Author: admin
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Cultivating Change for Tomorrow: The Successful Handover and Closing of SDHS
Prepared by Aakash Koirala, Senior Program Officer, LIBIRD Reviewed by Lok Pd. Poudel, Technical Coordinator Oxfam Nepal The “Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security (SD=HS),” a four-year collaborative initiative involving Oxfam Novib, Oxfam Nepal, and LIBIRD, launched from 2019 to 2023 (with a one-year, no-cost extension) was funded by SIDA. The primary objective of this initiative […]
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News from the SeedNL Annual Event
By Nout van der Vaart, Oxfam Novib The Oxfam Novib SD=HS team participated in the SeedNL Annual Event, which took place in Wageningen, the Netherlands on October 5th. During the event, the team had the opportunity to co-facilitate a joint break-out session together with ISSD Uganda, to inform the audience about seed system policies and […]
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Sowing Resilience: Women Farmers Transform Agriculture in Nepal
By Lok Pd Poudel, Technical Coordinator, Oxfam Nepal The Progressive Seed Producer’s Farmer’s Field School in Jorayal Gaupalika Ward No. 2, Budar Doti, was established three years ago with the active participation of 33 dedicated women members. The school’s primary focus has been on Participatory Plant Varietal Enhancement (PVE) practices, especially for the local wheat variety, Seto Dabdi. Additionally, they have taken up […]
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Learning for Change
“Change is the end result of all true learning” -Leo Buscaglia The journey of learning that began in the second phase of the Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security (SD=HS) program for Zambia has come to an end by the year 2023. Since 2019 Zambia has strived to achieve change through learning, unlearning, and relearning together […]
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Seeds of Hope: Pahalman’s Journey to Prosperity
By Lalita Ale, LI-BIRD and translated by Lok Pd Poudel, Oxfam in Nepal Pahalman Chaudhary, a 41-year-old resident of Kailari Rural Municipality, Kailali District, Sudurpaschim Province, underwent a remarkable transformation in just two years. Contrary to the general notion that small landholding farmers cannot engage in seed production, Pahalman stands as a compelling example, demonstrating […]
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The government of Zimbabwe pledges to utilize the services of Farmer Field School Master Trainers
By Manata Jeko and Pardon Sithole The Government of Zimbabwe through the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MLAFWRD) has pledged to fully utilize the services of Farmer Field School Master Trainers and facilitators trained under the SD=HS program with the support from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The […]
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Enhancing and supporting resilient Farmers’ Seed Systems in Zimbabwe: Findings from the National End of Season Evaluation
By Manata Jeko and Pardon Sithole Outcomes from the just-ended National end-of-season evaluation in Zimbabwe have demonstrated that the Sowing Diversity Equals Harvesting Security (SDHS) program in Zimbabwe has transformed farmers’ seed systems. A group of 30 participants from the six operational districts convened at Chibhanguza Hotel over three days to evaluate the performance of […]
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Zimbabwean Farmer Muzamani Lihinga’s Success with New Sorghum Seed Sales
By Jeko Manata The tale of success in Matihwa village, situated within Chiredzi’s Chilonga area in the semi-arid southeastern region of Zimbabwe, revolves around the remarkable journey of Mr. Muzamani Lihinga. His collaboration with the Sowing Diversity equals Harvesting Security (SDHS) program in Zimbabwe has resulted the opportunity to increase the income for smallholder farmers […]
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Elevating Food Variety in Zimbabwe: Sylvia Zimboko’s Local Food Plant Journey
By Pardon Sithole Women in Africa have played a crucial role in ensuring household food and nutrition security. They have taken on responsibilities in crop production, meal preparation, and diversifying family diets to meet varying nutritional needs. Sylvia Zimboko, a farmer from Zimbabwe’s southeastern lowveld, faced challenges due to recurrent droughts and long dry seasons […]
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Mobilizing Local Food Plants to Combat Malnutrition
By Juliet Nangamba and Diana Mapulanga According to the USAID report on nutrition in Zambia, updated in 2018 indicates that 1.12 million children (40 per cent) under 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting or low height-for-age) and 420,000 children (15 per cent) under 5 years suffer from acute malnutrition (wasting or low weight-for-height). Considering […]
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Peru’s Vibrant Events: A Medley of Diverse Experiences
By Angel Villavicencio, Milagros Ysuhuaylas, Kelly Alvarez, Pavel Lozano (Fovida) and Ana Lucía Núñez (Oxfam) Agrobiodiversity and Barter Fair – Paucará 2023 On July 20, the “First Agrobiodiversity and Barter Fair – Paucará 2023” was held in the province of Acobamba, in the Huancavelica, central highlands of Peru. Barter is an ancestral mechanism local communities […]
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An Insight into the Diverse Farmer Field School Trainings Arranged in Uganda
Clustered Refresher Training on Farmer Field School (FFS) Methodology Refresher training sessions on the Farmer Field School (FFS) Methodology were organized in clusters. In Omoro district, a total of 14 FFS facilitators (8 females and 6 males) underwent reorientation on FFS methodology during the period from 28- 31 August 2023. The primary objective of this […]
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European Patent Office: Plants and animals obtained through classical breeding are not patentable
May 14, 2020 Plants and animals derived from conventional breeding are no longer patentable. This is the verdict published today by the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO). Oxfam endorses the ruling but at the same time demands further decisions to close existing loopholes. The judgment will take effect retroactively from […]
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Patents, Digital Sequence Information and the Treaty: A reflection on current trends and future impacts
Oxfam Novib and South Centre organized an event on patents and Digital Sequence Information on the side of the Eighth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO Treaty) that took place in Rome from November 9 to 16. With three presentations, bringing in a […]
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Highlights of Oxfam at GB8
From 11-16 November 2019, the Eighth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (a UN-FAO Treaty) took place in Rome. One of the positive outcomes is that the process of collecting experiences and options for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights will be continued with stronger […]
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Guardians of Seeds: A virtual reality movie
During the 8th session of the Governing Body on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Oxfam hosted a virtual reality (VR) experience in the FAO atrium. From 11-16 November 2019, all participants of the GB meeting and all visitors of the UN FAO building were invited to join the Community […]
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‘Number of plant patents increasing around the globe’
‘Patents on plants: Is the sellout of genes a threat to farmers and global food security?’ wonders Die Welle’s Tim Schauenberg in this article. Among others, Schauenberg quotes SD=HS’ policy advisor Bram de Jonge, also co-author of the research report on the ‘Status of patenting plants in the Global South‘: Bram de Jonge from Oxfam […]
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Case study: Champion Seeds, a Farmer Seed Enterprise
Read the full account on the lessons learned while establishing a Farmer Seed Enterprise: Champion Farmer Seeds Cooperative in Zimbabwe. The involved practitioners reflect on the assumptions made at the start of the program, and how the experience can guide further development of different models of Farmer Seed Enterprises. Go to publication
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How we work: explained on a canvas
The Sowing Diversity=Harvesting Security program works to increase access to and sustainable use of plant genetic resources as a key condition for food and nutrition security under conditions of climate change. Food and nutrition security are impeded and increased by several interrelated factors. That is why the SD=HS program works through an integrated approach. This […]
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SD=HS meets for Global Methodological Workshop
In the last week of May, all colleagues from Oxfam and partner organizations involved in the SD=HS program 2019-2022, met in The Hague, The Netherlands. The Inception and Global Methodological workshops were opened by Oxfam Novib director Michiel Servaes and by a panel discussion with participants from the secretariat of the Treaty on Plant Genetic […]