SeedChange

Purpose

P000953001: This project aims to increase seed, food and economic security for 26,046 small-scale farm households, enhancing the availability of diverse quality food for 153,601 women, men and youth. Over 80% of food consumed in developing countries is produced by small-scale farmers. These producers often cultivate poor land, with under-supported skills and inputs, using crop seed material and practices that are detrimental to environmental sustainability and inappropriate to their local area. This affects agricultural productivity, climate resiliency and livelihoods. The regions targeted by the project are the Dry Corridor in Central America, as well as Burkina Faso (Soum, Boulkiemde, Bazega and Boulgou Provinces), Mali (the Bamako, Douentza and Mopti regions) and Ethiopia (Amhara and Oromia regions). USC Canada’s country partners in the implementation of this initiative are: -Guatemala: Association of Organisations of the Cuchamatanes (ASOCUCH) -Nicaragua: Federation of Cooperatives for Development (FECODESA) -Honduras: Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmers (FIPAH) -Burkina Faso: USC Mali and Association pour la protection de la nature au Sahel (APN Sahel) -Mali: Conseil Accompagnement des initiatives à la Base de Demeso (CAB Demeso) -Ethiopia: Ethio-Organic Seed Action (EOSA) Project activities include: (1) training farmers (women, men, and youth), to select and utilize improved local open-pollinated seed varieties and to carry out participatory research on their own farms with technical assistance; 2) establish their own community seed banks and field gene banks to preserve the biodiversity of local crop material and build community seed self-sufficiency as a basis for food security; (3) providing information materials and agricultural extension support to small-scale farm households on agricultural best practices, including water and soil management, agroforestry and also supporting women and youth in leading their own sustainable small enterprises focused on high-value agricultural products; 4) seed marketing support; and (5) supporting government agencies, civil society organizations, and research institutions in the six developing countries by promoting the adoption of agro-ecological, participatory research and seed multiplication practices nationally, as well as regionally. P000953003: The project aims to increase the resilience of local food systems against the food, health, and economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) for women, men and youth in vulnerable rural and Indigenous communities in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. SeedChange and its local partners aim to work through community organizations, including community-based farmer research committees, cooperatives, local groups, and large NGOs, including CARE-Honduras, to support the poorest and most marginalized communities in delivering immediate assistance to reduce the emerging food crisis. Project activities include: (1) providing access to poor women and men smallholder farmers to seed reserves through existing community-based seedbanks (food-for-seed) and to quality, locally-produced, agro-ecologically adapted and nutritious basic grain seeds, semi-permanent and permanent fruit trees, and other production assets (e.g. poultry, tools); (2) providing logistical and storage support to humanitarian assistance organizations and delivering emergency food aid to the most vulnerable and in need, particularly women, children, and Indigenous people; and (3) providing farm and community storage structures for grains and seed, small scale water harvesting for irrigation, small livestock and poultry, low/high tunnel greenhouses for vegetable production and vegetable propagation for food insecure smallholder farmers, particularly women. The project aims to reach 26,577 direct beneficiaries (at least half of which are expected to be women and girls) and 29,000 indirect beneficiaries.