Annual Review

2005/6
Contents Page

People, policy and practice 1

Spotlight on South Africa 2
The future of forests 4
Raising the stakes 6
Starting to rebuild 8
A better deal for pastoralists 11
Spreading the word, increasing the impact 14
Putting in the groundwork 18
Stepping in to step up 20
Influencing policy 22
Our supporters 24

Lady Susan Wood (Shushu) 1918 – 2006

“This Annual Review is dedicated to the memory
of Lady Susan Wood, widow of FARM-Africa’s co-founder
Sir Michael Wood, who died in Kenya on 16th May.
Shushu, as she was known to her family and many friends,
was a truly remarkable woman and her passing marks the
end of an extraordinary life and the end of an era. She was a source of
inspiration and support to me and many in FARM-Africa and will be terribly
missed. Her and Michael’s spirit will live on in FARM-Africa and in the lives
of the countless people they touched.”
Christie Peacock

FARM-Africa
9-10 Southampton Place
London WC1A 2EA, UK

T +44 (0)20 7430 0440

F +44 (0)20 7430 0460
E farmafrica@farmafrica.org.uk
W www.farmafrica.org.uk

Registered Charity Number: 326901 Registered Company Number: 01926828

© FARM-Africa, 2006 Photographs: FARM-Africa unless stated otherwise

Photograph of Lady Susan Wood courtesy of Kazuri Beads www.kazuriwest.com

People, policy and practice
“Improving It’s been uplifting to reflect on our many
successes over the last 18 months, helping
agriculture is more than one million African farmers and
central to reducing their families find a pathway out of poverty.
poverty in Africa.
Yet there is still much to be done, as
FARM-Africa’s many more Africans continue to suffer
combination of from drought and disease and struggle to
technical expertise make a living. We know our work makes a
difference to the lives of small-scale farmers
and experience and herders in Eastern and South Africa,
of working at and we continue to go from strength to
community level is strength. In the last year we have established
eight new projects across Ethiopia, Kenya,
helping to improve Tanzania, Uganda and Southern Sudan, and
the lives of poor have launched the new national NGO
farmers in Africa.” FARM-South Africa.
Hilary Benn, 2005 was ‘The Year of Africa’, which
Secretary of State started in January with the launch of the
for International MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY campaign to put
Development, UK pressure on the Commission for Africa and
the G8 Summit.The international community’s
commitment to solving Africa’s problems
was expressed in the G8 Final Communiqué
and we took the opportunity to bring our
extensive experience to the fore, providing
policy makers with evidence of successful
strategies for rural development.
In 2005/6 we began to ‘scale-up’ our work
– sharing models of best practice with other
organisations and individuals so the benefits
can be extended to more rural Africans.
We are a small organisation, but this new
emphasis increases the impact of our
projects, making our voice much louder.
CEO’S INTRODUCTION
One way we are ‘scaling-up’ is through
Training and Advisory Units, which share
our technical knowledge with other NGOs
and government departments.The Units
respond to the growing number of requests
from government departments and other
agencies for training and support, so we can
share our expertise with those we know
can truly make a difference.
Our dedication to extending our
programmes has led us to Southern Sudan,
where we began work this year. After many
years of civil war, the dream of peace is now
a fragile reality, meaning we can work with
communities, helping them to rebuild their
agriculture and their lives.
2005 also saw the launch of the FARM-
Africa Innovation Fund, set up to encourage
new thinking from staff, with the best ideas
being funded.The response so far has been
overwhelming and this annual review presents
some of these new micro-projects.
We have seen our supporter base grow
and our profile increase. We were delighted
to be presented with a Chartered Institute of
Public Relations award – ‘PR on a Shoestring’
– for our press coverage of our campaign to
get more attention on, and investment in,
smallholder agriculture.
I would like to say a huge thank you to all our
staff in the UK and Africa, our trustees and
our patrons, and for the incredible support
of our donors large and small. I am happy
to report that FARM-Africa is in a stronger
position to continue its grass roots work. We
have become a soundly-financed organisation
with an income that has quadrupled in four
years, giving us the resources to work even
more effectively with large numbers of poor
smallholder farmers and herders.
Dr Christie Peacock, CEO FARM-Africa
ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 1
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SOUTH AFRICA
Spotlight on South Africa
“As a patron of the newly-established South African organisation FARM-South Africa,
I wish them great success in working with communities and stakeholders to achieve
solutions to the specific challenges of poverty in our country. God bless you.”
Desmond Tutu, Emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town.
April 2005 saw the launch of FARM-South
Africa as a newly registered national NGO
in its own right.This marks an exciting
new drive to scale-up and further extend
the impact of our work with marginal black
farming communities in South Africa. We
are delighted to welcome Desmond Tutu,
Emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town, as
patron, and have already established a
strong, dynamic South African board to
help us work even more closely with the
government and other organisations
across the country.
While the international donor community
focuses on providing aid to very poor
countries, which often excludes South Africa,
this new national status will ensure that
essential support to those living in chronic
poverty can continue. FARM-South Africa
benefits from 14 years’ direct project
experience and we are confident that this
expertise and technical knowledge can help
yet more poor farmers build strong and
secure livelihoods from their land.
Since the South African Government’s
landmark decision in 1994 to return 30
per cent of the country’s agricultural land
to black ownership by 2015, FARM-Africa
has amassed a wealth of experience in land
reform initiatives.This unique knowledge
and technical ability provides an extremely
solid framework for FARM-South Africa’s
work on land reform in the Northern
Cape and other provinces.
2 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
New farmers benefiting from land “I always wondered
reform will be helped to develop their
own farm management plans and gain
how it would feel
access to credit. Working in partnership to have your own
with other institutions, FARM-South Africa possessions, your
will also provide a wide range of training
to government departments and newly
own animals.
emerging black farmers, ensuring that we Now I am a proud
make a lasting difference to their lives. owner, I can sell
With our support to date, eight land reform
some of the young
groups have created land management plans rams and provide
and developed profitable new agricultural for my family.”
businesses. Furthermore, since 2004, over
20 other groups have benefited from a Marie Visser, blind mother
partnership with the government using of five and loan beneficiary
FARM-Africa’s guidance and knowledge. from a FARM-Africa initiated
livestock bank.
In the Eastern Cape, FARM-South Africa
is training government and local NGO staff
to help unemployed people become skilled
farmers and make their small farms more
productive.This continues work already
carried out with seven farming communities
of nearly 6,000 people, whose incomes
increased significantly through improved
agricultural production.
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© Pieter Roos, 2004.

