ethiopia eritrea - Self Help Africa

ANNUAL REVIEW
2010
www.selfhelpafrica.org
SeLf HeLP AfricA
AnnuAL reVieW 2010
AN
AFRICA
FREE
FROM
HUNGER
AND
POVERTY
Tending a field of beans, Zambia
2
Designed and produced by Baily Publications Ltd. 00353 (0)1 2020370
OUR
VISION
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Letter from our CEO
It starts with
a seed
Hunger in Africa is concentrated in rural areas, in the districts
where smallholder farmers struggle to eke out a living from
their land. It is here that generational hunger and poverty
begins - children don’t eat enough because the family farm
doesn’t produce enough, poor nutrition stunts these children’s
growth and development, and their parents are simply too
poor to improve crop production on their small farm.
Looked at from one perspective, there are many reasons for
this hunger and poverty - farmers don’t have access to water,
to good soil, to quality seed, to agricultural advice, to storage,
to transport, to markets, to finance.
Everything, it seems, that developed world farmers take
for granted is in short supply in Africa. Add to this the
complexities of world food markets and trading regulations,
and you’d be forgiven for wondering if there’s any point in
trying to tackle this problem at all.
But at Self Help Africa, we look at it from another perspective.
We know that small changes on a family farm can make a big
difference. With just a small improvement in crop production,
a family can be lifted out of hunger.
And when it comes to small changes, there is little as
important as the seed.
Across Africa, farmers simply cannot improve crop yields
because they are unable to get their hands on improved
seeds. More than any other factor, what a farmer sows affects
what she reaps.
For many years, Self Help Africa has concentrated much of its
efforts on ensuring that farmers have access to better quality
seed and to different varieties of seed. Much of this work
takes place through cooperatives, where farmer members are
taught to ‘multiply’ or grow more quality seed, which is then
sold to other farmers.
It’s part science and part organisation, and it’s all just part of
the solution for farmers in Africa. But our work in providing
tens of thousands of farmers with access to improved seed
is breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty for hundreds of
thousands of their dependents.
This work would not be possible without the support of our
donors. You are planting the seeds of hope across Africa. The
journey starts with a seed, and ends, thanks to you, with a
harvest.
Raymond Jordan
3
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
HORN OF
AFRICA
malawi
malawi
zambia
zambia
ETHIOPIA
Location
burkinafaso
Situated in the Eastern
‘Horn of Africa’, Ethiopia is
landlocked, and bounded by
Sudan in the east and by
Somalia to its west.
ghana
Human Development
Index:
(A comparative measure
of life expectancy, literacy,
education, and standards
of living for countries
worldwide): 157 out of 169
countries ranked
kenya
Population:
togo
90,000,000, of whom 83%
live in rural areas.
Economy:
85% of population are
supported by small scale
farming, 5% are employed in
industry, and the remaining
10% in the service sector.
Ethiopia’s main agricultural
crops are cereals, pulses,
coffee, oilseed, cotton,
sugarcane, potatoes, qu’at,
cut flowers, livestock and
4
burkinafaso
ERITREA
Location:
fisheries.
ghana
Agriculture accounts for
almost 45% of GDP. The
agricultural sector suffers
from frequent drought and
poor cultivation practices.
Coffee is critical to thekenya
Ethiopian economy, with
exports of some $350 million
in 2006, but historically
low prices have seen many
togo to
farmers switching to qu’at
supplement income.
Under Ethiopia’s constitution,
the state owns all land and
provides long-term leases
to the tenants; the system
continues to hamper growth
in the industrial sector as
entrepreneurs are unable
to use land as collateral for
loans
Life expectancy
at birth:
56.2 years.
Self Help Africa:
has been working in Ethiopia
since 1984.
On the Red Sea in the eastern
‘Horn of Africa’, Eritrea shares
borders with Sudan to the
west, Ethiopia to the south,
and Djibouti to the east. Eritrea
gained its independence from
a federation with Ethiopia in
1992.
Human
Development
Index:
(A comparative measure of life
expectancy, literacy, education,
and standards of living for
countries worldwide) : Eritrea
is one of just a handful of
countries worldwide not to
have a HDI ranking. This is as
a result of insufficient available
data.
Population:
5,900,000, of whom 78% live
in rural areas.
Economy:
80% of the labour force are
employed in agriculture. The
remaining 20% work in
services and industry.
Eritrea’s principal agriculture
crops are sorghum, lentils,
vegetables, corn, cotton,
tobacco, sisal and livestock.
Since the conclusion of the
Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 2000,
the government has maintained
a firm grip on the economy. As
a result few private enterprises
remain in Eritrea. Eritrea’s
economy depends heavily on
taxes paid by members of the
diaspora.
Erratic rainfall, poor soil quality,
and limited access to inputs
affect agricultural productivity,
and recent harvests have been
unable to meet Eritrea’s food
needs for the country.
Life expectancy
at birth:
55.6 years.
Self Help Africa:
has been working in Eritrea
since 1995.
Self Help Africa
RURAL SAVINGS & CREDIT
PROGRAMME (RUSACCO)
ETHIOPIA//ERITREA
Self Help Africa’s RUSACCO programme
promotes saving, and supports the development
of micro-finance amongst primary cooperatives
and cooperative unions, so that households
can have access to credit to establish business
enterprise and income generating activities.
More than 31,000 mainly women members
are receiving financial services through the
programme, which is working with over
200 primary co-operatives affiliated to five
co-operative unions – Awash, Keleta, Ifa Boru,
Yenetsanet Fana, and Sidama Chalala. The
project is being implemented in collaboration
with the Local Government and Regional and
Federal Cooperative Agencies, and with donor
and technical support from the Irish League of
Credit Unions Foundation, and from Terrafina
Micro Finance.
ELABARED RDP
GOGNE RDP
Elabared rural development programme is promoting water harvesting, early
maturing crop, small scale horticulture, and livestock development amongst
5,000 farm households in the Elabared district of Anseba region of Eritrea.
