Twenty Years of Agroecology: Mapping SFHC’s Impact
For twenty years, we have been working here in Northern and Central Malawi. We are very proud of the work we’ve done: a participatory approach to agroecological farming to improve nutrition, livelihoods and equity. And since 2000, we have reached over 10, 000 farmers!
A snapshot from our project report: percentage of participating farmers using seven different agroecological practices. As you can see, they’re heavily in use!
That’s why in 2018, we were delighted to receive funding from the McKnight Foundation for the Mapping Agroeocology Project. In addition to a survey and qualitative interviews, we partnered with Dr. Isaac Luginaah and PhD student Daniel Kpienbaareh of Western University to create a spatial analysis of farmers’ experiences with SFHC programs. They trained farmers and SFHC staff to use GPS and GIS technologies in order to map out where seeds were being spread, when and how information was shared, using a sample of 600 farmers who participated in the MAFFA project. Most of this data was collected in 2019, and it’s still being analyzed, but here’s a snippet of what’s to come:
A cross-section of seed sharing networks in Mzimba district.
We are thrilled to see the final results of the spatial analysis. We’re already very encouraged by the results of our survey: for example, we’ve learned that a whopping 99% of participating farmers are still using agroecological practices. We also asked about the gaps in our program — what farmers wished they’d known and learned about. We are planning to use this information with the mapping component in order to better understand how we are having an impact, and ultimately to develop new training programs. Stay tuned for more maps!
With funding from Avaaz, SFHC did a major distribution of food and hygiene supplies this August. These supplies are critical for families affected by the pandemic. According to local request, we delivered… – 25, 000 cloth face masks–… Read More
We’re proud to feature in the prominent food systems newspaper, Civil Eats, in an article discussing the failure of U.S. investment in African industrial agriculture. The article explores the promise of African agroecology as an alternative: offering new,… Read More
SFHC has been busy during May. In order to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission, SFHC has divided the staff into several teams who work on various SFHC projects independently at the SFHC office. Teams only come in once… Read More
Leave a Comment
Posted: April 1, 2020 by Rachel Bezner-Kerr
Twenty Years of Agroecology: Mapping SFHC’s Impact
For twenty years, we have been working here in Northern and Central Malawi. We are very proud of the work we’ve done: a participatory approach to agroecological farming to improve nutrition, livelihoods and equity. And since 2000, we have reached over 10, 000 farmers!
Our staff and volunteers hear by word of mouth about the change we’re making, and we’ve published our results in leading scientific journals. We hear that farmers are still sharing what they’ve learned through SFHC — they’re farming differently, sharing new seed and spreading knowledge. Yet we lacked a critical way of understanding change: maps!
That’s why in 2018, we were delighted to receive funding from the McKnight Foundation for the Mapping Agroeocology Project. In addition to a survey and qualitative interviews, we partnered with Dr. Isaac Luginaah and PhD student Daniel Kpienbaareh of Western University to create a spatial analysis of farmers’ experiences with SFHC programs. They trained farmers and SFHC staff to use GPS and GIS technologies in order to map out where seeds were being spread, when and how information was shared, using a sample of 600 farmers who participated in the MAFFA project. Most of this data was collected in 2019, and it’s still being analyzed, but here’s a snippet of what’s to come:
We are thrilled to see the final results of the spatial analysis. We’re already very encouraged by the results of our survey: for example, we’ve learned that a whopping 99% of participating farmers are still using agroecological practices. We also asked about the gaps in our program — what farmers wished they’d known and learned about. We are planning to use this information with the mapping component in order to better understand how we are having an impact, and ultimately to develop new training programs. Stay tuned for more maps!
Category: Uncategorized
Navigation
Follow and Share
Updates & News
Avaaz funds major hygiene and food distribution for COVID-19 affected families
September 11, 2020
By Rachel Bezner-Kerr
With funding from Avaaz, SFHC did a major distribution of food and hygiene supplies this August. These supplies are critical for families affected by the pandemic. According to local request, we delivered… – 25, 000 cloth face masks–… Read More
SFHC highlighted in Civil Eats
August 29, 2020
By Rachel Bezner-Kerr
We’re proud to feature in the prominent food systems newspaper, Civil Eats, in an article discussing the failure of U.S. investment in African industrial agriculture. The article explores the promise of African agroecology as an alternative: offering new,… Read More
May Update
July 30, 2020
By Bunmi Osias
SFHC has been busy during May. In order to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission, SFHC has divided the staff into several teams who work on various SFHC projects independently at the SFHC office. Teams only come in once… Read More
Sorry, no Tweets were found.