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Apart from our normal mix of news and developments in N2Africa, we’re delighted to welcome Jeroen Huising as N2Africa Project Coordinator based with CIAT-TSBF in Nairobi. Many of you will know Jeroen as he has worked with TSBF in Nairobi for many years on various projects – including coordinating the GEF funded Below-Ground Biodiversity project and more recently the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS). Jeroen is currently completing tasks for AfSIS and will take some well-deserved holiday before he starts with N2Africa 1st September.
Ken Giller
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| N2Africa Malawi bids farewell to Joseph Mhango |
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Anne Turner says goodbye to Research Officer Joseph Mhango, who will start working for the Seed Trade Association of Malawi and is applauded for having taken on far more than the tasks listed in his terms of reference.
Photo: Joseph Mhango preparing to add inoculant to soy
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| Alastair Simmons, N2Africa’s Communication, Knowledge and Project Management Officer and currently the acting Project Coordinator, comments on the project moving forward |
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Alastair looks back to the Steering Committee & Leadership Team meeting in Nairobi last May, advices on noting down progress and how to deal with the 'journey' of the N2Africa project. He also introduces Jeroen Huising.
Photo: Steering Committee & Leadership Team meeting, May in Nairobi
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| Kenyan Outreach Update: Breakthroughs in many areas |
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Paul Woomer reporting on the many breakthroughs in West Kenya: numbers reached, mechanisms used for input supply, field experimentation with experimental inoculant strains, market access, soymilk production. |
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| Exploring potential of tillage methods on combating mid-season drought in soybean in West Kenya |
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John Okoth sharing results from his field research looking at potential of tillage methods on combating mid-season drought in soybean in West Kenya, a part of the country where midseason drought is contributing to a greater reduction in yields of most crops.
Photo: John taking some measurement of soil water at one of his experiments at Alupe site, West Kenya
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| Towards getting more legumes in smallholder farms of Western Kenya |
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Margarida Simbine, a MSc Student from the University of Nairobi, testing different intercropping patterns of maize and soybean to identify the practices that maximize BNF, increase yields and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers of Western Kenya.
Photo: Margarida at one of her experimental sites in Mumias
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| N2Africa research meeting – Zimbabwe |
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On Friday the 18th of May, N2Africa Zimbabwe organized a half-day meeting in Harare, facilitating a comprehensive exchange of N2Africa research experiences within Zimbabwe. Research within N2Africa is intrinsically linked to the D&D efforts and vice versa. Nevertheless it was felt that it would be beneficial to have a focussed research meeting first, before re-engaging with D&D. |
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| N2Africa complementing “One Cow for Poor Family” Program in Rwanda |
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Under ‘One Cow Per Poor Family’ program the poor and vulnerable families, including genocide survivors, widows, orphans, people with disabilities and people living with HIV/AIDS, are acquiring productive assets in the form of a dairy cow or dairy goat. These groups are also provided with an integrated package of assistance, starting with participatory training that strengthens the social structures and gender equity. At the same time the groups are given in-depth training in sustainable organic agriculture, concentrating on vegetables, maize and beans for human consumption.
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| News from DRC |
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Formation des ménages dans la transformation du soja en lait et cakes pour la nutrition familiale à Ihimbi.
Visite des essais lors de la journée champêtre organisée la saison B 2012 à Mushinga par le partenaire DIOBASS.
Adoption des technologies N2Africa.
Article in both French and English
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| The African Soil Health Consortium |
N2Africa is working with the Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC) to produce dissemination materials related to integrated soil fertility management. The ASHC contributes towards radical change in the understanding and use of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) techniques in sub-Saharan Africa, enabling smallholder farmers to improve their crop yields. We received the ASHC newsletter and share it with you.
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| ISFM Conference |
The ISFM 2012 Conference takes place from 22-26 October. This is an excellent opportunity to highlight the work that N2Africa does, in a diversity of countries and over a wide range of topics. We encourage all N2Africa staff to submit an abstract for this conference. More information and the deadline for submission can be found on www.isfmafrica2012.org. Please send a copy of the abstract to esther.ronner@wur.nl, for coordination of the N2Africa contributions.
Esther Ronner
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| Comment peut être la journée ordinaire d’un partenaire de N2Africa? / What does an N2Africa participant do on a “normal N2Africa day” |
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Speciose Kantengwa tells us about her work as Farm Liaison Officer in Rwanda. Article both in English and French.
Photo: Training of women on Soy milk extraction at household level, September 2011
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| Voices from the field |
We are seeking to compile a collection of personal stories and narratives from around N2Africa.
Through one set of stories, we’ll profile those who work hard behind the scenes to ensure that N2Africa is a success, by inviting particular N2Africa staff to share their experiences.
Alastair explains what kind of stories we seek.
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