Free Farmers from Poverty & Educate their Children

While our projects in Dire Dawa and Harar are continuing and increasing, with hundreds farmers trained, this time we would like to tell you about our next adventure – Afar. Our team, Eden Peled and Faysal Abdi, visited Samara, a new city founded about 15 years ago as the capital of the Afar district. It is a very challenging, remote region with though weather conditions. The area around the city is practically a desert, disturbed only by the green streak of the Awash, one of Ethiopia’s largest rivers. Smallholder agriculture around Samara is dominated by herding and wandering, with very little horticulture, even though the combination of excellent soil, lots of water and sun and plenty of free land, is a paradise for vegetable production.

Meeting with the president of the university of Samara and the stuff of the College of Agriculture, the team learnt that agriculture in general, and vegetables production in particular are very undeveloped in the district, with almost no access to improved varieties, fertilizers and chemicals. The team visited Dubti, a small rural town, a 25-minute drive from Samara, situated in the heart of the green Awash area. Around the town they could see the beginning of agriculture production, but the level is still very low – exactly the type of place Fair Planet can make a huge difference. Visiting onion producing farmers, the team learned that the seeds are bought in Addis Ababa and other inputs are very hard to come by. The knowledge is lacking and the yields are very low. Yes, this is the perfect place for the next Fair Planet project. Stay tuned.

Fair Planet – Summary of Activities, 2021

Freeing subsistence farming families from poverty

Overview

Together with the rest of the world, we shared many ups and downs in 2021. Yet, with all the difficulties, we finish the year on a definite note of (cautious) optimism, going into 2022.

1. Ethiopia – bright lights in a dark tunnel

While the ongoing political crisis meant we had to evacuate all foreign staff, our local teams successfully kept the two main stations fully operative. We plan to join them in February (if the situation allows) to begin testing TPS (True Potato Seeds). Science indicates that growing potatoes from seed may prove transformational for Food Security throughout the developing world – and we are at the cutting edge of this potential change.

2. Tanzania – we have successful lift-off!

In November, we began training small-holder farmers in the Morogoro district of Tanzania. Fifty Lead Farmers from five large villages signed up after seeing the impact of growing seeds tested for local suitability. Our Tanzania programs have won the support of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Sokoine, its premier agricultural university, and various commercial enterprises.

3. Exploration Missions – new countries call

Fair Planet has been asked to conduct two new Exploration Missions in 2022, the first to Kenya, the second to Rwanda. We are currently finalizing details. The missions are a first step in starting new projects in these two East African countries.

4. Funding – opening multiple avenues

Several of our global commercial partners have renewed their pledges for long-term financial support, and we are hoping more will soon follow.

We have applied for funding from major governmental and private grant bodies.

This year, for the first time, we launched crowdfunding activities via the international GlobalGiving platform, where Fair Planet’s campaign page is: http://goto.gg/53427 .

A million thanks again for your ongoing support.

The Fair Planet Team