Mika Abel, a smallholder farmer in Tanzania's fertile but impoverished northern highlands, was barely eking out a living for his family by growing traditional crops such as maize and beans. Eager to provide a better future for his four children, he experimented with pyrethrum (a plant used primarily as an ingredient in insects repellants). But that didn't deliver the hoped-for returns. So with TechnoServe's help, he switched to Artemisia, an herb whose extract is essential for the production of the world's most effective malaria treatment, Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs).

In 2006, Abel and his family harvested 2.5 tons of dried Artemisia leaf, worth more than $1,800; by comparison, growing maize and beans on the same plot would have yielded no more than $320. Abel also supports TechnoServe as a "contact farmer," working to mobilize four farmer business groups by sharing his expertise with their members.

In cooperation with TechnoServe's effort to improve Artemisia quality, African Artemisia Limited (AAL) entrusted Abel to establish an Artemisia plant nursery. It will yield hundreds of thousands of seedlings, earning Abel thousands of dollars in additional income. This position also entitles him to receive free seedlings and to make a commission on seedlings planted by other farmers.

Aside from the seedlings, Abel receives some other supplies— bags, tarpaulins and mesh for drying, sieving and bagging the leaves— at no charge from the TechnoServe program, which seeks to help the farmers overcome start-up hurdles that require scarce capital. This and his family's help in the fields keep his expenses low.

With the income he has earned from cultivating Artemisia, Abel is able to pay school fees for his daughters, as well as two of his younger brothers. His increased income has also funded significant home improvements for his family, which has already moved in to the new cement-block house that Abel is finishing with his Artemisia earnings.

(Story updated 2007)