Biovision Africa Trust to start working with PAFID (Participatory Approaches for Integrated Development). In an MoU that was signed by BvAT’s Executive Director Dr. David Amudavi and PAFID’s Programme Manager Colin Gunson, the two organizations agreed to work together in improving the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers in Kenya.
At BvAT, we believe that working with other like-minded organizations in the field of sustainable agriculture is what we need to succeed in increasing our reach and help our farmers access more services that will improve their livelihoods and empower them.
While BvAT is an irrevocable Trust registered in the Republic of Kenya dedicated to contributing to alleviation of poverty and improving the livelihoods of poor small-holder farmers in Kenya and other African countries, through supporting ecologically sound and environmentally friendly initiatives by supporting the generation and dissemination of knowledge and information to improve human, plant, animal, and environmental health and pays attention to the multi-functionality of agriculture including assuring the provision of ecosystem services.
PAFID on the other hand is a Kenyan registered NGO mandated to improve the livelihoods of local communities. PAFID has established itself as the leading implementer of Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) programmes in Kenya resulting in the alleviation of rural poverty, increased food security and the reduction in the impact of agriculture on the environment. Some of the PAFID projects in the past include; Conservation Agriculture Regional Programme (Carp) 2011-2015, Kenya Market Trust Market Assistance Programme 2012-2014 and Cooperative League Of The Usa (Clusa) Interantional Yes Youth Can! Programme 2011-2015
The two organizations agreed to collaborate in the following areas;
- Collaborate in content development, sharing, linking and dissemination of scientific information and knowledge, and in capacity and institutional building in areas of agricultural and environmental issues focusing on commodities, invasive species and scientific communication in areas of human, plant, animal-, and environmental health. In particular, the parties agree to:
- Co-publishing of information products such as videos CDs, booklets, manuals, posters, videos, policy advice and reports and Radio programs materials on organic farming/agriculture;
- Dissemination of produced materials either free-of-charge or on sale individually undertaken by each of the Parties and or their associates, as agreed by the Parties;
- Training of farmer groups in project areas on various organic farming/agriculture practices as agreed by the Parties;
Speaking after the signing of the MoU, Dr. Amudavi expressed his optimism about the collaboration and said that he was excited that the two organizations were going to jointly work on improving the welfare of farmers.