Trade Hub Partnership Increases Nigerian Farmers’ Harvest in Fight for Food Security

March 9, 2022

By Aja Beckham and Blessing Lass

3 min read

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity among the Nigerian population, particularly those in rural farming communities, who are among the most vulnerable and adversely affected by this ongoing health and economic crisis.

Kola Masha, Managing Director of Babban Gona, a Nigerian-based agri-tech social enterprise, says that since the Trade Hub awarded a $500,000 co-investment grant to the company in May 2021, there are less concerns about food insecurity because farmers now have agricultural packages and training to increase food supply.

“The pandemic significantly impacted the maize and rice supply chains, causing commodity prices to increase. Some rural populations weren’t able to afford food,” says Masha. “But the co-investment supports smallholder farmers with agricultural packages and trainings, and now their yields and net incomes are 2 times and 2.5 times the national average, respectively.”

As a direct result of Babban Gona’s co-investment partnership with the Trade Hub, the company has been able to significantly increase rice and maize production and improve food security in Kaduna, Benue, Cross River, and Niger States—focus areas for USAID’s Feed the Future initiative. During the duration of the project, Babban Gona will leverage approximately $15.4 million of private funds.

The co-investment partnership is expected to generate $33.1 million in sales from the anticipated 90,000 metric tons of harvested grains for this past 2021 season. Of that amount, an estimated $20.1 million will be paid out to the benefiting farmers in profits and bonuses.

Sahura Dauda, a maize farmer based in Kaduna State, says that Babban Gona’s Trade Hub-supported project has allowed her to increase her crop yield. Sahura hopes that one day, with continued help from Babban Gona, she can travel to Mecca, own houses, and continue to pay for her children’s school fees.

Sahura Dauda, a maize farmer based in Kaduna State, has been able to continue to pay for her children’s tuition since working as a farmer on Babban Gona’s Trade Hub-supported project Photo by: Babban Gona

“Since working with Babban Gona, I have experienced remarkable changes. Before, I hardly got more than 10 bags but now I harvest 50 to 60 bags. Last year, I harvested about 100 bags,” says Dauda. When the pandemic hit, a lot of people had challenges, but God brought relief to us through Babban Gona and I did not feel the effects of the situation.”

Other farmers like Musa Audu, who had already had success working with Babban Gona, were excited to learn about the additional support the Trade Hub project would provide. The joint effort will allow him to continue to send his children to school, instead of requiring them to put their schooling on hold to help in the field.

“After I joined Babban Gona, I was able to pay for one son’s college tuition and my other children’s secondary school tuition,” says Audu. “Honestly, it’s done everything for us.”

Babban Gona also provides smallholder farmers with harvesting and marketing services and financial credit to improve their labor productivity, market access, and incomes.

Prior to the 2021 planting season, approximately 2,500 smallholder farmers supported through Babban Gona’s Trade Hub partnership were trained on best agronomic practices, including land selection, fertilizer application, appropriate spacing techniques, and managing pests and diseases. Then, agricultural packages were distributed.

For maize production, agricultural packages were distributed to over 56,000 farmers, mainly in Kaduna State. It included 880 pounds of fertilizer, 55 pounds of seeds, and 2 liters of herbicides for each standard hectare field.

For rice production, 432 farmers, mainly based in Benue and Cross River States, received 660 pounds of fertilizer, 130 pounds of seeds, and 2.5 liters of herbicides for each standard hectare field.

Collectively, farmers harvested over 40,000 hectares of maize, which is about 56,000 soccer fields and 200 hectares of rice, which is close to 280 soccer fields.

During September to December 2021, Babban Gona also provided hermetic storage facilities to preserve 90,000 metric tons of grain, which will reduce post-harvest losses and further help to improve food security in the four key Nigerian States.

International Women’s Day 2022

March 7, 2022

5 min read

Voices from the Field

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is #BreaktheBias. It’s a challenge to imagine a new world, one that is free from stereotypes and discrimination. It’s a big ask, but as development practitioners we seek to solve the most wicked problems around the globe. We know that a single program cannot fully address access to education, income inequality, or community cohesion – yet we set our sights on these lofty goals and work on moving the needle towards progress. Breaking the bias asks us to do the same, to imagine a more equitable world and then take steps towards making it a reality.

Bias and stereotypes prevent us from seeing all that an individual can offer, or even all that we ourselves can offer. For an organization, failing to recognize the value that staff of every gender (and race, sexuality, etc.) bring to the table means it cannot maximize performance or impact. Since we work with some of the most vulnerable communities around the globe it is paramount that we heed this call to action. For us the work is two-fold: we must address bias in our project design as well as in the implementation process, particularly in our work with local partners.

