Next, in our series, A Day in the Life of Our Communities is the story of Sulu, who starts work early as both an innovative farmer and an agriculture instructor.

Sulu Abacar brings new ideas to growing food every morning. He grew up in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, among the country’s poorest. At age 18 he went to study at the Bilibiza Agriculture Institute (IABil), a regional hub of learning and enterprise.

Sulu embodies the adaptable smallholder farmer that Bilibiza aims to produce. At the Institute he absorbed better farming techniques and market strategies. In 2003, with a scholarship from the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), he pursued further studies that gave him new confidence and skills. Sulu returned to Bilibiza as an instructor in 2007, where he kept experimenting for improved food production.

On his own half hectare (1.25 acres) of land, Sulu harvested 1,650 pounds of rice in 2009. That fed his family and yielded $268 in sales. He faced daunting challenges to surpass that benchmark. In three years, however, he diversified into other crops, including vegetables and his harvest income more than tripled to $991.
He takes that same adaptability into the classroom as instructor. AKF has worked with the Institute for over eight years, supporting improved facilities and faculty training, with funding from the Ford Foundation. In 2012, with a $1.35 million grant from Cargill, Inc., AKF USA bolstered its initiative to make Bilibiza a regional hub for agricultural enterprise with more instructors like Sulu, better equipment and a commercial farm that demonstrates innovations and generates revenue for the Institute for years to come.

One indicator of progress: in three years the Institute has doubled the number of students, and it also managed to multiply each student’s access to a computer. Says AKF Mozambique’s CEO Faiza Janmohamed, “Our joint efforts address the need for improving smallholder farmers’ skills,” an important keystone in the region’s future and food security.

Worldwide, 2.5 million people have benefited directly from the Foundation’s rural development programs, with ripple effects reaching nearly 12 million of the most vulnerable.

For more about the Bilibiza Agriculture Institute program click here.