Free Farmers from Poverty & Educate their Children

Fair Planet has launched its latest project – a joint venture in Rwanda that brings together the International Seed Federation (ISF), several global seed companies, and local partners including the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture.

Earlier this year, Fair Planet’s President and CEO, Drs. Shoshan Haran and Alon Haberfeld, visited Rwanda together with Mr. Michael Keller, Secretary General of the ISF, to meet with local parties in the country’s two most important agricultural regions. The team also met with the management of the Horticulture Center of Excellence situated near the city of Kigali, where the first variety trials and farmers’ training will take place.

The team visited the Gisenyi region in northern Rwanda and Kibuye in the west, meeting with farmers, agro-commerce dealers and produce sellers, to identify needs and bottle necks in the supply chain of vegetables. These potential partners included:

1. The National Seed Association of Rwanda (NSAR)
2. Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA)
3. FAO Rwanda– the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
4. Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
5. AGRA - Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
6. Gardens for Health International
7. One Acre Fund

Formalizing the relationship between Fair Planet and the International Seed Federation in Rwanda, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the team in the presence of the esteemed Rwandan scientist and Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Gérardine Mukeshimana, whose office fully supports the project.

Fair Planet – seeding a better future for Africa!!!

Links:

• Seed World Magazine interview with Shoshan Haran
• Article by Alex Martin

In preparation for the coming vegetable production season in East Ethiopia, Fair Planet’s technical team held a training seminar for Bureau of Agriculture experts in Tony research farm in Dire Dawa.

The “hands on” seminar touched all the important topics of pre-season preparations:

1. Choosing the best plot
2. Preparing the plot for planting vegetables
3. Building beds and furrows for tomato, pepper, cabbage and onion

Twenty-six experts and developmental agents from the extension department of the Ministry of Agriculture in Dire Dawa attended the training, together with the extension head, Mr. Abdul Rahman.

The seminar started with a theoretical background from Fair Planet’s agronomists Faisal and Fentahun, covering all the aspects of pre-season preparations. Then, the seminar took to the field, where our local technicians, Mohammad and Ibrahim, led the practical demonstration with active participation and hands on learning of the experts, who actually prepared a plot for the coming season.

 At the end of the practical training, there was a Q&A session in which questions of the participants were discussed.

The seminar was very successful, and the participants now can transfer the know-how to the farming community in the region.

Links:

• Fair Planet's home page