A young farmer
looks out over the
land in Witbank,
the Northern Cape.
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FORESTRY

The future of forests

For many years communities in Ethiopia The first agreement was signed in
and Tanzania have relied upon forests to Ethiopia in October 2003 between the
make a living, using land to graze their Wacha community and local government
animals and timber for fuel. However the in Bonga.This has been followed by a
forest resources have dwindled, leaving further 17, seven of them in 2005.
more people vulnerable to poverty.
The approach has been so successful
Over the last 10 years, FARM-Africa has that the Ethiopian Government has
been working with governments and local adopted it as part of its national forest
people in Bonga, Chilimo and Borana in policy, spreading the benefits throughout
Ethiopia, and Nou in Tanzania.This work the country and extending the FARM-Africa
has developed plans to reduce their reliance model more effectively than could ever Marietta Samson’s
on the forest and to manage them in a have been anticipated. life has been
sustainable way, encouraging the greater
use of non-timber products. To complement this change in
transformed since
perspective, FARM-Africa has encouraged she and her
FARM-Africa’s Participatory Forest communities to develop long-term plans husband took
Management approach has helped to safeguard the forests far into the future.
communities working in partnership We do this by helping local people to
advantage of new
with government to take responsibility for recognise the value of alternative non- livelihood
managing and protecting their forests. In forest livelihoods such as beekeeping opportunities on
the last 18 months alone there has been a and poultry production.
significant increase in the number of groups
their five-acre farm
taking up this challenge, representing a new A proportion of the income raised in Nou Forest,
era and a more hopeful future for Africa’s by Forest User Groups from alternative Tanzania.They used
forests after decades of over-use. livelihood activities is paid into a
Development Fund.This fund can then
to use the forest to
In Ethiopia, Forest Management Agreements be used for new initiatives, such as the gather firewood and
have been made with regional government recent example of the Chilimo raise cattle but now,
departments, transferring the responsibility Co-operative establishing its own
of the forest to the local population. grain bank.
with an increased
awareness of
conservation after
Investing in innovation joining local
Olika Belachew, Assistant Community Development Officer for FARM-Africa farmers’ groups,
Ethiopia, promotes Participatory Forest Management in Chilimo. He noted that most they grow wheat,
of the 14,000 residents of the township of Ginchi regularly attend the town’s nine breed goats and
churches and one mosque. He came up with the idea to ask religious leaders to
encourage their congregations to talk about protecting the forest resources, in the produce honey. In
hope that they would understand more about the importance of conservation. this way, they don’t
have to depend on
Using money from the Innovation Fund, five representatives from each congregation
were then trained in tree nursery management. Additionally 10 nursery sites were the forest alone to
established to supply seedlings on church/mosque premises and conservation make a living.
became a regular topic during religious services.

4 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW

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FORESTRY

In Tanzania, the Nou Joint Forest

Management Project is continuing to
support partnerships between 18 forest
communities and the Government of
Tanzania to conserve its fragile forests.
Teams made up of a cross section of local
people have carried out assessments of
forest resources supported by FARM-Africa,
so they can identify alternative livelihood
options and see where degradation is at
its worst. In 2005/6 18 were completed.

As in Ethiopia, the project encourages

the use of non-timber products to
support rural economies. Latest project
activities include mat weaving and exploring
the forest’s potential for eco-tourism,
the findings of which will be presented
to the Tanzania Tourist Board later this
year.This is a very exciting opportunity
to generate income for local people,
providing additional motivation for
them to protect their forests.

Promoting medicinal planting

Olani Edessa,Team Leader in Chilimo for FARM-Africa Ethiopia, applied to the
Innovation Fund to find out whether Prunus africana, an indigenous tree species
noted for its medicinal properties, could become an additional income earner for
forest communities.

His assessment, working with local communities, was carried out in the Autumn
of 2005 in Chilimo and Jibat Forests.Together, they produced ideas to support and
manage the depleted native plant population and decided to increase numbers by
establishing seedling nurseries.

The enthusiastic response led to a series of crop trials to determine the best
methods to produce and establish seedlings. Olani will now take this further and
investigate market opportunities for the new plants.

ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 5

060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06
MARKETING
Raising the stakes
“Farmers are poor,
not because they
don’t produce,
but because they
are not paid the
market value of
their produce due
to lack of market
information.”
Smallholder Mr Abdi
Mchana has been
working with FARM-Africa
on the government
programme in Tanzania.
6 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
18:25 Page 6
Many African smallholders are unable
to generate enough income, despite
improvements in the productivity of their
crops and livestock, simply because they
have little access to markets.
We want to strengthen the position of
smallholders in the marketplace so they can
get fair prices for their products, providing
much-needed income.
As a result in 2005/6, we expanded
our work to link greater agricultural
productivity to existing and emerging
markets.Through this, we hope to improve
access to information about markets,
develop relationships between farmers and
traders and add value to basic produce
through processing, for example, turning
goats’ milk into cheese.
In Babati,Tanzania, FARM-Africa was
awarded the 2005/2006 contract to
implement part of the government’s
Agricultural Marketing Systems Development
Programme. It aims to improve agricultural
marketing in the country by helping
smallholders to diversify production and
become more active in marketing. It also
encourages traders to take their business
to rural areas.
As part of this work, FARM-Africa has
run training courses and workshops to
help farmers strengthen their marketing
power. For example, in the Magugu rice-
growing district, we held a number of
workshops to increase communities’
awareness of marketing opportunities and
create links between smallholders and
buyers. Recognising women’s particular
aptitude for trading, we have made sure
that they have been involved in all the
activities, developing their marketing
skills yet further.
Information and Communication
Technologies are opening up the world
for small-scale farmers. An interesting
example is the use of mobile phones in
Magugu district to keep farmers in touch
with developments in the rice market. By
tapping into this network, farmers became
aware of a potential rice shortage, which
prompted one group of smallholders in the
area to keep back 130 tonnes of their rice
when the price was TSh 250-400 per kg.
When the shortage occurred four months
later, they jumped at the opportunity, took
their rice to market and were able to sell
at TSh 800-1,000 per kg, more than
doubling their profits.
In Ethiopia we have been working with
pastoralists to control the highly invasive
plant Prosopis juliflora. Prosopis has taken
over the landscape and is so dense that it
cuts out sunlight and prevents anything
from growing underneath. In partnership
with the Ethiopian Government, we set
up four Prosopis charcoal producing
cooperatives. Previous government policy
had prevented people from producing and
selling charcoal to protect native forests.
However, working with the cooperatives,
we encouraged the government to permit
charcoal production from Prosopis. Once
they were allowed to sell Prosopis charcoal
at market, the cooperatives soon produced
thousands of sacks to sell at profit, and so
far, over EBirr 6.9 million (£431,600) has
been raised. Hundreds of acres of land are
now being returned to grazing, safeguarding
areas for both native forest and agriculture.
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:25 Page 7
The Meru Goat Breeders’ Association,
originally set up by FARM-Africa, is now
a stand-alone organisation trading in pure
and cross-bred goats throughout Kenya and
East Africa.This initiative means that farmers
linked to the association have better access
to markets to sell and trade their goats at a
good price. By 2005 over 20,000 improved
goats had been bred and animal sales earned
members over KSh 8 million (£65,000).
The Meru Dairy Goat and Animal
Healthcare Project, which closed in 2004,
increased the supply of goat milk in Meru.
To make the most of this opportunity and
use the surplus milk most effectively, FARM-
Africa set up the Meru Goat Milk Marketing
Project.This pioneering new project
developed a goat milk processing plant to
produce longer lasting milk. It will target
specific customer sectors, particularly
hospitals, as goat milk has been found to
benefit patients with HIV/AIDS.
Developing opportunities to promote
and sell products is also a goal of many of
the projects being funded by FARM-Africa’s
Maendeleo Agricultural Technology Fund
(MATF). MATF, supported by The Kilimo
MARKETING
“When I hear the
name FARM-Africa,
the boys appear in
my mind.They
would not have
been able to go
to school without
FARM-Africa’s
help.”
Fatuma Wako,
Mulude Women’s Group,
Maikona, Marsabit, Kenya
Trust and The Rockefeller Foundation,
provides small grants to farmers working
in partnership with researchers and the
private sector to develop and share
new agricultural technologies.
Coffee producers receive only a small
percentage of the final price of processed
coffee. Recognising the potential of the global
coffee market,Technoserve, a specialist
business development NGO in Tanzania,
received a MATF grant to implement a post-
harvest processing and marketing initiative
to improve the quality of Arabica coffee.
Nine pulpery units were set up among
farmer groups in the southern highlands.The
new technology eliminated the post-pulping
fermenting process, which was when the
quality of the coffee was lost. As a result, the
coffee value has dramatically improved in the
last two years and the income earned by
farmers increased by 60 per cent.
By promoting a market perspective
throughout our work, FARM-Africa can
make sure that farmers’ potential incomes
from crops and livestock extend far beyond
the limits of their farms.
ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 7
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SUDAN
Starting to rebuild
At ten times the size of the UK, Sudan
is the largest country in Africa. As well as
mineral reserves, including oil, Sudan has
a huge potential for agricultural production.
Sadly much of the country lies in ruin after
a 21-year civil war, which cost the lives of
1.5 million people and displaced many more.
On 9 January 2005,The Sudan Comprehensive
Peace Accord was signed, bringing with it
opportunities to build a prosperous future,
“Everyone I met based on agricultural development.
was so enthusiastic FARM-Africa has responded quickly
that we were to the challenge of post-conflict Sudan.
coming to do On the very day of the peace agreement,
our staff visited proposed project areas and
agricultural work, met with County Development Committee
because until then, staff, senior government officials, other
no-one had really NGOs and groups of villagers.This was
followed by a second assessment visit in
helped them to April 2005, which included meetings with
redevelop their officials of the Southern Peoples’ Liberation
livelihoods.” Movement and other organisations
working in the area.
Edward Watkiss,
FARM-Africa Before the civil war, most of the population
Programme Officer of Southern Sudan made a living from
subsistence crop production or cattle
herding. All agriculture was disrupted by
the war, resulting in depopulation and mass
displacement of people. Now, thousands
of people are moving back to their homes,
but there is little or no infrastructure for
them to re-start farming or to prevent the
possibility of localised conflict over scarce
natural resources.
In January 2006, FARM-Africa’s Livelihoods
and Recovery Project started, promoting
farming in Northern Bahr El Ghazal and
Warab States in Southern Sudan.The project
will work with around 24,000 rural households,
focusing on the most vulnerable and at-risk
– those headed by women and returnees.
8 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
The project area is afflicted by both
drought and flooding, and crops are
susceptible to pests and disease. Poor
families in the area often fail to produce
even half their annual food needs from
crop production, so are forced to rely on
other sources, such as relief aid, to make
up the shortfall.
Given the scarcity of clean water
supplies, FARM-Africa has joined forces
with local NGO SUPRAID to install up
to ten water points, each serving 500-800
families. At the same time, FARM-Africa
will make sure that 1,500 very vulnerable
households get seeds and essential tools
such as hoes and ox ploughs.
Farmers’ Extension Groups will be set
up to train communities in appropriate
agricultural techniques, and female-headed
households will be targeted to receive
goats for breeding.
Training and drug kits will also be provided to
build a Community Animal Health Network in
Sudan, based on a model initiated in Tanzania
which led to 40 per cent fewer deaths in cattle
and 30 per cent fewer in goats and sheep.
Many project activities are being delivered
by our Mobile Outreach Camps, pioneered
with pastoralists in Ethiopia.Through these,
support and services are available to
communities, as the camps are able to
travel with them as they move around.
While recognising the complex issues of
working in Southern Sudan, we know that
our considerable experience with smallholder
farmers and herders in remote areas in East
Africa will greatly improve the lives of those
worst affected by the recent civil war. We
look forward to the challenge of assisting
these communities as they embark on a
more secure and hopeful future.
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:25 Page 9