ERITREA
Gogne rural development programme is being implemented to support
agricultural production and water conservation amongst 3,300
households in the low-lying Gash Barka region of Eritrea’s south-west,
with a particular emphasis on early maturing crop varieties, livestock
development, and the establishment of catchment water harvesting
schemes.
EMNI HAILI RDP
small buttons
denote districts
where rural
programmes are
being undertaken,
larger shaded
areas where
regional
development
activities are
taking place
Emni Haili rural development programme is working to improve food
production and income generating activities amongst 20,000 households
in 44 villages in the Debub region of Southern Eritrea. The project is also
supporting the strengthening of agricultural extension services, is promoting
a range of early maturing seed varieties, and supporting the development of
irrigated horticulture, agro-forestry and natural resource management.
ETHIOPIA
Self Help Africa’s ACDP is working with farmers
co-operative unions to promote measures to
increase farm production, diversification and
marketing of produce. The project is being
undertaken in collaboration with the Southern
Region and Oromia bureaus of rural development
and agriculture, and the farmers unions of
Meki Batu Vegetable and Fruit Growers
Cooperative Union; Walta Farmers Cooperative
Union; Melik Farmers Cooperative Union; Raya
Wakana Farmers Cooperative Union; and Siko
Mendo Farmers Cooperative Union – who
represent a total of 17,500 farming households
(approx. 100,000 people). The scheme is being
supported by the European Union and ICCO
(the inter church organisation for development
co-operation).
AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVE
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (ACDP)
Annual ReVIEW 2010
KIMIRA WATER PROJECT RDP
Kimira Water is a micro-project that is aiming to
improve access to water – for both human and livestock
consumption, as well as for small-scale irrigation
purposes, around Kimira village in the Afambo district of
Eritrea’s hot and dry Southern Red Sea region.
BEEKEEPING RDP
SODO II RDP
Sodo II is a rural development programme that is seeking to improve food production, crop
diversification and income generation amongst close to 5,500 households in the Sodo region of
Gurage district. Communities are also being supported to combat soil erosion and land degradation,
to have better access to water for drinking and irrigation, and to have a better access to services.
Self Help Africa’s national beekeeping
development programme is supporting the
promotion of apiculture as an income generating
activity amongst rural households in the
Mendefera, Elabared and Merhano regions of
Eritrea. More than 1,500 bee colonies have been
reared and distributed to rural farm households,
while over 400,000 tree seedlings to provide
forage crops were distributed and planted, and
1,000 rural farmers have taken part in technical
training in different aspects of beekeeping.
5
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
malawi
EAST
AFRICA
malawi
zambia
burkinafaso
ghana
kenya
UGANDA
Location:
zambia
Eastern Africa, west of Kenya,
east of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, and bounded by
Lake Victoria to the east.
burkinafaso
Human
Development
Index:
(A comparative measure of life
expectancy, literacy, education,
and standards of living for
countries worldwide) : 143 out of
169 countries ranked
ghana
Population:
kenya
34,612,000, of whom 87% live
in rural areas
Economy:
82% of the workforce is in
the agricultural sector, 5% in
industry, and 13% in the service
sector, according to latest figures.
togo
Uganda has substantial natural
resources, including fertile soils,
regular rainfall, small deposits of
copper, gold, and other minerals,
and recently discovered oil.
6
Coffee accounts for the bulk of
export revenues. Since 1986,
the government -has acted to
rehabilitate and stabilize the
economy by undertaking currency
reform, raising producer prices
on export crops, increasing
prices of petroleum products, and
improving civil service wages
The global economic downturn
has hurt Uganda’s exports,
although GDP growth is still
relatively strong due to past
reforms, management of the
downturn, and revenues from oil
and taxes. Instability in southern
Sudan is the biggest risk for
the Ugandan economy in 2011
because Uganda’s main export
partner is Sudan and Uganda is
a key destination for Sudanese
refugees.
Life expectancy
at birth:
53.2 years
Self Help Africa :
has been working in Uganda
since the mid-1990s.
KENYA
Location:
togo
Kenya is a republic in eastern
Africa, with borders with
Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and
Somalia, and with a coastline to
the east to the Indian Ocean.
Human
Development
Index:
(A comparative measure of life
expectancy, literacy, education,
and standards of living for
countries worldwide) : 128 out
of 169 countries ranked
Population:
41,000,000, of whom 78% live
in rural areas. Kenya has a rapid
rate of urbanization however,
with rural to urban migration
growing at 4% a year.
The country’s principal
agricultural produce is tea,
coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane,
fruit, vegetables, dairy products
and meat.
Although the regional hub for
trade and finance in East Africa,
Kenya has been hampered by
corruption and by reliance upon
several primary goods whose
prices have remained low.
Post-election violence in early
2008, coupled with the effects
of the global financial crisis on
remittance and exports, reduced
GDP growth to 1.7 in 2008,
but the economy rebounded in
2009-10
Life expectancy
at birth:
48 years
Economy:
Self Help Africa:
75% of the labour force is
employed in agriculture, with
the balance in industry and the
service sector.
has been working in Kenya
since the mid-1990s.
Self Help Africa
UGANDA//KENYA
KUMI BUKEDEA RDP
RONGAI-GILGIL RDP
Kumi Bukedea rural development project is
seeking to increase agricultural productivity for
6,800 households in seven sub-counties in North
Eastern Uganda. Together with improving access
to seed, to extension services, and to agricultural
training and markets, the project also assists
communities to access basic social services.
Rongai & Gilgil rural development is aiming to enhance food
production and livestock development, and access to water
for 1,000 rural households in Visoi and Lengenet areas of
Rongai, and provide training and support to rural groups and
institutions in Rongai and Gilgil division of Nakuru District
of Kenya’s Rift Valley, so that they can diversify production,
and successfully market produce
HIV/AIDS
‘HIV/AIDS Awareness & CVT Programme’
is a scheme to reach out to most at risk
groups, and support the provision of
counselling, education and training to
this group within the Naivasha District of
Kenya. Training has been provided to 182
community educators, as part of an outreach
programme that is targeting at risk groups
including sex workers, bar and hotel hosts,
prison inmates, uniformed officers and truck
drivers in Naivasha District. Training and
education has also been provided to more
than 1,800 young people affiliated to 57
youth groups.
