Chefs for Change Projects

A NEW APPROACH TO OLD CHALLENGES 2017 - 2022 | BENIN THE BENIBIZ PROJECT IS ADDRESSING TWO CRITICAL PROBLEMS AT ONCE: UNEMPLOYMENT AND POOR NUTRITION. MORE THAN HALF OF BENIN’S POPULATION WORKS IN AGRICULTURE, BUT MANY LACK THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO EARN GOOD INCOMES — A PARTICULAR PROBLEM IN A COUNTRY WHERE HALF THE PEOPLE ARE UNDER AGE 18. AT THE SAME TIME, MANY BENINESE STRUGGLE TO ACCESS HEALTHY FOOD, AND CHRONIC MALNUTRITION AFFECTS OVER 40% OF CHILDREN UNDER AGE FIVE. From the palm-lined beaches of Benin’s largest city, Cotonou, to the scenic national parklands of the north, the BeniBiz project

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helps thousands of young “micro-entrepreneurs” and hundreds of

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small businesses in the food and agriculture sector to grow their

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

enterprises. It also uses a unique approach to getting nutritious food

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in the hands of those who need it: training 150 women as “nutritional

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

sales agents”. Agents boost their incomes by selling baskets of affordable but nutritious products in underserved communities.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 3,400

The project accomplishes this through the following: •

Providing training and tailored advice to thousands of rural youth who run micro-enterprises, helping them improve their businesses through management, finance and marketing skills

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Training small and medium food-and-agriculture enterprises in the business skills they need to grow, allowing them to hire more workers, buy more from local farmers, and supply better products and services to their communities

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Building a “last-mile” distribution network for healthy food, enabling underserved consumers to access better nutrition while

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providing livelihoods for the nutritional sales agents.

FUNDED BY Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation;

Promoting improved understanding of nutrition through

Dutch Ministry for Foreign Trade and

activities such as rural cooking competitions.

Development Cooperation, in collaboration with

Over the course of the project, BeniBiz will support 2,500 youth, 750 food and agricultural small entrepreneurs, and 150 nutritional sales agents. It will ultimately help generate $15 million in increased wages and income for rural communities through competitive agribusinesses.

the Bottom of the Pyramid Innovation Center IMPLEMENTED BY

BREWING LASTING CHANGE 2017 - 2022 | HONDURAS THE LUSH HILLSIDES OF WESTERN HONDURAS REGIONS BELIE A STARKER REALITY FOR ITS FARMERS. HONDURAS IS THE SECOND-POOREST COUNTRY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, WITH 75% OF ITS RURAL POPULATION LIVING UNDER THE POVERTY LINE. NEVERTHELESS, COFFEE IS A BRIGHT SPOT FOR MANY SMALL SMALL-SCALE FARMERS, WHICH — WHEN PAIRED WITH FOOD CROPS LIKE BEANS — CAN HELP THEM ACHIEVE MORE STABLE AND PROSPEROUS LIVES FOR THEIR FAMILIES. The Sustainable Agricultural Improvement Project (or MAS, the acronym in Spanish) has achieved astounding success with this approach, helping more than 26,000 farmers improve their coffee and bean productivity by over 50 per cent in recent years. This was particularly notable since farmers had to overcome an epidemic of the crop disease leaf rust, which swept

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through the Central American region a few years ago and devastated coffee

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farms.

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Oscar Daniel Ramirez Valerio was one of the farmers who learned better agronomic practices to help withstand the effects of the fungus. This

IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

past fall, he submitted his coffee to the prestigious Cup of Excellence competition, where it won first prize — and broke the record for the highest

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 32,000

price ever earned by a Cup of Excellence winner in any country. “I am very happy and I did not expect to receive this price,” he said. “I am going to invest in my farm and produce more and better coffee.”

MAS 2.0 is now aiming even higher, building on the success of farmers such as Oscar. The project will work with 32,000 farmers to further improve their livelihoods and food security through the following activities •

Training farmers on best agronomic practices for beans and coffee.

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Improving farmers’ access to credit and agronomic supplies.

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Helping farmers organise into groups to share knowledge and improve their business power.

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FUNDED BY

Connect farmers to profitable markets for their coffee and beans.

The United States Department of Agriculture

These improvements in coffee quality and quantity have now led international roasters to start purchasing from these farmers, giving them a substantial premium on their beans and helping provide long-term markets for their coffee. The project is further advancing the sustainability of this progress by working with local businesses, nonprofits and government entities to help them support farmers and improved market opportunities, far into the future.

IMPLEMENTED BY

CASHING IN ON CASHEWS 2015 - 2020 | BENIN CASHEWS ARE THE POWER CROP OF AFRICA’S FUTURE. THE CONTINENT’S SECOND-BIGGEST CASH CROP AFTER COCOA, CASHEWS NEVERTHELESS REPRESENT HUGE UNMET ECONOMIC POTENTIAL. EVEN THOUGH AFRICA PRODUCES 57% OF THE WORLD’S CASHEWS, IT PROCESSES ONLY 10% OF THEM — A STEP THAT CAN INCREASE THEIR VALUE BY UP TO 50%.

For the lush, history-rich nation of Benin, cashews are a critical export. By some estimates, improving Benin’s cashew production and processing could add as much as a couple percentage points to the country’s GDP.

