In August 2018, the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) and the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) hosted a speak-out for SADC smallholder farmers in Windhoek, Namibia, on Farm Input Subsidy Programmes (FISPs).


FISPs are government agricultural programmes that promote the use of Green Revolution inputs produced by multinational corporations. These top-down packages have proven to be problematic for farmers on the ground.


In “Alternatives to FISP”, farmers discuss diversification of farmer support that includes agroecological practices and inputs; farmer-based research and development; and the recognition, promotion and support of farmer-managed seed systems. Farmers comment that these methods have proven to be more viable and cost-effective, and to produce more consistent yields.