DDiAdmiN- “I had a challenge of reduced yield for several years. I practised shifting cultivation in an attempt to increase yield but did not get appreciable results. Before DDI introduced the STaR project in 2019, I was in the habit of planting maize with a spacing of between 3 – 4 feet (75cm – 100cm approx.); a practice I never knew was reducing yield. During a training session facilitated by DDI, I learned that the required spacing was 1 foot (25cm approx.). At first, I was skeptical in accepting this new knowledge, but with DDI establishing a demonstration farm in our community where maize was planted with a spacing of 1 foot, all doubts were shattered.
Amazingly, the yield from the demonstration farm was more than 3 times our previous yield. Armed with new learning, and in addition to the use of improved seeds, I am now getting 3 times as much yield as I used to get from my farm. This has increased my income, and at the same time, I am now able to make more maize available at home for consumption – thanks to the technical support I have enjoyed from DDI. I am grateful.” – Philemon Felix, Secretary, Aminci Farmers’ Group, Namtari, Yola South LGA, Adamawa State
About the STaR Project
The objective of the STaR (Stabilization and Reconciliation in the Lake Chad Region) project is to contribute to the stabilization and reconciliation in the most affected region of the Lake Chad crisis (Borno and Adamawa States in Nigeria, Diffa in Niger and Lake Chad), by financing the improvement of productive social infrastructure and services (being implemented by CRS); creating economic revitalization through agriculture and livelihoods interventions (being implemented by DDI); savings and internal lending communities (being implemented by JDPC); strengthening social cohesion (being implemented by CRS); and supporting local governance capacity building (being implemented by Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria, FOMWAN)