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OPENING MESSAGE FROM BOARD

The Faces of the Green Revolution in this publication are just a few of the many farmers, scientists

and entrepreneurs who are changing the landscape of African agriculture with the support of national

governments, the international community and organizations like AGRA. This is what can be accomplished

when smallholder farmers work with the tools of modern agriculture robust, high-yielding seed, practicalintegrated soil fertility and water management practices, affordable credit and efcient markets.

These are the actual faces of Africas Green Revolution and these are their success stories. They represent

the many men and women whose potential, when unlocked, are driving the transformation of Africas

agricultural systems and development of Africas economies. They show us that progress is being made;

there is a way out of hunger and poverty.

But they need our active and focused support. If we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals in

2015 and deliver on the worlds commitment to reduce human suffering, we must accelerate this

momentum. This is the goal of an African Green Revolution and it is why we are gathering at this forum in

Accra: to make real on our commitments, to pool our resources, our experience and our best thinking torapidly advance a sustainable, uniquely African Green Revolution.

(Names of all board members)

A G R A F A C E S | PA G E 1


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SeedsFarming starts with a seed. Africa is facing a shortage inquality seeds suitable to African environments, local tastes and

consumer preferences. Closing the seed gap starts with

training scientists to breed new crops for their people, setting

up local companies to multiply those seeds and then making

them available at prices farmers can afford. Over 9,000

agrodealers have been trained to better serve farmers. AGRAs

support to breeders and local African seed companies has

enabled 140 new varieties of seed to not just be developed

but to get into farmers hands. Last year alone, 8,500 MTs of

new seed was produced and that amount will double by theend of this year.

SoilsAfrica loses roughly $4 billion in soil nutrients each year,costing farmers in lost productivity and eroding the continents

ability to feed itself. But simple solutions can reverse the trend.

AGRAs programs in soil health are working to restore 6.3

million hectares of degraded farmland over 10 years. Whether

its setting Africas rst digital soil map to monitor the problem

and inform decision making or promoting the use of lime to

counteract western Kenyas acidic soils or increasing the use

of fertilizer microdosing by farmers in the Sahel, AGRA is

focused on stemming the crisis and transforming Africas soils

from a curse into blessing for smallholder farmers.


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MarketsFarming is a business, not just a way of life. For decades, African

farmers had two choices at harvest time - sell immediately at a lowprice to middlemen or let the crop go to waste. AGRA brings new

solutions to old problems by using available technology like radio and

mobile phone messaging to make sure farmers get a fair deal and earn

a prot. The establishment of warehouse receipt systems supported by

commercial banks gives farmers an opportunity to store their crops

when prices are low after harvest, and sell them later at a higher price

when prices go up. AGRA supports a number of projects to improve

crop storage and post harvest management to reduce post harvest

losses. It facilitates increased aggregation of smallholder producers into

farmers groups and associations reducing farmers transaction costs.

This has helped more than 20,000 farmers in Uganda to more

effectively market their produce.

PolicyGetting better seeds and inputs to farmers and ensuring they have

access to markets and credit for requires a supportive policyenvironment. In Malawi, Tanzania and Rwanda, effective polices have

eased farmers access to seeds and fertilizer to help produce bountiful

harvests and generate impressive economic growth. Changing policies

that drive up the cost and reduce availability of fertilizer for the

smallholder farmer has been one of AGRAs big successes. Such

changes reect an emerging consensus policy support is essential to

transforming Africas agricultural sector. Farmers and agribusinesses

also need affordable credit. Typically, Africas commercial banks extend

less than 3% of their lending to agriculturedespite the major role it

plays in African economies. AGRA and its partners have mobilized $160

million in affordable loans from local commercial banks through credit

guarantees. This is the new face of African agriculture.


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Maimouna CoulibalyThanks to the ingenuity and persistence of one Malian woman, Maimouna Coulibably, and AGRA support to allow

local, African entrepreneurs a chance to gain expertise in the highly specialized eld of seed production and

marketing, for the rst time ever, poor farmers in Mali can now purchase quality seeds for local food crops. Her

independent, private seed company, Faso Kabo, has brought more than 300 metric tons of improved seeds to

smallholder farmers so they can achieve high yield crops in key foods such as maize, sorghum, cowpea, rice andvegetables. This is helping to address food security in Africa.


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Bassidou SamakeUpon his fathers passing, Bassidou Samake, a farmer in Sanankoroba Village in Mali, assumed

leadership of his 42-person family, and struggled with the huge challenge of feeding his many relatives.

