SDC A&FS Network: Newsletter

A&FS Newsletter - October 2022

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Feature | Members' Articles | News | Events | Who is who | Comic

CHECK OUT what digestive problems locally grown food may cause at the end of the Newsletter :-)

​​​Editorial

Dear Newsletter readers,

Just a fortnight ago we successfully launched our Food Systems Learning Journey along with a new network name and logo. Across the two events “Food Systems Essentials” on 8th September, 150 of you logged in to find out more about contemporary approaches to food systems and how the learning journey will be structured. It is for us to thank you for this great uptake and participation.
The next FSLJ event will take place on 31st October and discuss framings, system limits and thematic linkages related to food systems. So if you are a network member or have already signed up for the Food Systems Learning Journey (which you can otherwise do here), look out for a more detailed invitation coming your way. Beyond this, we have the next Thoughts for Food event coming up on 5th October with speakers from the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the Global Land Programme.

But in the immediate, in this newsletter we are honoured to present you with some of the exciting initiatives being undertaken by some of our network members.

  • First, may we draw your attention to our feature article about ISA’s regenerative agriculture in Cambodia, which concurrently draws on six systems to provide a counterbalance to the negative forces of climate change and land degradation.
  • Then, Abduba Yacob Tulicha gives a beneficiary account of SDR-SNRS’s (successful!) efforts to rehabilitate dry valleys in various parts of Eastern Ethiopia with a special focus on the women and youth of agro-pastoral communities.
  • Meanwhile, Veronica Massawe of Swissaid reports from a local seed and food fair in the Mtwara region of Tanzania which is designed to propagate indigenous seed varieties and engage the many stakeholder who are involved in the effort.
  • And finally, Sophie van den Berg and Dominique Barjolle of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute throws a spotlight on farming in urban/peri-urban centres in Rwanda through the NICE-project. Of particular interest is the participative planning process with stakeholders.

Of course, also look out for the news items, such as on the tool developed by WOCAT and UNCCD to improve the gender-responsiveness of technologies and approaches related to sustainable land management (SLM), or the short video “Snack the System”, produced by Bites of Transfoodmation.

We hope you enjoy the read!

Bruce Campbell
Focal Point of A&FS Network, SDC
bruce.campbell@eda.admin.ch


Feature

Regenerative Agriculture gaining precedence in Cambodia

Most of the agricultural production in Cambodia is dependent on the monsoon rain and natural floods/recession of the Tonle Sap River and Lake and is restricted to growing single crop during the wet season. This leaves small holder farmers particularly vulnerable to climate change given their high dependence on rainfall and minimal crop diversification. This, coupled with the threat of land degradation, soil fertility depletion and agricultural intensification has entailed the destruction of Cambodia’s natural assets. Six systems need to work in cohesion to facilitate the uptake of Regenerative Agriculture.  Reading time: 5min


Pritesh Chalise  ​
Knowledge Management Manager at Swisscontact, Cambodia
LinkedIn | pritesh.chalise@swisscontact.org ​

​​Learn more on these six systems and efforts towards Regenerative Agriculture in Cambodia

Background 

Climate Change is affecting lives around the world. To address this and other global issues, on 25 September 2015, at the United Nations, the World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets. Within that framework, SDG 15 aims “to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. 

Land degradation is a prominent issue for Cambodia as it can severely influence populations' livelihood by restricting people from vital ecosystem services (including food and water) and increase the risk of poverty. Therefore, achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is important to meet the Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC) objectives for food security, poverty reduction, and increased climate resilience and competitiveness of farming systems. 

There are multiple mitigation and adaptation measures to combat land degradation. Among those, land-based mitigation options rank among the most cost-effective opportunities to sequester carbon emissions. Economic evaluations of various climate change mitigation alternatives show that capturing carbon through restoring degraded lands (including degraded) is a cost-effective option that offers multiple co-benefits. 

Therefore, there is a need for the Cambodian agriculture sector to reinvent itself by shifting from increased production through land expansion towards Regenerative Agriculture (Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification). Regenerative Agriculture describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. These benefits result from the practice of minimum mechanical soil disturbance (i.e. no tillage) through direct seed and/or fertilizer placement, implementing permanent soil organic cover with crop residues and/or cover crops and species diversification. 