As night falls
over Southern Sudan,
children begin the long
journey to collect water.
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PASTORALISM

For a pastoralist,
his livestock is his life.
10 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:25 Page 11
A better deal for pastoralists
Pastoralism is a traditional way of life
that has adapted over time so that people
can survive in some of the harshest
environments in Sub-Saharan Africa.There
are more than 12 million pastoralists in
Kenya and Ethiopia alone, many living far
beyond the boundaries of mainstream
society, with high rates of poverty and poor
access to education and health services.
FARM-Africa’s pastoralist programmes in
Ethiopia,Tanzania and Kenya aim to reduce
poverty and the effects of drought, improve
the way pastoralists manage their natural
resources and make sure that their views
are included in national and local policy.
One of our approaches continues to
be the use of Mobile Outreach Camps.
These camps have proved to be an
extremely cost-effective way to deliver
services, such as training and animal
health care, to a population that is widely
dispersed and constantly on the move.
The Ethiopia Pastoralist Programme is an
ambitious £1 million project, funded by Comic
Relief, CORDAID and DFID. It began in 2004
and is set to run to 2008 in the Afar and
South Omo regions of Southern Ethiopia.
In this programme, we are working with
a range of partners, including village and
community organisations, as well as specialist
NGOs, the World Bank and the Ethiopian
Government’s own Pastoral Community
Development Programme.
In recent years, Afar and South Omo regions
have suffered from increasing droughts, none
more so than in the current year. Additionally,
pastoralist influence on government and
policy makers has been limited, making them
more vulnerable to poverty and leading to
an increased dependence on humanitarian
aid even in the absence of drought.
PASTORALISM
We take a direct approach to tackling
poverty, inter-community conflict, natural
resource degradation and a weak policy
environment by helping pastoralist
communities to plan and manage their
own development. We focus on gender,
encouraging women to get more involved
in decision-making, and raising awareness
of harmful traditional practices such as
Female Genital Mutilation.
We have also been working with
pastoralists to clear the highly invasive plant
Prosopis juliflora.This plant forms a blanket
over the land, making it impossible for other
forage to grow. Part of the clearing process
includes turning Prosopis into charcoal
that pastoralists can then sell for profit.
FARM-Africa helped pastoralists lobby the
government to legalise the sale of this
charcoal and so far, over EBirr 6.9 million
(£431,600) has been made and land has
been transformed for grazing and agriculture.
The Northern Tanzania Pastoralist
Programme started in January 2006 after a
pilot stage in 2005. It is run in collaboration
with the Tanzanian Government and other
agencies, funded by the European Union,
DFID and FARM-Africa.
The purpose of this four-year programme
is to help the Barabaig in Hanang, Babati and
Mbulu districts to improve the security of
their livelihoods as well as their access and
rights to land and other resources.
The main vehicle for reaching the
dispersed communities is, again, by way
of the innovative Mobile Outreach Camps,
tailored to the movement and migration
patterns of the Barabaig, to provide support
in livestock production, animal health and
access to grazing and water points.
ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 11
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:26 Page 12
Livestock is the economic and cultural foundation of
a pastoralist’s way of life. In Tanzania, the problem of a
chronic lack of state veterinary services is being addressed
by setting up animal health delivery systems to provide
training to at least 120 Community Animal Health Workers.
They will then work with village and district livestock
institutions to ensure animals are healthy and are treated
correctly.There will also be a surveillance system to
help the control of disease and a drug supply chain
throughout the region.
FARM-Africa is also working with pastoralist communities
in Marsabit and Moyale districts in Kenya.The area has
been experiencing the longest and most severe drought
12 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
in living memory due to the failure of seasonal rains
for two successive years.This has lead to the widespread
death of livestock, overgrazing, conflict over natural
resources and increasing malnutrition.
We were able to react quickly to the crisis, helping
farmers sell their animals to raise funds for food as well
as helping transport essential water to isolated villages.
Rather than adopting a ‘blanket coverage’ approach
to delivering aid, we asked communities to prioritise
their main emergency needs.This ensured that funding
from FARM-Africa and other agencies was used to
best effect.
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Esther Warini tends