With just a 6thgrade education and no formal source of income, Samake also looked for help from

Faso Kaba, a local seed company supported by AGRA. Today, Samake has three deals with Faso

Kaba; he is one of 50 local farmers who produce seed for the company. Bassidous farm is also used todemonstrate new technologies to other local farmers and he has started a small supply shop that sells

improved seeds and fertilizers to farmers in the neighborhood.



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Bino TemeAfter years of diligent work, Malian sorghum breeders led by Dr. Bino Teme, the director of Rural Economic

Institute (IER), have nally broken the yield barrier of one of the countrys most important food crops. The

hybridswhich stand to quadruple the harvests of this drought-hardy staplewill be released to farmers

across Mali. Teme expects up to 50 per cent of farmers to adopt the new varieties within several years.

Over the next year, the IER will train seed producers on the breeding techniques and carry out demonstra-

tions to promote the seeds among farmers. AGRA supports the breeding efforts of the IER, extending a

tradition of innovation at the Institute.


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Koptegei Widows GroupIn 2007, 24 women farmers came together to form the Koptegei Widows Group and pool their meager earnings

through an informal savings arrangement. Group leader Christine Chebii Ngogi tells how the women struggled to

generate income as they faced a lack of capital and skill. But their subsistence farming received a boost from

AGRAs partnerships with Cereal Growers Association (CGA), the World Food Programs Purchase for Progress

(P4P) and Equity Bank. Through these collaborations, the women received valuable harvest production and

business training, as well as nancial backing, which eventually led them to win a competitive tender with P4P to

deliver 250MT of maize worth 6 million Kenya shillings.



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Dinnah KapizaDinnah Kapiza transformed her used clothing business into a full-line farming supply store in rural Malawi. Opened

with an investment equivalent to just US$310, her agro-dealer shop now turns over US$36,800 worth of farm

supplies every year. Kapiza got her start with the assistance of AGRA grantee the Malawi Agrodealer Strengthening

Program. It trains entrepreneurial men and women like Kapiza in business management and provides a steady

supply of farm products. Today her shop serves about 600 smallholder farmers within a 15 kilometer radius, selling

seeds, farm tools, crop protection products and fertilizerand dispensing crucial advice. Kapiza is one of thousandsof agro-dealers in eleven countries trained through AGRA support and now serving smallholder farmers.


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Janey LeakeyAfter three years of toil, Janey Leakey, a founding director of Leldet Seed Company in Nakuru, Kenya, can rest

assured that improved varieties of underutilized crops like pigeon pea, sorghum, soya beans, chick pea and ground

nut will nally be approved for production by the Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services. Breeders have historically

faced many nancial and bureaucratic hurdles in getting new crop varieties certied, and in the hands of farmers. But

through an AGRA grant, Leldet has not only surmounted those hurdles, but also conducted more than 600 demon-

strations to tens of thousands of farmers across Kenya. Its sales of small seed packsmatched to the size offarmers pocketbooks and acreageis raising yields and spurring demand for high quality, certied seedGeof-


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Annet MubiruAs an agro-dealer in rural Uganda, Annet Mubiru is gratied when farmers benet from her farm products and advice.

One of the farmers she has helped is Sebulega John Bosco, who more than doubled the yield of beans on his diverse

farm. Yet, many farmers still dont get the chance to work with well-stocked, well-informed agro-dealers like Mubiru.

AGRA aims to train and certify 9,000 agro-dealers by 2011, increasing farmers access to affordable inputs. AGRA is

also making low-interest loans available to agro-dealers, so they can fully stock their shelves, and to small-scale

farmers so they can invest in their farm businesses. Then, like Sebulega John Bosco, farmers will be able to boosttheir yields and incomes. Farms can be small, sustainable and protable.


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frey KananjiBean farmers in Malawi have long battled with bruchid beetles which destroy crops in storage waiting to be eaten or

sold. Geoffrey Kananji, Ph.D., National Research Coordinator for Legumes, Fibres and Oilseed crops in Malawi, has

dedicated his research to developing bruchid-resistant bean varieties, a solution that would greatly help the countrys

many smallholder farmers. Kananji is also inspiring a movement to actively involve farmers in the plant breeding and

research process. AGRAs support of Kanaji and other African crop breeders has led to the release of dozens of pest-

and disease-resistant crop varieties that are well adapted to their local environments.