Regenerative agriculture initiatives in Cambodia 

The practice of regenerative agriculture has been gaining momentum in Cambodia; however, it is still in its nascent stage. The work on regenerative agriculture has been vastly researched but practiced only on small pilot plots and is being driven primarily by MSMEs (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises). 

The development of regenerative agriculture in Cambodia has benefited from the technical and financial support from various development projects and programs with institutional support and commitment from the Royal Government of Cambodia through the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries since the commencement of the design and testing of CA-based (Conservation Agriculture based) cropping in different agroecological systems in Cambodia in 2004 to the Diversification and Smallholder Rubber Development Project (SRDP) Phase 2, funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and implemented by the General Directorate of Rubber of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in partnership with the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD). 

Over the years, regenerative agriculture has moved from the domain of research to commercialization. Service provision of CA/SI implements, and technologies started in 2013. However, for a sustainable change to occur in farming systems, private sector engagement was crucial. From 2018 to 2020, the Swisscontact’s Mekong Inclusive Growth and Innovation Programme (MIGIP) and Conservation Agriculture Service with a Fee (CASF) project supported in private sector engagement. Finally in 2021, regenerative agriculture was also included in the domain of policy dialogue and extension services through initiatives such as Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) and MetKasekor. All these efforts have proved effective as Cambodia saw an exponential growth in the uptake of regenerative agriculture over the past decade. 

Systems approach for Regenerative Agriculture 


Six systems (as shown in the image above) that need to work in cohesion to effectively facilitate the uptake and adoption of regenerative agriculture have been visualized. Multiple development programs, like Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification at Kansas State University (SIIL/KSU) and the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN) – housed in Cambodia's Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) and Swisscontact through the Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (ISA) are supporting the initiatives under the systems. The government counterparts that the collaborating partners are working with are the Department of Agricultural Extension, Forestry and Fisheries (DEAFF); Department of Agriculture Engineering (DAENG); Department of Agriculture Land Resource Management (DALRM); Department of Rice Crop (DRC) and Department of Crop Seeds (DCS). 

The six systems include: 

Research: Centre of Excellence 

To promote R4D (Results for Development) on agroecology practices, strengthen research and agroecology skills and improve R4D infrastructure and capacity with the objective to accelerate the transition to Regenerative Agriculture, the Bos Khnor Conservation Agriculture Research for Development Centre (CARDEC) aims to function as Centre of Excellence for Research for Development (R4D) in the agroecology. 

Skills/Human Resources 

To develop skills and human resources in Regenerative Agriculture, the InGuider Model serves as an education and apprenticeship platform connecting higher education and private sectors in the field of Agroecology. 

Government coordination mechanism 

To strengthen coordination and support stakeholders to promote Regenerative Agriculture, the Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) functions as a national mechanism that collaborates and coordinates with a network of organizations that are implementing activities related to Conservation Agriculture (CA) in Cambodia. 

Extension (MetKasekor) 

To provide technical information and know-how to facilitate the adoption of regenerative agriculture, “MetKasekor’’ (meaning farmers’ friend in Khmer), an initiative of the Government of Cambodia, functions as an early adopter led extension service model, which focuses on ’opening the market’ for private sector investments on Sustainable Intensification via government agents and the private sector to smallholder farmers in Cambodia. 

Technologies and practices 

To strengthen the commercialization of technologies and practices related to Regenerative Agriculture, multiple initiatives have been established and being implemented by development partners. 

Transition Financing (Dei Meas) 

To address the challenges of incentivizing farmers on change of practice and ultimately facilitating the transition towards Regenerative Agriculture, Dei Meas (Golden Soil) has been designed to function as a financial mechanism to reward farmers for their investment into the production of ecosystem services and public goods. 

