By Michelle Kurian | Executive Director
As our farmers’ cultivate little tomato seedlings, we are so grateful for our donors because it is YOU that made this happen. This GlobalGiving campaign launched a tomato project with women farmers in Zambia. Usually, women farmers grow enough crops to barely feed their families. However, we help them use climate-smart methods to grow tomatoes which can generate more income for them and their families. We provide them with the seed, fertilizer, nurseries, and solar-powered irrigation systems to grow the tomatoes. Then, we collect the tomatoes in crates and sell them to large buyers that the farmers could not otherwise access. We split the revenue with the farmers. With the new revenue, we continue the tomato project across two of Zambia’s ten provinces, serving 400+ women and 3,000 beneficiaries. Your donation has multifold impact!
Since the last report, we have further developed our soft skills curriculum. In the 3 years since launching our organization, we have realized that technical agriculture skills can only take our women farmers so far. Since they have such a marginalised place in society, we need to do more to develop their self-esteem and confidence. So, we have soft skills training that focuses on marketing, budgeting, entrepreneurship, and value addition. Value addition is also a new component of our program. Though tomatoes fetch a good price, we realize that we can help the farmers generate even more income by helping them process tomatoes. “Value addition” is the term used in agricultural development that refers to adding value to a basic crop. Our farmers live in extreme poverty and, in order for them to earn a sustainable income and beyond basic survival, we really need them to learn how to create value from their crops. We are happy to say that we have worked with talented volunteers and local experts to create this curriculum.
We have engaged a young graduate from the University of Zambia as a data collector. She hails from a farming household in the region where our farmers live. We strive to empower African women in many different ways and being an equitable employer in one way. As the data collector surveys our farmers, the data will be uploaded into a virtual dashboard. This way, donors like you can see our impact numbers.
Soon, the rains will start in Zambia but we hope to have the first tomato harvest ready to go by then! Stay tuned for our next report in January!
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