Mises à jour de ECHOcommunity
Integrated agriculture serves rehabilitation ministry in more ways than one 2016-06-02
Rick Ervin is a veterinarian working in Nicaragua. Since 2006 he and his wife Mary have been involved in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation ministry near Tuma-La dalia. At the ministry’s small farm men and women who have little or no financial resources receive care and chance to make a new start. The farm integrates animal systems including rabbits, laying hens and dairy goats with traditional crops such as corn and beans.
Latin America and ... Institutional Agri... Institutional Agri...
Guest Post: Travis Silveus - Peace Corps Volunteer, Tanzania 2016-05-24
Travis Silveus is a Peace Corps Volunteer who is extending for his 3rd year in Tanzania by working with ECHO East Africa. He did his two year work in Kijunguvillage, Kiteto, Manyara Region, and here he shares some honest experiences of that time.
"In my village, deforestation is a problem. If a tree doesn't produce edible fruit or look beautiful with showy flowers, it's usually on its way to becoming firewood. The two years I lived in Kijungu I saw the tree line slowly creep up the mountain behind my house as families would send girls to cut and collect tree branches. I talked with the environment group, a small group of concerned villagers, but our plans to start a tree nursery were put on the way side until the rains came and then eventually forgotten...
East Africa FMNR African Moringa Tanzania Peace Corps Deforestation
ECHOcommunity Member Profile: Pastor Florentin 2016-05-03
This week's blog post is from guest writer Robert Sanou. Robert is the director of the ECHO West Africa Regional Impact Center in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The pastor who brings change in his environment
It was an afternoon of March that I received a call from Pastor Florentin. His name reminded me nothing; but he told me he had participated in the forum of ECHO in January 2015 in Ouagadougou. He invited me to come and see the fruit of "your job."
In Africa this phrase has two meanings:
- Either that you did a good job and you come see the beautiful fruit
- Or that you have not worked well and you will also see the consequences.
But he assured me that it was a good job.
ECHO forum has opened more his eyes on gardening and he wanted us to come and see the difference.
Pastor Florentin lives in Zangoma at about 65kms from Bobo-Dioulasso the second city of the country.
The pastor met us at the roadside before leading us in his garden. The garden is almost one hectare. He has produced onions, cabbage and zucchini. A very beautiful garden, with vegetables in very good shape.
Florentin says he participated in the forum of ECHO through a scholarship He has been practicing gardening since but the forum was a beautiful opportunity to better understand the work of the garden and the interest of a garden.
We were very amazed by the beauty of the fields; He had still not begun harvesting but he was expecting a good sale in this year.
Florentin has also encouraged the members of his Church to the gardens. After his garden, he leads us in gardens of members of his Church.
Beyond the Church, Florentin shares his knowledge of gardening with the people of his village.
This is exactly the spirit of sharing of ECHO.
ECHO Asia Coffee Network - First Coffee Cupping 2016-04-26
The first ECHO Asia coffee cupping was organized on March 10, 2016 at the Torch Coffee Lab located on the second floor of Omnia Café & Roastery in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Zachary Price, ECHO Asia Technical Advisor and Q-grader (certified coffee cupper) led the activity and also shared some knowledge about the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) cupping protocols, coffee processing, and tasting.
The purpose of this event was to host a small gathering of local ECHO network members, nonprofits, and business owners who work with smallholder coffee farmers—in order to share knowledge and skills needed in evaluating coffee. Each participant was asked to bring 100 grams of light roasted coffee beans for the cupping in order to analyze the quality of the beans and to discuss the attributes of each coffee.
ECHO Asia is working to support and strengthen the capacity of our network members in Asia where high value niche crops such as coffee have become of economic importance. Developing the skill of cupping coffee in order to evaluate its quality and unique characteristics is essential in helping ECHO network members succeed in endeavors to empower smallholder farmers. The end goal is to equip these farmers with the knowledge needed for high-value specialty coffee production. If ECHO network members understand how to produce and evaluate quality coffee it will enable them to speak up for fair treatment of smallholder farmers within the coffee industry, and guide these farmers to a more sustainable path. ECHO Asia Technical Advisor, Zach Price, works with NGOs and coffee business owners who work with smallholder farmers to provide both knowledge and skills that they can, in turn, share with the farmers they work with. Future trainings centered on topics such as best agricultural practices for coffee production, coffee processing methods, and coffee evaluation are all a part of ECHO Asia’s plans to better equip our network.