to her family’s cattle at
home in Babati,Tanzania

ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 13

060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:26 Page 14
TRAINING AND ADVISORY UNITS
Spreading the word...
Following an increasing number of requests
from government and non-governmental
agencies for support and training. FARM-
Africa has set up Training and Advisory Units
(TAUs) – core knowledge centres – from
which we will share our knowledge and
practical experience through training,
networking and publications.
© Pieter Roos, 2004.
Sharing our expertise in this way will
help us to extend or ‘scale-up’ the impact
of our work with Africa’s smallholders and
pastoralists, bringing the benefits of over 20
years’ experience to many more poor farming
communities in East and South Africa.
TAUs have already been set up in
Ethiopia, Kenya,Tanzania and Uganda.
Each unit consists of a small team of
experts drawn from our country
programmes with specialist knowledge
of local FARM-Africa projects.
We believe that ‘Training of Trainers’ is
the most effective way of targeting our
expertise. By building a skilled body of
training staff in both government and non-
governmental institutions, FARM-Africa’s
models and experiences can be shared
more widely, both within and outside
their respective organisations.
14 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
The Ethiopian TAU has already secured
a contract with the government’s Pastoralist
Community Development Project, funded
by the World Bank, to conduct baseline
surveys and train field staff. A Training of
Trainers course for 133 government and
project staff from the regions of Somali,
Afar, SNNPR and Oromiya has already
been completed as part of this work.
Other courses carried out by the
Ethiopian TAU include:
• A training course on Participatory
Rural Appraisal and planning for staff of
the international medical relief charity,
Merlin, and its partners;
• A course on planning and community
participation for representatives of
district cabinets and local development
committee members from Afambo
woreda (district) Afar region;
• A Training of Trainers course on
participatory processes for local
government staff from Afar and
Southern regions.
In Kenya, the TAU focuses on the government’s
agriculture and livestock staff as well as field
staff of community-based associations and
local NGOs.
The current range of training topics
offered by the Kenyan TAU includes farmer-
led participatory research, community
participation, community forest management,
animal health, dairy goat improvement and
camel husbandry and health.
In 2005, the Kenyan TAU provided training
to Ugandan government extension staff
working with farmers on dairy goat projects.
During the course, it was found that many
advisors knew little about dairy goats even
though increasing numbers of farmers in
Uganda were keeping them.
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TRAINING AND ADVISORY UNITS

“The training was a rare opportunity to upgrade my

technical knowledge, given that knowledge acquired
during my professional training was not sufficient to
assist me in offering sound technical advice.”
Mr Libaako, a District Dairy Officer and course participant.
The TAU in Tanzania has concentrated on (ICTs) across the world, websites are
training Community Animal Health Workers becoming easier to access and Internet
to reach a nationally recognised standard use in Africa is on the rise. We have a user-
and has also offered courses in participatory friendly main website – www.farmafrica.org.uk
approaches and marketing. – providing access to project information,
resources and fundraising news, and several
Another key way we aim to influence project sites including www.maendeleo-atf.org,
others and extend our outreach to a wide www.cah-net.net and the newly redesigned
variety of audiences is through publications www.pfmp-farmsos.org.
and website work.
We have also made it easier for supporters
With the continual development of to buy FARM FRIENDS and read about our
Information and Communication Technologies beneficiaries through www.farmfriends.org.uk.

ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 15

060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:26 Page 16

TRAINING AND ADVISORY UNITS

...increasing the impact

In the last 18 months we have produced a • MATF Newsletters
variety of publications, all of which are available
• Moving Innovations from Research into
at www.farmafrica.org.uk/resources.cfm
Farmers’ Fields: 2nd MATF experience
• Land Reform and its Impact on Livelihoods: sharing workshop
Evidence from eight land reform groups in
• Sowing the Seeds – Supporting
the Northern Cape Province of South Africa
smallholder farmers in South Africa
• Supporting Land Reform in South Africa:
• Investing in Innovation – Supporting
Participatory planning experience in the
livelihoods and learning in Kenya
Northern Cape Province
• Pushing Back Poverty – Building livelihoods
• Soil Fertility Practices in Wolaita Zone,
with communities in Ethiopia
Southern Ethiopia: Learning from farmers
• Farming for Change – Supporting rural
• Key Experiences of Land Reform in the
development in Tanzania
Northern Cape Province of South Africa
• Reaping the Rewards – Improving incomes
• Unlocking Farmers’ Potential:
through technology in Uganda
Institutionalising farmer participatory
research and extension in Southern • 20th Anniversary Annual Review
Ethiopia
• Iddi and Esther DVD
• FARM-Africa Ethiopia: Planning for small-
scale irrigation intervention
Producing publications and websites
• Cattle in Southern Ethiopia: Participatory provides us with an opportunity to share
studies in Wolaita and Konso woredas our knowledge about what really works
with a global audience.This complements
• Goats: Unlocking their potential for
the more direct outreach work of the
Africa’s farmers
TAUs, and in this way, we hope that the
• Eastern Cape Smallholder Support Project innumerable benefits of our grass roots
– Assessment of the revolving fund projects can be shared by many more
African farming communities.
• CAHNET Newsletters

Reaching out through education

Following a successful application to FARM-Africa’s Innovation Fund, the FARM-
Africa communications team headed to Tanzania to film young children benefiting
from the Babati Agricultural and Environmental Education Project.