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

The BeninCajú project is tackling this challenge head-on, working

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to strengthen and expand the cashew sector in Benin into a more

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productive, competitive and inclusive industry. Its ambitious goals

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are to increase yields and revenues for over 36,000 farmers (about a quarter of the country’s total cashew farmers); triple Benin’s domestic processing capacity; and create 3,400 jobs — 70% of

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 36,000

which are for women. BeninCajú is achieving this by: •

Providing training on improved farm management and post-harvest handling for cashew producer groups.

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Helping establish new cashew processing centers and working with existing ones to improve their operations.

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Connecting cashew processors with new markets and sources of finance.

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Strengthening the ability of industry associations and government agencies to continue this work well in the long term.

FUNDED BY

Already this approach has created significant new employment

The United States

and market opportunities, including the country’s first cashew

Department of

apple juice, Sweet Benin. It uses the cashew apple (normally

Agriculture

discarded during processing) to create a tasty drink that has seen soaring consumer demand. Now, instead of literally throwing out extra revenue, farmers are gaining increased income from their cashew crops, and helping create jobs for those producing the cashew apple juice — a sweet outcome indeed.

IMPLEMENTED BY

C ATA L Y S I N G CHANGE 2017 - 2019 | NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE MOZAMBIQUE IS IN THE MIDST OF AN AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION. A DEVELOPING POULTRY INDUSTRY IS REPLACING FROZEN, IMPORTED CHICKENS WITH FRESH, LOCALLY-RAISED ONES. SMALLHOLDER FARMERS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MOZAMBIQUE’S IDEAL GROWING CONDITIONS TO GROW FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. AND AFTER YEARS OF WAR AND NEGLECT, PROMISING INVESTMENTS IN EXPORT SECTORS ARE PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HIGH-QUALITY JOBS FOR LOCAL WORKERS. These changes have been slow to reach the remote northern region of Cabo Delgado, where nearly half the population lives in poverty. The area’s 15,000 vegetables growers work mostly on small plots, and with limited access to water, irrigation, and training, their yields and incomes are low. Meanwhile, the

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

region’s poultry farmers struggle to earn a good living selling their chickens in low-margin, informal markets. In these challenging

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 1,730

conditions, thousands of rural, young people struggle to find profitable employment.

The Catalisa Project is working to create new opportunities for farmers and young people in Cabo Delgado, which will help them to lift themselves out of poverty. The project helps farmers to develop commercial poultry businesses that will allow them to supply locally-grown chicken for local consumers while earning a sustainable income. For vegetable growers, Catalisa is providing training and access to finance, so that farmers can grow crops for profitable local markets, like restaurants, hotels, and catering companies. The project also offers a unique training program that

FUNDED BY

provides rural young people with the soft skills, self-confidence and basic business knowledge they need to find paying jobs or start their own small enterprises.

IMPLEMENTED BY

CUTTING F OO D WA S T E A N D B OO S T I N G TRADE 2016 - 2019 | Tanzania and Uganda ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THE FOOD PRODUCED IN THE WORLD EVERY YEAR IS WASTED. THIS TAKES ITS TOLL ON THE ENVIRONMENT, MEANING A WASTE OF LAND, WATER AND ENERGY PUT INTO PRODUCTION, AS WELL AS A LOSS OF POTENTIAL INCOME FOR FARMERS. While Tanzania and Uganda typically produce a surplus of staple crops every year, neighbouring Kenya only grows enough maize to

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feed itself one year in five. Farm Africa is helping Tanzanian and

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Ugandan smallholder rice, maize and beans farmers increase

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

their profits by cutting post-harvest losses, aggregating their crops

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and selling them in bulk to large-scale buyers within and across

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borders.

We’re helping farmers store grain in warehouses certified as

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 437,000

meeting international standards, so that crops can be kept dry and are less susceptible to fungal infections and pest infestation, both common results of poor storage. This means less food goes to waste, which benefits both the environment and farmers’ profits, as well as addressing food security. Safe in the knowledge that food won’t rot or be eaten by pests while in the warehouses, farmers are able to wait for prices to go up to sell their crops.

We’re helping increase the bottom line of farmers’ cooperatives producing and selling staple crops by: •

Increasing their awareness of the East African Community grain standards required of staple crops, especially those

FUNDED BY

destined for export, and providing training on how to achieve these standards.

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Building their business skills and access to market information, to help them better decide when to sell and at what price.

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Helping farmers’ cooperatives gain access to credit to invest in their businesses, for example by taking a loan to buy a milling machine so they can secure higher prices by milling their own rice.

IMPLEMENTED BY

This project is funded with UK aid from the UK government.

E M P O W E R I N G YO U N G AGRIPRENEURS 2016 - 2019 | NORTHERN AND EASTERN SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA IS A VIBRANT, STRIKING LAND WHOSE DIVERSE INDUSTRIES POWER MUCH OF AFRICA’S ECONOMY. BUT IT IS STILL PLAGUED BY ONE OF THE CONTINENT’S HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, A PROBLEM THAT PARTICULARLY AFFECTS ITS YOUNG PEOPLE, MORE THAN HALF OF WHOM LACK JOBS. In a wide swath of the country encompassing craggy beaches, lush farmland, and national wildlife parks, the African Youth Agripreneur Program (AYAP) is showing that South Africa’s youth can escape this trap — and they can use agriculture to do it.

