Fruit and vegetable farming can significantly increase income and nutrition for a community.
Temesgen is a farmer who lives in Dangali Gongo, Ethiopia. He's 40 and has three daughters and a son.
Temesgen used to grow exclusively indigenous crops but they only produced a hand-to-mouth living.
In 2014 he took a number of workshops with Food for the Hungry (FH) and learned how to better use his land and leverage his resources. He decided to focus on vegetable production. In addition to feeding his family more nutritious food, Temesgen significantly raised his income.
Over the last three years, he was able to save 30,000 Birr ($1,400 CAD) to purchase a motorcycle for his son Mathewos who recently finished school and needed a job. Mathewos uses the motorcycle to provide his community with local transport. He earns, on average, 200 Birr ($9.36 CAD) daily. His father is putting the money aside with a plan to trade the motorcycle for a car in a couple of years' time.In addition to vegetables, Temesgen is working to expand his coffee farm.
With the improved varieties of seed he got from FH he is growing about two thousand coffee seedlings. Along with this, he is growing trees that he will use to shelter his coffee plants.
Temesgen is also growing mini-forest on his land.
As most of the trees in his mini forest are Gravillia in addition to improving the environment he also expects high income from timber.