By Linda Whitmore | Project Leader
Entering the holiday season, we all have many things to be thankful for – whether it be friends, family, good health, employment, or basic necessities. However, not everyone in our world is as blessed.
That’s why we want to say THANK YOU for making the Techno-Links (Technology Links for Improved Access and Incomes) project possible! You are changing lives of rural farmers and their families in Nicaragua and Peru by providing them with better access to farming supplies, enabling them to increase yields and gain new income opportunities. This new technology means farming businesses can grow and offer sustainable livelihoods for families.
We are excited to share with you the latest news about how your generous gift to Techno-Links is making a life-changing difference. Sarah French, a MEDA intern currently working with Techno-Links in Nicaragua, Sarah French, recently reported on one of the many ways MEDA is assisting farmers in Nicaragua…
The Love for Food, Science, and Word of Mouth
I visited the International School of Livestock and Agriculture in Rivas (EIAG in Spanish) where MEDA has supported the lab at the university to combine different plantain seeds to create a vitro plant that won’t be affected by disease or insects. Vitro selection screens plants for certain characteristics. With plantains, it selects for tolerance to diseases, insects and soil adaptability.
In past years, plantain production has been low due to the spread of black weevil, which feeds on the leaves, and black sigatoka disease, which causes yield losses. I went into the lab and saw the whole process.
I interviewed 20 male and female farmers to see their progress with the technology. Farmers said the planting of the plantain (vitro plant) was the same as the plantain they used before. The only difference was they didn’t have to use any or few pesticides. They had more production and the leaves were bigger and healthier. One farmer had no experience in planting plantains and said it was quite easy with the help of EIAG technicians.
One of the most amazing things I found in talking to local farmers was their desire to help one another. Many farmers, like Norbin Abel, said he likes the innovation and helping farmers gain new knowledge. Junior, a technician who explains the vitro plants to farmers, said he was sharing with farmers how to enjoy more stable production. The common objective of farmers, technicians and the university was to help one another in their community.
The goal of MEDA and EIAG is to have efficient production and incorporate small producers into the national and international market.
Carl Sagan in Science as a Candle in the Dark (1997) stated, “Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history.”
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We hope Sarah’s report shows you one more way your generous gift is being put to good use for Techno-Links clients. Thank you once again for investing in their promising futures. You’ve made a difference in the lives of farmers striving to improve their businesses and better provide for their families. We are grateful to you for opening your heart to those in need and hope you feel great joy from the lives you have changed!
Links:
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