AYAP is supporting young agripreneurs working in agricultural

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

value chains in the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, through the following activities: •

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 600

Hands-on training to improve participants’ agronomic and business skills

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Face-to-face mentorship from seasoned TechnoServe business advisors, helping participants identify and pursue new opportunities to diversify and grow their incomes

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Links to financial institutions, to help entrepreneurs access the financing they need to grow

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Links to new and larger buyers, to help provide more

FUNDED BY

profitable, stable markets These efforts have improved life not only for the programme’s direct participants, but also for their communities, through increased sales, purchases from local suppliers, and jobs for local workers. This year, the programme is supporting 58 businesses, sustaining 277 jobs and has already contributed to the employment of an additional 79 people.

IMPLEMENTED BY

FA R M I N G T U R N S FEMALE 2016 - 2019 | NORTHERN INDIA IN THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS THE VAST FERTILE PLAIN OF BIHAR STATE, A QUIET SHIFT IS OCCURRING. WOMEN CONSTITUTE 50% OF THE TOTAL WORKFORCE IN THIS AGRARIAN SOCIETY, BUT THEY OFTEN STRUGGLE TO ACCESS THE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES NEEDED TO REAP THE FULL BENEFITS OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS. THE WOMEN’S ADVANCEMENT IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE (WARDA) PROJECT IS HELPING TRAIN OVER 30,000 WOMEN IN FARMING AND BUSINESS SKILLS, GIVING THEM UNPRECEDENTED FINANCIAL POWER IN THEIR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES. The project achieves this by helping these women organise into all-female producer groups, where farmers like Chanda Devi (pictured) can exercise positions of leadership for the first time.

The project then works to improve their knowledge and market

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

linkages, cutting out middlemen and improving transparency in the supply chain so that women farmers can get the best

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 15,000

possible prices for their crops. For instance, WARDA has equipped the women’s groups with digital scales, moisture meters, and electronic payment platforms. These new technologies allow farmers to work out exactly how much they are selling, and receive accurate and prompt payments directly to their bank accounts.

Working in crops such as maize, mango, lychee, potato and vegetables, the project has already generated over $1 million in new revenue for participating women — as well as a priceless sense of confidence and optimism for the future.

FUNDED BY

Chanda Devi, a young mother in the Muzaffarpur district, is the chairperson of her farmer group, and is spearheading an effort to improve her members’ knowledge of lychee cultivation. “Women, when given the right opportunities, are most likely to seize them and become successful at the same time,” she says. “The women group members are now more vocal about their concerns that they face both at their homes and farms. They are more confident as they have learnt how small savings, when combined, can bring

IMPLEMENTED BY

F I S H FA R M I N G I N K E N YA 2016 - 2019 | WESTERN AND CENTRAL KENYA KENYA’S FISH PRODUCTION IS HEAVILY RELIANT ON WILD FISH CAUGHT IN LAKE VICTORIA, BUT STOCKS ARE DWINDLING. DEMAND FOR FISH IN KENYA IS INCREASING RAPIDLY DUE TO POPULATION GROWTH AND RISING INCOMES. FARM AFRICA IS BOOSTING PRODUCTION IN PONDS TO HELP PROTECT LAKE VICTORIA’S STRAINED RESOURCES, OFFER THE POPULATION A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF PROTEIN AND PROVIDE FISH FARMERS WITH RELIABLE INCOMES. Kenya’s excellent water resources, as well as favourable climate, make parts of Kenya ideal for fish farming. However, for the nascent industry to become a driver for growth and prosperity farmers, suppliers and traders need support and investment. Farm Africa is working to strengthen every aspect of the Kenyan fish

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

farming supply chain, from fish feed to fork, to help the sector become a competitive industry that lifts people out of poverty.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 13,500

We’re doing this by: •

Providing training for fish farmers and helping them to access high-value markets to increase their incomes.

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Supporting the suppliers of feed and fingerlings (young fish) to improve the quality of their produce and help them to sell to farmers.

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Working with traders to increase their access to and capacity to sell larger volumes of farmed fish.

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Carrying out an educational campaign to show the benefits of farmed fish over wild-caught fish.

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Helping fish farmers to organise themselves into trade associations so that the industry can thrive.

FUNDED BY

This project builds upon Farm Africa’s aqua shops project, which set up a network of shops that supply fish farmers with the highquality fish feed and equipment they need to develop well-run profitable businesses.

IMPLEMENTED BY

FIGHTING DROUGHT WITH UNIQUE CROPS 2015 - 2020 | NORTHWEST INDIA HOW DO YOU SUCCESSFULLY GROW FOOD ON THE EDGE OF A DESERT? FOR THE SMALL-SCALE FARMERS OF BIKANER DISTRICT IN INDIA, DROUGHT-RESISTANT CROPS ARE A KEY PART OF THE ANSWER. THE SUSTAINABLE GUAR INITIATIVE HELPS THESE FARMERS ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE INCOMES FOR THEIR FAMILIES DESPITE ERRATIC RAINFALL AND POOR SOIL CONDITIONS, RELYING ON TWO UNIQUE CROPS: GUAR AND MOTH BEANS. Despite being relatively little-known, guar is found in a surprisingly common array of products. The green pods, locally known as “gawar phali”, are cooked in a tasty vegetable dish, while the processed seeds are used in foods ranging from ice

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

cream to bread. Guar grows almost exclusively in northwest India, where it is a critical source of income for farmers. For their part,

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 7,000

moth beans are a versatile crop, consumed in sprouted form and traditional dishes like dal and the spicy “Usal” stew.

