Albert Coetzee from Rovic Africa, Matome Ramokgopa from Enza Zaden SA and Praveen Dwarika from AFGRI’s Lemang Agricultural Services join Lindiwe Sithole in the studio to recap episode 12 with featured farmer Tshepiso Mametja!
None of us have unlimited money, time or energy. That is why Tshepiso Mametja, owner of Maswele Farming, shares her responsibilities and her dreams with her family. Her mother, Constance, and her father, Rex, farms with her all the way. She brings the new innovative plans, and they support her with years of experience in farming with vegetables.
Lindiwe Sithole, host of African Farming Season 2, visits the Mametjas in Limpopo to find out more about what makes them such a successful team. “They are definitely a close-knit family, sticking together but also learning a lot from one another,” she says.
Farming is complex. Every decision made by a farmer could send ripple effects throughout the system. Praveen Dwarika, managing director of Lemang Agricultural Services, says one such an important decision is to make offtake agreements with retailers, just like Tshepiso did.
Offtake agreements allow farmers access to a sustainable market. It is an arrangement between a producer or farmer and a buyer to purchase portions of the producer’s upcoming goods and is normally negotiated to secure a market and revenue stream for a retailer or factory.
“Tshepiso actually has the best of both worlds, as she has secure agreements with retailers, but she also sells her product direct to the local markets,” Dwarika says.
Having off-take agreements can be beneficial, he adds, as it guarantees you an income and can help you grow your business, because you are sure that your produce will be taken even if you produce more. On the other hand, though, these agreements leave little room for negotiation, especially on price. “This means that you will not be able to take advantage of the markets and will not always be able to compete for the best price.”
According to Dwarika, farmers taking this approach should be a little bit more creative and negotiate better terms on their contracts, like invoice discounting. “I like Tshepiso’s approach: she has a good balance between these two options. This could go a long way in helping her with cash flow management,” he says.
Voermol has been a pioneer in the animal feed industry for more than 55 years. The efficiency of Voermol’s products and cost-effective feeding systems have been proven time and time again in the field.
Voermol has decided that the time is right to redesign its logo to better reflects this high-quality brand in the animal feed market, but at the same time remains extremely recognizable. The slogan remains: “What nature lacks, Voermol will provide.” This reflects Voermol’s continued commitment to improving the productivity and profitability of ruminant businesses:
Voermol is proud of the path the company has taken, as well as the partnerships it has forged with agribusinesses and farmers across South Africa. The Voermol story is based on science, together with an unwavering approach to quality.
Voermol is constantly developing innovative new products that complement the existing range of molasses-based supplements. This ensures that the genetic potential of ruminants is fully harnessed time and time again.
Voermol’s highly experienced and knowledgeable technical and sales team is known for strong partnerships with customers. The team provides expert advice that improves the production and profitability of farming businesses through world-class products.
As the company evolves, Voermol undertakes to continue delivering quality products and services to the industry, and to prioritize improvement in all business operations.
Voermol would like to thank customers, cooperatives, business partners, staff and their families for their continued friendship, loyalty and support! “Let’s work together for a bright and sustainable future.”
The biggest dream for my brand this year is to introduce the DERIN FABIKUN brand and launch our ethnic line. Also, push the ready to wear brand to a level where it operates on its own, creating affordable, comfortable and stylish clothing. In the next 5 years, having a large stream of distribution around the world, world wide retail stores. we should be launching our production factory which will cater to not just our brand but to new and upcoming brands that don’t have manufacturers.
I design for young and young at heart women
“I can now write my name and surname which I could not do before I started attending lessons under the Forum for African Women Educationalists Zimbabwe Chapter (FAWEZI) community learning center. I can also recite the alphabet without making a mistake,” these are the words of Linda (not real name), a 12-year-old girl from Beitbridge District who has never attended formal school.
Linda is among the four learners out of a class of forty in Nuli community center who did not have basic literacy and numeracy skills and the community learning has offered them a chance to learn the basics through attending learning and mentorship sessions for a five-month period under the Education in Emergencies project.
The project has managed to retain most of its learners as the children have shown interest in the community learning with some being integrated into formal school. A total of 79 learners (45 girls and 34 girls) from Beitbridge and Matobo Districts have been re integrated into formal education.
Representatives from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) also commended the project for offering the out of school children a chance at education.