Designed to help young people in the UK understand the lives of children in

Tanzania, this documentary presents Iddi Khalfani and Esther Warini, as they go
about their daily activities. It explores their home lives and family situations, and
introduces an average school day as well as what the children enjoy doing in
their spare time.

A clip of this documentary can be viewed at www.farmafrica.org.uk/resources.cfm

16 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW

060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:26 Page 17

A satisfied
dairy goat!
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:26 Page 18
MEASURING IMPACT
Putting in the groundwork
FARM-Africa is building on its work
with smallholder farmers through increased
involvement with regional and national
governments to influence development
policies.
To do this effectively we must be able to
demonstrate the impact of our programmes
on our beneficiaries. We need to generate
reliable data that can be presented to
governments, major donors and local
stakeholders.
To date we have conducted a staff training
programme on baseline data collection in all
the countries we work in.This will provide
information on the social and economic
conditions of individual households and
communities so that the results of our
development programmes can be
assessed more accurately.
FARM-Africa has always commissioned
independent assessors to verify the findings
of programmes, as it is important to promote
accountability and transparency. In this way,
donors have a clear picture of how their
money is used and what has been achieved.
The following are a small selection of
projects that have recently been the subject
of in-depth assessments.
18 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
Tracking livestock banks in
seven land reform groups in
the Northern Cape Province,
South Africa.
Livestock banks aimed to address the
many constraints imposed by the South
African Government’s Land Reform
Programme.These problems include poor
implementation, no access to finance, weak
infrastructure, remoteness of land from
homesteads and the poor agricultural skills
of the communities set to benefit from the
land reform programme itself.
The livestock banks were introduced as
part of FARM-Africa’s support to poor land
reform communities to increase their flocks
of sheep and goats.
Under the scheme, seven banks were
set up and the funds were converted to
livestock. Most of the communities decided
that the most effective way of increasing
livestock numbers was to merge the
individual flocks into one, so that they
could be managed by a more skilled group
for a specific period, before loans would
be made to individual members.
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:26 Page 19
There were varying degrees of success, but
on average there was a 74 per cent increase
in the number of sheep and goats, enough
to provide a surplus of 900 animals which
were sold for R272,418.
Although the banks are operated by
smallholders with little or no experience of
livestock farming, they have so far shown an
economic return of 7.5 per cent per annum.
“I am optimistic Evaluating the Babati Rural
about the future – Development Project,Tanzania
I will be able to This five-year project, which concluded
grow much more in 2005, was run in collaboration with Babati
food so I can feed District Council, village communities, and
local NGOs and Community-Based
my family.” Organisations.
Mr Samson,
Farmers’ Research Group
MEASURING IMPACT
It aimed to build on our previous work in
the area by developing community-based
initiatives to increase agricultural production
and encourage sustainable land use.
The external assessment concluded that
the project had successfully achieved its
goals, with particular emphasis on developing
local partnerships that were then used to
develop and test community-based
initiatives.
Techniques introduced by the project
had also improved agricultural productivity
resulting in increased harvests and numbers
of animals.
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:27 Page 20
DELIVERING INPUTS
Stepping in to step up
Government services to smallholders are
in decline. Our response to this has been to
work with communities, local institutions and
the private sector to explore new ways of
providing a wide range of inputs and services
needed by farmers. Where the state has
stepped back, we have moved forward,
looking at novel ways of ensuring essentials,
such as tools, access to credit and animal
health services, are supplied to poor
farming communities.
Providing access to credit makes a lasting
difference to rural people, helping them to
invest in their farms and buy seeds, equipment,
fertiliser and livestock. FARM-Africa’s approach
roots these micro-credit systems deep into
the community, who is then responsible for
managing them and ensuring good
repayment rates.
In South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province,
Revolving Credit Funds were set up to help
farmers put their community land use plans
into action. Members of established Farmers’
Associations each paid a joining fee of R10
and were then able to apply for loans, outlining
which specific activities they wanted to fund.
Farmers’ incomes have risen as a direct result,
as they have used the funds to set up and
manage profitable agricultural enterprises.
In our new programme in Sudan, we are
providing blacksmiths with access to metal,
so much-needed tools, like hoes and ox
ploughs, can be produced and sold, giving
people in Sudan the basics they need to
regenerate their agriculture and rebuild
their lives after 21-years of civil war.
Mr Zalisile Njuze lives in Gugwini, Eastern
Cape, South Africa, with his eight children.
Following training from FARM-Africa, and a
loan from a revolving fund, he was able to
invest in seeds and tools to produce enough
food to support his family.
20 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
“I have to build on the foundations
laid by FARM-Africa. It is possible to
feed my family and make an income.
I am very grateful to FARM-Africa
for giving me hope.”
Goats and private
veterinary services
Veterinary services in rural areas in
Africa are sparse. Governments tend
to focus services in more lucrative areas,
leaving rural populations dependent on a
patchy private sector and vast numbers
of livestock vulnerable to disease.
For many years, FARM-Africa has been
working with communities and private
sector vets to find long-term solutions
to the lack of animal health services. Our
approach has set up systems to supply
goats to farmers and improve access to
community animal healthcare.This model,
developed through the successful Meru
Dairy Goat and Animal Healthcare Project
in Kenya, has now been replicated in Sironko
and Mbale Districts, Uganda, and Kitui and
Mwingi Districts in Kenya.
The Project established two community
associations, which have been operating
independently since 2003.The Meru Goat
Breeders’ Association manages cross-breeding
of goats, improves marketing and conducts
training, while the Meru Animal Health
Workers’ Group includes private vets
and Animal Health Assistants and
provides training and access to credit
for its members.
The Meru Animal Health Workers’ Group
is registered as a co-operative so it can
operate a savings and credit scheme. It has
raised money to start a revolving fund,
providing loans for members to buy animal
medicines and set up veterinary shops.
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:27 Page 21