Conclusion 

It is well known that most of the agricultural production in Cambodia is dependent on the monsoon rain and natural floods/recession of the Tonle Sap River and Lake and is restricted to growing single crop during the wet season. This leaves small holder farmers particularly vulnerable to climate change given their high dependence on rainfall and minimal crop diversification. This, coupled with the threat of land degradation and soil fertility depletion, agricultural intensification has entailed the destruction of Cambodia’s natural assets. 

The six initiatives in cohesion play a significant role in accelerating the uptake of regenerative agriculture practices in Cambodia. This is not only significant for Cambodia’s vision of a carbon neutral economy, its commitments to Land Degradation Neutrality and to the UN (United Nations) conventions but also has on-ground implications as it plays a huge role in supporting smallholder farmers and service providers to increase their productivity and income. 

Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (ISA) project is financed by the Happel Foundation, the Symphasis Foundation, and the Leopold Bachmann Foundation among other donors. As part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, it is co-financed by SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA).

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Members' Articles

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Hazardous floods turned into opportunity

​The “Strengthening Drought Resilience in the Somali National Regional States, Ethiopia” (SDR-SNRS), a flagship Food Security project in Addis A​​baba office, focuses on addressing the problem of land degradation, which is one of the root causes of food insecurity and livelihood vulnerability. In this regard, the project has been very successful in the implementation of soil conservation measures for the rehabilitation of dry valleys and their productive use to create alternative livelihoods for pastoral and agro-pastoral communities.

Reading time: 2min


Abduba Yacob Tulicha ​
Programme Officer, SDC Ethiopia
abdubayacob.tulicha@eda.admin.ch​

​​Read the full story

The “Strengthening Drought Resilience in the Somali National Regional States, Ethiopia” (SDR-SNRS), a flagship Food Security project in Addis Ababa office, focuses on addressing the problem of land degradation, which is one of the root causes of food insecurity and livelihood vulnerability. In this regard, the project has been very successful in the implementation of soil conservation measures for the rehabilitation of dry valleys and their productive use to create alternative livelihoods for pastoral and agro-pastoral communities.

This contribution project of the SDC (with GIZ) targets pastoral and agro-pastoral communities at local level with a specific focus on women and youth. Interventions are planned in five selected areas: Erer Shinile, both in Siti Zone, Shabeely (Jijiga south) and Haroreys (Jijiga north) in both Fafan Zone and Gode in Shabelle Zone.
 
Tomato farming on rehabilitated dry valley
Abandoned farmlands due to gully erosion gradually turning into productive-use after it is rehabilitated through water spreading weirs (WSW) approach. Besides conventional crops (maize and Sorghum), farmers are piloting for the first time to produce different types of vegetables. Habiba Amaje, in her mid-sixties, is one of the rehabilitated landowners. She is very happy and encouraged by the SDR-SR project intervention in her farm. The valley was barren as old as her eldest son, Qorane, who is 18 years old. Like many other farmers, the SDR-SR project rehabilitated Habiba’s farm, which was divided by the valley, and just after two rainy seasons, her farm joined (stitched) together and became more productive even when compared to before degradation. Besides re-establishing her traditional cereal crops (maize and sorghum), Habiba tried vegetables such beetroots and Tomatoes on her farm for the first time ever.
 
Though producing beetroots last year has not been very successful at market level due to enlarged sizes, tomato is highly demanded in Jigjiga city, around 24 km from her farm, which locates near the main asphalt road from Jigjiga to Gode. This main road is helping Habiba to transport her crops easily to Jigjiga through public transports like small trucks collecting milk in her village or other transports from end-routes of the asphalt road passing in her kebele. It is the SDR project, which, besides rehabilitating the eroded gullies in her farm, encouraged her to farm vegetables; tomatoes and beetroots, onions, garlic, and more, which are new to the area. She collects tomato fruits using old jerry cans and sells them for 250 ETB per jerry can. For Habiba this is a huge achievement and successful trial that she is planning to replicate.


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Recognize, protect, and develop farmer managed seeds

Peasants' seeds play a great role in ensuring seeds availability to small holder farmers in Tanzania. SWISSAID organized a local seed and food fair during the farmer's exhibitions week, which happens annually from Aug 1 - 8 with the aim of increasing awareness to the policy makers, community, and other stakeholders on the contribution of farmer-managed seeds and availability of seeds in the country. About 60 indigenous seed varieties were displayed by 200 farmers and their local management practices and the value they hold in their culture and traditions.

