Since June 2019, 87 women have been working with the USAID Mikajy project to establish sustainable market gardens where they grow a wide range of produce, such as onions, tomatoes, and cabbage, for their own use and for sale.The women have learned new, conservation-friendly farming methods that promote minimal land use and cultivation of healthy soils. They have also been equipped with tools, such as watering cans and shovels.

“Those techniques do not require large amounts of land, so we can grow our crops in the village,” says Selestiny, a 28-year-old mother of three children from the village of Lambokely. “Our agricultural production has increased significantly since we started using the new methods taught by USAID Mikajy,” she explained.

Selestiny, who uses one name, has already established a flourishing 28 by 10 meter garden. She sees how the new approach secures the future of her family and the region’s forests.

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