DELIVERING INPUTS

In 2005 the group secured a contract from
the Central Artificial Insemination Station at
Kabete to distribute semen in the Meru
district.The group was able to invest 17.5
per cent of its capital into this enterprise.
Since the contract was signed, sales of doses
have quadrupled and income generated is
over KSh1,000,000 (£8000).
The Meru Goat Breeders’ Association is
also raising the stakes, as it is involved in the
National Goat Task Force set up by FARM-
Africa and the Governments of Kenya and
Tanzania in January 2006.This initiative will
considerably improve the supply of cross-
bred goats in both countries. Morris Kinyua
received training in goat management from
the Meru Goat Breeders’ Association even
though he lives outside their area. His first
goat kidded in December 2003 and he now
has more than five goats.The value of his
goats is currently KSh 36,000.
“I have opted to keep goats only. I want
to make my farm a factory for producing
goats.”
replaced her cows with goats after discovering
that cows are less economical. Now she
can pay her daughter’s school fees.
A group of women in the Meru South
District got together to keep goats after
being trained by the local female farmer
extension worker. Registered with the
Ministry of Social Services as a welfare
organisation, they can now purchase a
female goat for cross-breeding for each
member and they are even planning
a buck station.
Toggenburg Breeders’
Association, Babati,Tanzania
This farmer-led organisation was set up
with funding from FARM-Africa, but is now
independent.There are now over 60 groups
each with an average of 15 members. While
its main source of income is the sale of
breeding stock, the association also uses
the farmer-to-farmer approach to share
ideas and developments with members
and potential members.

Janet Muthoni improved her goat “Go buy a goat and do

management when she joined a local dairy
goat group. Since then, her farmer extension
worker has linked her to a market that pays
higher prices than local brokers. She has
some good!”
Kate Adie, writing in The Daily Telegraph,
June 2005, after a visit to Kenya.

Ewe can make a difference with FARM FRIENDS

FARM FRIENDS have made it fun and easy to help poor African families improve
their standard of living.

Give £10, £30 or £35 and, at the same time, someone you nominate gets an animal
toy and a pack explaining what you’ve done on their behalf.

Our projects across Africa have a significant impact on the lives of many poor
families and FARM FRIENDS has made a huge contribution to FARM-Africa’s income
from individual supporters, meaning we can help more people in Africa.

Support our work with a gift of a FARM FRIEND. Visit www.farmfriends.org.uk or

call 0845 270 4480.

ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 21

060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:27 Page 22
INFLUENCE
Influencing policy
2005/6 has been an exciting period for
FARM-Africa, with the start of many new
projects, more and more supporters and a
huge increase in our public profile. It has also
been a time when Africa has been thrust
into the limelight, with key campaigns and
events raising awareness of the problems
Africans face everyday.
In the last 18 months, our work has helped
over one million poor rural communities
escape poverty, providing them with a
platform from which they can make the
move towards prosperity.This proves that
investment in small-scale agriculture works
and can form the basis for vibrant rural
economies. We have taken the responsibility
to make sure that those walking the
corridors of power recognise this
experience and use evidence from our
programmes to make policies that keep
agriculture at the centre of the poverty
reduction agenda.
Since the launch of our policy paper
‘Reaching the Poor: A call to action’ in 2004,
we have remained at the forefront of the
campaign to get investment in smallholder
agriculture back on the agenda.There have
been promising signs of progress over the
last 18 months, including DFID’s new
agricultural policy ‘Growth and Poverty
Reduction: The role of agriculture’, launched
in December 2005, but we will continue to
lobby for delivery of the many commitments
that have been made by national governments
and international agencies.
In particular, we highlighted the
increasing gap between the promises made
internationally and the actions yet to be
taken on agricultural investment.This must
be addressed if we are to succeed in
eradicating extreme poverty and hunger,
22 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW
the first of the UN’s Millennium Development
Goals. Depressingly, the World Bank forecasts
that the number of poor living on less than
US$1 a day is set to rise between now
and the target date 2015.
However, the external environment is
becoming more positive. In addition to
DFID’s agricultural policy, the governments
of Africa have also made steps towards
recognising agriculture as a central component
in the fight against poverty. A specific
commitment has been made by the African
Union of Member States in its New
Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD), providing a framework for
restoring agricultural growth, rural
development and food security through
its Comprehensive African Agriculture
Development Programme.
Our contributions to the debate are
numerous, notably our submission calling for
a commitment to smallholder agriculture to
the Commission for Africa, chaired by UK
Prime Minister Tony Blair.The Commission’s
report, published in 2005 ahead of the G8
Summit, proposed measures to achieve
a strong and prosperous Africa.
We were also an active member of
the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY coalition,
mobilised to put pressure on the G8
Summit meeting. We used lessons from
our successful programmes to lobby
governments and joined the international
rally which took place in Edinburgh in July.
The G8 Final Communiqué, which resulted
from that meeting (July 2005), also pledged
greater support to the African Union’s
agricultural plan.
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:27 Page 23
The lobby for small-scale agriculture
is certainly gathering momentum and
our expertise has been increasingly
acknowledged and called upon.
In October 2005, Dr Christie Peacock
was invited to give a presentation on goats
and how they can assist African farmers
at the 7th African Union Conference of
Ministers Responsible for Animal Resources,
which took place in Kigali, Rwanda.
Our lobbying work has brought with it
enhanced understanding of the constant
need to demonstrate our successes to
policy makers and provide them with
evidence to support their arguments.
INFLUENCE
This has led us to partner with The
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
to produce an analysis of our programme
work in Africa and how it has contributed
to changes in national government policy.
It will be published in 2006.
As an organisation, FARM-Africa is
in a unique position: we work directly
with poor rural communities in Africa
and engage with policy makers at national
and international levels. In this way, we
are a direct link between poor farmers
and government ministers, ensuring
that successes at the local level can
be translated into meaningful
international policy.
© Aubrey Wade / Panos 2006
ANNUAL REVIEW FARM-Africa 23
060612_farmafrica_text_aw 14/6/06 18:27 Page 24