Reading time: 3min

Veronica Massawe
SWISSAID, Tanzania
LinkedIn | v.massawe@swissaidtanzania.org​

Read the full story

The event brought together different stakeholders, including farmers, extension officers, governmental officials, nutritionists, members of parliament and representatives from organizations supporting farmer-managed seeds, making 311 (109F, 202 M) participants in total. Farmers carried the posters with messages urging stakeholders to recognize, promote and protect farmer-managed seeds for sustainable food and nutrition security. The event gave room for farmers to share their stories regarding farmer-managed seeds in their farming journey and how important the event was to them, as they got to exchange seeds and information among themselves.
Joseph Ausi, a farmer from Mtwara Tanzania, is selecting and saving seeds of different crops including maize, sorghum, pigeon peas, mung beans and velvet beans. When asked what his motivation behind his success is, he said: “I am using indigenous seeds I inherited from my parents and grandparents which are more resistant to pest and diseases and their produce has good taste compared to improved ones. I also farm agroecologically applying indigenous knowledge I learnt from my parents and those acquired through trainings from SWISSAID.” He added, “if the government will support us to protect and develop our seeds, it will increase our agricultural productivity and ultimately improve our livelihood.”
There was a launching of the model seedbank that was set up as a part of the CROPS4HD project (co-funded by SDC), which will be used as a reference by farmers, community, and other stakeholders during the establishment of the community seedbanks within their locality. It serves as replicable structure easily to be built with affordable tools and raw materials available in a local area. With a model seedbank, all farmers can reach out to the bank and see the developed structure meant for seeds collection, storage, and viability maintenances. As a part of his speech, the guest of honour Late Beatus Malema (Assistant Director for Crop promotion, agricultural inputs and cooperatives in the Ministry of Agriculture) congratulated the project efforts in ensuring that local seeds are well-conserved. He urged the project to continue collaborating with the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) to collect seed varieties that are in verge of extinction, multiply and conserve them in the seedbank to ensure their continuity.
Hon. Neema Lugangira, a member of parliament, visited a few farmers in the project area prior to the event to appreciate projects’ activities and learn from farmers how the project has impacted their livelihood. She also participated in the panel discussion on the contribution of farmer-managed seeds in ensuring food and nutrition security. Being a nutrition and local seeds enthusiast, she said: “I will continue advocating for recognition of farmer-managed seeds by law in the parliamentary meetings”.
During the event, a few local dishes were prepared to showcase how to integrate products of neglected and underutilized crops in local dishes to improve nutrition status of communities in the project area. Different recipes using pumpkin, Bambara bean, indigenous vegetables, rice, and sorghum were used to create ten dishes including main courses and snacks. The project nutritionist explained the health benefits in served dishes during food testing and important tips to be considered during preparation/ cooking of those dishes to retain the nutrients. 
After food tasting, participants shared their testimonies. Hon. Hamida Abdallah, a member of parliament representing one of the constituents in the project area, said: “I am very pleased with this event, especially with the food tasting session. All dishes prepared taste well, and they are packed with nutrients our children need. If this knowledge reaches more people in the project area, it will absolutely improve nutrition, especially for women and children under 5 years.”
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Facilitating agroecological transition in the NICE projects

Woman washing vegetables before selling in Rubavu © Alice Kayibanda/Swiss TPH/FairpictureAgroecological transitions require deep structural changes across diverse actors which may have different interests and only interact and cooperate to varying degrees with each other. To be able to facilitate such change, the farming system must be understood. Based on the results of an in-depth analysis, a multi-pathway approach for the introduction of agroecology was adopted in the secondary cities involved in the NICE project.

