Farm Africa's field schools are giving farmers in eastern Africa the knowledge and tools needed to help increase harvests year-round.

Good seed: since receiving help from Farm Africa, Joyce has seen her harvest increase significantly

5:35PM BST 08 Oct 2012

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Growing crops – even when just providing food for one’s own family – is not an easy undertaking in eastern Africa. While commercial farmers in the UK and other developed countries benefit from nutrient-dense soil, plentiful rain and the latest technologies to boost cultivation, their African counterparts come up against drought and crop diseases, culminating in hunger, or even famine.

However, lives are now being transformed by the establishment of farmer field schools across eastern Africa. Set up by British charity Farm Africa, these schools share expert knowledge with farmers and demonstrate how simple changes – such as planting their seeds in rows – can help them dramatically increase their harvests. Farmers are also testing new strains of seed which resist disease and drought. They then put their new knowledge to immediate practical use, as well as passing it on to others. This means that family by family, acre by acre, rural communities are working towards a future free from hunger and emergency food aid.

One farmer who has benefited from such a scheme is Joyce, who lives in Central Uganda’s Nakasongola district and grows maize, groundnuts (peanuts), beans and green bananas, used to make the popular Ugandan dish matoke.

However, Joyce’s banana trees were badly damaged by a virus known locally as “banana wilt”, her groundnuts were attacked by the mosaic plant virus and her beans have been suffering from root rot –all of which have seriously compromised the family’s harvest and food supply.

So when Farm Africa established a project in her area – an initiative which relies on donations – Joyce offered an acre of her land to be used as a groundnut demonstration plot.

Farm Africa provided high-quality groundnut and bean seeds that are resistant to disease and viruses. They also taught farmers about planting in rows so that fertilisers and pesticides can easily be applied. These simple changes are having a huge impact on the size of the harvest. Now Joyce is confident that she can put her new skills into practice. “The project has helped provide food and incomes for our families, so now we can afford to send our children to school,” she says.

To ensure the good work is continued, Farm Africa is establishing dedicated seed production farms in each district. Joyce has been selected for training to become a community seed producer. “This provides Joyce with a great business opportunity, and ensures other farmers in the district have an affordable, local supply of quality seeds that would otherwise be beyond their reach,” says Rachel Beckett, head of marketing at Farm Africa. “None of this would be possible without the generous help of our supporters.”

“We hope we will not only be able to fight hunger in our homes, but also have money in the future for a better life,” adds Joyce.

To find out more about the work of this charity, visit the Telegraph's Farm Africa website.