…The Switch to Sorghum
Once we arrived in the village the reason for championing sorghum was clear: the maize crops we saw had dried up and failed to produce ears, whilst the sorghum in neighbouring fields seemed to be flourishing.
PanAAC has also introduced several other innovations to equip sorghum farmers. These include inexpensive, bespoke machinery for threshing to replace traditional threshing practices which could damage the crops and leave them vulnerable to a poisonous fungus called aflotoxin. They were also working on a land cadastre programme which helped to detail individual ownership of land with the help of GPS mapping software.
The first farmer we met had planted about five acres of sorghum – about half her land. The profits she made helped her to build a brick and stucco house. She had also recently launched a small brick-making facility to earn additional income whilst creating employment for others.
Read on: Once Upon a Village Value Chain in Africa | Michael Hoevel.