MARKET LED NATURAL
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
UGANDA
KENYA
KAYUNGA RDP
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Self Help Africa’s Market Led Natural
Resource Management Programme
is supporting households, schools and
farmers associations in Gilgil Division,
Kenya, to market nature based enterprises,
develop commercial and multi-purpose tree
nurseries, and promote the use of energy
saving devices, as a means of rehabilitating
and sustainably managing the natural
environment of the region around Gilgil and
Elementaita in Rift Valley Province. 4,000
households have been supported with tree
planting activities.
Increasing food production amongst 17,400
households, promoting diversification of household
incomes, and promoting the participation of women
in development activities are the primary objectives
of the Kayunga RDP, which was started in Central
Uganda in 2007. The project is also working to
improve local access to hygiene and sanitation.
7
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
SOUTHERN
AFRICA
malawi
malawi
zambia
ZAMBIA
Location:
Poverty remains a significant
burkinafaso
problem in Zambia, despite a
Zambia is a southern African
republic situated to the east
of Angola and south of the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
stronger economy. Zambia’s
dependency on copper makes
it vulnerable to depressed
commodity prices, but
ghanarecord high copper prices
Human
and a bumper maize crop
Development
in 2010 helped Zambia
Index:
rebound quickly from the
(A comparative measure of life
world economic slow-down
expectancy, literacy, education,
in 2008.
and standards of living for kenya
countries worldwide) : 150
Life expectancy
out of 169 countries ranked
at birth:
Population:
52.36 years.
13,800,000, of whom 62% togo Self Help Africa:
live in rural areas.
Has been working in Zambia
since 1985.
Economy:
85% of the workforce is
employed in agriculture,
6% in industry and 9% in
services. Zambia’s principal
agricultural crops are corn,
sorghum, rice, peanuts,
sunflower seed, vegetables,
flower, tobacco, cotton,
cassava, and sugar cane.
8
MALAWI
Location:
Macadamia nuts and livestock.
zambia
Agriculture has benefited from
The Republic of Malawi is
fertiliser subsidies since 2006,
a landlocked country that
and accounts for more than oneis bounded by Zambia and
third of GDP and 90% of export
Mozambique in southern Africa,
revenues. The performance of the
and is bounded for almost its burkinafaso
tobacco sector is key to shortentire eastern border by Lake
term growth as tobacco accounts
Nyasa (Malawi).
for more than half of exports. The
economy depends on substantial
Human
inflows of economic assistance
Development
ghana
from the IMF, the World Bank,
Index:
and individual donor nations
(A comparative measure of life
expectancy, literacy, education,
Malawi faces many challenges
and standards of living for
however, including developing
countries worldwide) :153 outkenya
of
a market economy, improving
169 countries ranked
educational facilities, addressing
environmental problems, and
Population:
dealing with the rapidly growing
problem of HIV/AIDS.
15,880,000, of whom 80% live
in rural areas.
togo
Economy:
90% of the workforce is
employed in agriculture, with
10% working in local industry
and services. The country’s
principal agricultural produce
is tobacco, sugarcane, cotton,
tea, corn, potatoes, cassava
sorghum, pulses, groundnuts,
Life expectancy
at birth:
51.7 years.
Self Help
Africa:
Has been working in Malawi
since 1995.
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
LITETA RDP
PROP/FSSP
The Seed Entrepreneurship for Economic
Development and Food Security (SEEDFS)
project is designed to enable 100,000 rural
small-scale farmers in Zambia to produce and
distribute their own locally produced good quality
seed. The project is taking place across ten
districts – in six of the countries provinces, and
is being undertaken in collaboration with local
development partners - Mthilakubili Sustainable
Agriculture Project (MK-SAP); Eastern Province
Farmers Cooperative (EPFC); Organization for
Promotion of Meaningful Development through
Active Participation (OPAD); Keepers Zambia
Foundation (KZF) and NIRAS Zambia. The project
is being funded by the European Union.
Liteta Project is working to improve
food production, agricultural practices
and management of natural resources
amongst 2,000 households in
Chibombo District in Zambia’s Central
Province. The project is supported by
UK Big Lottery Fund and Development
Fund of Norway, and is being
implemented by local partners OPAD
(Organization for the Promotion of
Meaningful Development through
Active Participation).
The Project for the Reduction of Poverty (PROP) and Food Security & Nutrition for Vulnerable
Households Project (FSSP) seeks to reduce poverty levels amongst 5,000 poor rural households
in Zambia’s Eastern Province, and also to improve food security, livelihood and coping capacity
of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Mwinilunga and Kabompo districts. The work
focuses on community enterprise development, expanding access to financial services, improving
basic business skills, and strengthening the capacity of partner organisations. Activities include
the promotion of small-scale out-grower schemes and producer groups, technical support to
develop and market produce, community based micro-finance, and business training. Half of the
households participating in the scheme are female-headed.
KARONGA RDP
SEEDFS PROJECT
MORE NORTH WEST
PROVINCE
MALAWI
ZAMBIA//MALAWI
SEEDFS PROJECT
ZAMBIA
Self Help Africa and local development partners KRAAD
and FOCUS are working to strengthen agricultural
extension services through a farmer to farmer approach
for over 2,250 rural farming households, and promoting
a range of crop diversification and income generating
activities amongst 7,500 households in Northern Malawi.
MSUMBANKHUNDA RDP
8,500 farming households are being assisted in a
programme that supports crop diversification and livestock
development, while rural farming communities are being
assisted in promoting rural enterprise development, and
mechanisms that can help to link farmer-producers to
market, and to add value to their surplus agricultural
produce.
SEEDFS PROJECT
MORE WESTERN
PROVINCE
MORE
Self Help Africa’s MORE is the Rural Enterprise programme in four districts in Western and
North Western Provinces. MORE worked with 4,100 household to improve crop, vegetable,
livestock and honey production and access to markets. Self Help Africa worked with Keepers
Zambia Foundation and the project was mainly funded by the European Union.