As you read how women from Creative’s global staff are breaking the bias in their communities and in the work they do, consider how their stories can help you #BreaktheBias too, both in and out of the office.

Susan Enchill
Associate Business Development Manager
Gender, Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) Working Group Member

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Kinda Jaradat

Monitoring and Evaluation Director

Jordan Technical Assistance Program

In what ways do you hope to “break the bias” for women?

From a monitoring, evaluation and learning perspective, research is a key area where bias can be broken. I believe that incomplete data often generates biased decisions. When research is not gender sensitive and women are underrepresented, important data about the economic, political and social contributions of girls and women become incomplete or missing. When decisions are made and priorities are set, capacities of women and girls are often underutilized. It is important that research efforts monitor gender-differential implications and utilize gender-sensitive approaches to ensure that gender-based constraints are eliminated.

What are the greatest challenges you see for achieving women’s equality in your country?

Despite Jordan’s commitments to reforming the public sector and to the integration of equal opportunity and non-discrimination principles, many implementation challenges still prevail. Women’s weak representation in the public administration sphere and in senior positions in the private and public sectors relates to cultural norms. There is widespread belief that it is the responsibility of men to support women financially and that women’s work should have a secondary role in their lives.

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Bethelhem Tesfaye Wordofa

Teacher Performance & Student Assessment Specialist

Ethiopia Read II

In what ways do you hope to “break the bias” for women in your community?

The most important tool to break this bias is to create more learning opportunities for girls to augment their participation in the social, economic and political space. When strong, educated women control the space, it motivates others to “break the bias” and become productive assets to the community. In the long term, informed investments on equity and access as well as community awareness will help break the bias. There are culturally embedded thought systems that hinder these efforts, but systematic and innovative approaches can help to unlearn or embrace the empowerment of women within the community. I will contribute to break this bias in my community by believing that girls can contribute to the economy if they are given an equal chance.

What positive changes for gender equality have you seen in your country in recent years?

In Ethiopia, we are seeing more women in higher political leadership positions and the cabinet is appointing women to higher positions more progressively. We are witnessing also a rise in the number of women in entrepreneurship and business spaces. Most of the successful start-ups in Ethiopia are the brainchild of more and more women founders. Hence, there is an improvement in creating a business and innovation eco-system to support more women into economic empowerment. The government is giving attention to gender equality through different policy reforms and frameworks, even though much more needs to be done going forward. The enactment of different laws such as family law, criminal law and the constitution has contributed a great deal in ensuring equality in marriages between men and women, as well as contributed to the reduction of early marriage, teenage pregnancy and abduction.

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Karen Janeth Duarte

Chief of Party

Central America Regional Initiative

In what ways do you hope to “break the bias” for women?

The first step toward breaking the bias needs to be at personal level, which means breaking the bias in terms of how we think we need to be and how we lead programs, teams and organizations. Secondly, we need to look at how we envision other women and men to develop their skills, ensuring that our own and collective bias are always confronted in order to promote inclusive spaces.

What important qualities do women bring to the development sector?

Women who come from diverse cultures, ethnic backgrounds, gender identifications, religions etc., bring their realities and experiences to the development sector. This helps us understand conscious and unconscious perceptions and biases, giving us a way to understand from an intersectional gender perspective what the needs, challenges and opportunities are that contribute to women’s equity and the sustainable development of communities.

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Jennifer Emodi

Procurement and Logistics Officer

West Africa Trade and Investment Hub

In what ways do you hope to “break the bias” for women in your field? In your country?

For my part, I hope to break the bias in the procurement sector by contributing my effort to ensure my work environment is inclusive, so women don’t have to hide their motherhood and child-raising years just to be considered more serious about their careers. I will acknowledge and respect difference in the workplace, so no woman feels she must adopt a pattern of behavior to be accepted and make progress in her career path.

On a national level, providing childcare facilities and pregnancy support would go a long way toward enhancing women’s productivity and building their confidence. Also, providing flexible working schedules that allow employees to maintain a proper work-life balance. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world and has shown that working remotely does not reduce productivity but rather saves the organization’s recurring costs. 

What positive changes for gender equality have you seen in your country in recent years?

I have seen positive changes over the years with more women working in organizations and holding key positions rather than just being the support units. Women have evolved significantly and are no longer afraid to be pioneers in any chosen field of endeavor.   

But the chronic and persistent underinvestment in gender equality has grossly affected women in my country. The greatest challenges in my country affecting women’s equality are financial inequality, low legislative representation and traditional beliefs. In my industry, there still exists a gender pay gap as well as fewer opportunities for females as you climb the corporate ladder. These factors have indeed affected the career growth of women in my country.