Thailand has established itself as one of the major coffee producers of Southeast Asia, producing an average of 900,000 60 kilograms bags of coffee each year since 2004. Thanks to the work of the Thai Government and the Royal Project, as well as domestic and international coffee companies, Thai farmers now have access to several coffee varieties and basic production knowledge.
Internationally, 80% of the world’s coffee is grown by smallholder farmers, 50% of those farmers are living in poverty and are able to provide basic living necessities for their families. As the international coffee market is beginning to push for speciality coffee and higher quality coffee, as opposed to commodity coffees or instant coffees, there is substantial opportunity for smallholder farmers to increase their position and benefit from the market.
One of the core areas of the ECHO Asia Foundation’s mission is to provide technical training, materials, and support to community development workers, organizations, grassroots networks, and farming cooperatives in Southeast Asia so that they can reduce hunger and improve the lives of poor farmers in the region. As a part of this mission, by training smallholder coffee farmers and the community development workers that support them with additional knowledge and skills to increase the quality of their coffee, ECHO Asia seeks to empower these farmers to increase the selling price of and be able to compete against other internationally recognized speciality coffees. In order to achieve these goals, involves training that focuses on farming practices, harvesting practices, processing methods, and sensory skills for farmers to be able to evaluate their own coffee. More training for farmers about speciality coffee means not they are both less vulnerable to be exploited by coffee purchasers and able to improve their crop and coffee product.
Currently, ECHO Asia is looking to identify interested network members to become a part of an “ECHO Asia Coffee Network.” This network will be contacted for upcoming trainings and events, receive first notice of resources pertaining to coffee, be notified of availability for coffee consultations from ECHO, and connect with organizations doing similar work and facing similar challenges. To sign up for this network, please fill out this form today!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10G3SLZ3eVH5yfTOxkcQfm3Nkhr8QXgOpXB2XmY4Nymk/
Numéro 131 - Maintenant disponible 2016-04-08
Sommaire:
- Jardins Potagers au Burundi – « La nouvelle façon de cultiver des légumes »
- L’utilisation de l’extrait de feuilles de moringa comme un activateur de la croissance des cultures efficace et facile
- Les Échos de Notre Réseau - Roland Bunch, 5 ans en Afrique
- Banque de Semences d’ECHO: points saillants de semences de légumineuses (voir la version téléchargeable)
- Livres, Sites Web et Autres Ressources (voir la version téléchargeable)
Jardins Potagers au Burundi – « La nouvelle façon de cultiver des légumes »
Sara Delaney, responsable des programmes, aux Programmes internationaux d’Episcopal Relief & Development
Sara Delaney a présenté un exposé lors de la Conférence internationale de ECHO sur l’agriculture en Novembre 2015. Un projet q’elle avait mentionné a eu des taux d’adoption remarquables, et nous avons pensé que ce serait un bon cas d’étude à partager dans EDN. Au cours de l’introduction de nouvelles idées ou pratiques, pourquoi certaines sont-elles acceptés plus facilement, plus rapidement ou à plus grande envergure que d’autres? Cet article propose quelques raisons pouvant expliquer le succès de départ des jardins potagers au Burundi, et partage également une méthode pour essayer de mesurer l’impact que les jardins potagers auront sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition des familles qui les utilisent.
Extrait: "Le Burundi est l’un des pays les plus petits et les plus densément peuplés sur le continent africain. Si vous passez un peu de temps là-bas, vous verrez des gens dans les rues de la ville, marchant sur les routes entre la ville et le village, dans les champs vallonnés ... partout!"
"Le Burundi est également très vallonné. La topographie présente des collines presque en continue, menant sur les rives du grand lac Tanganyika. Cela donne de beaux paysages, mais aussi de grands défis. Les collines sont sujettes à l’érosion des sols, et l’accès aux terres est difficile et cela s’accentue, d’autant plus que la population est croissante. Les infrastructures, l’approvisionnement en semences et l’accès au marché sont limités. Les maladies des cultures d’Afrique orientale tels que le flétrissement bactérien de la banane ou flétrissement bactérien Xanthomonas et la mosaïque du manioc ont fait leur apparition dans le pays."