Local seed growers are being supported to produce and
distribute high quality certified seed varieties to 8,000
households, a further 500 households are being assisted
with horticultural production, and 600 farm households
in livestock breeding. Self Help Africa is assisting and
collaborating with 47 local development committees and
agencies in Kalembo District.
KALEMBO RDP
9
malawi
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
zambia
WEST
burkinafaso
AFRICA
ghana
kenya
Togo is located in western
Africa, flanked on the east
and west by Benin and
Ghana respectively, and
on the north by Burkina
Faso. It has a narrow
coastal strip to the Gulf of
Guinea.
Human
Development
Index: (A comparative
measure of life
expectancy, literacy,
education, and standards
of living for countries
worldwide): 139 out of
169 countries ranked
Population:
6,771,993, of whom 57%
live in rural areas.
Economy:
This small, sub-Saharan
Africa economy suffers
weak economic growth
and depends heavily on
10
both commercial and
subsistence agriculture,
which provides
employment for 65%
of the labor force. Some
basic foodstuffs must
still be imported, while
cocoa, coffee, and cotton
generate about 40% of
export earnings, with
cotton being the most
important cash crop.
Togo is the world’s
fourth-largest producer
of phosphate. Economic
growth prospects remain
marginal however
due to declining
cotton production and
underinvestment in
phosphate mining.
Life expectancy at
birth:
62.7 years
Self Help Africa:
has been working in west
Africa since 2008
zambia
malawi
burkinafaso
zambia
burkinafaso
BURKINA
FASO
ghana
togo
TOGO
Location:
malawi
GHANA
Location:
kenya
Ghana is situated in western
Africa, bordering the Gulf of
Guinea, between Cote d’Ivoire
and Togo.
Human
Development
Index:
togo
(A comparative measure of life
expectancy, literacy, education,
and standards of living for
countries worldwide) : 130 out
of 169 countries ranked
Population:
24,791,000, of whom 49% live
in rural areas.
Economy:
34% of the workforce is
employed in agriculture, 24%
in industry, some of which is
agri-processing, and 41% in
the service sector. A majority of
the population in the far north,
where Self Help Africa works,
are supported by small-holder
agriculture.
Ghana is well endowed with
natural resources and agriculture
accounts for roughly one-third of
GDP and employs more than half
of the workforce.
Gold and cocoa production and
individual remittances are major
sources of foreign exchange. Oil
production at Ghana’s offshore
field began late last year and
is expected to boost economic
growth.
In 2009 Ghana signed a
three-year Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility with the IMF to
improve macroeconomic stability,
private sector competitiveness,
human resource development,
and good governance and
civic responsibility. Sound
macro-economic management
along with high prices for gold
and cocoa helped sustain GDP
growth in 2008-10.
Life expectancy
at birth:
57.4 years
Location:
Burkina Faso is a
landlocked west African
country situated north
of Ghana, and south of
Mali, on the fringes of the
Sahara Desert.
Human
Development
Index: (A comparative
measure of life
expectancy, literacy,
education, and standards
of living for countries
worldwide): 161 out of
169 countries ranked
Population:
16,751,000, of whom
74% live in rural areas.
Economy:
90% of the labour force
are involved in agriculture,
and 10% in the industrial
and services sector.
Burkina Faso is a poor,
landlocked country that
ghana
relies heavily on cotton
and gold exports for
revenue. The country has
few natural resources and
a weak industrial base.
kenya
Since 1998, Burkina
Faso has embarked upon
a gradual privatization of
state-owned enterprises
togo
and in 2004 revised
its investment code to
attract foreign investment.
As a result, the country
has seen an upswing
in gold exploration and
production. By 2010, gold
had become the main
source of export revenue.
Life expectancy at
birth:
53.7 years
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
BURKINA FASO/TOGO/GHANA
BURKINA FASO
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME
Self Help Africa’s Agricultural
Development programme is working
to improve agricultural production
for more than 2,500 households
in more than a dozen villages in
Zondome, Bazèga, Kourritenga,
Boulgou, Doulougue, Central East,
and Bam Provinces of Burkina
Faso. Work is being undertaken in
collaboration with local partners PER
(Projet Ecologique et Reboisement)
ORGANIC (Organisation pour une
Nouvelle Initiative Communautaire)
and ASCDIS (Association de
Solidarite Communautaire pour un
Developpement Integre au Sahel).
GHANA
BOLGATANGA - POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMME
Self Help Africa is working in collaboration with TRAX
Ghana in Dachio and Pelunga areas of Bolgatanga in
Northern Ghana to improve food production, and restore
degraded farm land in the region. The project is developing
local community based farm advisors to support project
activities, and is promoting a range of alternate crops
including groundnuts, soy bean and fruit tree production.
BURKINA FASO
TOGO
GHANA
TOGO
PROGRAMME FOR
POVERTY REDUCTION
Self Help Africa’s
Programme for Poverty
Reduction (PPR) is being
undertaken in Tune,
Tajoare and Kpendja
districts of Northern
Togo to assist 2,500
farm households with
increasing food production
and diversification of
food production. Together
with activities to improve
agricultural development,
the project is working
to enable rural women
to develop income
generating activities, and
to improve community
access to safe and clean
drinking water.
11
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Can Africa feed itself?
Surveying a crop of upland rice, Uganda
12
Self Help Africa
Today, one
third of
people in
sub-Saharan
Africa are
chronically
hungry, and
rising food
prices during
2010 and
into 2011 are
likely to push
that figure
higher.
The short answer is yes.
To many observers, it seems as if the
battle to end hunger in Africa cannot
be won. In 1990, over 150 million
Africans were hungry; by 2010, despite
hundreds of millions of dollars in aid in
the interim, that number had risen to
almost 240 million.
Today, one third of people in subSaharan Africa are chronically hungry,
and rising food prices during 2010
and into 2011 are likely to push that
figure higher.
