Flourishing futures for farmers like Amina
For three years running, prolonged droughts have hit countries in eastern Africa hard, with many farmers failing to harvest enough to earn a living. This is particularly the case for sunflower farmers in Babati, Tanzania.
Currently, most of the sunflower farmers we are working with in Babati use local seed varieties that struggle to survive these new extreme weather conditions. The plants often perish during droughts or struggle to grow at all. When farmers do get a harvest, the seeds they collect are tiny and their oil content is too low to sustain the local sunflower oil industry.
This is why we are introducing farmers like Amina to super sunflower seeds. Not only are they drought-resistant and rich in oil, they are resilient against pests and are almost double the size of the local variety. Bigger seeds make a huge difference when it comes to selling – sunflower seeds are sold by weight and so, the more they weigh the more they are worth.
Amina joined the Sunflower project in 2018 and has since transformed her family’s life. Thanks to these super seeds, her harvests have multiplied tenfold – despite the droughts.
Since being introduced to the new seed variety I get 30 bags of sunflower seeds from my harvest when before I used to get just three! Last season there was a prolonged drought – thankfully, we were able to feed ourselves because of the income from the sunflowers. My children are now getting enough food, they’re healthy and going to school happy. These seeds have changed everything.
Amina
Farm Africa’s training is helping farmers build their resilience to climate shocks. With your support we have been:
- Demonstrating how the new super seed variety can thrive in dry conditions and survive pests and heavy rainfall.
- Teaching farmers about the best planting times, so they can plant and harvest sunflowers not just once, but twice a year.
- Training farmers on how to manage their soil and rotate crops, so that they can improve the fertility and water retention of their land between harvests.
