The Carter Center Agriculture Program

The Agriculture Program, also known as SG2000, provides the tools and means to help farmers in sub-Saharan Africa increase their crop yields through agricultural development, sometimes two- or even threefold. By increasing the amount of quality food produced, hunger and poverty in developing countries can be lessened, food security enhanced, and national resources protected. The Agriculture Program promotes:

Use of fertilizer, seed, and crop protection chemicals in food crops
Soil fertility with increased use of fertilizer and with organic and indigenous mineral sources
Environmentally friendly agronomic methods of crop production, such as no-till
Quality grain storage to sustain market prices for the farmer and ensure greater food security
Establishment of farmers' associations for marketing and saving and loan services and
Use of high-quality food crops such as quality protein maize, or QPM, which has greater protein quality than regular maize.

In-country Collaboration Is Key
The Agriculture Program works with ministries of agriculture and national extension services to oversee country projects, rather than setting up a parallel organization outside the government, to ensure maximum benefit and minimum waste. The Agriculture Program and a government first draw up a memorandum of understanding that delineates the responsibilities of both parties. The Carter Center is currently working in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Uganda.

The program works directly with farmers to improve crop yields and develop better storage methods. The program also encourages farmers to organize into groups, which allows them to collectively bargain for better seed prices and to market their crops more effectively.

Partners Keep Program on Cutting Edge
The Agriculture Program cooperates with agribusiness companies in seed production and supply of chemical inputs. To keep abreast of new information and bring resource-poor farmers the best plant materials and technology, the program collaborates with other programs in different countries and with international research organizations such as the International Research Centers. The program works particularly closely with CIMMYT, The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, on the introduction of quality protein maize , or QPM, materials to provide better quality protein to consumers. QPM has protein equivalent in quality to that found in milk and is especially beneficial for child development.

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Agriculture Program

The Carter Center Agriculture Program