OVERVIEW
PFD’s programs in the field of agriculture and household economic-and food-security include community-based programming to support individual households with training and support. The objectives for this work include increasing agricultural efficiency, improving livestock health (see "Veterinary Health"), promoting the growing of nutrient-rich vegetables in household gardens, and increasing access to credit and marketing opportunities. Partners for Development has also managed national agricultural initiatives that seek to change policy and build institutions.
CURRENT AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS
Jatropha Agriculture and Nutrition Initative (JANI)
Through support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), PFD joined with local partners in Tanzania in implementing a multi-year income diversification and food-securty project from 2009-2011.
This project has two main objectives:
- First, to diversify and increase the household incomes of targeted small-holder farmer families through: [a] training in the cultivation and processing of Jatropha curcas, commonly referred to as "jatropha"; and [b] creating market linkages with buyers of jatropha seed and oil; and
- Second, to improve food-security and nutrition of jatropha farmers and their households through community nutrition education campaigns and technical assistance in household food production
Jatropha has many uses, including as a hedge plant, a source of food, and a potential source of biodiesel production. In this project, it is promoted for small-scale farmers. After cultivation, the jani will be used for lamp oil, soap, and oil for stoves.
PAST AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, PFD implemented programs in support of the agricultural sector from 1993-2008. Since that time, the organization’s work successfully transitioned from relief-based activities to development in the post-conflict country. For the last several years, the focus was on building a sustainable organization to represent small-scale farmers in the Upper Vrbas region. More recently, national agricultural initiatives such as conferences and publications were added to the program to form the Integrated Agricultural Development Program (IADP).
As an essential component, PFD has supported the creation of the Independent Farmers’ Association (IFA), a self-sustaining member organization reaching out to all ethnic communities and offering services designed to increase the marketing capabilities of the local farmers in this mountainous region. PFD has facilitated commercial partnerships between established business entities and the IFA. These commercial linkages have moved the development program from small-scale initiatives to major private-sector activity. Though PFD's active programming in the country has ended, the IFA continues to offer vital services to local farmers.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, particularly in Benue and Nassarawa states, about 70% of the population is estimated to live in poverty. The region is also highly dependent on agriculture with an estimated four million of the five million living in these two states relying on farming and other work in the agricultural sector as their primary source of livelihood.
Many farmers in the region are isolated, and therefore, vulnerable to monopolistic traders because of a lack of transportation infrastructure, including, quite simply, roads. In response, Partners for Development improved feeder roads as a means of increasing farmers’ access to markets, and of increasing communities’ access to cheaper products. To date, PFD’s road and bridge improvements have benefited more than 260,000 local residents. PFD has worked through local communities to implement the road improvement projects and has ensured that infrastructure improvement projects can be sustained, maintained, and replicated by offering training to local partners in their management and maintenance.
Partners for Development also worked with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture on information outreach efforts to support the agricultural sector, including pamphlets and brochures as well as demonstrations of new and appropriate technology.
Cambodia
When PFD began its project in Cambodia, approximately 40% of the population was below the poverty line in rural areas and over 70% of household expenditures were for food. Caloric and micronutrient deficiencies in the Cambodian diet have led to a disproportionately high percentage of malnourished and underweight children. This in turn, is a major contributor to Cambodia’s extremely high under-five mortality rate of 12.4%.
Meanwhile, agriculture remains the most important economic activity for 94% of rural communities; therefore, improving productivity in this sector is critical to addressing poverty on a national basis. Working within a participatory and peer-oriented framework, Partners for Development worked to increase agricultural productivity by boosting private sector rice production with improved rice varieties and growing techniques, as well as improving the production of upland crops. Family nutrition was improved through a focus on household vegetable gardening, nutrition education, and duck raising. Agricultural extension services were strengthened through training and capacity-building, while access to markets was increased through the establishment and support of local farmers’ associations.