Creative appoints new Vice President to lead its largest division

December 8, 2021

4 min read

Sharon Van Pelt has been appointed Vice President and Senior Director of the Communities in Transition Division at Creative Associates International, a social-impact company implementing development programs in more than 30 countries.

With more than three decades of experience in political dialogue, policy reform, local governance and conflict prevention, she joins Creative from Chemonics where she served as the Senior Global Democracy and Governance Practice Lead for 10 years.

Leland Kruvant, President & CEO of Creative, says Van Pelt’s experience fits with the company’s model that puts programmatic excellence and innovation at the center of its development efforts around the world.

“Sharon is a committed professional and a talented leader who can advance Creative’s mission and vision,” Kruvant says. “Her commitment to development, ability to manage complex programs in challenging environments and dedication to building a robust staff made her a natural choice for us.”

Van Pelt says Creative’s reputation for trying new approaches and its collaborative atmosphere drew her to the position leading the company’s largest division.

“What motivates me is actually getting to know the contexts in which we work, what challenges people face, and how they can solve them,” she says. “What I often find is that this is highly non-technical. It tends to be very inter-relational and political. And it’s that dynamic of various actors coming together to work on a problem, to try and understand it— gain a common understanding of it— and solve it, and that’s what really drives me. That dynamic is what I find is at the core of the passion I have for political transitions, democracy and governance.”

Creative’s Communities in Transition Division has programs operating in 15 countries, including the USAID Office of Transition Initiative’s West Africa Littorals Regional Initiative and several programs supporting liberated areas of Syria.

The Division has four Practice Areas – Stabilization, Political Transitions, Democracy, Governance and Electoral Integrity, and Citizen Security – and counts on a diverse set of clients, including USAID and the U.S. State Department, as well as the German, Danish and Finnish governments.

Watch an interview and read a Q&A with Sharon Van Pelt.

Tom Wheelock retires as CIT’s Senior Vice President

Van Pelt takes over as Tom Wheelock retires after 12 years as the Senior Vice President and Senior Director of the Communities in Transition Division.

Kruvant describes Wheelock as “an exceptional leader who has guided and grown the Division to its current 15 countries, as well as having had a tremendous, positive impact on the staff and beneficiaries.

Wheelock says it has been an honor to shape a division that takes on some of the toughest development assignments facing communities.

“It has been an enormous privilege to lead CIT staff and its projects implementing in some of the world’s toughest environments,” Wheelock told his staff. “During my conversations in the past few weeks with donor colleagues, they clearly hold Creative in high regard for implementing outstanding programs in conflict-prone countries. That is an accolade that is hard to earn.”

Following a leader like Wheelock is tough, though Kruvant says Van Pelt is the right person to step in the role.

In addition to Chemonics, Van Pelt has served as principal governance adviser for the German GIZ and U.N. Development Programme, among others. While a Foreign Service Officer, Van Pelt earned the USAID Meritorious Honor Award for advancing policy dialogue on decentralization and transparency during the Guatemala peace process.

She served as Chief of Party in Moldova, Director of Governance for counter-extremism and peacebuilding programs in francophone Africa, and as an advocacy adviser in Bangladesh, Guatemala and Nigeria. Van Pelt is a Certified Performance Technologist for the International Society for Performance Improvement, and trains staff globally on capacity development, including problem-driven iterative adaptation. She is also the co-chair of the D.C.-based Working Group of the Thinking and Working Politically Community of Practice.

Van Pelt holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in international development from the American University in Washington, D.C.

Watch an interview and read a Q&A with Sharon Van Pelt

About Creative Associates International

Creative Associates International works with underserved communities by sharing expertise and experience in education, elections, economic growth, governance and transitions from conflict to peace.  

Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has active projects in nearly 30 countries. Since 1977, it has worked in nearly 90 countries and on almost every continent. Recognized for its ability to work rapidly, flexibly and effectively in conflict-affected environments, Creative is committed to generating long-term sustainable solutions to complex development problems. 

Creative has grown to become one of the leaders among the U.S. private sector implementers of global development projects. Creative is minority owned and operated.

Mozambique: A 2-minute tour of USAID’s Vamos Ler!/Let’s Read

December 7, 2021

1 min read

A 2-minute tour of USAID’s Vamos Ler!/Let’s Read

Reading comprehension and literacy increased significantly for early grade students in 1,900 schools in rural Mozambique. This new, 2-minute video explains those results.

USAID’s Trade Hub, Burt’s Bees collaborate to boost women’s economic opportunities in Northern Ghana

December 6, 2021

By Dennis Bailey

3 min read

Bees are often seen as pests that are best kept at a distance. For smallholder farmers in Ghana who produce shea butter, soon the bees will be welcomed guests.

