EBDA in October 2024
EBDA Communications Team
Media & Marketing Team Achievements
1- Video Production:
– Successfully traveled to Minya to shoot 44 learning videos focused on three different crops and 45 success stories featuring our climate heroes.
2- Event Coverage:
– Documented the Cotton Harvest Festival in Domyate, capturing the vibrant celebration and key insights.
3- Farmer Interviews:
– Conducted interviews with sesame farmers at Sekem Farm in Sharkya to highlight their practices and experiences.
4- Content Publication:
– In the past month, we published 15 new learning videos on YouTube and 5 new reels on Instagram, enhancing our online presence and educational outreach.
EBDA Achievements
Organizational development for the EBDA
– We used the lemniscate model to start looking at our team’s challenges and looking for possible solutions, where the solution was more bottom up
– We started the EBDA Leadership course where we are learning leadership skills to prepare for the growth of the EBDA and EoL teams.
EBDA Joined SEKEM Festival
Over the past six months, SEKEM has remained committed to advancing our SEKEM Vision Goal No. 14: Integral Organizational Development and Leadership. As part of our vision for Egypt 2057, working in collaboration with SEKEM companies and Heliopolis University to tackle the challenges we face and turn them into opportunities. During SEKEM Autumn Festival2024, It proudly showcased the outcomes of these efforts through speeches and captivating performances by the students and employees, which deeply touched and inspired all who attended.
The Economy of Love EoL Team
– Had/are having a meeting with the NOW Partners on cooperating in the selling of carbon credits
– Completed the mapping of how we create a carbon credit
EBDA Research and Development
Seeds Bank
– Objective: Preserving and revitalizing seeds
– Bank Location: Room E111, Ground Floor, Faculty of Agriculture Building, Heliopolis University
PGS progress
The PGS audits will continue through December 2025, with the final round having started in early September, covering a total of 1,018 farms. Currently, the PGS team at EBDA is working on the 2025 plan to register 40,000 farmers under the PGS system. To support this expansion, new engineers are being recruited to manage the growing number of farmers, and additional peer reviewers are being selected and will undergo training next month for the auditing process.
EBDA Engineers’ training
The training course on irrigation water management, held on 09.10.2024 and 10.10.2024, aimed to equip 15 trainee engineers with essential skills and knowledge in managing irrigation systems. Day 1 focused on identifying the trainees’ specific challenges in water management and provided lectures on water availability, distribution, and efficient irrigation techniques. Practical exercises helped trainees apply these concepts to different crops and regions.
On Day 2, the course covered sewage and agricultural drainage issues, emphasizing the risks of reusing sewage water in agriculture. The day included a field visit to the farm to observe irrigation systems in practice. The course concluded with a session on designing irrigation systems for a 20-acre farm, and trainees were encouraged to suggest topics for future training sessions. The trainees were also reminded to consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of using sewage water for irrigation.
EBDA Farmers’ Growth October, 2024
EBDA extension engineers successfully registered 161 new farms in October that included 1045 farmers with a total area of 3,549 acres.
EBDA total registered information from January until October, 2024 as follows:
– Total farms: 1561
– Total farmers: 9228
– Total area in acres: 24,895