“This was a great achievement and we are glad FAWEZI came in with a program which targeted the forgotten child and gave them hope for education. As MoPSE we now see things differently and have managed to also help those who were out of school because they could not collect their grade 7 results,” Said Agrippa Sibanda, Beitbridge MoPSE representative.
Tendai had to drop out of school in grade 3 in 2019 as she could not handle the teasing from the other students because of her mentally ill grandmother who she stays with along with her sister`s family. She had low self-esteem because her family is poor and could not provide the basic necessities for her to be comfortable among her peers.
Ever since she started attending the FAWEZI community learning Centre in Matobo district, ward 4, her confidence is increasing, and she can now relate to other children without being intimidated. She now makes sure with the little they have, she is wearing clean sewn clothes and is not ashamed anymore, she says she understands they are poor but if she works hard, gets an opportunity to get back to formal school and learn, she can get a job and take care of her family.
“I am happy now I can socialize with others I used to be shy because we are poor and had to drop out of school and now, I make sure I look presentable when I come to school. Thank you to FAWEZI and our educators and mentors for giving us second chance”, she said.
Meanwhile another 14-year-old boy stopped hanging around toxic friends who had introduced him to drugs and toxic substances after consistently attending learning sessions at the FAWEZI community learning center. His mother was worried about him and said she was on the verge of giving up on him.
“We rarely saw Adam at home and constantly heard he was stealing people`s livestock in the community and hanging around illegal drug dealers. I asked the mother and educator at Matankeni center in Matobo to help me with him since I was a single parent. After 2 months of attending the sessions, I saw a change in dressing and even the way he addressed me. I saw a motivated young man who prepared before lessons to impress his educator and I am forever grateful to FAWEZI,” said Adam`s mother.
“I am glad FAWEZI started the community learning centers as it changed my life. I do not want to be a drug addict as I now know from the lessons, I got that it kills and destroys one`s future,” noted Adam.
FAWEZI in partnership with MOPSE tracked and enrolled girls and boys between the ages nine and fourteen in Beitbridge and Matobo District who are out of school supporting them through community learning under the Education in Emergencies project. A total of 25 Educators and 25 Mothers were trained in both districts to teach and mentor learners in their communities. The Educators are either retired or unemployed qualified teachers and the mothers are community cadres who were trained and equipped with skills to provide mentorship.
This project is contributing to the Adolescent Girls & Young Women Health for Life 360o (AGYW HFL 360o) project which is funded by PEPFAR through USAID. It is being implemented by FHI 360 together with sub-partners.
By Monica Mararo and Dorise Ng’ong’a – FAWE Kenya
For girls, everyday counts. We ought to protect their right to education during this unprecedented disruption and beyond. COVID-19 has pushed inequalities in education to the breaking point, disproportionately affecting adolescent girls. This crisis is underlining existing challenges, particularly the gender digital divide and could roll back decades of progress on gender equality and girls’ education.
In Kenya, legal and political advances to ensure gender equality in education find strong obstacles to their implementation in schools, online learning platforms, for example disadvantage girls. Government investments towards education have been affected as they have cut the education budgets and re-allocated the resources to health since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This adversely affects girls’ enrolment.
Existing gender disparities are exacerbated by the pandemic and are likely to affect women’s and girls’ ability to continue with their education. The worsening COVID-19 pandemic is causing prolonged social and economic disruptions that are yielding unintended consequences including economic and food insecurity, and challenges in accessing healthcare and education
Girls and women are discriminated against in education in terms of access, retention, completion, learning outcomes and career choices, resulting in disadvantages that go beyond schooling and the school environment. FAWE Kenya acknowledges that girls and women may be more overburdened by unpaid work, unable to continue their learning and are facing growing domestic violence these risks jeopardize their return to education. Additionally, Sexual and gender-based violence coupled with restricted access to reproductive health, inadequate social support services may increase teenage pregnancies.
Girls’ early school leaving is due to many obstacles that stand in the way of women and girls fully exercising their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education. These factors include poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, child marriage, adolescent pregnancy, discriminatory gender norms in society, child Labour, gender-based violence, traditional attitudes about the status and role of women and the lack of easy and safe access to schools near where they live. These girls need to be given a second chance to re-join education systems, and accelerated learning opportunities so that they can catch-up on their time lost.
