SFSA and SFI*
work in India to help smallholder farmers improve their livelihoods
by producing a profitable surplus. Whole communities are benefiting
from the new income.
Pradip Hembrom belongs to a farming community in the Bankura
District of West Bengal, where he and his wife Malini live on
a plot of land of about half a hectare (4,000 square metres)
in size. The dryness of the land, soil erosion and plant pests,
have often led to disappointing harvests.
Pradip is one of more than 200 farmers from 18 villages to have
joined a project run by a non-government organization, Shamayita
Math, to find ways to improve their productivity. SFSA provides
funding and technical advice to Shamayita Math to raise awareness
about new hybrid strains of rice that are resistant to pests
and higher yielding varieties of vegetables.
The farmers borrow money for buying hybrid rice seed, higher
yielding vegetables and fertilizer. Shamyita Math organises
training workshops on how to prepare the land, raise young plants,
use fertilizers and pesticides effectively and economically,
and also organises visits from agricultural experts. The farmers
get to network with other farmers, share experiences and build
support.
Pradip produced enough tomatoes from 2006 to 2007 to sell at
the roadside and nearby markets. He is using the profit to pay
for his children’s board and keep at a hostel some 20 kilometres
away, where they attend a government school. In 2007 Pradip
will grow more vegetables – yardbean (cowpea), pumpkin and cauliflower
as well as tomato. He is also saving to buy a water pump for
irrigation. |
Bankura District is one of four to benefit from the SFSA’s agricultural
development work. What began as a pilot in 2004 at Anandwan,
in Chandrapur District has expanded and is being replicated
in three other districts in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Orissa.
The programme is coordinated by agricultural consultant and
FoundationDelegate Dr. Partha Das Gupta. In each District,
farmers are growing a variety of vegetables, and seeing improved
rice yields through using certified hybrid rice that is more
resistant to disease.
Research shows that an increasing number of African women are choosing careers
in agricultural science, yet due to cultural pressures and family
demands many step off the career ladder. The programme, funded
mainly by the Rockefeller
Foundationand run by the Gender and Diversity programme
of CGIAR, aims to retain
and increase the number of women scientists working in leadership
positions in agricultural research.
The Fellowship so far supports 35 women selected from research
institutes in East Africa for two years, to participate in training
provided by the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research. This includes
women’s leadership courses, coaching in management and negotiation
skills and assistance in expanding their network of professional
contacts. Participants also have the opportunity to present
research at a major international scientific conference each
year. |
A key aspect of the programme is its mentoring, which ensures
that each Fellow is matched with a senior scientist in the same
field of expertise. Sharing knowledge is a valuable way of keeping
scientists up to date with the latest technology, while Fellows
gain experience and a wealth of contacts.
From a pool of 65 highly qualified applicants from Kenya, Tanzania
and Uganda, 10 female crop scientists were awarded the second
round of fellowships in April 2006. SFSA supported an additional
applicant, who was interested in working in the private sector,
raising the total number of Round Two Fellows to 11. SFSA
has also supported the development of a new communication strategy
and sat on the Fellowship Selection Committee.
*
In 2006, SFSA established the Syngenta Foundation India (SFI)
to develop its projects across India |
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