This project works with farmers on these crops in order to: •

Promote sustainable, water-neutral agronomic practices, including improved seeds and organic fertilisers and pest repellants.

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Introduce traceability systems to connect farmers with buyers who value sustainably-produced crops.

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Help farming households to grow “kitchen gardens”, improving their families’ nutrition and health.

FUNDED BY

These efforts not only aim to improve farmers’ incomes by 25%, but to provide them with a reliable, sustainable way to earn a living in challenging agricultural conditions.

IMPLEMENTED BY

GROWING A NEW S TA R T I N P E R U 2017 - 2022 | CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PERU SAN MARTIN AND HUANUCO ARE RUGGED, FERTILE REGIONS OF PERU, WHERE THE ANDES TUMBLE DOWN TO THE AMAZON BASIN. UNTIL RECENTLY, THESE AREAS PRODUCED A LARGE SHARE OF THE COUNTRY’S COCA: THE PRIMARY INGREDIENT

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FOR COCAINE. BUT OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, THERE HAS

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BEEN A SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TO HELP FARMERS TRANSITION TO

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ALTERNATIVE LIVELIHOODS, INCLUDING COFFEE PRODUCTION.

IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

The coffee sector holds significant promise, but farmers in the area face low yields, low prices, erratic weather and crop diseases,

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 10,000

which threaten both their livelihoods and larger progress against

FARMING FAMILIES

the drug trade. The Coffee Alliance for Excellence (CAFE) project works with farmers and their families to help them increase their incomes in a sustainable way, focusing particularly on improving economic opportunities for women and young people. The project achieves this by:

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Providing climate-smart agronomy training to farmers to improve the quality and yields of their coffee

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Helping farmers form business groups that improve their access to finance and supplies.

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Strengthening supply chains to connect farmers with

FUNDED BY

profitable global coffee markets.

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Helping farming families diversify their income by planting new crops and starting small businesses.

Achieving good, steady incomes from coffee production will help thousands of families escape the trap of the illegal drug sector, contributing to a brighter future for themselves and for Peru.

IMPLEMENTED BY

GROWING FUTURES 2018 - 2021 | WESTERN KENYA IN 2016, NEARLY 80% OF KENYANS WERE LESS THAN 35 YEARS OLD; AND NEARLY ONE IN FIVE YOUNG PEOPLE OF WORKING AGE WERE JOBLESS. IN A COUNTRY WHERE AGRICULTURE IS KEY TO THE ECONOMY, CONTRIBUTING 26% OF THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, PROVIDING 65% OF THE EXPORT EARNINGS, AND EMPLOYING MORE THAN 70% OF RURAL PEOPLE, FARMING SHOULD BE OFFERING A SOLUTION TO YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT. To combat unemployment and help grow a brighter future

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for Kenya’s next generation, this project equips young adults in

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western Kenya with the skills and knowledge to successfully set

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up profitable agricultural enterprises. With limited access to land,

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equipment and transport, the odds are stacked against young

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farmers’ chance of success. The Growing Futures projects helps address these issues by:

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 24,500

• Providing young farmers with face-to-face training on established demonstration plots to increase their harvests.

• Helping them grow high-value vegetables such as French beans, mangetouts, chillies and cabbages.

• Working with banks so that farmers’ groups can access the finance they need to invest in equipment for their farms.

• Improving crop quality to meet the requirements of export markets.

FUNDED BY The project is also helping the farmers to gain Global GAP certification, which they need to be able to export their vegetables.

Export markets tend to be more lucrative than the domestic

This project is funded with UK aid from the UK government.

market, so this is a crucial step in helping boost farmers’ incomes and increasing their purchasing power so they are able to afford to buy a wider range of foods for their families, as well as pay for essential costs like schooling and clothing.

IMPLEMENTED BY

HELPING FA R M E R S THRIVE IN A CHANGING C L I M AT E 2017 - 2021 | Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region, Ethiopia A FARMER THAT SOLELY RELIES ON RAINFALL FOR IRRIGATION TYPICALLY PRODUCES A MEAGRE AMOUNT OF FOOD. CLIMATE CHANGE POSES A HUGE RISK TO FARMERS RELIANT ON RAINFED AGRICULTURE. THIS PROJECT HELPS FARMERS MAKE THE STEP CHANGE FROM SUBSISTENCE TO COMMERCIAL

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AGRICULTURE, WHILE STRENGTHENING THEIR RESILIENCE TO

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AN INCREASINGLY UNPREDICTABLE CLIMATE.

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

This project helps farmers make the transition from low-input,

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low-output agriculture, where farmers produce just enough food

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

to eat, to profitable commercial agriculture that yields highvalue crops and is less reliant on increasingly unreliable weather patterns. Farm Africa will achieve this by: •

Providing over 2,500 farmers with face-to-face training in the sustainable production of high-value cash crops such as chickpeas, chillies and peppers.