Reading time: 3min


Read the full story 

 
Introduction

Agroecological transitions require deep structural changes across diverse actors which may have different interests and only interact and cooperate to varying degrees with each other. To be able to facilitate such change, it is first needed to understand the farming system. In the NICE project we deal with secondary cities, so the farming systems involve the food shed, while many consumers are based in the urban/peri-urban centres.
At baseline, we explored agroecological practices in the city food shed (see SDC newsletter of March 2022), as well as consumer understandings around agroecology. Shortly after that, a multi-stakeholder process of value chain selection was carried out, followed by an in-depth analysis to further prioritise the value chains of focus and identify the main bottlenecks and opportunities. This analysis included an examination of the value chains’ nutritional value, suitability to the geographical area, agroecological opportunities, and their potential for income-generation, and for both female and male farmers to become engaged in the production, value addition or selling aspects.
Based on the results of these steps, it was agreed that in each of the secondary cities involved in NICE, we will take a multi-pathway approach for the introduction of agroecology. This is starting in Rusizi and Rubavu - the two cities in Rwanda, which is also where NICE can benefit from interaction with the SDC RUNRES project.

The multi-pathway approach

Drawing on the combined experience that ETH Zurich (Sustainable Agroecosystems and Climate Policy) and the TdLab hold in assessing and designing interventions for food system resilience, the multi-pathway approach of the NICE project took shape.
Next, smallholder farmer representatives were invited to meet and exchange with members of the city food systems platform. The food systems platform is a multisectoral structure of mainly government actors (health, nutrition, agriculture), as well as representatives of local businesses and civil society. Attention was paid to the potential power imbalance between the different groups, and to placing the producers at the centre of the decision-making process.
With careful moderation, a further multi-stakeholder workshop was held to further agree on interventions that will now be implemented. This involved a reflection on the baseline findings to find opportunities to increase the farming systems resilience, as well as a presentation and discussion of the in-depth value chain analysis. A prioritization exercise helped to sharpen the focus where farmers see the most urgent needs. Then, the discussions began to frame the interventions for each of the value chains around these main priorities, and to map these out in smaller groups. This active participation in decision-making by the value chain stakeholders is considered crucial for the scaling of the agroecological initiatives.

Impressions and following steps

A major finding across the value chains and cities, is the interest in capacity building trainings. The farmers seem eager to get informed on business management, integrated pest management, seedling production, among many other topics. More specifically, they seem aware and interested to learn on agroforestry introduction on passion fruit plots as well as other agroecological practices. They also put forward how they see these reflective and shared learning events to be organised, where demoplots, study tours and farmer-to-farmer exchange were mentioned as possible formats. These aspects will be addressed through the social business model called the Farmers Hub that has been developed by the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

It is worth noting that most interventions proposed by the farmers are related to input use efficiency connecting to the first level of agroecological transitions. Increasing the efficiency of inputs and also the reduction of costly, scarce or environmentally damaging inputs can translate for example for the tomato value chain in the use of better baskets for collection and transportation to reduce waste. For fish, this can translate into the use of better fishing nets with wider openings so not fully grown fish are not caught and are able to further mature.

Going forward, the NICE project continues to work comprehensively on a multi-pronged approach to popularise agroecology by raising awareness among consumers and by creating an enabling environment for male, but particularly female and young producers, to implement these practices. Prioritizing the voice and agency of the producers in this process is considered key for agroecological transformation and scaling.

NICE project coordinator:

With the following authors of this contribution:

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News

 Launch of the Food Systems Learning Journey

​On the 8th September the Agriculture & Food System network has launched the Food Systems Learning Journey (FSLJ) with keynote speeches from Patricia Danzi, SDC Director General, and Christian Frutiger, Head of Thematic Cooperation SDC, and an informative presentation to give an overview on food systems concepts by John Ingram, Lead Consultant of the FSLJ. If you were not able to attend the sessions, you can watch the recordings and find the slides on the event page

​ View the page


Gender equality in Sustainable Land Management

​WOCAT and UNCCD designed a tool to assess the gender-responsiveness of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices and to identify potential for improvement. This tool supports project planners, designers, and implementers in their effort to scale up SLM practices for women and men equally. The data showed clearly that if technology design and dissemination are gender-blind, there is a risk of reinforcing existing inequalities instead of addressing them. See our project results and respective policy recommendations

