Results achieved as of the end of the project (December 31, 2015) include: (1) 87 community seed banks and field gene banks were supported and beneficiaries were trained and received support for activities such as participatory plant breeding, seed banking, soil and water conservation, post-harvest transformation and the marketing and sale of agricultural biodiversity products; (2) the project reached 293 communities (an increase of 35% from the baseline and surpassing the target of 270) and a total of 20,801 households, including 13,215 women, 14,480 men, 14,238 girls and 9,011 boys (an increase of 47% from the baseline); (3) focus groups in three program areas in Ethiopia estimated increases between 20-100% in the average yield of key crops like sorghum, wheat, teff, and beans. In addition, the focus groups estimated an average of 66% of participants increased yields of the main crops (wheat and sorghum). The main factors attributed to this were: access to seeds that are locally adapted and resistant to disease and pests; the possibility of multi-cropping; and better awareness and soil management practices from training delivered by the program and government extension workers; and (4) the project deepened and broadened Canadian engagement, through a combination of mass media work, social media, collaborative campaigning, quality educational tools, and public presentations and special events, reaching an estimated 117,000 Canadians. The project also introduced a number of accessible agricultural innovations to target communities which included: (1) the use of water management techniques (Mali, Burkina Faso, Nepal, Bolivia) that facilitated additional harvests and production during dry periods; (2) the integration of marketable agro-forestry products to the farming system (Timor Leste, Mali, Burkina Faso, Honduras); (3) experimentation with seed and learning exchanges to conserve endangered varieties from different climatic zones (Mali); (4) the introduction of new and adapted field crops (Mali, Ethiopia); and (5) the introduction of techniques for extending the growing season to full year (Mali). These results have contributed to enhanced food security by strengthening seed supply systems, land, water and natural resource conservation and enhancing household incomes.