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Teaching 2,500 farmers “climate-smart” techniques that build communities’ resilience to climate shocks, while minimising farming’s environmental impact.

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Establishing and strengthening ten local businesses that supply farmers with seeds, irrigation systems and fertilisers, and connect them to lucrative markets.

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Promoting the sustainable management of natural resources, like rivers and grasslands.

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Women’s overall experiences of poverty and low access to resources, such as land, credit and technology, make them more exposed to the effects of climate change. This project will ensure that agricultural development meets women’s needs. By improving women’s access to credit and women’s representation in emerging agri-businesses, Farm Africa will help women find ways to thrive in a changing climate.

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INVESTING IN UGANDA’S YO U N G C O F F E E FA R M E R S 2018 - 2022 | KANUNGU, UGANDA COFFEE IS UGANDA’S MOST VALUABLE EXPORT. DESPITE COFFEE’S POTENTIAL TO MAKE A PROFIT, MANY COFFEE FARMERS IN WESTERN UGANDA STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET. WITH LIMITED ACCESS TO LAND, LABOUR AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES, YOUNG PEOPLE AND WOMEN FIND IT PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT TO MAKE A DECENT LIVING FROM COFFEE PRODUCTION. There is huge potential to turn Uganda’s coffee sector into an

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engine for poverty reduction and green economic growth. In

WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

western Uganda, Farm Africa is helping young people and women

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build successful careers as coffee farmers. This will be achieved by:

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•

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

Training 168 farmers and cooperative staff to deliver training in forest-friendly coffee production to other farmers.

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Developing a smartphone-based e-learning app to assist local

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 21,000

training sessions.

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Training coffee cooperatives in financial and management concepts, so that they can expand and improve the market services they provide to farmers, such as supplying plants and fertilisers and buying their goods.

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Helping young farmers form groups and unions, and providing emerging local leaders with training in advocacy so that they can draw attention to the challenges and opportunities facing Kanungu’s young and female coffee farmers.

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Training coffee cooperatives in micro-washing and other postharvest handling techniques to drive up the quality of farmers’ produce, open up new markets and improve farmers’ incomes.

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Western Uganda’s high tropical forests make the area well-suited to coffee production. In recent years the area has experienced severe deforestation, threatening the quality of soil and the tree coverage essential to increasing coffee yields. By training farmers in forest-friendly coffee production, we are creating a ‘win-win’ situation whereby coffee farmers have a sustained economic incentive to protect the endangered forests.

IMPLEMENTED BY

L I V E S TOC K F O R L I V E L I H OO D S 2018 - 2022 | SOUTH OMO, ETHIOPIA AND KARAMOJA, UGANDA SOUTH OMO AND KARAMOJA ARE HOME TO THOUSANDS OF PASTORALISTS WHO MIGRATE WITH THEIR GOAT HERDS IN SEARCH OF PASTURE. IN BOTH AREAS, DISEASE, DROUGHT AND DEGRADED GRASSLANDS HAVE CUT THE SIZE OF GOAT HERDS, EXACERBATING HIGH LEVELS OF POVERTY. GOATS ARE OFTEN MANAGED BY WOMEN, AND GOATS’ PRODUCE IS A RICH SOURCE

Nichole Sobecki / Farm Africa

OF NUTRITION. HOWEVER, PASTORALIST WOMEN’S LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, TOGETHER WITH POOR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NUTRITION, MEANS THAT WOMEN OFTEN STRUGGLE TO TRANSLATE IMPROVED GOAT PRODUCTION INTO IMPROVED CONSUMPTION OF NUTRITIOUS FOODS.

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

Farm Africa is helping pastoralist women living in South Omo and

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

Karamoja set up sustainable, small-scale goat-rearing enterprises

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that lift families out of poverty and improve nutrition amongst

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women and children. This will be achieved by: NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 21,000 •

Establishing 400 local Women’s Livestock Groups, which will provide training in livestock, fodder and watershed management to 10,000 Ugandan and Ethiopian women.

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Improving access to livestock by setting up a 7,200 womanstrong revolving goat scheme, which requires each woman who receives two goats from Farm Africa to give two goats to another vulnerable woman once her herd has grown.

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Teaching women how to add value to their livestock businesses through training in goat breeding, fattening and the production of dairy products.

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Delivering nutrition training to Ugandan and Ethiopian women, equipping them with practical knowledge about child and maternal nutrition, and the importance of dietary

FUNDED BY This project is funded with UK aid from the UK government.

diversity.

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Setting up Village Saving and Loan Associations, where women unite to save and make funds available to invest in each other’s businesses.

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Strengthening the business capacity of local vets, breeders and animal healthcare organisations so that they can expand their operations and deliver vital services to pastoralist communities.

