Model farmers - awards for outstanding achievements

Kaka Dema - highland farmer, Bhutan

Twenty-two year old Kaka Dema comes from the tiny village of Remi in Bhutan. Her parents eked out an existence by herding livestock and growing a few simple vegetables for their own consumption, a way of life that hadn’t changed for centuries. Although Kaka Dema has just a primary school education, she is blessed with curiosity and an open mind to try something new that might improve her life and the lives of her family.

With the aid of a pamphlet on new farming methods, access to seed and, most of all, her own hard work, she found success raising a variety of new vegetables such as potatoes, chilies and pumpkins, along with wheat and other cereals. She also grows costas root, a medicinal plant widely used in Bhutan. Aside from feeding her family, the sale of these cash crops have allowed her to buy 12 cows and 10 hens. She’s even been able to save money in the hope that one day she will be able to buy her own bullock to plow her fields.

This young mother of a 3-year-old boy has shown that she has the strength, the heart and the intelligence to not just survive, but to prosper from working the land more than 3 000 meters above sea level. Her success has served as a model and inspiration for other farming families high in her Himalayan community. Following in her footsteps, many have seen their lives improve. By leading the way for others, Kaka Dema has proven that she is a true pioneer, and she is thus awarded by FAO for outstanding achievement in highland farming.

Tou Shenglian - dryland farmer, China

A Muslim farmer’s daughter from Ningxia Huizu autonomous region in northwestern China, Tou Shenglian charmes everyone with her delicate frame, fine features and infectious smile. When she moved to her husband’s hometown of Xinji, 300 kilometers away from the provincial capital, she learned the meanings of poor and remote. Xinji is one of the most arid areas in China with only 300 millimeters of rain each year.

Tou Shenglian saw the hardships suffered by the local people as an opportunity to use her education and her own farming experience to do something good. She introduced plastic film mulching - covering the ground with plastic to trap the sparse moisture - to raise corn and other vegetables not often grown in the area. Her yield, land under cultivation and income increased every year. She also grows heartier strains of grasses allowing her to keep a stock of sheep.

Success, however, never went to Tou Shenglian’s head. She kept the good of the community as an important goal and taught others in her village how to farm using the same methods. Now nearly 100 households are raising sheep and cattle. The total land in the village under cultivation for corn has increased from 10 hectares to 173, and many farm families are experimenting with other cash crops.

Now 30 and a mother of two, Tou Shenglian has gained much more than wealth. “The people here taught me the value of hard work, simplicity and honesty’’ she says. In return, she’s given them new ideas for planting and husbandry and the realization that science can be used for agriculture. Moving to isolated Xinji, Tou Shenglian has changed the lives of so many for the better. FAO is thus awarding her for outstanding achievement in dryland farming.

Onah Lasmanah - agroforester, Indonesia

Back in 1997, when men in her Indonesian village of Cimaragas on the western end of the island of Java refused to admit her to a farmers group, Mrs Onah Lasmanah decided she would start her own Harumsarmanis, a farmers group for women. In the midst of a financial crisis and unusual weather patterns brought on by El Nino, crops were failing and families were suffering in her village but - open to new ideas - Ibu Onah took a course in hydroponics and turned her farm green and bursting with life. Amazed by her success, her neighbours asked her to teach them how to farm the same way. Mrs Lasmanah started with 32 members of her women’s group and continued spreading knowledge out from there.

Besides El Nino, deforestation was also a factor of drought and soil problems. So Ibu Onah started planting mahogany trees on unused land near the village. Soon, it became a community forest, with everyone caring for the trees. Ibu Onah learned how to use the spaces in between the trees to plant rice, medicinal plants and other crops. Free range chickens and other animals roamed the land. It all brought steady income to the community while also creating a sustainable forest ecosystem.

Aside from improving the income of the villagers, 38 year old Ibu Onah understands the wider benefits caring for Indonesia’s forests brings to everyone, including her young son. “Indonesia is the lung of the world,” she says. Some might believe that planting a community forest is a hopeless pursuit. Ibu Onah knows better. She’s a woman who doesn’t take no for an answer. She’s a woman who understands the power or yes. FAO is awarding her for outstanding achievement in agroforestry.

Uhotau Pasisi - fisher, Niue

Uhotau Pasisi, a 64 year old fisherman from the idyllic island of Niue in the South Pacific, has always been a man who stands tall.

For the past 45 years, this father of three and grandfather of six, has set out in his fishing boat four to six hours a day, returning home with about 20 kilograms of a large variety of marine fish. Most of the catch goes to feed his family and friends. Anything that’s left over he sells as surplus, allowing him to reel in about 2 000 New Zealand dollars every month.

For Uhotau Pasisi, fishing is more than an occupation. It is a way of life. In 1994, he was elected President of the National Fishing Association. As president he shares ideas with his colleagues on how to preserve and improve their livelihoods, as well as encouraging young men and women to fish as a means to support their families and communities, and preserve an important part of their culture and lifestyle.

His commitment to improving the status of the Niuean people has been a central part of his life and career. Based in the capital Alofi, he has been constantly active in public service. For the past 12 years he has worked as a Public Service Commissioner, a post he still holds today. He also served as a Justice of the Peace, presiding over ceremonies and celebrations for his neighbours and adjudicating disputes to help maintain harmony in his community. As a result, FAO is awarding Uhotai Pasisi for outstanding achievement as a Pacific fisher.

Marasri Singsawak - rice farmer, Thailand

“A meal without rice isn’t really a meal,” says Khun Marasri Singsawak, a tall and dignified 58 year old woman from a small village in northern Utaradit province in Thailand. As a young farm girl in Wangdin subdistrict, she accompanied her parents as they lent their neighbours a helping hand whenever needed. They taught her to value education and remain open to new ideas. They also taught her to respect tradition. “Don’t neglect the land,” they said.

She was the first farmer in her village to grow Mali Rice 105, a hearty and fragrant strain once grown only in the northeast. On her 5 hectares of land, she was among the first to initiate an integrated farming system advocated by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in which rice farmers also grow fruits and vegetables, and raise fish and livestock, so that each family is self-sufficient. She has led others in her community to shun pesticides and chemical fertilizers in favour of more organic farming methods that are sustainable and better for the environment.

But as successful as she has been as a farmer, it’s as much what she gives back to her community that makes Khun Marasri a model for others. She has been a leader in helping to establish a community rice mill and a food conservation programme. She campaigned for Thailand’s new constitution, established a community savings group, was president of the women’s development group and has worked with the disabled and the elderly.

Khun Marasri says she wants her children to have a better life than she had. Although her son and two daughters have graduated from college, it’s hard to imagine that they could have lives that are more meaningful. FAO is therefore awarding Marasri Singsawak for outstanding achievement in rice farming.