Friends,
I have the privilege to collaborate with Africa Harvest on the new Biofortification Programme, financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Here a snapshot on the Africa Harvest activities taken from their website: http://www.ahbfi.org/. Inside you will find more information about the SuperSorghum project, which makes good progress in its first year. See in the websites for contact addresses.
http://supersorghum.org/
Africa Harvest: A Snapshot
Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI) is incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization that is dedicated to using technology as a tool to fight hunger, malnutrition and poverty in Africa. The foundation’s headquarters is located in Nairobi, Kenya and there are operational offices in Johannesburg, South Africa and Washington D.C., United States.
Africa Harvest’s plan is to implement needs-driven programs and provide practical solutions to challenges facing resource-poor smallholder farmers in rural communities. The Foundation believes in undertaking projects that focus on the Whole Value Chain (WVC) Strategy, which it has developed and refined, over the years. The uniqueness of the WVC Strategy is that it looks at agricultural products and projects through an inverted pyramid; this means that an end user or customer is identified before focusing on issues such as agricultural production (inputs such as seedlings, fertilizers and water), product distribution and marketing. This way, project beneficiaries are able to make money from the sales of whatever is produced in excess of home consumption requirements.
Africa Harvest’s strength is derived primarily from the expertise of its core staff in consortium building; capacity building; planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects; and includes the implementation of socio-economic impact studies. Its institutional expertise is best utilized through on-the-job training and mentoring of others to implement the projects together.
Moreover, owing to its Pan-African focus, the Foundation has indigenous knowledge, cultural understanding and a trusted relationship with African leaders, farmers and international organizations. As a result, Africa Harvest is seen as a sincere and honest partner in the cause of poverty and hunger alleviation.
Klaus Ammann
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