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MARKETING BALE’S WILD COFFEE 2017 - 2021 | Bale Eco-region, Ethiopia ETHIOPIA’S BALE ECO-REGION GAVE THE WORLD COFFEA ARABICA, THE MOST COMMONLY CONSUMED SPECIES OF COFFEE GLOBALLY. TODAY, THE ARABICA COFFEE BEAN IS CENTRAL TO SECURING A PROSPEROUS GREEN FUTURE FOR THE AREA. High levels of poverty have forced many of Bale’s residents to convert the area’s ecologically significant forests into croplands and fell trees for timber. Yet, the local population still relies on dwindling forest resources to earn a living. This project will encourage conservation of Bale’s forest by improving wild coffee production and connecting wild coffee farmers to high-value export markets. Making money from coffee sales gives a financial

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incentive to preserve the trees under which coffee plants thrive.

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Farm Africa has worked in Bale since 2006 to identify forest

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commodities with market potential that can be sustainably

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

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produced. Bale’s heirloom coffee varieties have the potential to command high prices on the global speciality coffee market, but

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 30,000

to date very few farmers in Bale have been able to realise this potential.

Farm Africa will promote, increase and improve wild coffee production in the area and help broker deals between producers and private sector buyers, creating a sustainable and profitable wild coffee value chain. We’re doing this by: •

Delivering training in coffee processing and post-harvest handling to help farmers meet market standards.

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Strengthening coffee cooperatives’ quality control processes.

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Improving cooperatives and forest management committees’ business management skills, so they can build effective

FUNDED BY

relationships with buyers and other supply chain actors.

•

Setting up community-led systems for collecting environmental data, which will allow farmers to market the coffee as an eco-friendly product.

Farm Africa aims to create a ‘win-win’ situation whereby coffee farmers have a sustained economic incentive to protect the forests.

The Global Environment Facility IMPLEMENTED BY

MODERNISING A FA M I L Y T R A D I T I O N 2011 - 2020 | CENTRAL MEXICO IN CENTRAL MEXICO, SMALLHOLDER FARMERS LIKE ABEL PLASENCIA HAVE RAISED THEIR DAIRY COWS THE SAME WAY THEIR FAMILIES DID FOR GENERATIONS. “OUR IMAGE OF DAIRY FARMING IS WHAT WE LEARNED FROM OUR PARENTS, OR WHAT WE SAW OUR UNCLES DOING, FROM WAY IN THE PAST,” HE SAYS. IN A RAPIDLY MODERNISING MEXICO, HOWEVER, IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT FOR THESE FAMILY FARMS TO COMPETE WITH LARGE, COMMERCIAL DAIRIES OR IMPORTED DAIRY PRODUCTS. Family dairy farmers face three major challenges. First, farmers lack training on good practices for breeding, raising, and milking their cows, which limits their productivity. Second, they lack access

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

to chillers and other technology that are needed to safely store and transfer milk. Third, because their production is low and the

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 438

milk might not meet quality standards, they can’t access more profitable formal markets.

The Margarita Dairy Project is leveling the playing field and helping smallholder farmers to improve their production and access high-quality markets. The project provides training on low-cost farming techniques to improve yields and milk quality. It also set up a loan guarantee to help the farmers purchase the equipment they need to meet modern safety and quality standards. Finally, the project has helped the farmers to create organisations that aggregate their milk, and then facilitated sales from those organisations to dairy processors.

FUNDED BY

To date, participating farmers have seen such improvements that they are able to supply 15 per cent of all the milk that Danone, a large food and beverage company, uses in Mexico. The increased productivity and prices they now obtain have tripled their incomes, helping to build a better future for themselves and their families.

IMPLEMENTED BY

PLANTING THE SEEDS O F F OO D S E C U R I T Y 2017 - 2021 | NORTHERN NIGERIA PERHAPS NOTHING REPRESENTS NIGERIA’S UNFULFILLED AGRICULTURAL PROMISE LIKE THE TOMATO. NIGERIA PRODUCES AFRICA’S SECOND-HIGHEST VOLUME OF TOMATOES, AND THEY ARE A STAPLE OF THE NATIONAL DIET, FEATURING IN SUCH ICONIC DISHES AS JOLLOF RICE. YET EACH YEAR, THIS MOST POPULOUS NATION IN AFRICA IMPORTS NEARLY $1 BILLION IN TOMATO PRODUCTS, DUE TO LOW DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND HIGH POST-HARVEST LOSSES. CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE The Yieldwise Nigeria project aims to turn these weaknesses into

WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

strengths, working with 45,000 small tomato farmers to improve

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

their crop production, harvesting and post-harvesting practices,

IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH

and market linkages, reducing their crop losses by 50%. This

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

will, in turn, increase their incomes by 50%. For the farmers of the striking, semi-arid lands of northern Nigeria, these changes would represent a dramatic improvement in life opportunities,

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 45,000

particularly for the women who — unusually for this kind of work — make up half of the project’s participants.

Yieldwise Nigeria’s main activities include: •

Training farmers on business skills and best agronomic practices, including improved harvesting and post-harvesting techniques

•

Working with local financial institutions to improve farmers’ access to credit, as well as developing a farmer savings system for agricultural supplies and credit repayments

• •

Helping farmers form business groups and connect to buyers

FUNDED BY

and partners along the supply chain

The Rockefeller Foundation and The

Introducing technological innovations like mobile training

Syngenta Foundation

systems and solar-powered tomato drying units to improve crop production and farmer incomes Through these efforts, thousands of farmers will be able to transform their livelihoods, as they help move Nigeria forward on the path to agricultural self-sufficiency.