That paints a bleak picture - of human
suffering and of government failures.
But there is hope. While food
production has grown globally by
145% over the past 40 years, African
food production has fallen by 10%
since 1960 . This is where Africa’s
future food security lies - in gaining
ground that it has lost to the rest of the
world - and in the process sparking
sustainable economic development.
There are many reasons for Africa’s
agricultural failure, but the main one
is lack of investment. For decades, the
world ignored African agriculture, and it
shows. Just 4% of the continent’s crop
land is irrigated, compared with almost
40% in South Asia. Quality seeds are
expensive and in short supply. Access
Annual ReVIEW 2010
to markets is difficult, storage after
harvest is poor and farming knowledge
is limited. This can all be fixed, but it
will take sustained investment.
Investing in African agriculture
makes sense from an economic
standpoint - food aid typically costs
more than $250 for each metric ton of
cereals delivered in rural areas, while
smallholder farmers can produce the
same amount locally for $100 or less .
Small increases in agricultural
investment can make a massive
difference not only to food security,
but also to the local economy. In
sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture directly
contributes to 34% of GDP and 64%
of employment . According to the
World Bank, growth in agriculture is at
least two to four times more effective in
reducing poverty than in other sectors.
African governments have pledged
to increase their own investments in
agriculture - to at least 10% of national
income - while donor governments
have also promised to increase
their supports. In some cases, those
promises are starting to be delivered.
Across Africa, smallholder farming
communities hold the key to Africa’s
future food security and economic
growth.
13
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Will new farming technologies end African hunger?
Ploughing with oxen in Ethiopia
14
Self Help Africa
The one
factor that
unites many
of these
farmers is
their poverty.
Most of the
80 million
smallholder
farmers in
Africa live on
less than $2
a day
There’s a saying - ‘When you’ve
seen one farmer in Africa, you’ve
seen one farmer in Africa’ that reflects the diversity of
agricultural practices across the
continent. Different climates and
different soils have produced a
wide range of farming practices
based on many different food
staples, livestock and fishing.
The one factor that unites
many of these farmers is their
poverty. Most of the 80 million
smallholder farmers in Africa
live on less than $2 a day, and
they are caught in a poverty
trap. Unable to invest additional
resources into their farms, they
are condemned to a cycle of
poor harvests and low incomes.
For many developed world
commentators, the solution to
poor agricultural productivity
depends on new seeds,
including genetically modified
seeds, together with the
application of large amounts of
chemical fertilizers.
For Africa’s smallholder farmers,
however, investing heavily
in these new ‘farm inputs’ is
wishful thinking. Most farmers
Annual ReVIEW 2010
use locally-sourced seed,
which is very often an older,
lower-yielding variety. The seed
is saved from season to season,
allowing subsistence farmers to
plant with minimum investment.
Buying new hybrid or GM
seed every season - because
this seed cannot be saved - is
not something that most poor
farmers can afford.
African farmers also use very
low quantities of fertilizer - just
10% of the world average of
100 kilos per hectare . Part of
the reason for this is because
fertilizer is so expensive - high
transportation costs mean that
fertilizer in Africa is two to six
times the average world price.
For most farmers, organic
fertilizer – using crop waste and
what local livestock produce - is
a much more affordable option.
For Self Help Africa, the question
is not GM or traditional seed,
organic or chemical fertilizer;
it’s what solution can farmers
afford. Our experience suggests
that low-cost inputs - whether
seeds or fertilizers - are most
sustainable for smallholder
farmers.
15
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Why are women so important for African agriculture?
Grinding maize in the traditional manner, Togo
16
Self Help Africa
In Kenya,
women
constitute
75% of the
agricultural
work force,
farming mostly
for subsistence.
However, only
1% of women
in Kenya own
the land on
which they
work.
Annual ReVIEW 2010
In Africa, the hand that rocks the cradle also tills the fields.
In addition to caring for children and the elderly, collecting
firewood and carrying water, women produce up to 80%
of Africa’s food on small farms. Yet, they receive as little as
5% of the supports to do it.
If African agriculture is underperforming, one of the
reasons is because women do not have equal access to
the resources and opportunities they need to be more
productive. Just five percent of farm advice services
around the world go to women , while they receive less
than 10% of the credit directed to smallholders.
In Kenya, women constitute 75% of the agricultural work
force, farming mostly for subsistence. However, only 1%
of women in Kenya own the land on which they work.”
Closing this ‘gender gap’ would generate significant gains
for the agriculture sector and for society. If women had the
same access to productive resources as men, they could
increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 per cent.
This could raise total agricultural output in developing
countries by up to 4 percent, which could in turn reduce
the number of hungry people in the world by up to 17
percent.
In Africa, that would mean over 40 million fewer people
going hungry every day. Equal treatment for women
farmers will not be achieved overnight, as it involves
challenging firmly-entrenched beliefs about a woman’s
place in society, particularly in respect of land ownership.
But progress is being made and sustained, particularly
where small improvements in supports to women farmers
have resulted in dramatic changes to family incomes.
17
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Does the smallholder farmer have a future?
Three generations, at work in the fields, Uganda
18
Self Help Africa
In time,
African
farms are
likely to
begin to
consolidate,
following
the pattern
experienced
elsewhere
in the
world.
In the developed world, farms
have gradually become larger as
farmers benefit from increased
mechanisation and economies of
scale. Across Africa, however, small
farms are the norm and in many
countries they are getting smaller.
Some commentators view this as a
problem, equating small farms with
poorer productivity. In fact, small
farms have several advantages over
large farms - they can be more
efficient, they employ more people
and they’re better at reducing
poverty and increasing food security.
Many studies have shown an
inverse relationship between farm
size and land productivity. Small
farms are more productive even
though they have less capital
invested in them. This is critical
for Africa, where capital is scarce
relative to labour.
Many types of farming enjoy few
economies of scale, and so the
greater availability of family labour
on small farms then creates a
distinct advantage. Because labour
is relatively cheap, small farms can
use labour-intensive methods rather
than capital-intensive machines.
