Vote for the Photo of the Month: Building Sustainable Food Systems
Our monthly photo series highlights the beauty and emotion in the lives of our clients around the world. This month’s photos illustrate the interconnectedness of our global food system and the critical role smallholder farmers play.
Food systems are the interconnected processes by which food is grown, processed, packaged, distributed, sold, and consumed. These processes are central to the well-being of every person on earth. By transforming our food systems, we can ensure everyone has access to adequate nutrition and a decent livelihood.
Meet three smallholder farmers who are working to build more inclusive, sustainable food systems. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite photo.
PHOTO 1:
A few years ago, José García Martínez began farming strawberries on his farm in Michoacán, Mexico. Strawberries have the potential for high profit margins, but they can be difficult to grow. At the time, José was unsure of the best growing techniques, and he sold his crop to middlemen, who paid unreliable prices.
In 2019, he met TechnoServe staff who were helping neighboring farmers improve their yields through the Madre Tierra program, an initiative to strengthen the strawberry value chain in Mexico.
With improved income from his crop, José made improvements to his family’s home. And he invested further in his strawberry farm, optimistic about the future.
“I feel proud and very happy to have crops that I never thought I would have,” he said. “I know that with effort, I can do it.”
PHOTO 2:
In rural communities across India, women provide tangible and intangible support to farm production while carrying the bulk of household responsibilities. TechnoServe is working with women to improve household food security through the establishment of kitchen gardens. These small gardens provide nutritious food for the family and provide women with an opportunity to earn additional income by selling leftover produce.
Birju Devi lives in Rajasthan, India, and manages her household’s kitchen garden. Through a TechnoServe program, she learned critical skills to increase her production, such as how to prepare organic repellent and organic manure for fertilization using locally available materials. In addition to receiving agronomy training, she also learned about critical family nutrition concepts.
PHOTO 3:
In Nigeria, tomatoes are an important food source, but nearly half of the tomatoes produced by smallholder farmers are lost each year. Post-harvest loss, which is exacerbated by climate change, contributes to food insecurity and reduces the income of smallholder farmers, processors, service logistics providers, and retailers.
Ladi Godwin, a mother of four in Kaduna state, participated in the YieldWise program and learned new practices for managing unpredictable weather and reducing post-harvest losses. She had been farming tomatoes for 10 years but was never able to expand her production, eventually deciding to focus on crops like maize and millet instead.
After joining the program, her perspective shifted.
“I was amazed by the yields we were able to get from the small demonstration plot,” she explained. “The nursery was also able to withstand the heavy rains and outperformed our own varieties.”
Building Sustainable Food Systems:Vote for Your Favorite Photo
