Stories
Learn more about the people we serve, the challenges they face and see our work in action.
Stories
One Acre Fund Re: Safeguarding smallholder farmers in the face of climate impacts
We are excited to announce the launch of One Acre Fund Re, a reinsurance facility that will safeguard smallholder farmers in the face of extreme weather events’ devastating impacts on crop yields.
How soil testing is helping smallholders in Tanzania improve soil health
Smallholder farmers are intimately connected with their soil, relying on it for strong harvests to feed their families and communities, and to earn an income. For this year’s World Soil Day, we’re highlighting how smallholder farmers in Tanzania are investing in their futures by taking part in our new soil testing and training offering.
Claudine Ayinkamiye: Farmer and tree entrepreneur
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.
Why investing in variety is crucial for farming success
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.
One Acre Fund's Global Croptake: The data in depth
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.
The transformative power of trees in Zambia
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.
A field officer’s mission: Planting the seeds of resilience within her community
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.
One Acre Fund Nigeria: From Pilot to Full Country Program
Starting as a pilot serving 150 farmers in 2018 in Niger State, our program in Nigeria has been hugely successful – in 2022, we served over 24,000 farmers. We are rapidly scaling and expanding our work, which has the potential to transform the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Nigeria’s smallholder farmers over the next decade.
Why we’re introducing disease-resistant potato seeds in Rwanda
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.
Organisational update: Transitions in One Acre Fund’s CEO role and addition of a new leadership role
We share an update on changes at One Acre Fund’s senior-most leadership level.
How innovation is shaping Malawi's agricultural landscape
Smallholder farmers in Malawi play a vital role in the country's economy, but they face production challenges – due to limited resources and access and changing weather patterns. Learn more about what we're doing to support them.
Small Crops with Big Impact: Tapping into vegetable farming for farmer prosperity and nutrition
Our work with Burundi's vegetable farmers highlights how vegetable farming is emerging as a promising sustainable agricultural practice.
Seeds of Change: How early-maturing sunflower seeds are changing farmers’ fortunes
Discover how smallholder farmers in Tanzania are adopting early-maturing and drought-resistant sunflower seeds and are reshaping agricultural practices.
Improving farmers’ livelihoods through income diversification in Uganda
One Acre Fund has recently adjusted our support for Ugandan smallholder farmers to better suit their needs.
Environmental sustainability: committing to farm-level resilience
A look at how we equip farmers for greater climate resilience.
Financial sustainability: impact growth via "revenue engines"
A look at how we have been using existing channels to scale revenue opportunities for farmers.
Transparently sharing the reasons for staff reduction in Kenya
One Acre Fund CEO shares an important operational update about the Tupande program.
How climate change is impacting smallholders in Malawi
This Earth Day - a day dedicated to raising awareness of the challenges our Earth faces and galvanizing action to protect it - we’re highlighting how smallholder farming communities are being affected by climate change.
Why healthy soils are critical to building smallholders’ 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.
Investing in a new generation of farming entrepreneurs
Our Executive Director, Andrew Youn, shares his vision on why investing in young farmers is key to addressing the challenges we face in agriculture today – from sustainably feeding the world’s growing population to finding lasting solutions to resilient, profitable agriculture.
Cyclone Freddy Causes Devastation For Malawian Farm Families
Earlier this week, southern Malawi was devastated by Cyclone Freddy, the longest and most energetic tropical storm ever recorded.
How Agriculture Financing Solutions Help Families Achieve Food Security
Smallholder farmers face many challenges, but one of the toughest is accessing the finance they need to buy essential farming products like seed and fertilizer.
Why Climate-Smart Agriculture Is So Important For Smallholder Farmers
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.
The Case For Farming Insurance To Help Smallholders Build Climate Resilience
Farming insurance is an emerging tool in climate risk management that can help ensure smallholders are able to plant again the following season even if crops fail in the current one, and encourage them to take risks to invest more in their farms even when the climate is so unpredictable.
