2025: Targeted Support Yields Bigger Harvests
In Malawi’s Dedza district, 26-year-old Ezeleti Baisoni is working to support her growing family and build a more stable livelihood through farming. As a mother of three, including an 11-month-old baby, balancing childcare and farm work had been challenging.
“At times, I couldn’t keep up with the weeding and my crops suffered,” she says.
Through our Planting Partners program, which provides additional farm work support for new mothers, she was able to access help during peak periods on the farm. “The support has been a game-changer for me,” Ezeleti says.
Her experiences reflect a core part of our work: when farmers have access to the right support at the right time, they can increase productivity and build more stable livelihoods. They also show why we continue to adapt our programs based on what farmers tell us. Programs like Planting Partners are a direct response to farmer feedback, especially from women who make up a large share of smallholder farmers.
Ezeleti also represents a core demographic, young people, who represent the future of agriculture. Nearly 70% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under the age of 30. The reality is that the future of farming depends on how well we respond to the needs of young farmers today. That understanding shaped a major focus of our work in 2025.
Reaching more farmers and serving them differently
In 2025, One Acre Fund served 5.9 million farming households across 10 countries, delivering approximately $600 million in impact.
Read our 2025 Annual Report
In our 2025 Annual Report, we share a comprehensive look at our record impact and Social Return on Investment, driven in part by new investments in farmer-facing technology and a deeper focus on serving youth and women. Download here
It was also our first full year with a dedicated focus on youth. We reached more than 2 million households with youth and conducted hundreds of interviews with rural young people to better understand their experiences, priorities, and constraints.
What we heard shaped new pilots and program adjustments, especially for young women, through initiatives such as Planting Partners and seedling programs in Nigeria and Rwanda, among many others. These changes are helping make farming more accessible and practical for young people working to build stable incomes.
Building resilience and stronger markets
In 2025, we also supported farmers in planting more than 125 million trees, including fruit and nut trees that provide both environmental and income benefits over time. We also expanded insurance coverage, protecting 1.5 million farmers against extreme weather events. Through One Acre Fund Re, our not-for-profit reinsurance facility, we worked to reduce costs and strengthen coverage in countries such as Kenya and Malawi.
Alongside these efforts, 78,000 farmers in Rwanda were linked to specialty coffee buyers, while in Kenya, macadamia farmers sold harvests through guaranteed above-market pricing. We also expanded similar market-focused programs for cashews in Tanzania and chia in Uganda.
Why this work matters
Behind these programs and the numbers are farmers like Ezeleti and 29-year-old Deliah Lodzani, also from Malawi. For Deliah, farming is a real economic opportunity.
“I joined One Acre Fund’s credit program because we received inputs on time, and when the rains came, I was ready for planting. In my first year, my harvest increased from 300kg to 750kg. I love everything about farming, in fact, it can be even more lucrative than formal employment.”
For us, Deliah’s experience illustrates a broader reality: the future of agriculture will depend on whether young people see farming as a viable and rewarding path.
In 2025, we continued investing in that future by listening, expanding support, and testing new approaches. The work ahead is about building systems that help farmers not only produce more, but earn more and become more resilient over time.
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