Despite progress, more girls than boys remain out of school and therefore FAWE Kenya’s key advocacy work at the regional and national level include Participation in the development of the School Mentorship Policy 2018; Gender in Education and training policy; School Health Policy 2019; Re- entry policy 2020; and ASRH Policy 2015. Apart from providing technical support to the Ministry of Education in developing the Parental Engagement and Empowerment guideline with focus on enhancing parental support in eradicating FGM/C, the organization has also played a key role in integrating gender into education system using Gender Equality Strategy for CESA2016-25. In addition to that, FAWE Kenya is an active member of Technical Working Group for SDG4 and CESA, and a nominated member of the Education Monitoring Committee where its main mandate in to monitor progress made by the ministry of education in integrating gender in education system. In the same way, FAWE Kenya also led CSOs engagement with Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in integrating human sexuality into the Reform School Curriculum.
To address factors of exclusion and in efforts to promote the right to education and support the achievement of the SDGs, the government should prioritize the leadership of girls and women and recognize their role as agents of change. They should systematically and meaningfully integrate them in consultations and decision-making on COVID-19 education response and recovery planning, from needs assessments to the design of remote learning opportunities, and other interventions to plan and promote life-long learning. FAWE Kenya Chapter is an active partner in the Kenya Education Taskforce Addressing effects of COVID-19 in the education sector.
The rethinking of education systems post COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to ensure that all out of schoolgirls are included in all school reopening plans, and that plans ensure continuity of learning and support for all girls, including the most marginalized. The current pandemic is yet another reminder that education systems need to become more resilient to pandemics and should put in place mitigation plans for future crises and disruptions to education.
A failure to prioritize the needs of women and girls in COVID-19 responses risks further entrenching disadvantages. Without focused action, we will lose the momentum we already gained in advancing education and gender equality, and risk going backwards
FAWE Kenya therefore promotes an integrated and coordinated approach that addresses girls’ holistic education, health and protection needs. We advocate for catalyzing cooperation between teachers, school administration, families and communities, and support cross-sectoral collaboration to ensure an inclusive and gender-responsive system that safeguards rights. Because her education leads to a better future for her, and a better world for us all.
With the appropriate inspiration and guidance, teachers and trainers, leaders, administrators and managers and policymakers in technical and vocational education and training (#TVET) can become agents of change for gender equity and equality.
Do you know of any materials that support these key actors in ensuring gender equity and equality in the TVET space?
Relevant materials (incl. audio-visuals and multimedia) may include: training materials, standards and guidelines for intervention and policymaking, tools for programming, planning and budgeting, resources for monitoring, evaluation and advocacy, case studies and best practices, technical or policy briefs, … that have been published since 2000.
We appreciate your support to this effort by FAWE, VVOB, and other partners to consolidate such materials into an open “GRP4TVET Resource”.
Share the materials here until September 30: https://bit.ly/GRP4TVET-CallForMaterials
If you would like to receive more information on the development of the GRP4TVET Resource, please contact Maud Seghers (maud.seghers@vvob.org) or Grace Mwaura (grace.mwaura@vvob.org).
When accounting for the most negatively affected populations in unfavourable situations worldwide, children and women are often present in large numbers. Across the globe, women and girls are considered at most risk of economic exclusion, missing education opportunities, facing abuse, sexual exploitation, violence and forced marriage during normal times and even more so during conflict and crises.
(Image lifted from GPE)
In August, FAWE join other organizations in signing a pledge that will ensure that all stories written, told, or narrated by FAWE upholds respect and dignity to not only the subject of discussion but also the readers.
In a quote shared on social media, FAWE Executive Director, Martha Muhwezi says:
“The art of modern storytelling should as much as possible bring out the inspirational aspect of the story in the most concise, accurate, transparent and respectful way. Because of that, FAWE chooses to sign the Dignified Storytelling pledge.”
Dignified Storytelling was born out of the need to unite the voices of content makers, editors, journalists, photographers, filmmakers, storytellers, communications specialists, communications managers and contributors and equip them with the awareness and hands -on knowledge that will enable them to capture moments and tell stories without compromising human dignity. Supported by Dubai Cares, Expo 2020 Dubai, and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), Dignified Storytelling is facilitating a shared understanding of how storytelling can uphold the dignity of all persons.