Through a partnership called “SheKeeper,” 1,200 Ghanaian women shea farmers will receive training in beekeeping, allowing them to diversify and substantially increase their incomes, potentially by 10- to 20-fold. It is made possible thanks in part to a $2 million, three-year partnership among the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Ghana Mission, the USAID West Africa Trade & Investment Hub and Burt’s Bees, a U.S. company that sources shea butter and beeswax.

Burt’s Bees SheKeepers in northern Ghana inspecting their new beehives. Photo by: Marc Amessi

The three-year partnership with Burt’s Bees and its shea and beeswax suppliers will introduce beekeeping and expand shea processing capabilities in shea-producing communities in the Northern Region of Ghana. This collaboration helps advance Burt’s Bees’ and USAID’s shared women’s economic empowerment and gender equality priorities.

Sharon Cromer, USAID’s Ghana Mission Director, welcomed the partnership as a way to improve livelihoods for women by creating new business opportunities.

“This partnership with Burt’s Bees will increase private investment and demonstrate that shea collectors can profitably produce and sell beeswax, shea and honey to meet growing demand for these commodities,” Cromer said. “Additional private investment by Burt’s Bees will create greater economic opportunities and a better quality of life for more of the 16 million women collecting and processing shea across 21 African countries.”

Burt’s Bees is leveraging its grant from USAID/Ghana through the Trade Hub to introduce beekeeping and create efficiencies by supporting honey, beeswax and shea production. Crops like shea benefit from pollination from beehives.

Shea plants within a two- to three-kilometer radius of the hives increase yields up to 30 percent. This partnership will also upgrade a shea processing facility outside of Tamale, Ghana, that will significantly increase its capacity to produce hand-crafted shea butter and reduce its need for firewood, improving health and safety conditions for workers and mitigating environmental impact.

In West Africa, shea butter production is traditionally a women’s vocation. An estimated 600,000 women depend on the industry as their only cash income. Burt’s Bees will select at least three women’s groups from within its shea supply chain to pilot this beekeeping project, providing equipment, training, and export market linkages. Burt’s Bees’ suppliers will purchase and export all shea and beeswax sourced from these groups, giving farmers a reliable and sustainable buyer.

“The USAID Burt’s Bees SheKeeper activity will foster community and commercial partnerships with shea-producing women’s groups by introducing the multi-generational practice of beekeeping,” says Shannon Hess, Burt’s Bees Director of Responsible Sourcing. “Beekeeping opens opportunities for greater economic empowerment of women and youth and increased biodiversity for future generations.”

Through programming, USAID/Ghana and the Trade Hub expect to see the value of shea and beeswax exports, including to the United States, increase by at least $1 million through 2024.

The Trade Hub catalyzes economic growth through co-investing with the private sector to generate new investment, create new jobs and increase the value of regional and international exports from West Africa.

In partnership with the private sector, the Trade Hub aims to create at least 60,000 jobs across the West African region – with at least 50 percent of these new jobs dedicated to women. As a supporter of the U.S. government’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative, the Trade Hub not only focuses on the “quantity” of women in the workforce, but also the “qualitative” impact of women by working with businesses to update hiring practices and employ women in decision-making and non-traditional roles.

Burt’s Bees, a dermatologist-approved natural skincare brand, uses formulas that are more than 95 percent natural origin, with responsible sourcing, recyclable packaging and no animal testing.

West Africa – Littorals Regional Initiative

Program

2 min read

In Western Africa and the Sahel, longstanding social, political and economic weaknesses have fueled the spread of violent extremism for decades.

Though many Coastal West African countries have relatively functional state institutions and are more resilient than their Sahelian counterparts, they exhibit many of the same weaknesses making them fertile ground for criminal activities and the expansion of violent extremist organizations.

The Littorals Regional Initiative (LRI) is designed to work at the community level to support counterparts in target areas to withstand the increasing pressures of violent extremism by addressing factors of instability. As an element of the broader U.S. government goal of preventing the spread and consolidation of violent extremist organizations in Coastal West Africa, this USAID/Office of Transitions Initiative (OTI) program increases community resilience and strengthens the capacity of local actors and governments to respond to destabilizing threats.

Working in Ghana, Togo and Benin, the program supports local partner efforts to build resilience (such as helping them manage local conflicts and to support improved inter- and intra-community dynamics among key groups) and to help bring a voice to excluded groups, particularly, women, youth and ethnic minorities.

The USAID program leverages the Office of Transitions Initiative’s model of reaching the most vulnerable locations, particularly along border areas, to support key populations that are striving to maintain security and peace in their communities. The Littorals Regional Initiative uses targeted grants to local organizations and considers various factors when making strategic engagement decisions, including the program’s ability to be impactful at the community level.