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Joanina and Peter KibutiPeter and Joanina Kibuti, farmers from Kenyas Embu region, took advantage of the AGRA-supported Citizens Network

of Foreign Affairs (CNFA) farm training programs in their community. They organized into groups of 15 farmers each, col-

lectively purchased quality seed and fertilizers and shared the cost of transporting those inputs to their farms. With these

resources and better farming practices, group members more than tripled their maize yields. They opened a cereal bank

to store their surplus and used their collective bargaining power to negotiate a good sales price. Now the group plans to

start grinding and packaging their own maize our to add value to their crop. With AGRA support, Embu farmers aretransforming the entire food value chain, to the benet of their families and communities.


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Hadji WanondaIn Namulonge, Uganda, Hadji Wanonda grows Nerica, a variety of rice so unique and productive that its

breeders won the World Food Prize in 2004. Nerica is not restricted to growing in paddies. Even without

irrigation it can be grown in places that no one before thought possible. Hadjis willingness to invest in new crop

varieties like Nerica has paid off handsomely. He now makes up to US$800 in three months by selling his

surplus and he is employing local men and women to help with farm work. Hadjis story is part of a larger effort

supported by AGRA to boost African rice production and achieve African food security.



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Elizabethi JustinElizabethi Justin lost her mother and her chance for a college education when she was 19. Today, at just 24 years of age,

Elizabethi has opened her third agro-dealer shop in Olmokea Village. And, she plans to open a fourth, all with the help of

an affordable loan made possible by AGRA, the National Micronance Bank, and the Financial Sector Deepening Trust.

Qualifying for the loan took persistence, for bank ofcers looked at the young woman before them and questioned

whether she would make good on her debt. But Elizabethi triumphed. She received the loan and repaid it in just six

months. Now she remembers and repeats her mothers words to her own four-year-old daughter, Every woman canbecome anything they want in life.


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Francis and Juliana MutungiFrancis and Juliana Mutungi, two farmers in eastern Kenya, joined with 24 fellow members of a local farming cooperative to

express thanks to their friends and partners - plant breeders Clement Kamau and Joseph Kamau. The two AGRA-supported

scientists had worked closely with the farmers to develop a new variety of cassava that is disease resistant and produces a

crop in nine months instead of the customary 16, ensuring an additional harvest. Today, Francis, Juliana and their small grand-

daughter stand amid plants that are three-to-four feet high, with healthy green leaves. This year, they will have a bumper crop

enough not only to eat, but to sell to the local bakery, which will grind it into our to make breads and buns. With the additionalincome, Francis will be able to pay the school fees for his ten children and buy more land to expand his farm and livelihood.



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Mildred MmbasuMildred Mmbasus ourishing maize is a testament to a new farming practice in Majemo Village - the use of soil lime to

counteract acidic soils. Mildred is eager for her neighbors to take up the practice and proudly shows the results of this

simple but effective technique. Crops like beans, cassava and vegetables as well as maize are ourishing with the use

of lime. Now, lessons from their farms are spreading far and wide. An initial pilot project is being scaled up to restore

the soils and diversify farming for 50,000 farmers in the region. It is the result of a broad program involving farmers,

agro-dealers, researchers, two local fertilizer companies, a local bank, civil society and AGRA.


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Paulo NgondolaPaulo Ngondola grows maize and groundnuts and raises chickens. Not long ago, Paulo was a beneciary of the

government voucher system which provides subsidized seed and fertilizer to resource-poor farmers. The system worked

as it was meant to and today Paulo buys his own inputs and markets his surplus through the AGRA-supported Super-

markets in the Air program run by the Malawi Agricultural Commodity Exchange. Paulo embraced new agricultural tech-

nologiesimproved seed and better soil managementacquired from agro-dealer Dinnah Kapiza and now he owns a

new house and holds a bank account. Paulo Ngondola, the 2008 winner of the Malawi National Achievers Award,demonstrates the indisputable role of persons with disabilities towards food security and economic stability in Africa.



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Chrispus OduoriWhen Chrispus Oduori was a child, he would watch his mother grind nger millet into our, then mix and cook it into a

porridge called ugali. Today, Chrispus is the rst plant breeder in all of Africa to have received a PhD in nger milleta grain

that feeds more than 100 million people across Africadespite its low yield. Chrispus earned his degree from the AGRA-

supported African Center for Crop Improvement in South Africa. Now, he is working with the Kenyan Agricultural Research

Institute and farmers in his home district to develop high-yielding varieties of the classic African grain. In one demonstration

eld, farmers planted a row of the commonly used variety, with two rows of Chrispus improved seeds on either side. Theold variety has barely begun to sprout, while the new seeds are green and vigorously growing.


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Ibrahim BenesiIn southern Malawi, farmers assess the yield of cassava by the number of plants a farmer must harvest to make a meal.

