Catherine Nakalembe

I'd like to share the story of Mary, whose experience represents millions of smallholder farmers around the world.

Mary is not her real name, but she's a farmer in Oranga, Tanzania.

But her story could easily be from Uganda, Madagascar or Senegal, any other country where smallholders face similar challenges.

Today's reality is this.

For Mary and her neighbors, they plant February-March for June-July harvests.

This year, Mary acquired improved seeds along with fertilizer that she heard about from a radio program.

Unfortunately, despite her best hopes, rainfall was irregular, and she only harvested 800 kilograms from her one-acre plot.

her poultry business that used to provide critical backup income recently collapsed.

So she does not have any savings, and it's just another year of surviving.

Now, imagine that Mary did in fact receive seasonal information sometime in January.

Not only did it include the drought prediction, it included when and where she could access fertilizer, a recommended planting date, but most critical is that she has access to financing

that she could acquire a water pump so she could irrigate during dry spells.

Come July, Mary harvests 3,000 kilograms.

She has enough to see her through the next harvest, enough income, because she has access to buyers that provide premium prices for her produce, and storage, so she can store it until markets stabilize.

She can send her daughter to school, but most critically, she has extra income so she can revive her poultry business.

This is not science fiction.

All the tools, all the technology to get at that extra income exists today.

So why is Mary still stuck?

Why does she get set back by very predictable crises?

The challenge lies in this messy middle, the complex web of relationship and real-life challenges that stand between our incredibly capable predictions and assessments and real, tangible solutions for Mary on the ground.