Télécharger et partager des notes de développement #131
Network Member Profile: Semilla Nueva 2016-04-05
The mission of Semilla Nueva is to develop locally-led farmer education programs that increase the income, rebuild the soils, and improve the food security of Guatemala’s rural poor. This ECHOcommunity network member organization is using farmer-to-farmer training to empower farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to experiment with new, sustainable, techniques and to share their results with others.
Guatemalan small-scale farmers are in need of improved access to nutritious crops. Semilla Nueva is helping to provide seed and support for three specific crops: Chaya, Pigeonpea, and Quality Protein Maize.
Chaya, or tree spinach, is perennial source of protein native to the region. Chaya has been a traditional source of protein for the Mayan people, and the plants can be used as natural fencing. Through nutrition programs and cooking classes Semilla Nueva is working with Guatemalans to increase the growth and consumption of this nutritious vegetable.
Maize is a major food source for Guatemalans, however reliance on low-protein varieties for a large part of their dietary intake has contributed in no small way to malnutrition and stunting in some populations. Semilla Nueva is researching and promoting a variety of Quality Protein Maize (QPM) that has been bred to be a complete protein source. With 90% of the protein of milk, QPM is a non-gmo corn variety that can be used to increase the diversity of Maize available and improve the nutritional value of traditional meals.
Along with new varieties of Maize, Semilla Nueva is promoting the agricultural practice of intercropping, specifically focusing on growing Maize and Pigeonpea in the same field. Another traditional crop, Pigeonpea is a highly nutritious bean that grows well between rows of Maize as a green manure cover crop, improving the soil through fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
Latin America and ... Chaya Maize Quality Protein Maize Green Manures and ... Pigeon Pea
EDN Numéro 130 - Maintenant disponible 2016-04-01
Sommaire:
- Les contaminants des pneus dans une perspective de cultures en contenants
- Du papier Cyantesmo pour détecter le cyanure
- Utilisation efficace des ateliers dans la vulgarisation agricole
- Les Échos de Notre Réseau
- Banque de Semences d’ECHO: Semences de Légumes a Souligné [ PDF ]
- Livres, Sites Web et Autres Ressources [ PDF ]
- Évènements à Venir [ PDF ]
Extrait: Les contaminants des pneus dans une perspective de cultures en contenants
En essayant de trouver des contenants de plantation abordables dans les pays en développement, les organisations et les travailleurs ont partout favorisé l’utilisation d’une ressource de déchets facilement disponible: les pneus. Au fil des ans, beaucoup ont demandé à savoir si oui ou non les pneus contiennent des produits chimiques nocifs qui pourraient s’introduire dans vos cultures. Cet article a été écrit pour communiquer ce que nous avons trouvé après des recherches dans la littérature sur le sujet.
Une grande partie de la littérature sur le sujet se rapporte à des pneus qui ont été recyclés en petites particules. Comparativement à la paroi latérale d’un contenant en pneu, la surface du pneu en contact avec la terre de plantation est beaucoup plus grande avec de petits morceaux de caoutchouc. Une grande partie des informations disponibles se rapporte également à des toxines dans des cendres de pneus brûlés ou celles lixiviées à partir de matériaux de pneumatiques soumis à des solutions fortement acides. Les contenants de jardin en pneus ne sont pas bien sûr convertis en cendres. En outre, la terre utilisée pour faire pousser les plantes dans des pneus n’est presque pas aussi acide que les solutions souvent utilisées pour étudier les contaminants dans les lixiviats de pneus.
Néanmoins, les pneus contiennent bel et bien des quantités infimes de quatre métaux qui sont connus pour être toxiques pour l’homme. La plupart des discussions ci-dessous se rapporte à des éléments métalliques, mais il y a aussi une brève discussion sur les contaminants organiques. L’article se termine avec des pratiques suggérées pour rendre le jardinage dans les pneus aussi sûr que possible. Cet article ne vise pas à être exhaustif ou définitif. En fonction des commentaires et de ce que nous aurons appris, nous sommes ouverts à des articles de complément....