INFLUENCE AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Our supporters
“I am very happy to be associated with
FARM-Africa as it continues in its steady,
persistent quest to improve the standards
of living in rural Africa.They have the
© John Swannell

right ideas and the right attitude.”

Michael Palin

“Nearly two million of the poorest farmers

and herders in Africa have worked their
way out of poverty with the help of FARM-
Africa – please help others to benefit by

© Harpers Bazaar
giving them your support.”
Cherie Booth QC

“One of the biggest challenges for Africa

is to improve agricultural productivity without
increasing the cost of inputs.That is why I like
the innovative low-tech approach of FARM-
Africa and the way it helps poor communities
© IFPRI

by scaling-up its findings.”

Dr Peter Hazell
FARM-Africa board member,
former Director of Development Strategy and Governance, IFPRI

24 FARM-Africa ANNUAL REVIEW

FARM-Africa Board
FARM-Africa UK Board

The Rt Hon Lord De Ramsey DL (Chairman)

Dr Elizabeth Hopkins (Secretary and Deputy Chair)
Norman Coward (Treasurer)
Bernard Dewe Mathews CBE TD
Jan Bonde Nielsen
Dr Michael Collinson
Dr Peter Hazell
Shabanji Opukah
Janet Pugh OBE
Dr Paul Zuckerman

CEO

Dr Christie Peacock

FARM-South Africa Board

Blanche Pitt
Leonard Ngada
Zamani Jali
Prof Tim Bembridge
Dr Christie Peacock
Dr Elizabeth Hopkins
www.farmafrica.org.uk
060612_farmafrica_insert_aw 14/6/06 18:29 Page 1

Food and Agricultural Research Management Ltd

balance sheet as at 31 December 2005
2005 2004
£ £
Current assets
Tangible assets 54,333 9,757
Current assets 3,759,639 3,473,932
Less liabilities (718,176) (373,397)

Total net assets 3,095,796 3,110,292

Funds
Restricted funds (1) 1,885,067 2,150,780
Unrestricted funds:
Designated funds (2) – 324,498
General reserves (3) 1,210,729 635,014

3,095,796 3,110,292

Notes

(1) The restricted fund reserve represents funds received, or due to be received, from institutional donors and certain trusts.
These monies are governed by individual contracts and are earmarked to specific projects.They cannot in any circumstance be
used for any other purpose.

(2) The designated funds are funds set aside by the trustees out of unrestricted general funds for specific purposes or projects.

(3) The unrestricted general funds are those funds that are available, at the discretion of the trustees and in accordance with
our charitable objects, for any purpose.They are principally used to ensure the long-term sustainability of FARM-Africa. However,
when the level of reserves exceeds that currently approved by the trustees, with their approval, certain sums are being used to
fund direct programme activities overseas.

The summary is based on the financial accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005.

Report by the Trustees on summarised financial statements

The above summarised financial statements are extracted from the full trustees’ annual report and financial statements which
were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf on 17 May 2006.The full financial statements, on which the auditors
Horwath Clark Whitehill LLP gave an unqualified audit report on 17 May 2006, will be submitted to the Charity Commission
in June 2006.

The auditors have confirmed to the trustees that, in their opinion, the summarised financial statements are consistent with the
full financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2005.

The summarised financial statements may not contain sufficient information to gain a complete understanding of the financial
affairs of the charity.The full trustees’ report, audit report and financial statements may be obtained from the Finance Director
at FARM-Africa, 9-10 Southampton Place, London WC1A 2EA.

Signed on behalf of the trustees

Norman Coward (Treasurer)

May 2006
060612_farmafrica_insert_aw 14/6/06 18:29 Page 2

Food and Agricultural Research Management Ltd statement of financial activities for the year
ended 31 December 2005
Income has been analysed differently in this statement to the annual accounts in order to reflect the source of funds more clearly.

2005 2004
£ £
Income
Income from individual supporters, appeals and other income 3,194,947 1,821,918
Grants from institutional donors and other NGOs 1,443,009 2,409,453
Income from trusts and corporate donations 2,055,046 1,616,263
Interest receivable and similar income 76,553 43,949

Total income 6,769,555 5,891,583

Expenditure
Fundraising and publicity costs (1,505,545) (909,720)
Grants payable to other institutions (906,490) (934,102)
Operational programmes (3,990,565) (2,918,494)
Support costs (322,831) (320,010)
Management and administration (58,620) (66,716)

Total expenditure 6,784,051 (5,149,042)

Net income/(outgoing) resource for the year (14,496) 742,541

Surplus funds brought forward at the beginning of the year 3,110,292 2,367,751
Surplus carried forward at the end of the year 3,095,796 3,110,292

We received £6.77 million in 2005.Where did we get our income from?

We spent £6.78 million in 2005.Where did this go?