Program Goals

Strengthen community resilience to factors of instability

LRI leverages the OTI model of reaching the most vulnerable locations, particularly along border areas, in order to support key stakeholders who are striving to maintain security and peace in their communities. The program aims to enable local and national actors to increase community stability and strengthen social cohesion in targeted communities in order to help them become better prepared to withstand external shocks and threats.

Enable local and national actors to take action to increase community stability

LRI focuses on increasing community stability by empowering local and national actors to address vulnerabilities to violence, conflict, and violent extremism. By strengthening the capabilities and motivation of key stakeholders through increased awareness and skills in areas such as PVE awareness, advocacy, communication, conflict resolution, and early warning monitoring, the program aims to foster a sense of ownership and proactive intervention for the common good. Additionally, by enhancing the capacity of these stakeholders to engage with their communities on peace and security issues, the program seeks to promote sustained positive engagements and collective action to mitigate threats and increase stability.

Strengthen social cohesion in targeted communities

LRI aims to strengthen cohesion in targeted communities by fostering sustained, positive inter- and intra-community engagements and increasing the social inclusion of marginalized groups. By encouraging communities to interact with marginalized groups, LRI helps identify common ground, reducing opportunities for conflict and exploitation by violent extremist organizations. Additionally, by highlighting the value of including marginalized groups and the risks of their isolation, LRI works to change attitudes and perspectives, promoting greater social inclusion and reducing grievances that could lead to conflict.

Building the Legacy of Bilingual Education in Mozambique

October 28, 2021

By Fernanda Matsinhe

3 min read

Since printing the 500 different book titles, Vamos Ler! has distributed 10 million books to 1,950 schools in rural areas in Nampula and Zambezia

The Mozambican population speaks more than forty indigenous languages, and 85 percent of the country’s population speaks Emakhuwa, Echuwabo and Elomwe. But Portuguese is Mozambique’s official language and remains the language of instruction in most Mozambican schools, despite that fewer than 3 percent of Mozambique people speak Portuguese as a first language.

Most primary school children struggle with developing reading skills because the school curriculum and children’s books are written in Portuguese. However, scientific research shows that children learn better when taught in their first language.

Limited availability of teaching and learning resources written in indigenous Mozambican languages is often cited as one of the barriers to implementing bilingual education in schools across the country.

Producing Teaching and Learning Materials in Local languages

Since 2016, USAID-funded Vamos Ler!/Let’s Read, a five-year bilingual early grade literacy program that seeks to improve 800,000 students’ reading and writing skills in partnership with the Mozambique Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH), has supported the Government of Mozambique to develop teaching and learning materials in the three most spoken languages, Emakhuwa, Echuwabo, and Elomwe.

Dr. Telesfero de Jesus in a book warehouse located in Nampula. (Photo By: Leopoldino Jeronimo)

“To expand the bilingual education system in the country, one of the key starting points was the material development process. There was a general paucity of learning materials in local languages, a reality that is changing thanks to programs like USAID Vamos Ler!,” explains, Dr. Telesfero de Jesus, the National Director of Primary Education.

Over the past five years, Vamos Ler! has worked hand in hand with the Ministry on the development of hundreds of reading and learning materials written in the three languages and Portuguese for Grade 1 through Grade 4 students and teachers. Materials include student books, teacher manuals, scripted lesson plans, posters, alphabet charts, and story books.

“When we started this journey, none of us could have imagined that in a short period of time we would manage to develop so many books, nearly 500 titles. It is an amazing accomplishment. It is great legacy for the country,” says Dr. de Jesus.

Many people participated in the process of developing these materials.

The book writing process for each grade level always began with reviewing existing materials and sourcing local stories. Then, there was a workshop series for participants to collaboratively create new titles, including teachers, local authors, multi-language specialists, graphic designers, illustrators, and specialists from the Ministry and Vamos Ler!.

Community Buy-in from the Start

The program sought feedback from the community during the book development process because community and parent engagement is essential to the program’s success.

All books were field tested with teachers, parents/guardians, children and community leaders to verify that texts and images correlated and most importantly to confirm that books reflect local culture and context.

“The program brought many methodological innovations in the development of the books that we as MINEDH are going to keep using. Bringing the books to the community to test before they are delivered to the school was an important step; we could see the enthusiasm of parents and leaders of the community, as they have a saying on what their children are going to be taught,” says Dr. de Jesus.

Since developing nearly 500 different titles, Vamos Ler! has printed and distributed more than 10 million teaching and learning materials to 1,950 schools in rural areas in Nampula and Zambezia.

The program has certainly made an impression on Mozambican education by creating the country’s first major bilingual literacy program, as well as a distributing on a one-to-one ratio so that each student has a book that reflects local culture.

