ActionAid’s selected seed supply is changing lives of peasants in Seru, one of the intervention areas in Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia.
Now I don’t worry about feeding my children. I have never thought this would be possible,
said Geno Haji Kedir, one of the beneficiaries.
Geno, 31, is married and a mother of four children. She lives in Waltai village, Seru district. The family owns only 0.25ha of land which is not enough to produce adequate food due to lack of best quality inputs together with poor access to extension service. Their annual produce doesn’t last more than three months. Therefore, her husband used to sell his labour to better off farmers in the area.
She was targeted among poor HHs by AAE Seru/Bele Development Area (DA) and provided with selected seed variety of cereal and vegetables and got access to better extension services which was especially arranged by the DA and woreda Agriculture Office for groups identified under this scheme. As a result of the support, she was able to produce more to feed the family and increase her income. Her changed condition improved her HH decision making capacity and decided to stop her husband from working on neighbor’s field.
Geno, for instance, harvested 25 quintals of maize from a quarter of hectare and she was able to sell part of the produce for Birr 6,000. She also produced carrot, swiss chard and cabbage and got Birr 10,000 from its sale.
She said, “…nothing makes me happier than feeding my family year round. Now I don’t worry about feeding my children. I have never thought this would be possible. The assistance I got changed not only my life but also made me feel capable and confident. I used to think on how to get daily bread which doesn’t give a chance to think about tomorrow. Now I start thinking on how to create prosperous future. I can now access and buy selected seeds, fertilizers and plough with oxen to produce more with minimal support. My husband will no longer work on neighbor’s fields as a wage earner like yesterday.” She added, “…women in my village wants to engage and they demand similar support from AAE and government. I expect they will join us soon to improve their livelihood.”