​ View the page

Laura Ebneter
World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT)
LinkedIn | laura.ebneter@unibe.ch

Watch the Bites of Transfoodmation Manifesto come to life

​​In late 2020, a group of young, diverse individuals, all hungry for change and re-thinking, met to discuss and develop ideas on how each of us can contribute to changing our current food systems. This group, the Bites of Transfoodmation community elaborated a unifying vision on the future society through the lens of food, which is entailed in a Manifesto. Discover how the Bites of Transfoodmation Manifesto came to life during the event ‘Snack the System Rome’ through this video​​!

Watch the video


Anna Citterio
Academic Trainee at Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations organisations in Rome
LinkedIn | anna.citterio@eda.admin.ch


Events

Farmers’ application of promising agroecological practices in the global South

​Zoom | 18 October | 09 – 11 CET

What are critical factors and reasons for farmers to apply agroecological practices during the early phase of the agroecological transition? Sufosec invites agroecological practitioners in the global South to exchange on how to shape the agroecological transition. The identified co-created results will feed into a synthesis of promising practices and will be distributed in key professional networks and the wider public.
The event will be organized in the frame of the Days of Agroecology Works! Learn about the event​

Thoughts for Food

​Webex | 05 October | 08.15 – 09.00 CET

The next Thoughts for Food meeting will be held on 5th October, with speakers from the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the Global Land Programme. In this informal session we will share some thoughts for food with network members and anyone else interested, get an overview of interesting news in the area of Food systems and deep-dive into two specific topics. There will also be space for discussion and exchange with other participants. Join us to feed your brain with some thoughts for food!  Learn about the event​


FSLJ – Framings, Boundaries, and thematic linkages

​​Webex | 31 October | 10 – 12 CET

The next stop in our Food Systems Learning Journey is on the 31st October, where we will focus on Framings, Boundaries and thematic linkages of food systems. Do not miss this session with the expert on Food Systems Transformation John Ingram

Learn about the event​




Who is who 



Moe Moe Than Win                  
 

Senior National Program Officer 

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Myanmar

What do you love about your work, what is special about it?

Being a program officer for the food and nutrition security thematic in a humanitarian and development context is really rewarding. The program in which I work assists those in need and saves the lives of the vulnerable and disadvantaged population. Myanmar, as a result of the COVID-19 issue and the military takeover, has a dire economic position as well as food and nutrition insecurity. More than 13.2 million people (1 in 4) are now moderately or severely food insecure across the country, raising concerns about malnutrition in 2022.

Born and raised in a remote town where food security and income generating are critical, I spent a lot of time with the family, hearing many stories and observing some of the difficulties. I've always wanted to work in a profession that could help to alleviate these issues. I'm grateful to have a job that reflects my values and what I believe in. Our engagement with communities helps them recognize their possibilities and difficulties through a variety of programs and implementation partners, empowering them to believe in themselves and seek out long-term solutions. I'm fortunate to be able to make a living by working for development cooperation and assisting underserved people.

Knowing that a child would not go to bed tonight hungry because of our programs gives us hope that we are contributing to the change we want to see in the world.

Who is your personal hero/heroine?

Aung San Suu Kyi and she said “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."― Freedom from Fear

She is still an outstanding example of the power of the powerless.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from your work?
To look on the bright side. The bad things might simply be another opportunity to advance in work and in life in general. This is a vital lesson to remember for working in any difficult situation. The circumstances can be very difficult and, if left unchecked, can have a severe impact not just on the work but also on personal life. Focusing on the positive aspects of the issue rather than the bad aspects can help to improve the situation.

Than Win Moe Moe works as a Senior National Program Officer at SDC, where she specializes in food security and resilience in humanitarian and development programs. Her passion is to help improve food security of the populations where people go to bed worried about where their next meal will come from. She graduated from the University of Bonn, Germany, with a master's degree in agricultural science and resource management. She has over ten years of experience working in several NGOs to improve the livelihoods of the poor. Moe Moe uses her positive attitude and enthusiasm to help the team.


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