Starting from a Seed
Local seed producers meet demand with expanded supply of seedlings
George remembers when he used to sell groundnut seedlings in a small can as his primary source of income. In a season, he might earn 200,000 Malagasy Ariary, the equivalent of $50 USD.
Today, thanks to the local Farmer Field School that improved his farming techniques and the Farmer Market School that connected him with more buyers, his earnings are tenfold. Last season, he earned two million Ariary on the sale of 500 kilograms of groundnut seedlings.
Part of the success is the switch from chemical fertilizer to more biological methods of composting and fertilizing; another part of it is better methods of farming, like row planting, crop rotation, terracing, and more; still another part was the soil analysis done with FIOVANA, which determined that peanuts and groundnuts would have the most success on his land.
There are many factors that have led to George expanding his farming operations, doubling the number of harvested crops per acre, and successfully registering his seedling cooperative at the regional level of government. But the results are what George cares about most. Because of his newfound success, all eight of his children are attending school.
“One of my kids had to drop out of school because of finances,” George said, “but I am now able to send him back to school.”
Because George and the 21 members of his cooperative are among the few registered seed producers in this region, the demand for products continues to climb. Before, buyers would have to travel all the way to Fianarantsoa, hours away by car, just to procure the crop. Now, they can buy it locally.
Thanks to the marketing connections developed in partnership with FIOVANA, the cooperative has the assurance that what they grow will find a buyer, even before it is planted in the ground.
“Thanks to the project, I have a guarantee that my products will be sold, which allows me to expand my farming,” said George, who expanded his farm from five acres to twenty.
“The real advantage I have now is that I have a continuous source of income because of my business connections. They are all just waiting for the harvest.”