In the past, three plants grown from a local variety were needed to make a meal for a family of ten. Now, that arithmetic

has changed thanks to cassava breeder Ibrahim Benesi. Only one plant of a new variety developed by Ibrahim produces

enough to feed the same size of family. AGRA supports Ibrahims work at the Chitedze Agricultural Research Station.

There, he is working closely with farmers to develop another 10 varieties able to resist plant viruses, produce large tasty

cassava in record time, and store and process well. This is not the end but just the beginning of research, and involvingthe farmer is the key to ending the food crisis, says Ibrahim.



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Maria AndradeVitamin A deciency is a leading cause of blindness, disease, and premature death for the worlds poor, affecting millions of

children under age 5 and pregnant women across Africa. In Mozambique, an unusual sweet potato that is coloured orange

due to its high content of Vitamin A is making a difference. Its the brainchild of Maria Andrade, a researcher whose bright

orange Toyota land cruiser is used as a mobile billboard for the many benets of sweet potato. Maria has spent the last few

years traveling throughout Mozambique and several other African countries encouraging people to grow and eat sweet

potato and developing markets processed goods like bread and chips which are not traditionally eaten in places likeMozambique, and promoting the crop as a replacement for expensive vitamin supplements for children in Africa.


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Chopi LovemoreThe last thing youd expect a seed seller in Malawi to be talking about is building an empire. But Lovemore Chopi isnt

your average seed seller. After a few months of selling vegetable seeds on the sidewalks of Blantyre, Lovemore decided it

was time for a change. He enrolled in a training course supported by AGRA on business and marketing for agrodealers.

And the rest is history. Chopi recently purchased a new BMW with prots from rapidly expanding business. Although a

conversation with Chopi sounds a lot more like a conversation one would expect from a budding hip hop mogul or a

European football star, his dreams are just as big. With the right support in business processes, African entrepreneurs arechanging the face of the agriculture helping farmers succeed and helping themselves succeed.



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Dr Henry B. ObengDr. Henry Benjamin Obeng, Ghanas rst soil scientist, was, until his retirement in 1982, the Director General of the Soil

Research Institute (SRI) of the Council for Scientic and Industrial Research (CSIR). Dr. Obeng is also the renowned for

being the rst African to get a graduate degree in Soil Science. His contribution to the eld of soil science, despite a less-

publicized personal life has made him a global gure for over many decades. Dr. Obeng strongly believes that to achieve

agricultural transformation in Africa, African governments need to encourage the youths to enroll in soil science and

agronomy at all levels of education. AGRA is also helping to train the next generation of experts who can bring smarterthinking to agriculture policies. So far, this support has added 130 graduates to the next generation of Africas scientists.


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Rukira Secondary SchoolRukira Secondary School, a girls only school in Kenya, learnt about Tissue Culture (TC) bananas from another

school in their area. The students planted 300 stems with 291 surviving but not yet owered. AGRA supports the in-

troduction and diffusion of TC banana in Kenya which is not only a reliable food security crop but also a major

commercial option for cash-strapped smallholder farmers. AGRA is now working to scale-up out the benets of TC

banana technology in Kenya across the whole value chain Model. AGRA also actively supports agricultural activities

and education in many schools across sub-Saharan Africa. Young people are the future of African agriculture.



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CLOSING MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT

AGRA remains dedicated to catalyzing a Green Revolution in Africa. In partnership

with others, we are supporting thousands of farmers, small agribusinesses, current

and future scientists and policy makers across sub-Saharan Africa transform farming

from a mere subsistence livelihood to protable operations. We are already seeing

the results of innovative intervention and investment in the smallholder agriculturalsector.

Bringing the Africa Green Revolution Forum to Africa gives all a sense that

momentum is accelerating and the massive change needed in the agricultural sector

is within reach. Each success story you read has an even wider circle of impact

improving the lives of thousands of families and communities. And each of these

men and women add to the legion of champions in the elds, in the research

institutes and in the corridors of power who see that a strong agricultural sector is

the route out of poverty.

Going forward, we will build on these accomplishments and accelerate progress by

assembling a critical mass of resources in areas that hold the greatest promise of

success the breadbasket regions of Africa. With smart planning and investment,

these areas can achieve signicant production increases and make an enormous

difference to a countrys food security. They will change from areas of chronic food

shortage to productive breadbaskets bursting with Africas staple food crops.

Working with partners globally and locally, we will continue our efforts to mobilize

investments and stimulate innovation in smallholder farming to bring about a

uniquely Green Revolution in Africa.

Namanga Ngongi



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