Meeting Needs with Service: Improving Livelihoods of Smallholders Through Service

Session : Developing country smallholder farmers need information on technologies and practices that will sustainably increase their yields – but they also need inputs and profitable markets for their products. The USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program strongly focuses on farmer associations, cooperatives, and rural women’s groups, but additionally, support has been given to agribusinesses in processing, aggregation, and inputs, as well as to educational institutions. The speaker will highlight the ways in which diverse Farmer-to-Farmer initiatives positively impact livelihoods of farmers, inviting ECHO’s stakeholders to share their expertise with the program implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).

Presenter : Marjatta Eilittä is the Program Director for the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Southern Africa program implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), and is based in Lusaka, Zambia. She has worked in agricultural development and research for 28 years, of which 12 years were based in West Africa and four in Southern Africa. During that time, she led agricultural development programs and projects funded by USAID and other donors in livestock research for development, regional trade, agricultural markets and inputs, and soil fertility management. Marjatta has a Ph.D. in Agronomy, with a minor in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida.