10/07/2018

Recently, the International Treaty went into the field with a high-level representative of a donor country, Norway, to meet with smallholder farmers involved in an agricultural development project supported by the International Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Fund. International Treaty Secretary Nnadozie & Norwegian Deputy Minister of Agriculture & Food Blafjelldal went into rural Malawi, where they meet with village farmers and partners in the field.

This brief 3-minute video reportage explains the problem and how the FAO International Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Fund is supporting farmers through this multi-country project to diversify their crop production. Farmers, who were accustomed to planting maize, through this project, have access to other planting material and knowledge on crops like millet, sorghum, cassava and yams. They have come together in establishing a community seed bank and conserving and using varieties of seeds tolerant to drought conditions, including traditional crops. The project is having a positive impact on smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change, and the production of more nutritious food for their families.