Accelerating Thriving Farms!
Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.
WHY ARE WE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT?
Without new technologies and practices, farmers like Saraanya continue to be excluded from the most profitable markets.
Saraanya lacks the skills to get her peanuts the right size now required by the most profitable buyer who exports the peanuts internationally, she doesn’t know how to protect her crops from the increasing risk of flood in the area and with the rising costs of inputs, her farm is losing money which makes it tough for her to meet her family’s daily needs.
In order to address these new challenges, better farming practices and technologies has been identified with the assistance of local experts that will transform Saraanya’s farm enabling her to increase her income and help her family stand on their own two feet.
THE BENEFITS
The project will directly impact 36 small scale farmers and indirectly benefit over 100 people
- Build social capital in the village by farmers who adopted practices earlier sharing inputs and their skills/knowledge with farmers from this project
- Accelerate new technologies and practices that will significantly increase yield
- Prevent losses during flooding
- Improved quality to meet more profitable market requirements
- Farmers will know how to assess and self-produce seeds reducing costs of production
- Increase income for families to better meet their needs and pursue goals important to them
HOW WILL THE PROJECT WORK?
Before this project commenced, we identified high performing peanut farmers in the Village of Irruttumadu that we call early adopters who trialled and tested the new practices and technologies.
After sharing their success, the 36 farmers in this project will undertake the training to follow in their footsteps and significantly increase their yield and income.
A very special part about this project is the sharing between the early adopters and the farmers in this project. This project is more cost effective that the initial project with the early adopters because the early adopters, for the subsidies that we provided for their inputs, now share their improved inputs with the farmers from this project – we call this passing the gift!
Not only are inputs shared, but knowledge as well – through mentoring and farmer training.
The estimated yield increase is approximately 50 – 60% and with the success of these 36 farmers more farmers will be sure to follow!
We will be providing training on 7 key innovative practices during their harvest, providing close mentoring, linking with the agricultural extension services and facilitating the pass the gift program so these farmers also receive subsidised inputs required for these new practices.
HOW DO WE ENSURE THE PROJECT IS SUSTAINABLE AFTER WE LEAVE?
The program will support the training of the new techniques and provide intensive mentoring so that in time, farmers understand and have fully adopted these improved practices. Most importantly, facilitation of farmer to farmer training enables a strong culture of support to thrive in the village as farmers begin to understand that as producers they are much stronger in the market place as a collective. With improved skills, farmers will be able to stand on their own two feet without the continued support from our local team.
In the initial harvest inputs are subsidised, to encourage adoption of new technologies, but following that, farmers are independent in supporting themselves to purchase the improved inputs. As part of the technologies shared, farmers will learn how to assess and self-produce some inputs such as seeds.
This program forms part of a 5 year village program in the village of Irruttumadu. For 5 years our local team will be based in the village supporting farmers to learn new techniques and supporting them as they adopt the practices. After 5 years our team exists from the village and the farmers and the village will continue to thrive!