Télécharger et partager des notes de développement #130
West African farmers benefit from in-field trainings 2016-03-28
Training participants in Koaran, Burkina Faso are praising the qualities of local workshops held in their community. Located about 250km from the capital, Ouagadougou, this remote village is one that is benefitting from farmer-to-farmer instruction.
Across West Africa, this educational style has proven to be effective and desirable. Groups are usually limited to about 30 farmers, but due to enthusiasm, recent trainings have included more than 50 participants.
These events cover a wide range of agricultural practices, underutilized crops, and appropriate technologies such as FFF(FGW), family gardens, Moringa, biogas, and small-scale livestock.
The advantages of these "in-context" trainings are felt by both teachers and participants. Presenters are better able to understand the village's unique situation and available resources; and report that participants follow closely to whomever is teaching and ask a lot of questions.
West Africa FFF Moringa Biogas Field Training Agriculture Extension
Empowering Tanzanian women using environmentally-conscious initiatives 2016-03-14
Waste plastic shopping bags are a plentiful resource that can be found in fields, along roadsides, and in garbage piles around the world. By repurposing this resource, MIT students in Arusha Tanzania are empowering women and improving the environment through a plastic recycling program.
The project aims to improve the lives of people in three ways: First the project aims to reduce the amount of waste plastic bags and increase environmental awareness by emphasizing the potential usefulness of "waste products." Second, the project aims to provide an economic opportunity to women by creating new products out of the plastic bags. And finally, the project provides customers with quality, environmentally-conscious products such as reusable grocery bags.
Through interactive workshops, women are learning how to create plastic yarn, or plarn, from waste plastic. Each workshop also includes a design challenge which is meant to urge participants to be creative and think of new ways to use the repurposed material. During these challenges the women are divided into teams to design an outfit using just 5 plastic bags, tape, and scissors. The exercise attempts to show the versatility of the bags and the potential of creating new products.
The Tanzanian women involved in the initiative commonly create economic income by creating artisinal products such as soap or jewelry. The plarn products add a potential additional income source with little to no cost of materials for the artisans. As the plarn makes attractive and useful reuseable shopping bags a disposable product is turned into a more durable alternativel and a new, more environmentally conscious, product is introduced into the marketplace.
ECHO TN#82: Le SRI, Système de Riziculture Intensive - Moins peut être plus 2016-02-26
Extrait : Le Système de Riziculture Intensive (SRI) est une méthode de culture du riz qui produit des rendements nettement plus élevés avec la plantation de beaucoup moins de semis et l’utilisation de moins d’intrants que les méthodes traditionnelles (c’est-à-dire d’inondation) ou les méthodes plus « modernes » (utilisant des engrais minéraux ou agrochimiques). Cette approche implique l’utilisation de diverses pratiques de gestion des plantes, du sol, de l’eau et des éléments nutritifs. Le SRI a été utilisé avec succès dans un certain nombre de pays et a été largement promu par le Dr Norman Uphoff avec l’Université de Cornel.
Qu’est-ce que le SRI ?
Le SRI implique l’utilisation d’une combinaison de pratiques de gestion qui optimisent les conditions de croissance des plants de riz, en particulier dans la zone racinaire. Il a été développé à Madagascar au début des années 1980 par le père Henri de Laulanie, un prêtre jésuite qui a passé plus de 30 ans à travailler avec les agriculteurs dans ce pays. En 1990, l’Association Tefy Saina (ATS) a été formé en tant qu’ONG malgache afin de promouvoir le SRI. Quatre ans plus tard, l’Institut international Cornell pour l’Alimentation, l’Agriculture et le Développement (en anglais CIIFAD), a commencé à coopérer avec Tefy Saina pour introduire le SRI autour du Parc National de Ranomafana dans l’est de Madagascar, soutenu par l’Agence Américaine pour le Développement International. Il a depuis été testé en Chine, en Inde, en Indonésie, aux Philippines, au Sri Lanka et au Bangladesh avec des résultats positifs.