IMPLEMENTED BY

P R E PA R I N G F O R C L I M AT E S H OC K S 2015 - 2018 | SNNP, Afar and Somali Regions, Ethiopia INCREASING CLIMATE VARIABILITY HAS BROUGHT MANY PASTORALIST AND AGRO-PASTORALIST COMMUNITIES IN ETHIOPIA’S LOWLANDS, WHO ARE HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON NATURAL RESOURCES, TO THE EDGE OF SURVIVAL. SINCE THE 1960S, AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURES IN ETHIOPIA HAVE INCREASED BY 1.3°C. AS TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO RISE DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, THESE PROBLEMS COULD POTENTIALLY WORSEN.

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE

Farm Africa is testing innovative market-based approaches to

WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

improving the resilience of vulnerable households dependent on

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

raising livestock to climate change. These will enable households,

IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH

businesses and communities to better manage their resources

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

and everyday risks. Activities include: •

Expanding pastoralists’ access to micro-insurance to give them

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 944,510

a safety net if the productivity of their animals is affected by drought or disease.

•

Helping communities establish village savings and loans associations so that they are able to access credit to invest in setting up small businesses. This enables families to diversify their incomes and reduce the risk of relying solely on pastoralism.

•

Supporting microfinance institutions and banks to incorporate climate risk into their risk management portfolios and helping them develop innovative credit products.

•

Strengthening rapid-onset emergency early warning frameworks.

• •

Supporting financial institutions to expand mobile banking to

FUNDED BY This project is

remote areas.

funded with UK

Installing weather stations and broadcasting accurate weather

aid from the UK

forecasts via radio to remote communities so that they are

government.

better able to prepare for future weather patterns.

•

Supporting pastoralists to manage grazing land sustainably to increase the availability of water and fodder for their livestock.

•

Helping local governments implement green town planning.

IMPLEMENTED BY

PRODUCING AND MARKETING FOREST PRODUCTS 2016 - 2018 | Benishangul Gumuz, Ethiopia FOREST PRODUCTS SUCH AS HONEY AND INCENSE ARE A POTENTIALLY PROFITABLE SOURCE OF INCOME FOR FARMERS. INCENSE IS ONE OF ETHIOPIA’S BIGGEST EXPORTS, BUT HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN SEEN AS THE PRESERVE OF THE POOR – BUT NOW THAT IT’S BECOME CLEAR HOW PROFITABLE INCENSE IS, THESE ATTITUDES ARE CHANGING. Poverty rates are high in the Benishangul Gumuz region of Ethiopia. The average household earns just $90 a year.

As farming families there make the majority of their money from agriculture, the demand for land means that farmers cut down trees in the region’s dense forest to make space for their crops and livestock. Forests cover 60% of the region, but this percentage is falling fast.

Farm Africa is working to help local communities make a living from the sustainable production and sale of honey and incense, so that not only can farmers earn more, but they’ll also have an incentive to conserve the trees.

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 34,250

We are helping farmers increase the quality and quantity of what they produce by offering training in incense production and modern beekeeping practices. We offer in-depth training to champion farmers who are tasked with passing on what they have learnt to other farmers.

By helping communities set up forest management committees, we enable farmers to aggregate their products so they can market and sell them in bulk. Working together enables farmers to take advantage of economies of scale in areas such as transporting their products to market.

We help the committees link farmers with better markets, and access the finance they need for their businesses to develop.

The forest products trade has traditionally been male-dominated, so we’re particularly focusing on helping women to develop the literacy, numeracy and business skills they need to build their own enterprises and have a greater voice in the community.

IMPLEMENTED BY

PROTECTING FORESTS. P R O T E C T I N G L A N D. PROTECTING FUTURES 2014 - 2019 | Bale Eco-region, Ethiopia ENCOMPASSING MOUNTAINS, LUSH RAINFORESTS AND ARID LOWLANDS, THE BALE ECO-REGION OF ETHIOPIA IS BOTH STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL AND INCREDIBLY DIVERSE – HOME TO UNIQUE SPECIES OF THREATENED ANIMALS AND PLANTS. BUT THE REGION IS UNDER THREAT FROM DEFORESTATION AND DEGRADING GRAZING LANDS. At Farm Africa, we are deeply concerned with environmental protection. We want to make sure that we’re reducing poverty for the communities we work with for the long term – and that means helping farmers to secure bigger profits, while also

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE

protecting unique ecosystems and natural resources for

WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

generations to come.

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH

So in Bale, a region which is not only home to thousands of

SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

farmers, but also provides water for an estimated 12 million people living downstream, we work to make conservation

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 878,000

profitable.

Currently, many farming practices are unsustainable, as farmers cut down trees and overgraze land as they try to make a living and feed their families. We are helping increase farmers’ incomes in an environmentally sustainable way by: •

Helping forest communities produce and market forest-friendly products such as honey, bamboo, wild coffee and natural oils, instead of clearing the forest.

•

Piloting sustainable timber production.

•

Generating income through the sale of carbon credits for

FUNDED BY

avoided deforestation.

•

Offering training in climate-smart agricultural techniques that will enhance production on existing agricultural land, without the need to expand farmland.

