Target 2.3: Double the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers.
The Problem Ethiopian smallholders growing vegetables from local seed were getting low yields. Fair Planet puts the average tomato yield from local seed at about 7,670 kg per hectare.
The Move They Made Fair Planet, an Israeli non-profit founded in 2012, tests commercial seed varieties under local conditions with partner seed companies. Its volunteers then train "lead farmers" and local trainers, who pass the methods on to their neighbours through village demonstrations.
The Proof Over a five-year project in Ethiopia, Fair Planet trained 150 local trainers and mentored about 2,360 lead farmers in 65 villages. Lead farmers' tomato yields reached about 32,150 kg per hectare. An estimated 75,000 neighbouring farmers were reached as the knowledge spread. Lead farmers' vegetable income raised their households' annual income by about 26%. The work has since extended to Tanzania and Rwanda.
Your Move Fair Planet trained lead farmers, and their neighbours learned from them. Find the people your audience already trusts, and train them first.
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