Annual ReVIEW 2010
In poor, labour-abundant
economies, not only are small farms
more efficient, but because they
also account for large shares of the
rural poor, small farm development
can be a “win-win” proposition for
growth and poverty reduction. Asia’s
green revolution demonstrated how
agricultural growth that reaches
large numbers of small farms can
transform rural economies and raise
enormous numbers of people out of
poverty.
Small farms also contribute to
greater food security, particularly in
areas with poor infrastructure where
high transport costs mean that
locally produced foods are cheaper
in many cases than food which is
grown elsewhere.
In time, African farms are likely
to begin to consolidate, following
the pattern experienced elsewhere
in the world. For the foreseeable
future, however, the small farm will
continue to be critical to Africa’s
economic growth.
19
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Chairman’s Report
This report records the financial activities and
accomplishments of Self Help Africa across nine country
programmes during 2010, together with some of the notable
activities and achievements that took place across the
organisation during the year.
At a fundraising level, Self Help Africa performed strongly
in 2010. At a time of economic downturn we maintained
funding levels across a number of different income streams,
and actually grew significantly the backing we are receiving
from trusts and foundations.
It is heartening to be able to report that the organisation has
attained a considerable level of financial stability in the two
years since the successful merger created Self Help Africa,
and has achieved this at a time of considerable economic
uncertainty and insecurity in the wider global economy.
At organisational level Self Help Africa, work was almost
completed during 2010 on a new strategic plan, which
will guide the organisation for the next five years. We also
strengthened our financial reporting and operational systems
with the recruitment of heads of programmes and of heads of
finance in each of our African country offices, while in Ireland
we appointed a head of policy & strategy to our management
team.
During 2010 we forged valuable new funding partnerships
with the European Union, and saw the commencement of
major new programmes in both Ethiopia and Zambia as a
result of that support.
20
2010 was the penultimate year of the Irish Government’s
multi-annual programme scheme (MAPS), in which Self
Help Africa has been a participant since the inception of the
programme in 2003. We received e2.8 million from MAPS
in 2010, and are grateful for the continuing backing that we
receive from Irish Aid under this scheme.
A large group of people have contributed to this success in
2010. In particular, I want to thank all our donors, large and
small, for their continued support for this work during difficult
economic times. Thanks also to our fundraisers and our field
staff - two vital groups at opposite ends of our work. I am
also very appreciative of the continuing contribution of our
board, and to the Irish Farmers Association, for selecting Self
Help Africa as their charity of choice.
It was also the first full year of operations since the formal
registration and attainment of charitable status for Self Help
Africa Inc. in the United States, and it was with great pleasure
that I joined our American colleagues and supporters for
a very successful gala fundraising ball in Manhattan in
November.
Tom Corcoran
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
The road to market, Malawi
Financial Report
21
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2010
UnrestrictedRestrictedTotalTotal
FundsFundsFundsFunds
2010
2009
Notes
e
e
e
e
Incoming resources Incoming resources from charitable activities - Grant income 257,895
4,647,751
4,905,646
5,524,696
Incoming resources from generated funds - Voluntary Income 1,555,968
612,149
2,168,117
1,989,868
Other incoming resources - Interest and other income 3,245
38
3,283
43,616
------------
------------
------------
------------
Total incoming resources 1,817,108
5,259,938
7,077,046
7,558,180
------------
------------
------------
------------
Resources expended Charitable activities 1,596,917
5,812,634
7,409,551
6,159,462
Costs of generating voluntary income 372,015
0
372,015
484,156
Governance costs 43,473
24,226
67,699
72,764
------------
------------
------------
------------
Total resources expended 2,012,405
5,836,860
7,849,265
6,716,382
------------
------------
------------
------------
Net (outgoing)/incoming resources before other recognised gains and losses (195,297)
(576,922)
(772,219)
841,798
Gain on revaluation of assets 1,997
0
1,997
2,373
Transfers between funds 73,447
(73,447)
0
0
Exchange gain/(loss) on consolidation 14,360
55,131
69,491
(117,943)
Net movement in funds (105,493)
(595,238)
(700,731)
726,228
Funds at beginning of year Funds at end of year 22
1,263,412
------------
1,157,919
=======
1,306,743
------------
711,505
=======
2,570,155
------------
1,869,424
=======
1,843,927
------------
2,570,155
=======
UnrestrictedRestrictedTotalTotal
FundsFundsFundsFunds
2010
2009
GBP
GBP
GBP
GBP
221,255
3,987,432
4,208,687
4,919,741
1,334,908
525,179
1,860,087
1,771,978
2,784
33
2,817
38,840
------------
------------
------------
------------
1,558,947
4,512,644
6,071,591
6,730,559
------------
------------
------------
------------
1,370,039
4,986,817
6,356,856
5,485,002
319,162
0
319,162
431,141
37,296
20,784
58,080
64,797
------------
------------
------------
------------
1,726,497
5,007,601
6,734,098
5,980,940
------------
------------
------------
------------
(167,550)
(494,957)
(662,507)
749,619
1,713
0
1,713
2,113
63,012
(63,012)
0
0
(37,333)
(5,423)
(42,756)
(234,207)
(140,158)
(563,392)
(703,550)
517,525
1,136,817
------------
996,659
=======
1,175,808
------------
612,416
=======
2,312,625
------------
1,609,075
=======
1,795,100
------------
2,312,625
=======
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
1. HOW YOUR MONEY WAS SPENT
Charitable activity Generating voluntary income Governance costs (94%),
(5%),
(1%)
2. WHO ARE OUR MAJOR DONORS?
Irish Aid
General Donations
European Union
Trust/Foundations/Others
euro
2,802,500
2,171,400
1,293,145
810,001
3. SHARE OF CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE
Food Security Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Building Community Capacity Research, learning, advocacy 2,559,486 (34%)
3,743,875 (51%)
964,614 (13%)
141,576 (2%)
23
Duncan Goose, founder of Global
Ethics,
is pictured in Malawi, last year
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Fundraising
Self Help Africa is grateful to the many
groups, individuals and organisations who
lent backing and funding support to our work
during 2010.
