The Agriculture Society of Kenya (ASK) Kakamega Show, running from June 17 to 20, 2015, provided an excellent platform to inform farmers about the latest agricultural technologies developed and tested by the Western Region Agriculture Technology Evaluation (WeRATE) R4D Platform in the Humidtropics West Kenya Action Site, shared with the N2Africa and IFAD Cassava Projects. Working closely with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), WeRATE organized a very successful exhibit during the show, advancing its theme Enhancing Technology in Agriculture and Industry for Food … [Read more...]
Drivers of Change for Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia
In the western part of Ethiopia, implementation of Humidtropics' research agenda is well underway in the midland and highland areas of Jeldu District. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Potato Center (CIP), has been working to help farmers improve agricultural productivity, natural resource management and tackle challenges such as high level of degradation, serious erosion and loss of soil fertility, as well as unstable land use and market failure. Since early 2014, IWMI has … [Read more...]
Gender and Technology at the Crossroads in Ethiopia
When farmer Bultu Etefa was told that she must look after her cattle and the family while maintaining natural resources, she did something interesting: she joined the training delivered at wereda level on fodder production. Now she is among a group of smallholder farmers behind various efforts under Humidtropics to improve livestock feeds. She said, “Fodder is useful to the women who control over the use and sell of milk products in the community. It brings significant changes in both quality and quantity of milk. I sell butter myself and use the money for whatever purpose on my … [Read more...]