home
Recent initiatives to enhance soil health for smallholder farmers have gained momentum, particularly in Africa. During the 2024 Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit held in Nairobi, African leaders committed to improving soil health through several measures. Notably, they aim to ensure that at least 70% of smallholder farmers have access to quality extension and advisory services regarding fertilizers and soil health by 2034. This includes providing targeted agronomic recommendations tailored to specific crops and soils, enhancing domestic fertilizer production, and promoting sustainable soil management practices. Hence, through our soil, water and plant tissue laboratory testing, we play a critical role in providing targeted agronomic recommendations tailored to specific crops and soils and promoting sustainable soil management practices. We are also in the formative phase of formulating a digital agricultural advisory services model to provide smallholder farmers with tailored digital information to optimize their farm productivity and sustainability.
Smallholder farmers are critical to global food security, producing about one-third of the world's food and playing a significant role in local economies, particularly developing countries. Their contributions are vital for improving food availability, providing income, and enhancing dietary diversity, essential for household food security and nutrition. They face challenges such as climate change, gender disparities, financial limitations, etc. We assist smallholder farmers in achieving food security through the practical implementation of several strategies, including advising them on investment in agricultural technologies, training and extension Services, promoting climate-smart agricultural practices, etc.
The sustainability of food value chains involving smallholder farmers is a critical area of focus in global agricultural development. Including smallholder farmers in modern value chains is a pathway to enhance their livelihoods and promote sustainable farming practices. We play a role in realizing initiatives to connect smallholders to more output markets that can potentially increase their income and investment in sustainable farming methods.
Smallholder farmers are on the frontline of climate change and are already spending significant amounts of money to adapt. However, they face substantial barriers to adaptation, including techno-informational, economic, and environmental challenges. Factors like access to credit, extension services, farming experience, interaction with extension agents, and government subsidies play a crucial role in enabling farmers to adopt climate-smart practices. We support smallholders in climate adaptation by involving them in policies and programs that facilitate resource-poor farmers adopting climate-resilient practices and technologies. We also play a role in direct financing through farmer organizations, training, and education.
We endeavour to assist farmers in increasing the output of existing agricultural land by adopting advanced practices, technologies, and inputs to meet the rising food demand. We do this through advisory services on enhanced soil management practices, using high-yield crop varieties, improved irrigation techniques, etc. We also offer advisory services on agricultural diversification, which involves expanding the variety of crops and livestock produced on a farm. This can help farmers manage risks associated with market fluctuations and climate variability.
Particularly smallholder farming, promotes sustainable agricultural practices and enhances food security. It represents a holistic approach to agriculture to improve farm productivity and create sustainable, equitable, resilient food systems. By integrating ecological principles with local knowledge and practices, smallholder farmers can significantly contribute to achieving food security and sustainable development.
At RCFSF, we offer realtime consultation services that connect you directly with our team of experts for immediate, actionable insights. Whether you're facing a critical decision, need expert advice on project implementation, or require instant guidance on complex challenges, our specialists are available to provide tailored support in real-time. Our consultation services are designed to be responsive, interactive, and focused on delivering the solutions you need, exactly when you need them, ensuring your projects stay on track and achieve their full potential.