The great digitization of learning

October 26, 2021

By Ayan Kishore

2 min read

A growing community of education technologists have tried to bring the promise of technology for teachers, students, and caregivers to fruition for decades.

Digitizing learning materials and making them available to beneficiaries can dramatically improve at scale student learning time, parental engagement, teacher training and reading outcomes for students. Yet, these interventions have been on the fringes of international education, particularly in development programming.

All this changed in 2020.

The pandemic shuttered schools globally, and digital was perhaps the only way education could continue. Governments scrambled but adapted quickly, with ministries putting out blended learning policies and setting up and growing their EdTech staffing.

We have seen an epoch of massive digitization of school learning content. In addition to doubling down on existing TV and radio distance learning initiatives, governments also set up new digital learning channels such as learning management systems and virtual meeting communications.

Every Creative education program pivoted, and project staff and teachers upskilled to fill gaps. Learning and training content was digitized and distributed via WhatsApp in Mozambique, eLearning courses and video in Morocco, SMS and radio in Nigeria, and IVR in Ethiopia for example.

There was crucial behavior change beyond the tangibles. The persistent resistance to technology in education was rapidly overcome with forced digitization. Teachers learned how to use distance learning, communication and administrative technologies for reaching and supporting their students. They also gained first-hand experience in learning with technology by receiving professional development virtually.

There is still much to be done.

Some of the rapid changes have missed the EdTech field’s learnings on best practices. What makes for good accessible digital learning content? How does one effectively deliver blended learning across multiple channels? How can learning be assessed remotely?

Much of the digital content is currently inaccessible to the marginalized: people with disabilities, people in remote areas without connectivity, those who cannot afford devices, and so on. The digital divide has become a significant barrier to education equity.

The question on many minds is whether the digital changes brought about by the pandemic will stick. I think so, and so do most country governments.

They are clear about a permanent future of hybrid or blended learning that complements in-person with digital channels, creating for a more resilient education system. Structural capacity is being built, and human spirit has been instigated to find a way.

This is the start of the global era of the Great Digitization of Learning.

We, along with international education colleagues affiliated with the Basic Education Coalition conducted a survey at the turn of this year with 12 developing country governments to understand how they have used education technology to adapt during the pandemic, and their concerns and hopes for the future. You can read the brief report here.

Tapping on culture to promote sustainable development

October 21, 2021

By Semere Solomon

3 min read

Culture is a broad concept and can sometimes be controversial. It embodies who we are, how we perceive our surroundings and how we interact as a society. Culture can influence the course of human progress and has a symbiotic relationship with sustainable development.

Culture has been used to both build empires and raze them to the ground. The obsession with cultural supremacy can create chaos and anarchy, like we saw in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It can also be the driving force behind military action and subjugation of races — the colonization of Africa, the rise of Nazi Germany and the annihilation of indigenous people across the Americas are cases in point.

Culture can also be liberating. For example, culture played major roles in liberating human beings from the servitude of feudal land ownership, spurred the industrial revolution, and drove the revolution to make France a republic.

An understanding of culture can help us harness it as a tool for progress.

Sustainable development depends on culture

I believe that communities who take pride in their culture, identity, history, values and norms are likely to make sustained, albeit slow, progress.

Culture is an effective instrument in building a good governance structure based on societal values and norms. In many developing economies or traditional societies in Africa, traditional governance systems, such as councils of traditional leaders, provide a cohesive connection between local communities and the central government. This link can serve as a support system for sustainable development.

Norms and values anchored in national pride, consensus building, respect for one’s identity, respect for diversity and constructive dialogue can create stable and resilient communities. Norms and values that strongly advocate representation and inclusion can be liberating and constructive. They can solidify and set progress in motion.

There can never be human progress — social, economic, political — when fellow human beings are treated unequally. We can see this with the caste system in India, the subjugation of indigenous communities and the practice of systemic racism in the United States.

Culture Action Europe maintains that the concept of sustainability should add culture as a factor on top of the normally accepted three-pillar paradigm: economic, environmental and social.

It perceives culture as an essential ingredient to create collective narratives, consolidate communities and foster diversity as an essential element in sustainability. It also recognizes it as possessing a transformative power crucial for building a sustainable future for all.

Economic and social development is unsustainable when it does not bring people to the center of the process and when it is not responsive to their social and economic needs.

Applying culture to education development

In the education development sector, it is incumbent upon us to understand that education should be responsive to local needs and culture.

The curriculum should reflect the environment and socio-cultural setting to make it relevant and appealing to pupils. For example, promoting the mother tongue as a medium of instruction in the early grades helps better address children’s educational needs.

The curriculum may also need to be responsive to the skilled labor needs of their surroundings. For instance, communities living along the coastlines, where fishery is the mainstay of their economy, need to learn how to increase productivity in the fishing industry and not forestry or subsistence farming. Netmaking, boat manufacturing, fish preservation, and fish export, for example, are far more relevant.

