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Trading tedium for technology to increase productivity, incomes for women farmers

Trading tedium for technology to increase productivity, incomes for women farmers

Technologies likely to make a difference in the daily lives of rural women farmers are those that address their specific needs based on the division of labor in developing countries.

For women, benefits would have to go beyond increased productivity and income. When their drudgery and tedium are reduced, women have more time and confidence to pursue different activities. This includes assuming leadership in their communities, which in turn can help ensure the benefits of improved agriculture are shared more equally among both women and men.

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SIMLESA Field Days Nudge East African Farmers towards Sustainable Intensification

Smallholder farmers in East Africa can attain food security and move from subsistence to commercial farming by sustainably intensifying their maize-based farming systems. This was revealed during the annual field days recently held in Kenya and Tanzania, which were jointly organized by CIMMYT’s Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project and the two countries’ national research systems.

The objective of the field days was to examine how the new experiments under SIMLESA Phase II were progressing and gather farmers’ feedback on some of the sustainable intensification interventions. They also showcased SIMLESA’s farmer-tested improved maize-legume technologies.

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SIMLESA-Mozambique Learns More about Conservation Agriculture Technologies in Brazil

Three agriculturalists from the Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA)–Mozambique made a training visit to Brazil on 3-13 June 2015.

The objective of the visit was for the three researchers to acquire conservation agriculture (CA) skills, with a special focus on soil health and climate change. The training sessions were also expected to give participants the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with their Brazilian counterparts at EMBRAPA sites.

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5th Annual Review and Planning Meeting to Strengthen Phase II

Mr. Ringson Chitsiko (left),Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture,Zimbabwe, chats with Dr. Sikhalazo Dube, ILRI's Southern Africa Representative.
Mr. Ringson Chitsiko (left),Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture,Zimbabwe, chats with Dr. Sikhalazo Dube, ILRI’s Southern Africa Representative.

By Johnson Siamachira and Gift Mashango

Sustainable intensification through conservation agriculture (CA) is not only necessary but urgent. This is the key message and approach that SIMLESA is focusing on, in collaboration with its international partners and national agricultural research systems (NARS) in Africa.

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Transforming farming through conservation agriculture in Malawi

Fifty-year – old lead farmer Catherine Kariza lives in one of drought –ravaged village in Ntcheu district , , Malawi. Kariza has been growing maize since 1985, but without water for irrigation and using traditional farming practices, her yields were very low. With erratic rainfall, she harvested less than 1 ton of maize per hectare, forcing her to register for government food relief services.

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