News Archive

AVCD program blog

Nandi Potato Cooperative driving potato to an enterprising commercial crop in Nandi County

Members of the Nandi Potato Cooperative Society weigh their seed potato harvest at their farm in Nandi County. Around 2015, Nandi County with its vast agricultural land and potential had only about 70 farmers growing potatoes on about 70 hectares (ha), according to Silas Too, potato value chain...

  • wanderaojanji
Africa RISING feed

Quality barley seeds and linkages with breweries unlock better incomes for Ethiopian farmers

Assefa Negash, a farmer and secretary of the Bekume Oyora Seeds Growers’ Cooperative has long faced difficulties in getting high-quality malt barley seeds. He cultivates the crop jointly with members of his cooperative group on a 3.3-hectare piece of land in Goba District of the Bale zone in...

  • Haimanot Seifu
AVCD program blog

New drought-tolerant varieties rekindle hopes of food security in drought-prone Makueni County

A happy and hopeful Wilson Lati at his drought-tolerant Sorghum farm in Emali/Mulala Ward in Makueni Hoping against hope of decent harvests, farmers in the semi-arid and arid regions of eastern Kenya have always planted their traditional and favourite food crops – pigeonpea, green gram, sorghum,...

  • wanderaojanji
Africa RISING feed

Ethiopia partners apply digital solutions in on-farm experiments

Training participants group photo (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu) . The Africa RISING project in the Ethiopian Highlands held training sessions for project site coordinators, extension experts, development agents and data enumerators from 7–8 June 2021. Close to 20 participants from project...

  • Haimanot Seifu
AVCD program blog

Potato farming: a windfall for Taita Taveta farmers

Nashon Wadime, one of the farmers who have embraced potato farming in his potato farm in Chawia Ward, Taita Taveta County. Since its formation in 2008, members of Kuzoya Self Help Group in Chawia Ward, Taita Taveta County had never considered growing potatoes, even though it was grown in some...

  • wanderaojanji
AVCD program blog

Taita Taveta farmers make a fortune from drought-tolerant crops

Christine Nashera inspecting her groundnut crop in Chala Ward, Taveta Though groundnuts are a highly popular and nutritious snack in Taita Taveta County, the residents had always depended on imports from the neighboring Tanzania. Farmers had failed to take advantage of its popularity and high...

  • wanderaojanji
AVCD program blog

The budding seed potato production business in Taita Taveta County

Anastasia Myambu in a potato seed farm owned by her producer group, Mreshinyi Farmers Group in Wusi/Kishamba Ward, Mwatate When the County Government of Taita Taveta identified potato as one of the high value crops for promotion in 2017, farmers’ access to affordable certified seed became a...

  • wanderaojanji
Africa RISING feed

Public and Private Partnerships improve smallholder farmer fortunes in Babati, Tanzania

Written by Michael Kinyua, Inot Songoyani and Prosper Massawe (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT) A farmer in Tanzania harvests maize. The beans which was intercropped with the maize will also be ready for harvest soon (photo credit: Georgina Smith/CIAT). Babati, a district in northern Tanzania, thrives on...

  • Africa RISING communications
Beca-ILRI Hub

Brachiaria grass, a climate-smart ‘wonder grass’ for livestock farmers

In this interview, Mwihaki Mundia, BecA-ILRI Hub’s Communications Officer, sits down with Sita Ghimire, who heads the Brachiaria research and development program at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa – International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, to talk about the origins of...

AVCD program blog

Using the SourceTrace digital platform to support farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic

sourcetrace.com Update from the drought-tolerant crops component of the AVCD program Despite minimal field visits during this period of the COVID-19-related restrictions, the Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) program staff and management are working with extension officers and lead farmers...

  • Muthoni Njiru
AVCD program blog

Keeping safe while staying food secure in Kenya

Shadrack Juma, ward agricultural officer in Werugha Ward, Taita Taveta County, demonstrating how to do proper (second) hilling to host farmer and community health volunteers. Notice the use of masks and social distancing (photo credit: AVCD). Update from the potato component of the AVCD program In...

  • Muthoni Njiru
AVCD program blog

Diversification of diets: a community-led solution that improves nutritional outcomes in Kenya’s pastoral communities

Camels in Isiolo County (photo credit AVCD/Muthoni Njiru). In northern Kenya, thousands of people suffer from acute malnutrition. This dryland region experiences low rainfall, high temperatures and has poor soils, which lead to poor harvests and inadequate pastures for livestock. The region hence...

  • Muthoni Njiru