Dec
I was short listed for the Lens Culture Visual Story Telling Awards, being selected by the editors but missing out on winning overall. My submission was among the top-rated entries in the Visual Storytelling Awards 2015 competition which received entries from over 100 different countries.
I entered ten pictures from the work that I photographed on sesame seed farming for the organisation, Farm Africa, in Tanzania. Farm Africa works with small holder farmers to reduce poverty and improve food security by increasing household incomes.
The photograph shows how Farm Africa has worked with local small holders providing them with warehouse space.
Before Farm Africa’s involvement in sesame seed farming, a large percentage of the crop would be lost after harvesting, because the farmers had nowhere to store or process it. Sesame seeds are easily damaged and are prone to rotting and pests. They need to be sieved and stored in a dry environment. Farm Africa has built two modern warehouses with enough room for farmers to process and store their crops. A kilo of the higher-quality sesame sells for almost 45% more than the local variety did, helping provide more for their families.
Farm Africa also encourages farmers to form co-operatives so they can sell their produce collectively, and the co-operative warehouse allows the farmers to store sesame until it is at its most valuable.
For more information go to www.farmafrica.org
