Directors Report and Accounts 2021/22 - Report - Page 13
FOCUS ON OUR
CHARITY’S CLIMATE
SMART PROJECTS
Shared Interest Foundation Manager Kodzo Korkortsi opened the event from Ghana, to talk
about the climate smart projects run by our charity in Africa and Latin America. Bukonzo
Organic Farmers’ Cooperative Union (BOCU) General Manager Josinta Kabugho joined him
from Uganda, to explain how farmers in her region are affected by climate change.
Shared Interest Foundation recently supported 365 Bukonzo
“We have also been working with in-country partners to develop
coffee farmers to diversify into passion fruit. This also included
and implement a wide range of eco-friendly farming practices.
provision of tools and practical training to improve the quality
of their coffee beans.
Kodzo provided an overview of current projects, saying:
“In the Amazonas region of Peru, we are working with coffee
“WE ALL KNOW THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE
OF THE MAJOR CHALLENGES FACING PRODUCERS
IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH. AT SHARED INTEREST
FOUNDATION, WE AIM TO SUPPORT PRODUCERS
IN BUILDING STRONG BUSINESSES AND CLIMATE
CHANGE RESILIENCE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY
IMPORTANT IN THAT PROCESS.”
Shared Interest Foundation Manager,
Kodzo Korkortsi
co-operative CECAFE to increase their environmental resilience.
“Last spring, we supported CECAFE to produce a fungus in
their onsite laboratory. The fungus is mixed with water before
being sprayed across coffee plantations. Over 100 farmers
Q&A
have now used this natural method to protect their plants
against the devastating effects of the coffee borer beetle.
(Read more about this on pages 14-15.)
“This includes the production of compost from natural waste
products including coffee peel and animal manure. We have
also provided similar training for farmers In Uganda and
Nicaragua, using locally sourced materials.
“Many of our projects involve the planting of trees to provide
a natural way of protecting crops against soil erosion and
increasing temperatures. Our projects last year saw us plant
160,275 trees, including 4,275 shade trees in Africa and South
America to increase soil stability, reduce erosion and provide
natural shade to cocoa and coffee crops. We planted 1,000
Moringa trees in Burkina Faso to increase biodiversity and
support beekeeping activities, 60,000 cocoa trees in West
Africa and 95,000 coffee trees in East Africa to enable 150
young farmers to establish their own farms.”
Josinta updated us on the work of Bukonzo Union, which is
based in Western Uganda and brings together 12
Q: ARE THE FERTILISERS
APPLICABLE IN ANY REGION OR
DO THEY NEED TO BE TAILORED?
Kodzo: “For the fungus, strains are sourced
locally and propagated in the laboratory. This
is suitable for farmers in the Latin America
region; however we have not explored this in
other regions such as Africa. For the compost,
the materials vary from one local area to
another depending on what is available.”
Recordings of our events are now available
on our website
shared-interest.com/events-archive
You can read more about the work of our
charity on our website, or request a copy of the
Shared Interest Foundation Annual Review by
emailing foundation@shared-interest.com
co-operatives of smallholder coffee farmers. Josinta said: “The
farmers are facing a lot of challenges due to climate change.
The major issues have been floods - in 2020, over 1,200 farmers
lost their crop fields due to flooding. We have also had long
droughts and heavy storms in which people have lost their
lives. The quality of the coffee is suffering and coffee berries are
becoming smaller, meaning farmers’ income is affected.”
“TO OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES,
BUKONZO HAS BEEN WORKING WITH SHARED
INTEREST AS WELL AS OTHER PARTNERS. WE
HAVE PLANTED OVER 35,650 TREES, AND WE
ARE ALSO CREATING AWARENESS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE AND HOW FARMERS CAN ADAPT.”
Bukonzo Organic Farmers' Co-operative Union
(BOCU) General Manager, Josinta Kabugho
“We are supporting farmers to diversify by distributing passion
fruit seedlings; we are providing farming tools and equipment,
along with training in climate smart agriculture and organic
fertiliser.
“We are thankful of the support Shared Interest has given us in
helping our farmers overcome their challenges.”
12
SHARED-INTEREST.COM
Image Above:
A CECAFE co-operative farmer checks the weight of a sack with
organic fertiliser for coffee crops.
Main Article Image:
Josinta Kabugho, General Manager of Bukonzo Organic Farmers
Cooperative Union.
SHARED-INTEREST.COM
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