Technology Ensuring Food Security Women Farms Experience By Siham Osman - Agriculture & DRR Adviser

Overview Practical Action:  Founded in 1966 by Dr. Fritz Schumacher, author of ‘Small is Beautiful’  Operating in Sudan since 1988.

Continue Overview Practical Action’s Vision A sustainable world free of poverty and injustice, in which technology is used for the benefit of all. Practical Action’s Mission To use technology to challenge poverty by: Building the capacities of poor people. Improving their access to technical options and knowledge. Working with them to influence social, economic and institutional systems for innovation and use of technology.

Strategic fit: Practical Action operates under four strategic objectives:  Energy access: Sustainable access to modern energy services for all.  Food and Agriculture: Food security and resilient livelihoods for farming and pastoral communities.  Urban water and Waste: Improving access to drinking water, sanitation and waste services for the urban poor.  Disaster Risk Reduction: Reduce the risk of disasters for marginalised groups and communities.

Agriculture and DRR programme Objective: Food security and resilient livelihoods for farming and pastoral communities in North Darfur, Blue Nile State and Eastern Sudan. Approach:  Introduce appropriate technologies & skills to smallholder farmers and pastoralists for sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.  Link smallholder farmers and pastoralists with agricultural markets that work for their best interest.  Prepare communities to cope with the effects of climate change & conflict.  Enhance agricultural policies and practices to reflect the opinions and interest of smallholder farmers and pastoralists.

Context  60-75% of the population lives below the poverty line of $1 a day, and only 54% have access to clean water.

 50% of the population earn their living from agriculture and livestock.  Prolonged drought cycles and increasing rainfall variability affect farmer and pastoral communities.

Context  Civil conflict, such as prolonged wars have had a traumatic impact on the livelihoods of the rural poor.  Desertification and environmental degradation have drastically weakened agricultural productivity and increased food insecurity.  Lack of institutional and organisational capacity.

Interventions  Our work is driven by a commitment to technology justice and wellbeing. In agriculture, this means ensuring that the technologies and systems being promoted by governments, donors and the private sector do not exclude, or adversely affect, poor people or smallholder farmers – now or in the future.  Our understanding of technology includes physical infrastructure, machinery and equipment, knowledge and skills and the capacity to organise and use all of these.

Interventions Areas of expertise: Transitional Technology and Knowledge:  Integrated Water Resource Management.  Participatory Action Plan Development.  Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services.  Solar Irrigation and Rainwater Management. Smallholder farmers and pastoralists productivity:  Agro-ecological Practices for Intensification.  Sustainable Livestock Raising Practices.  Participatory Market System Development.

Areas of expertise Institutional & organisational capacity building:  Community based networks and national 'Network of Networks'.  Training on programme design and delivery, as well as policy engagement.  Linking state and national policy implementation and influencing.  Facilitating collaborations and partnerships between farmers, government bodies and the private sector.

Interventions Women farm  The women farm is one of Practical Action’s initiatives to improve food security for the targeted families. This activity targeted the most vulnerable people; through increasing availability and quality of food for the targeted groups and improves their access and utilization of nutritious food. On the other hand, it offers them a source of income.

 Kassala State: 6 existing water yard pumps systems changed from diesel powered water pumps to solar driven; through equipping them with Lorentz solar pump, which pumps water to elevated tanks, finally feeding the water points for domestic use. This uses the surplus for feeding women farms of approximately two feddans in average through small drip irrigation schemes.

Interventions  Women trained in vegetable cultivation and harvesting methods facilitated by MOA – Department of Horticulture.  This is followed by training in cooking demonstrations, utilizing the farm products for the first time in the village, facilitated by KWDAN.  Provision of seeds and tools.  Extension services.

Impact  Multiuse approach of water system became visible; women are encouraged to husbandry activities which is not practiced according to tradition; unavailable vegetables are produced at the village level; diversification of diet achieved.  Acquire technical skills and knowledge through informal training in vegetable production and management of small farms.  The drip irrigation reduced physical effort, time, and has drastically minimised the loss of water.

Impact  Since women were restricted to indoor or domestic roles, the impact is demonstrated in how it facilitated women access outdoor productive roles and has allowed them access to/control over income as well as gathering and organising.  Created the nexus between energy and agriculture (both farming and livestock) in the environment protecting frame, through use of renewable energy such as Solar energy for water pumping.  Created demand and a suitable environment for replication by model and by attracting solar companies and several INGOs; UN (resilience), (IWRM W4EAST) and government agencies replicated.

Impact  Reduced conflicts and migration (displacement), which was happening due to water supply shortage and frequent breakdown of diesel pumps.  Reduced malnourished children. e.g. The numbers in Shalalob community have gone from 59 to 20 cases, according to nutrition officer in the health center.  Increased HHs income and saving. e.g. A woman from Alsweil Village from the Women Farm Group said “I grow Cucumber, Okra, Mulukhia (Jute leaves), and some fruits. The price of fresh okra in the market is 5 SDG and the dry one is 2 SDG. I use it for cooking two times a day, which means I save from 4 to 10 SDG each time during the harvesting period – from okra alone, besides the other vegetables grown in the farm

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