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Biovision Newsletter October 2018

Employee of the month

«Awarded for outstanding performance, efficiency, and robustness.»

Learn more about the work of Biovision in the TV program «mitenand» on SRF 1 on October 7, 2018: www.srf.ch/sendungen/mitenand Imprint Newsletter 52, February 2018 © Biovision Foundation, Zurich Editing Dunja Taleb Text Peter Lüthi Translations Jennifer Bartmess (English), Daniel Wermus (French) Photo credits Peter Lüthi, USDA / Scott Bauer (parasitic wasp), Feedipedia / Harry Rose (Desmodium) Concept and design Rebel Communication, Zurich Printing Stämpfli AG Paper Cyclus Publication frequency The Biovision Newsletter is published five times a year and is available on subscription for a minimum donation of 5 Swiss Francs.

Biovision – Foundation for Ecological Development Heinrichstrasse 147, 8005 Zurich, Tel. 044 512 5858, info@biovision.ch

Employee of the month: June

Camel In Africa, droughts are becoming more frequent. Herders and their flocks are suffering. Camels can cope with drought much better than cattle, goats and sheep. That is why Biovision promotes the proliferation of camels in drought-affected areas in Kenya. With camels, herder families can improve their resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Camels can survive much longer without water than cattle and small livestock.

This is a matter of survival if the nearest water source is far away. Camels can also feed on trees and thorn bushes when the grass dries up. Biovision supports herder families by purchasing animals, providing courses in camel husbandry, and supporting milk processing and sale. www.biovision.ch/camel

Raising camels in dry areas is extremely important: • Camels can survive for up to 2 weeks without water • Camel milk provides over 50 % of the nutritional intake of many of the herder families • The soft soles of their feet are gentle on sensitive grassland • Camel milk is rich in vitamin C and calcium

Employee of the month: July

Parasitic wasp In East Africa, chemical pesticides fail against fruit flies that infest mangoes. Tiny parasitic wasps called Fopius arisanus clear out the pests: they lay their eggs in the eggs of the fly. The hatched wasp larvae eat the fly brood. This helps contain the spread of the pests and protects mango farmers from crop losses.

The Biovision project “Mango fruit flies” uses not only parasitic wasps but also scent traps, fungal spores and biological pesticides for integrated pest management (IPM). This enables farmers to solve their pest problems in an environmentally friendly way and sell their healthy mangos at a profit.

www.biovision.ch/mango-en

As part of the IPM, the parasitic wasp helps in many ways by: • Reducing pest infestation by approximately 75 % • Keeping pests and beneficial insects in balance • Creating long-term and independent impact • Greatly reducing pesticide use • Generating more income for farmers

Employee of the month: August

Desmodium The Desmodium legume protects the ground from erosion and from drying out, and it supplies soil with valuable nitrogen. As a first-class food plant, it improves the milk yield of cows and goats. Above all, it protects maize and sorghum, staple foods for millions of people, from devastating pest infestation.

In places where the Striga weed and stemborer larvae occur together, they can completely destroy the crops.

Desmodium prevents that: it destroys the weeds in the ground and dispels the stemborer moths above the earth’s surface it with its scent. That is how it protects arable crops and people from huge harvest losses. www.biovision.ch/push-pull-en

Desmodium has been successfully applied in our biological Push-Pull method and offers many advantages: • Harvest protection from insects without using pesticides •E limination of the parasitic Striga weed • High-quality, protein-rich animal feed • Larger harvest due to increased soil fertility

Employees of the month: September

Active people at our project sites Our sustainable development cooperation depends on dedicated people: we need reliable project partners at our sites who can share up-to-date information and help implement it. We depend on eager smallholders who are ready to seize opportunities.

6 years ago, Samuel Mugambi was in despair. His mango harvest had spoiled because of fruit fly maggots. Then he learned at Biovision how to control pests with parasitic wasps, scent traps, biopesticide and fungal spores.

Since then, beneficial insects and pests have balanced each other out, and Samuel Mugambi has healthy fruit.

His mango grove now serves as a training garden for farmers in the region.

Employees of the months of October – December

Active people in Switzerland The most ingenious solutions and tips are useless if no one knows about them.

Biovision ensures that small farmers learn how to tackle their problems effectively.

This assistance for self-help projects is only possible because of donations from people like you.

You? Become an employee of the month and help us continue our success stories!

Thank you for your donation.

You can also donate online www.biovision.ch/employee-of-the-month

How it all began: A famine prevented Hans Rudolf Herren is the only Swiss to have received the World Food Prize after he averted the threat of a famine in Africa. “He saved millions of people’s lives and billions of dollars in the process,” said the prize committee. His successful fight against a devastating cassava pest in over 30 African countries remains the best example worldwide of successful pest control. With his prize winnings, Herren founded Biovision. We help people in Africa to improve their lives and to maintain their lifestyles.

October 16, 1995: US President Bill Clinton congratulates Swiss Entomologist Hans Rudolf Herren for winning the World Food Prize.

Livelihood Improvement Thanks to organic farming methods, farmers can forego expensive synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and save much-needed money.

They simultaneously increase soil fertility and increase their yields.

Pioneering work for change

Maendeleo was one of the first groups in Tanzania to gain organic certification.

Thanks to the organic food label, Maendeleo has access to new markets for its healthy and delicious vegetables.

Multiplication

through knowledge dissemination It is important for the group to share their success. It trains female farmers in neighboring villages and helps them practically apply what they learn – for the benefit of both people and nature.

Hadija Kibwana and her farmer group Maendeleo were trained in organic farming methods through Tanzania. They learned how to build terraces to prevent erosion and to use compost to increase so and intermediate crops to cultivate locally grown vegetables.

ÂŤToday, my maize harvest is much better than it used to be, and my organic vegetables are in demand at the market.

Now we can master our lives.Âť Hadija Kibwana, farmer and mother in Ruvuma Village, Tanzania

h the Biovision project Sustainable Agriculture oil fertility, natural pesticides to control pests,

With your support, we can create more success stories!

Your donation works. Our aid in self-help programs over the last 20 years:

Maize harvest triples through Push-Pull More than 200,000 small-farming families in Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia have benefitted from methods for biological pest control since this project began.

2006

Victory over cattle sleeping sickness In Luke (Ethiopia), farmers bring the Nagana disease, deadly for cattle, under control within 3 years. Today, the animals produce milk and pull field plows; hunger and poverty are no longer a threat.

2013 2001

2017

2004 Vegetables and income for slum dwellers 200 single mothers in the slums of Addis Ababa begin to transform wasteland into a thriving vegetable garden by using organic methods. After only two years, they harvest healthy vegetables, improve their families’ diets, and generate income.

Alternative Nobel Prize The Biovision Foundation, alongside its founder Dr. Hans Rudolf Herren, is honored as the first Swiss organization to win an Alternative Nobel Prize.

Income secured Invasive insects destroy the mango crop in Kenya. Thousands of farm families’ incomes are at stake. Sustainable pest control saves many from bankruptcy.

2009

Knowledge creates food By providing direct consultation, newspapers and a Wikipedia for farmers, Biovision reaches one million people with scientifically proven background information and concrete tips for organic farming.

Morogoro (Tanzania), July 9, 2018 Hans Rudolf Herren congratulates Pius Paulini. This organic farmer has found success: he supplies his top-quality organic vegetables even to wholesalers in the city.

ÂŤ20 years ago, we started with the vision to overcome hunger and preserve the natural environment. Today, people in Africa prove that this is possible.Âť Dr. Hans Rudolf Herren, founder and president of the Biovision Foundation