The curriculum should also address harmful social norms such as traditional societies’ attitude towards women and other marginalized groups, the caste system, and attitudes towards science.

Programs that used religious text to combat gender inequality have been very successful in several countries. Education programs that recruit more female teachers are likely to encourage girls in traditional societies to attend school.

Making education relevant to the needs of society is one way of ensuring sustained social and economic progress.

To read the full publication, please click here.

Semere Solomon is the Senior Director of Creative’s Africa Strategy and Program Director of Northern Education Initiative Plus education program in Nigeria.

Resilience in Learning: Embracing Virtual Trainings

October 4, 2021

By Rui Alage

3 min read

Cândido Odasse Sandrassone followed in his father’s and sister’s footsteps to become an educator.

“It’s a family gift, so I decided early on that I would follow the same path,” he says.

Cândido, a bilingual teacher, is an advocate of Vamos Ler! because the program develops and prints books written in students’ native-tongues, which make them more relatable and led to more fruitful book discussions. (Photo By: Gia Inteca)

Cândido, who shares his gift by teaching Portuguese and Elomwe, became a bilingual education instructor when the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!) program came to his school in 2017. The program works to develop bilingual education, improves national early grade literacy policies, enhances school leadership and increases parental and community engagement in early grade literacy.

Cândido is an advocate of Vamos Ler! because the program develops and prints books written in students’ native-

tongues, which make them more relatable and evoke more fruitful book discussions.

“With bilingual education, I have more opportunities to engage with students, since it is easier to [speak in] their own language, and this facilitates interaction with them and their parents and guardians,” he says.

Cândido participates in Vamos Ler! trainings to learn about best practices for teaching a bilingual curriculum and develop leadership skills. He stood out as a talented bilingual educator early on and was selected to receive additional training to become a coach and local teacher-trainer.

Mozambican schools were closed for a full year during the height of the pandemic, and it is not only children who have had to alter how they learn. The project also pivoted to hosting teacher trainings virtually on WhatsApp instead of in person.

The bi-weekly, virtual meeting allows trainers and teachers to continue sharing content, challenges and best practices, which improves their development as professional teachers and leaders.

Vamos Ler! also identified key content to improve instructors’ pedagogical practices and shared modules with the group of teachers and school directors through the mobile app.

Teachers in both Nampula and Zambézia provinces have responded positively to the rollout of WhatsApp trainings.

More than 90 percent of educators surveyed said that the WhatsApp training improved their knowledge about bilingual education (By: Vamos Ler!)

More than 90 percent of educators surveyed said that the WhatsApp training improved their knowledge about bilingual education. The survey also found that 90 percent of respondents felt the program helps them learn how a phone can be an important educational resource to facilitate teaching and learning.

Cândido says that the app is an asset to teachers during virtual learning.

“This bi-weekly experience motivated and encouraged us,” he says. “We never want to be without this training now. It’s an innovation in education that’s worth keeping even post-COVID.”

Cândido says that during the pandemic the program has helped him and his peers have access to a virtual forum to share challenges and solutions, further develop their language skills, learn new bilingual teaching methodologies, become more familiar with teaching materials and create a more structured classroom environment.

“We have not stopped interacting with the program even with the emergence of the new pandemic,” he says. “We continue to learn through the professional development platform on WhatsApp thanks to the Vamos Ler! Program.”

Mother-tongue Storybooks Spark A Legacy of Literacy in Rural Mozambique

September 14, 2021

By Fernanda Matsinhe

3 min read

Vamos Ler! has improved nearly 800,000 students’ reading and writing skills by developing, printing and distributing millions of books written in Emakhuwa, Echuwabo and Elomwe, the three most commonly spoken languages in Mozambique

Nampula Province in Mozambique João Manuel’s interest in reading was sparked before he began school. His older brother brought home books in their local language, and Manuel started to look through them even though he could not read yet.

“I used to see my brother and his friends reading their small books at home last year, and I liked to see the beautiful illustrations inside,” says Manuel, age 6.

Manuel is completing his first year of school and has already become a strong reader with support from the USAID-funded Vamos Ler!/Let’s Read! bilingual education program implemented in partnership with Mozambique’s Ministry of Education.

Vamos Ler! has improved nearly 800,000 students’ reading and writing skills by developing, printing and distributing 11 million books written in Emakhuwa, Echuwabo and Elomwe – the three most commonly spoken languages in Mozambique. The program is also working on second language acquisition and literacy support to prepare children for a gradual transition to Portuguese at the 2,000 bilingual public schools it supports.