Charity giving has come under considerable
pressure in the current global economic
recession, yet Self Help Africa’s fundraising
portfolio strengthened and recorded growth in
a number of key areas during the year.
We have benefited from enormous support
and goodwill from our supporters in Europe
and the United States. Backing received from
Trusts and Foundations grew significantly
in 2010, as did the range and variety of
fundraising events and activities taking place
in support of our work.
At the same time donations from regular
givers and co-operative farmers, and from
public collections were in line with previous
years, while we also benefited from a number
of generous legacy gifts in 2010. We are
also grateful to our field officers and church
collectors who continue to strengthen our
public funding across the country.
Dozens of community groups, clubs,
organisations and schools across Ireland
and the UK supported our fundraising efforts
during 2010, while we continued to be
Peter Lennon and Sean Walsh from
St.
Mary’s Academy, Carlow, who ran
a series
of fundraisers last year
the designated overseas charity of the Irish
Farmers Association, and met thousands of
our rural supporters at the National Ploughing
Championships, which took place in the
autumn.
During the year we again benefited from the
efforts of the ‘Combines 4 Charity’ cereal
farmers group, receiving e25,000 from a
hugely successful Monster Raffle that they
organised. In the autumn the Combines 4
Charity group also launched their own ‘charity
farm’, a 100-acres enterprise in Meath that
the members will farm voluntarily, with all
profits going to support their designated
charities.
Leah Baker, Crysie
Philalithes and Hilary
McMahon at the ChangeMaker’s Ball in Manhattan
last November
24
Supporters from Leixlip are pictured
at the
annual Yoga summer Solstice funr
aiser,
which netted over e3,000 in 201
0.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in supp
ort
of Self Help Africa
Paddy Berkery from Dublin is pictu
red in Tanzania, as he cycled the
‘Tour D’Afrique’
route from Cairo to Capetown in supp
ort of Self Help Africa.
Self Help Africa
Elsewhere, the trans-African charity cycle undertaken by
Dublin accountant Paddy Berkery netted nearly e15,000,
Donegal supporter Albert Doherty raised thousands of
euro when he staged his popular Derry to Greencastle
Charity Boat Race, and a third successive summer Solstice
‘Yoga for Africa’ marathon was staged in Dublin. The
National Dairy Council lent their support at the National
Ploughing Championships, and Self Help Africa continued
to receive generous backing from community bodies such
as the Skerries Sodo group in North Dublin and the LaoisRongai Project, while we hosted nearly 200 guests at our
inaugural gala dinner in Dublin in late spring, and more
than 100 friends and supporters at our second annual
Christmas charity lunch, in Dublin.
Students across the country played their part too – with
Clonkeen College, Dublin raising tens of thousands to
support a school project in Kenya, and dozens of other
school groups around the country staging fundraising
events and activities to support our programmes
during 2010.
In the United Kingdom we benefited for our third
successive year from the annual ‘Big Give’ appeal, which
allowed us to double to £80,000 contributions that were
made by our supporters towards our work, in the lead up
to Christmas.
development, pit latrine construction and sanitation, and
smallholder poultry enterprise development in Malawi.
The company is now selling toilet paper and handwash
at Sainsburys, Morrisons and Co-Op, ‘One Egg’ brand at
Tesco, One Vitamin Water at World Duty Free, and Snack
Packs at World Duty Free.
Amongst the highlights on the 2010 fundraising calendar
was Self Help Africa’s inaugural US Ball – an event
that attracted close to 350 friends to a function in New
York, and generated several hundred thousand dollars in
fundraising support.
The ‘Change-Maker’s Ball’ was held at the exclusive
Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, and was MC’ed by
Bloomberg TV presenter Margaret Brennan, and
addressed by a range of speakers including former
Irish and British Lions Rugby Star and Self Help Africa
Ambassador Denis Hickie.
Annual ReVIEW 2010
Charity giving
has come under
considerable pressure
in the current global
economic recession,
yet Self Help Africa’s
fundraising portfolio
strengthened, and
recorded growth in a
number of key areas
during the year.
Also during the year our newly established US operation
hosted their inaugural ‘Street Fest’ on New York’s popular
Stone Street, with bars and restaurants contributing a
percentage of their profits on ‘streetfest’ to support a
programme of water development activities in Togo. The
event netted in excess of $20,000.
The autumn ‘Harvest Appeal’ took place for its 13th year
on the theme ‘Fruits of the Earth’. The campaign attracted
the support of several hundred churches across the United
Kingdom, and raised upwards of £20,000.
Meanwhile, the support of high street shoppers for
a range of new products – including soap, eggs and
toilet tissue launched by Global Ethic’s One Foundation
reaped a remarkable dividend for Self Help Africa, with
more than £100,000 received to fund vegetable garden
Denis Hickie, former Irish Rugby
International and
British and Irish Lion
25
Self Help Africa
Annual ReVIEW 2010
President Mary McAleese meets with Self Help Africa’s Kalongo
Chitengi are pictured with Dr Selim Jahan, director, poverty division,
UN Development Programme, at a conference in New York.
Advocacy
Journalist Ciara Kenny
spent five weeks living
and blogging for ‘The
Irish Times’ from a
rural village in Eastern
Zambia, last year.
Zungrana
Awaya in
Burkina Faso
Campaigning and advocating in favour of small-holder
farmers and rural communities in Africa has become a
major new focus of attention for Self Help Africa, as it
seeks to play a role in influencing policy formulation,
funding, and attitudes and approaches to development
and poverty eradication in sub-Saharan Africa.
By collaborating with like-minded organisations,
participating in development fora, and gathering
examples of best practice both from within its own
programmes and by learning from the practices of
others, Self Help Africa has sought to build a platform
from where experience and lessons learned can be
utilized to advance a wider advocacy agenda.
The efforts to influence and raise awareness of both
the challenges, and the possible remedies that can be
adopted are spread across a wide constituency – from
major donor agencies, development specialists and
policy makers on the one hand, to African farming
communities, members of the general public, and
students in the classroom on the other.
