Gaecha Farmers are seeing real results

Last October, we visited a group of farmers in the beautiful village of Gaecha. They shared their thoughts on the impact of the farmer support program on their farming practices and their families’ overall well-being. 

“It's been transformative at the household and community level,” shared Tameru. “It’s like a new birth for me. I was not a good farmer, but with training, I have developed new skills. I now consider myself a good farmer. With the surplus vegetables and fruits, I sell them at the market, and make some money.”

Tameru (standing under a towering banana plant) received high-yielding banana seedlings as part of the farmer support program. [image descriptions: a man stands under a banana plant]

Farmers from the village of Gaecha shared their thoughts with us. [image description: a group of 19 farmers gathered together. Some are standing, and others are sitting.]

Other farmers shared that training and support have been useful, and have applied new techniques to improve their crop outputs, including teff and corn. Farmers received seeds, seedlings, hand tools, goats, and ongoing support and training.

Over 385 farmers across five villages have participated in our farmer support program, which strengthens families by helping them achieve food security and start small businesses by selling their surplus.

[image description: harvested, drying teff]

During our visit, the weather was unseasonably rainy and overcast, which threatened to impact the harvested teff crops. This unseasonable weather is being reported more often. Diversifying crops with various vegetables, fruits, and grains has helped reduce the impact of loss on farmers.