IFDC Annual Report 2014 | Page 58

PARTINGSHOT “Moving from plow to tractor, I increased my planting area from 11 to 50 hectares and transformed from a peasant into an entrepreneur.” Abdramane Traoré, an IFDC beneficiary in Mali, learned to use ISFM in conjunction with updating his farm machinery. Now, he harvests a greater amount of crops and is a member of a cooperative that aggregates its crops and bargains for higher prices in the marketplace. “IFDC helped us diversify our crops, control soil fertility, improve our returns and access profitable markets. More importantly, training on the Competitive Agricultural Systems and Enterprises (CASE) approach has made us united and therefore stronger.” 56 | 2014 ANNUAL REPORT