WACC Global is proud to announce its new initiative with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help build the capacity of communities at the grassroots level – particularly family farmers’ associations – in using local and traditional knowledge for sustainable resource management and climate change mitigation. WACC and FAO will jointly support three (3) year-long projects starting in the first quarter of 2020: one in Kenya in partnership with
In Eastern Uganda’s Bugisu sub region, literacy remains a substantial barrier to development. Here, radio can reach a large number of poor people because it is affordable and uses little electricity. This is why Bugisu Cooperative Union (BCU) turned to radio. BCU is a Ugandan agricultural cooperative federation established in July 1954. Based in Mbale town, Eastern Uganda, the Cooperative Union was started by a group of coffee farmers led
Livestock production is one of the most important activities of agriculture in South Africa. The Boer goat is a breed of goat that was developed in South Africa in the early 1900s and is a popular breed for meat production. Their name is derived from the Afrikaans word boer, meaning farmer. They have a high resistance to disease and adapt well to hot, dry semi-deserts. The standard boer goats have
Zimbabwe’s government is appealing for aid to help ease the burden of hunger currently affecting millions of already suffering citizens. The drought is a result of poor yields from the 2018/19 summer cropping season which normally runs from November to March. Erratic rains in the whole of Southern Africa resulted in this drought. Zimbabwe has experienced recurring droughts over the years leading to shortage of cereals in the country. Thousands
The UN Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 aims to shed new light on what it means to be a family farmer in a rapidly changing world and highlights more than ever before the important role they play in eradicating hunger and shaping our future of food. Family farming The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched the United Nations’ Decade of Family Farming
From his university studies, Narcisse AMAN dreamed of becoming an agricultural entrepreneur. As Agricultural Engineering Engineer with a diploma of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INPHB) of Yamoussoukro, he continued to secretly feed his dream despite his position as Head of the Exploitation Unit in an agricultural company. His dream became a reality when he adopted the Stem Fragment Plant Technique (PIF) imported from Cameroon, during a training program
When all hope seemed lost, 51-year-old Nonhlanhla Joye literally started farming in plastic bags. She is the founder and director of the Umgibe Farming Organics and Training Institute. “I hated farming when I was a child. While all the other kids my age were running around and playing, I was in my father’s backyard helping him tend his farm,” proclaims the 51-year-old award-winning farmer from Cato Manor, just outside Durban
On 20 December 2017, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution which declared the years 2019-2028 to be the Decade of Family Farming. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Decade of Family Farming will aim at focusing systematically on cross cutting and multi-dimensional issues which are of concern to family farmers. Family farming is generally understood to be a type of farming whereby inherited land
Tanzanians who participated in the System Rice Intensification training shared their delightful stories of how implementing a new rice growing system improved their lives and wellbeing. These interesting experiences can be a motivation to others. Tanzania implemented a bottom-up approach resulting in a more inclusive initiative, which finally led to achieving a successful outcome. Tanzania is one of the participating countries in the “Partnership for Sustainable Rice Systems Development in
Family and farm represent a unity that continuously co-evolves, fulfilling economic, environmental, social and cultural functions of the wider rural economy and within territorial networks in which they are embedded. Family farmers run diversified agricultural systems and preserve traditional food products, contributing to both a balanced diet and the protection of the world’s agro-biodiversity. Safeguarding local cultures, they spend their incomes mostly within local and regional markets, thus generating many
