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A Sustainable Solution for Smallholder Farmers. Curt Bowen
A Sustainable Solution for Smallholder Farmers. Curt Bowen
Symptoms: Guatemala has the 4th highest rate of malnutrition in the world, primarily concentrated in rural areas; 79% of the rural population live in poverty; high levels of undocumented immigration.
Surface Problem: Proven technical solutions aren’t adapted and don’t make it to farmers. Large efforts are spent on ineffective solutions.
Root Problem: research and extension system is dysfunctional after decades of neglect by a weak state. Civil society approach is disorganized.
2. Farmer To Farmer
1. Sustainable Technologies
3. Institutionalization
Our Approach
www.semillanueva.org
SustainableTechnologies
Semilla Nueva makes internationally proven technologies accessible to Guatemala’s rural farmers so they can improve their soils, income and nutrition.
www.semillanueva.org
www.semillanueva.org
Pigeonpea
Grown for thousands of years in India and Africa, and hundreds of years in Guatemala—our innovation: copy success in Africa and grow it as an intercrop.
Children at the Border
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Children at the Border
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www.semillanueva.org
Accomplishments: •1,000 families using 1st gen seed
•New seed developed which cuts costs, increases yield, and provides firewood
•Government using pigeonpea in several research programs.
•Goal of national release of new pigeonpea seed systems by 2017.
www.semillanueva.org
Chicken—it’s where the money’s at!
Every village buys 6,000-12,000 chickens (~$50,000) from factory farms per year. Other chicken projects failed because expensive feed.
•Nov 2014: 30 chicken pilot •April 2015: 25 families test•Feb 2016: 125 families •Feb 2017: 250 families and national scaling
High Protein Corn--QPM
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QPM Successes
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Provided
2,700 families
with Quality Protein Maize seed to plant
1/10 acre each
2 million protein bars
a year
150 families
planted their whole field
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Bottleneck: we need better varieties
2013-4: tests with the government and scientists
2015: final round of tests on finalists; malnutrition study
2016: 1,000 families
2017: 10,000-20,000 families with Guatemalan Government.
Open Pollinated High Protein Corn
QPM: Market incentive for industrial QPM purchase and hybrid seed production both require legislation or prioritization of social impact over strict profit.
Pigeonpea: work with feed companies.
Barriers to scaling?
International Researchers and NGOs
Government
Farmers
www.semillanueva.org
www.semillanueva.org
Full Nourishment—maximizing ROI
We shouldn’t ask, “How do we improve soil to improve crops to improve health?” There are very few solutions that show meaningful impact starting with soils (supplementing Zn, Fe levels) because of impact loss across each barrier.
Rather we should ask what are feedback loops between the levels of full nourishment, and concentrate on maximizing these. (Complexity and International Development Theory; Owen Barder, Dani Rodrick)
Most high impact strategies find 1-2 culturally, economically, and biologically sensible interventions and take decades to adapt and scale.
Open Pollinated High Protein Corn
Partners and Sponsors
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