Early access to reading materials is an important part of building literacy. However, children in rural Mozambique often have little to no exposure to books prior to entering school. Books they do have access to are typically in Portuguese rather than in their mother tongue, making learning to read a challenge.

While Portuguese is the national language of instruction, fewer than 10 percent of children speak it when they start school.

Learning to read in a language they already speak and understand not only makes school more interesting and less intimidating for young students but also helps to lay a foundation for lifelong learning.

The supplementary reading books have child-friendly illustrations and stories that are relevant to daily life in rural Mozambique, while also sparking children’s curiosity and introducing new ideas and concepts that let them discover a world full of possibilities.

Complementing the Ministry of Education’s initiatives, Vamos Ler! supported school managers to ensure continuation of learning in low-tech environments. The program encouraged teachers and school directors to lend these storybooks to children to read at home with their families.

Ana Paula Antonia, Manuel’s teacher and the school director, says Manuel’s reading skills developed at an early age prior to enrolling in school because Manuel and his siblings read books in their mother-tongue while at home. (Photo By: Julio Bernardo)

Ana Paula Antonia is Manuel’s teacher and the director of his school in Murrupula district, Nampula province. She worked to ensure students could continue reading at home during the COVID-19 pandemic school closures and has been impressed by how young students like Manuel were able to grow independently under challenging circumstances.

“It was surprising for me to see how João developed so quickly, despite being in his first year in school. I have no doubt that [João] always being close to his brother and friends and reading their books has helped him,” says Antonia.

Manuel’s father is proud of his son’s progress and credits Manuel’s literacy skills to “playing” with his brother’s Vamos Ler! storybooks at an early age.

Agriculture-Tech Program to Boost Incomes of 50,000 Nigerian Farmers

August 26, 2021

By Aja Beckham

3 min read

The one-year project will reach 50,000 smallholder farmers, all women and youth, to increase their crop yields and incomes through access to services, networks and technology

Building on its work to boost food security in Nigeria through technology-driven agricultural services, Thrive Agric has launched an ambitious one-year project to support 50,000 smallholder farmers interested in increasing their crop yields and incomes.

“We know that most smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, require more nuanced support to facilitate their participation in [the farming] markets and, ultimately, increase food security and incomes at the household and national levels,” says Ayodeji Arikawe, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Thrive Agric.

Thrive Agric is committing $10 million to fund this project and the USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub is backing the effort with a $1.75 million co-investment grant.

Fifty-thousand smallholders, particularly farmers in Kaduna, Kebbi and Kano States, were tapped to join the project. The focus of the initiative is to increase the production of three staple crops— rice, maize and soybean—by involving women and youth in the farming industry. Most of the program participants will be women and youth.

The resources that farmers will access include agronomy advisory services, pre-and post-harvest storage and logistics support, links to credit and agriculture insurance products and the company’s current and future mobile apps.

Through the year-long project, launched in May 2021, at least 50,000 metric tons of rice, maize and soybean is expected to be produced by the end of the 2021 season.

The crops which will be sold to premium markets and result in farmers enjoying higher-than-normal incomes.

Thrive Agric developed mobile apps to support smallholder farmers across Nigeria and Africa at large.

A Thrive Agric field officer in Saminaka, Nigeria, shows farmers how to use the TMoni app that allows them to easily send, receive, save, and borrow money. (Photo By: Thrive Agric)

Through its Tradr mobile app, Thrive gives farmers direct access to seed and other input providers, farm machinery service providers and off-takers within their locations. Also, its Tmoni mobile app provides customers with a digital wallet on their phone, which they can use to send, receive, save and borrow money.

Karl Littlejohn, Trade Hub’s Interim Chief of Party, says that Thrive will position farmers to be competitive in the market because of technology efforts.

“I look forward to seeing the company’s success in using tech solutions to benefit these farmers,” says Littlejohn. “The lessons learned through their tech-savviness can be leveraged to assist future partners seeking innovative avenues to assist stakeholders in the agricultural value chain.”

The project is creating 1,000 jobs within the agricultural value chain, including for prospective farm, field and warehouse managers. Nearly 70 percent of these jobs will go to women, who are often overlooked for higher-paying managerial positions.

Thrive has already proven that its forward-thinking strategies and technology are effective and reach the masses. Since its founding in 2017, it’s helped over 140,000 farmers in Nigeria increase their capacities to meet supply, quality and food safety standards that are required by domestic and export markets.

The company has accomplished this through bundling a variety of products and services normally out of reach for smallholder farmers and partnering with agriculture organizations who assist with distribution, outreach and other efforts.

Arikawe says this is one of the many ways Thrive Agric is approaching opportunity and the market differently than competitors, who tend to follow traditional approaches to boost farmers’ agricultural productivity.