seeds, inadequate financing, lack of structured markets and lack of insurance cover to cushion smallholder farmers whenever they suffer losses based on the changing climatic conditions and related calamities,” said Mutiga Wanjohi, of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.
The e-Granary is a commercial solution developed by the East African Farmers Federation (EAFF) to improve social-economic status of smallholder farmers in 10 African countries in collaboration with governments, UN, Nongovernmental organisations and the private sector.
“We strive to effectively organize and aggregate the otherwise dispersed producer base, in order to achieve scale and engage as a significant stakeholder in the agricultural economy,” said Robert Kubai, the Evaluation and Learning Specialist at the EAFF.
According to Kailikia, it is the first time he has seen the benefit of smallholder farming despite having been brought up in a farming family.
“I was brought up in a farming family, and all through my life, I knew that farming was an activity for people who do not have any meaningful work to do,” said Kailikia. “But today, I have come to appreciate that farming is a sustainable business, beyond hand to mouth survival,” he said.
Kailikia says that his life changed when Baraimu Mathio Self Help Group was introduced to the e-Granary. “For all these years, I never knew that the five acre piece of land under my name had such a huge potential,” said the youthful farmer, and the chair of the group.
Before, he used to plant any seed that was available, sometimes without fertilisers and without following recommended agronomic practices.
However, in 2018, after registering with the e-Granary, he received certified maize seed and necessary farm inputs at the right time on credit. Using the mobile phone platform, he received a short message instructing him on when to plant. And later, he was alerted when the time for topdressing came.
“I was shocked because for the first time, I harvested a total of 93 bags from a piece of land where we used to harvest a total of 25 bags or 20 during a good season,” said the farmer.
Through the e-Granary, EAFF linked him to the buyers of his farm produce, who bought it at an impressive price of Sh3500 per bag. “I sold 87 bags and I used the money to construct a shop, which I now lease to my group members as a store for their produce,” he said. He has since constructed a permanent house from farming activities.
Out of the 67 members of Baraimu Mathio Self Help Group, 55 have completely embraced the e-Granary, most of them women and youth.
To benefit from the e-Granary, one has to be a member of a farmer group. Through the group, the farmer has to register to the e-Granary using a given USSD code because many smallholder farmers in rural villages do not own smart phones.
During registration, the farmer gives all the personal details, the size of the land, the location and the particular crops that they intend to farm. Using this information, the e-Granary calculates the amount of fertilisers and related farm inputs that will be required, and then the EAFF identifies where to buy the seeds, and signs a contract with a potential buyer.
With the contract in place, the EAFF is able to approach finance organisations for farmers’ loans in form of seed, farm input and insurance cover. The items are then delivered to the farmer groups, and using the documented farmer information, each farmer receives a customised package. After harvest, it is the farmer’s responsibility to pay back the loans.
“We insist on farmer groups so that farmers, group members can guarantee fellow members when loans are offered, and watch over each other so that no one farmer defaults,” said Kubai.
Today, over 200,000 farmers in the region are using the e-Granary, according to EAFF.
Everlyne Mwende, a young lady in Kibwezi, Kenya, is passionate about agriculture. Shortly after she participated in an agribusiness incubation programme, Everlyne launched her livestock business with 50 birds in 2020.
The incubation programme was facilitated by the Youth-in Agribusiness compact of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) as part of its commitment to stimulating youth-led agribusiness enterprises along agricultural commodity value chains.
Sponsored by the African Development Bank as part of its Feed Africa Initiative, TAAT’s main objective is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight priority intervention areas.
The programme increases agricultural productivity through the deployment of proven and high-performance agricultural technologies at scale along selected nine commodity compacts such as cassava, Orange-fleshed sweet potato, aquaculture, small livestock, high iron beans, maize, rice, sorghum and millet, and wheat.
These work with six enabler compacts addressing transversal issues such as soil fertility management, water management, capacity development, policy support, attracting African youth in agribusiness and fall armyworm response.
Evelyne sold the 50 birds at Ksh 500 ($5) per piece translating to Ksh 25,000 ($250). After the sales, she restocked 100 birds for rebreeding. She later expanded her business to include the sale of eggs.
Beyond producing chicken, Everlyne has taken her passion to another level this year. She now mentors other poultry farmers within Kibwezi, building their capacity in good agricultural practices. She equally trains women and youth entrepreneurs for medium-scale poultry enterprises to deliver.
Members of the Bidii Self Help Group, a youth group in Kibwezi, have, since January 2021, engaged Evelyne to train them specifically on poultry and goat farming. She has equally mentored more than five other youth in poultry farming, and her business model has proven to be very efficient.
Evelyne is determined to continue sharing her production and business knowledge with other youth in her community and around Kenya. She will also be selling more chicks to farmers hence adding to her revenue streams.
According to Noel Mulinganya, the Leader of the Youth in Agribusiness compact, which is also known as ENABLE-TAAT (Empowering Novel Agribusiness-led Employment), “Evelyne’s resourcefulness affirms the efficacy of ENABLE-TAAT’s “Train-the-trainers” initiative. Through this initiative, benefitting youth are trained to become trainers in their local communities, thus creating a network of young people who have the skills and capacity to contribute to agricultural transformation in Africa.”
“More of such stories are budding, as the compact continues to track the record of previously trained youth,” Noel added.
It would be recalled that a similar “Train-the-Trainers” seminar, organised by the compact, held in March 2021 with youth participants from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The youth were motivated to replicate the knowledge they received from ENABLE-TAAT in their communities as young instigators of African agricultural transformation.
Led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), ENABLE-TAAT provides capacity building and technical assistance to establish and expand youth-led agribusiness enterprises along TAAT value chains such as high iron beans, cassava, fish, maize, small livestock, rice and orange-fleshed sweet potato.