During 2010 Self Help Africa successfully advanced this
advocacy agenda in a number of areas.
26
• In spring the organisation presented
members of the European Union committee on
development with copies of ‘Climate Frontline’
at a formal launch of the report in Brussels. A
publication that highlights the stories of how
ordinary Africans are already adapting to life on
the frontline of climate change, the publication
was a collaborative effort between Self Help
Africa and a number of other European agencies.
• Self Help Africa also participated with a
number of UK based agencies in producing
‘Africa’s Smallholder Farmers: Approaches that
Work for Viable Livelihoods’, which was formally
launched by the All-Party Parliamentary Group
on Overseas Development in London.
• The organisation also hosted its first ever
academic conference – an event, which was
held as part of Ireland’s celebrations of ‘Africa
Day’ that was hosted by University College
Dublin’s School of Agriculture and Veterinary
Sciences, and included amongst its speakers the
co-winner of the Nobel Prize, Professor John
Sweeney of NUI Maynooth.
• Self Help Africa also collaborated with The
Irish Times newspaper and with young journalist
Ciara Kenny on the presentation of ‘A Village in
Africa’, an innovative five-weeks long blog that
was hosted by the national newspaper’s online
edition, and which featured daily reports posted
by the journalist on the lives, the issues and
the challenges affecting the rural community of
Makwatata, Eastern Zambia, where she lived for
the duration of the assignment.
• In 2010 Self Help Africa also hosted a major
workshop on the development of systems to
improve farmer access to improved seed, in
Ethiopia. Hundreds of representatives of farming
bodies, the development sector and research
institutions attended the event, which sought to
promote approaches to local seed multiplication
designed to improve production in rural areas.
• In the schools sector a wide range of
educational workshops and lectures were
presented, new educational resources were
produced, while students at St. Wolstan’s
College, Celbridge, were the lead school in
producing the second edition of Self Help
Africa’s award-winning MDG books series
‘Twenty-Fifteen – Thoughts and Reflections on
Universal Primary Education’. Meanwhile, Cork
teenager Richard O’Shea became the fourth
winner of the Irish Aid sponsored ‘Science for
Development Award’ at the annual BT Young
Scientists Exhibition.
Prof. John Sweeney,
Nobel Prize winning
climatologist,
was one of the
speakers at Self
Help Africa’s ‘Africa
Day’ conference,
which took place at
University College
Dublin.
SeLf HeLP AfricA
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SUPPORTING A WIDE
RANGING PROGRAMME
OF MULTI-ANNUAL
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES IN SUbSAHARAN AFRICA.“
DONATE TO SELF HELP AFRICA
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Please tick here if you are a UK taxpayer and wish Self Help
Africa to claim the tax on all donations you have made for
the 6 years prior to this year and all future donations, until I
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You can send your donation, or completed coupon to either
Self Help Africa in Ireland at
Freepost, Dublin Road, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, Ireland
or Self Help Africa in uK at
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Freepost RRXU-AZUb-EbEE,
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Westgate House,
Hills Lane, Shrewsbury SY1 1QU
Instructions to your bank to pay Direct Debits
Originators identification number (O.i.n.) 304564
Please Deduct & Pay to Self Help Africa the sum of e/£
Signature
quarterly
ireLAnD
TeL:
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and wish Self Help Africa to claim the tax
on all donations you have made for the
6 years prior to this year, and all future
donations, until you notify us otherwise.
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AnnuAL reVieW 2010
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Please complete the form, to instruct your bank to make payments
directly from your account, then return the form to Self Help Africa,
Annefield House, Dublin Road, Portlaoise, Ireland
bank Name:
branch:
bank Address:
Account Holder:
bank Sort Code Number:
bank Account Number:
(Please complete your bank details in spaces above)
uniTeD KinGDOM
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reference number: (for SHA use)
Please complete the form, to instruct your bank to make payments
directly from your account, then return the form to Self Help Africa,
Westgate House, Hills Lane, Shrewsbury SY1 1QU, UK
bank Name:
branch:
bank Address:
Your instructions to your bank:
I instruct you to pay the direct debit specified
above from my account, at the request of Self
Help Africa
I confirm that the amounts are variable and
may be debited on various dates
I shall duly notify the bank in writing if I wish
to cancel this instruction
I shall also notify Self Help of such
cancellation.
The Direct Debit Guarantee
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member of the Direct Debit Scheme, in which
banks and originators of direct debits participate. If
you authorise payment by direct debit then :
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advance of the amounts to be debited
Your bank will accept and pay such debits,
provided your account has sufficient funds
If it is established that an unauthorised Direct
Debit was charged to your account
you are guaranteed a prompt refund by your
bank of the amount so charged.
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bank Sort Code Number:
bank Account Number:
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27
ireLAnD
Annefield House
Dublin Road, Portlaoise,
Co. Laois, Ireland
Tel +353 (0) 578 694034
uSA
Self Help Africa Inc.
41 Union Square West,
Suite 631
New York, NY 10003, USA
Tel. +1 212 206 0847
uK
Westgate House, Hills Lane,
Shrewsbury
SY1 1QU, UK
Tel +44 (0) 1743 277170
eTHiOPiA
Kirkos Subcity
Africa Avenue
H.No. 930/01
P.O.box 1204 Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Tel. +251 115 522313
eriTreA
PO box 9313,
Asmara,
Tel. +291 118 8382
KenYA
PO box 2248
Code 20100,
Nakuru,
Tel. +254 O51 2212291
MALAWi
PO box b-495
Lilongwe,
Tel. +265 1750568
uGAnDA
Plot 14 b,
Off Naguru 2 Rd
PO. box 32249, Kampala,
Tel. +256 414 286305
WeST AfricA
12 PO box 315,
Ougadougou 12,
burkina Faso
Tel. +226 50 36 89 60
ZAMBiA
33 Cnr Joseph Mwilwa
and Great East Road
Rhodespark
Lusaka
Tel: +260 211 236604