Extension work has remained an important part of our model since we began 20 years ago. But where does this knowledge come from, and how does it make its way to the farmers who need it most?
With the right support, women farmers are improving their livelihoods. For Rehema Mgova, integrating trees into her farm has improved soil health, unlocked new income streams, and built resilience against climate shocks.
Our direct-to-farmer services are intentionally designed to address the unique challenges farmers face. With strategies that encourage participation from both men and women, we are pleased to see that women make up more than 50% of our clients. In this piece, we highlight the approaches that make this possible and the strategies we are adopting to become more gender-sensitive
Younger farmers like Asterie are inheriting the mantle of farming from their parents at a time of new challenges. It is crucial for them to acquire smart farming skills to ensure that they are still able to harvest well and support their families.
On most days, you will find Esther Wangari tending to her farm, located deep in the heart of Kirinyaga County, in Kenya’s central highlands. Bordering her maize and beans fields, Esther’s latest passion – tree planting – thrives. For this Kenyan smallholder farmer, her new venture is more than just about planting trees; it is also about her livelihood and securing her family’s future.
In Kenya and Burundi, farmers like Wycliffe Nzaga, Eunice Nguu, and Sylvie Nahimana have witnessed first-hand the detrimental effects of drastic changes on farming.
Discover how agroforestry - the practice of planting trees among crops - offers smallholder farmers like Baraka, Dunstan and Claudine a variety of benefits.
We do tree planting differently. Our initiative to plant 1 billion trees is led by smallholder farmers and every seedling planted is an opportunity for them and their families to prosper.
For Friday Ndashe, who manages a tree nursery close to Kabwe in Zambia, running a tree nursery is a “joyful endeavor” with many benefits - for him and his local community.
Crop diversification isn't just a farming strategy; it's a catalyst for change. It propels farmers towards economic self-sufficiency and fosters thriving communities.
In just the first season farming with One Acre Fund, Claudine Ayinkamiye, a 30-year-old farmer from Rwanda, managed to produce 900 kilos of potatoes and maize. Thanks to this surplus, she was able to invest in different crops and trees, making her better equipped to withstand erratic weather.
Meet Angelus Mwapinga, a 50-year-old farmer from Tanzania. Determined to send his seven children to school, he leveraged credit from One Acre Fund to buy high quality farming inputs leading to a 20% increase in his harvest. His success means that he has been able to expand his farm, now growing potatoes and fruit tree seedlings. Diversification like this helps protect him against farming shocks.
Smallholder farmers are witnessing the devastating impacts of the climate crisis on their crops, harvests, diets, and families. This is not a hypothetical future risk; it is a reality they are facing today.
Trina Mwiinga grows trees on her farm in Zambia with One Acre Fund. In addition to the benefits trees provide - boosting her crop harves and providing shade for her animals from extreme heat - she is paid to look after them by One Acre Fund.
Fifty-two-year-old One Acre Fund field officer Alphonsine Nyiransabimana dreams of a thriving agricultural industry in Rwanda, where farmers can earn a decent living. She is working to fulfill this mission by helping farmers in her local community access credit and quality seeds so that they can increase their harvests and adapt to extreme weather.
In 2022, One Acre Fund Rwanda launched a program to distribute high-yielding, disease-resistant potato seed to the country’s smallholders to improve harvests and incomes.
Our work with Burundi's vegetable farmers highlights how vegetable farming is emerging as a promising sustainable agricultural practice.
Discover how smallholder farmers in Tanzania are adopting early-maturing and drought-resistant sunflower seeds and are reshaping agricultural practices.
One Acre Fund has recently adjusted our support for Ugandan smallholder farmers to better suit their needs.
A look at how we equip farmers for greater climate resilience.
Maintaining and improving soil health is essential to ensuring farmers can stay resilient in the face of increasing pressures on land. Healthy soils produce better harvests, meaning farmers can harvest more even on small areas of land, and healthy soils mean healthier crops that are more resilient to extreme weather events.
Enabling farmers to adopt climate-smart approaches to farming helps build more sustainable food systems that protect the environment, improve smallholder livelihoods, and create new business opportunities. This is critically important as the world grapples with the combined challenges of climate change and economic crisis.
Only by equipping smallholder farmers with the tools they need to withstand the impacts of climate change can we achieve sustainable and equitable food systems.
Our Executive Director talks about the drivers of the unfolding food security crisis, and shares his vision on how we can ensure access to healthy diets for all sustainably and inclusively.
