Description

Smallholder farmers in Africa have survived for many centuries through cultivating crops and keeping livestock. But is surviving all that is needed? The contrast of living standards between the developed countries and African nations is sharp and disturbing; for ty-one percent of people in Africa still have to survive on less than a dollar a day. It is high time that we changed from the concept of subsistence farming to viewing farming as a business, with the aim of running profitable enterprises. Agricultural practices need to become more productive and the natural resource base needs to be managed in a sustainable manner. Farmers, both men and women, need better access to input markets and information, to be more aware of the opportunities in the whole product value chain, and to have their confidence and skills strengthened.

The Maendeleo Agricultural Technology Fund (MATF) has taken up these challenges. This document will take you on a journey from where MATF started five years ago to the present day. Several teams composed of project partners and Mediae consultants visited various projects which had received funding from MATF, evaluated their experiences and documented them in a clear way. The document provides good background information on the projects and the agricultural technologies they are promoting, and various stories on how the agricultural innovations have impacted the lives of farmers. For development organisations to facilitate innovation of the smallholder farming sector in East Africa, simply transferring technologies through providing information isn’t enough. In this publication you will read about the valuable lessons learned during the formation of strategic and sustainable partnerships among farmers and those who can influence the agricultural innovation process.