•

Introducing sustainable energy initiatives such as fuel-efficient cook stoves that alleviate the demand for firewood and stop people from cutting down trees.

•

Helping lowland pastoralists to restore grazing land and improve the health and productivity of their livestock.

IMPLEMENTED BY

SESAME MARKETING 2016 - 2018 | NORTHERN TANZANIA FEW GROUPS ARE HIT HARDER BY EXTREME WEATHER THAN AFRICAN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS, MAKING THEIR LIVELIHOODS AND FOOD SECURITY PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. IN NORTHERN TANZANIA, DRY

Jonathan Banks

CONDITIONS AND INCONSISTENT RAINS ENDANGER HARVESTS. FARM AFRICA IS HELPING TANZANIAN FARMERS ACQUIRE THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED TO TRANSITION FROM WEATHER-SENSITIVE CROPS TO DROUGHT-TOLERANT, HIGHVALUE SESAME CROPS.

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE

Farm Africa is helping farmers in Babati, Bahi and Manyoni

WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S

districts to increase their incomes by growing and selling high-

MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES

quality sesame. This project will:

IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

•

Help farmers access high-quality sesame seeds to plant.

•

Provide training in the best agricultural techniques to help sesame thrive.

•

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 22,350

Teach farmers the best ways to harvest their sesame and how to sort, clean, dry and package it for sale.

•

Support individual farmers to store their harvests collectively, to be sold in bulk. Selling in bulk ensures higher prices.

•

Set up links with large-scale buyers who will pay a fair price.

•

Provide training in how to add value to sesame by turning it into products that can be sold locally, such as snacks, flour and oil.

•

Help successful farmers share their knowledge with others, using smartphone technology.

Farm Africa is pioneering the use of mobile technology to train farmers in agronomic and business skills. Using smartphones and tablet devices to train farmers has allowed Farm Africa to reach more farmers for less money.

IMPLEMENTED BY

SWEET P O TATO E S FOR PROSPERITY 2017 - 2021 | TESO SUB-REGION, UGANDA IN THE TESO SUB-REGION OF UGANDA, OVER HALF OF THE POPULATION LIVES IN POVERTY, AND MANY BATTLE AGAINST

Farm Africa / Esther Mbabazi

MALNUTRITION. VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY IS NOT UNCOMMON, CAUSING WEAKENED IMMUNE SYSTEMS AND EVEN BLINDNESS. MOST FAMILIES EARN THEIR INCOME THROUGH AGRICULTURE. BUT ERRATIC WEATHER, PESTS, CROP DISEASES AND AN UNPREDICTABLE MARKET MAKE FARMING A PRECARIOUS BUSINESS. The soil and weather in Teso are well suited to growing sweet potatoes, and Uganda is now the leading producer of sweet potatoes in Africa. Despite the fact that sweet potato is grown by over 44% of Ugandan farmers, many farmers fail to eke out of a

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

living from its production.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 4,320 Farm Africa is helping farmers in Teso earn a good income by processing, collectively storing and marketing orange sweet potatoes, a nutritious crop which is vital in the fight against vitamin A deficiency.

Farm Africa is helping sweet potato farmers to: •

stagger planting to extend their harvest seasons and stop farmers from selling in over-saturated markets for low prices.

•

reduce losses through improved processing and storage facilities

•

dry their sweet potatoes and cut them into chips so they can be stored and sold later in the season when prices are higher.

•

secure contracts with commercial buyers willing to pay good

FUNDED BY The Ajahma Charitable Trust

prices for a consistent supply of bulk-processed orange sweet potato chips.

In this way, we’re helping farmers increase their incomes and lift their families out of poverty, all while helping improve diets and reduce the risk of health problems associated with malnutrition.

IMPLEMENTED BY

RARE COFFEE, RARE OPPORTUNITIES 2017 - 2019 | EASTERN ZIMBABWE ZIMBABWE IS HOME TO SOME OF THE BEST COFFEE IN AFRICA. BUT, ITS COFFEE INDUSTRY HAS ALL BUT DISAPPEARED. AFTER DAMAGING DROUGHTS AND POLITICAL REFORMS, PRODUCTION IS NOW 30 TIMES BELOW PEAK LEVELS IN THE 1980S. ACHIEVING A COFFEE REVIVAL IN ZIMBABWE WOULD BRING THESE UNIQUE FLAVOURS BACK TO THE WIDER WORLD — AND CHANGE THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY’S HARD-HIT RURAL AREAS. TechnoServe is working with hundreds of Zimbabwe’s smallholder coffee farmers to take the first steps towards this revival. Based in Zimbabwe’s beautiful eastern highlands, the project works on the following: •

Training farmers on climate-smart agronomic and processing

CHEFS FOR CHANGE UNITES THE WORLD’S BEST CHEFS AND THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FARMING.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE WILL HELP: 400

techniques that will improve the quality, yields and sustainability of their coffee.

•

Helping these farmers improve their access to finance and agronomic supplies by working with commercial lenders and agro-input vendors.

•

Supporting improved social and environmental sustainability at Zimbabwe’s two remaining commercial coffee estates.

By connecting these farmers to better knowledge, finance and markets, the project will help them start to move past recent years of economic struggle and build a brighter future for their country.

IMPLEMENTED BY

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