Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister praises SIMLESA achievments in Africa

In a plenary address closing the 5th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, held in Brisbane, Australia during 26-29 September 2011, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd singled out the impressive achievements of the initiative on Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) since its launch in early 2010. “This particular project is helping to develop drought and disease-tolerant maize and legume varieties and to educate farmers about new farming technologies in conservation in five African countries. In the first eighteen months of the program, we’ve helped train more than 150 agricultural researchers from Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania and trialed conservation agriculture in 215 fields owned by local farmers. It’s on track to reaching its target of increasing crop productivity of maize and legumes by 30% on around half a million African small farms within 10 years.” Complete text for this address may be found at: http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/2011/kr_sp_110929.html