One Acre Fund is a social enterprise that supplies smallholder farmers in East Africa with asset-based financing and agriculture training services to reduce hunger and poverty. The organization works with farmers in rural villages throughout Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, and Ethiopia. They provide access to better farm products, such as hybrid seeds and fertilizer, and education on farming techniques to help farmers thrive.

One Acre Fund

One Acre Fund supplies smallholder farmers in Africa with the financing and training they need to grow more food and earn more money. Instead of giving handouts, we invest in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We supply a complete service bundle of seeds and fertilizer, financing, training, and market facilitation— and we deliver these services within walking distance of more than 1 million rural farmers we serve. 

We measure success in our ability to make farmers more prosperous and we always put Farmers First. www.oneacrefund.org

Calvert Impact Capital

Ceniarth

COP28 is a make-or-break moment. With record-breaking temperatures and devastating climate events, the urgency is clear. 

We need to create a world where all smallholder farmers have the tools, training and support to thrive despite a rapidly changing climate.

We have developed a Global Croptake that highlights the dangers that smallholder farmers are facing. We must take global action now. A thriving network of climate smart and resilient farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa is a win-win for people and the planet.

Let's support smallholders #FarmToThrive 📣 

Learn more about our Global Croptake at the link below 👇🏿
https://loom.ly/-91mrSg

Thank you to all of you who believed in putting farmers first in 2023. 🎉

Your support for smallholder farmers has made a real difference, and we simply couldn’t do what we do without the support of amazing people like you. 🌟

We can't wait to create even more impact for farmers with you in 2024!

#OneAcreFund #FarmersFirst #SmallholderFarms #SmallholderFarmers

What is income diversification? 🤔

🥚 Just like the saying "Don't put all your eggs in one basket," having multiple sources of income is important for farmers to protect themselves from factors that are beyond their control.

🌳 These could include growing multiple crops per season, raising livestock, or planting trees. By diversifying their sources of income, farmers can ensure that they are able to support their livelihoods and sustain their businesses.

Smallholder farmer Nshimirimana Caritas and her husband used to mainly grow maize and beans on their farm in Itaba, Burundi. Now, since joining our program, they have a more diverse income stream  - from livestock to additional new crops. They plan to continue diversifying in the future.

#OneAcreFund #FarmersFirst #SmallholderFarms #SmallholderFarmers

For the past two weeks, a delegation of One Acre Fund staff have been at #COP28 advocating for smallholder farmers to be put at the heart of global climate decisions, and showcasing our latest commitments to building the resilience of smallholders:

🌟 We published a Global Croptake report looking at the threats to global food production and security since the Paris Agreement and into our future, and calling on the COP28 community to recognize the power and agency that smallholder farmers possess in tackling these threats. 

🌟 Our Head of Government Relations Michelle Kagari joined the African Development Bank Group for their announcement of the new Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility for Adaptation, which aims to mobilize $1 billion of concessionary financing, high-risk capital and grants to support the African insurance industry to guard farmers against catastrophic weather-related incidents and stimulate private sector investment in agriculture by mitigating risks.

“Insurance is absolutely critical in building resilience, meaningful resilience, for Africa’s farmers. Farmers are not able to bounce back from some shocks if they don’t have a safety net, and insurance helps build that safety net,” commented Michelle.

🌟 We announced One Acre Fund Re - a new reinsurance fund. Through the fund, we’re committing to creating a more sustainable way to absorb climate adaptation finance and increase premium subsidies to farmers, participate in the development and pricing of climate insurance products, and ensure profits are channeled back to farmers while also creating a sustainably financed program. 

🌟 Our Chief Agriculture Officer Milindi Sibomana, PhD spoke about the importance of our agroforestry work as part of building the resilience of smallholders at an ‘Innovations in Agroforestry’ event with speakers from Bezos Earth Fund, AIM for Climate and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 

“With agroforestry, we’re looking at soil erosion improvements, soil matter improvements, nitrogen fixing and the improvements to crop health that come from these things. These are the value propositions for the farmers - without these, agroforestry remains a push, not a pull proposition,” Milindi said.

🌟 Our Chief People and Partnerships Officer Doreen Ndishabandi joined a panel with US senators discussing how climate change and food insecurity impact global stability.

“The good news is that we already have many of the tools that smallholders need to grow their own way to food security. By delivering a set of simple yet consistent productivity solutions, such as financing, agronomic training, or access to markets; we can close the gaps that smallholders face," Doreen said.

For Claudine Ayinkamiye, producing food provides an income as well as meals for her family. But it wasn't always easy. 

That was until a meeting with One Acre Fund and other farmers changed her life, helping her jump from subsistence farming to a thriving business.

She learned new techniques to diversify her harvests and build climate resilience, resulting in her producing 900 kilos of potatoes and maize in just her first season with One Acre Fund! 

Her business has continued to grow, and now she supports other farmers in the area as a tree nursery manager for One Acre Fund in the Nyaruguru district, Rwanda.

#COP28 #FarmToThrive #ClimateResilience

Read more about Claudine 👇🏿
https://loom.ly/zIQAyp0

Last week at #COP28 we announced our new reinsurance fund, One Acre Fund Re, but what drove us to create this fund?💸 

One Acre Fund Re came out of the recognition that insurance is an underutilized tool that can help #SmallholderFarmers across Africa build their climate resilience.

In this piece, published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, we discuss how historical market failures have limited the impact of insurance for this climate-vulnerable population; and how, if executed differently, climate insurance can – and should – play a significant role in creating a safety net for millions of smallholders. 

Read the piece in full 👇🏾

https://lnkd.in/gnyeryns

#FarmToThrive #FarmersFirst #LossAndDamage #ClimateFinance

🌳 “Life is changing thanks to these trees.”

Trina Mwiinga grows trees on her farm in Zambia with the support of One Acre Fund. In addition to the benefits trees provide - boosting her crop harvest through soil improvement, helping to protect them from strong wind and sun, and providing shade for her animals from extreme heat - she is paid to look after them by One Acre Fund.

“The benefit of growing trees with One Acre Fund is that they help us fight climate change and purify our air,” says Trina.

By harnessing the transformative power of trees, smallholder farmers like Trina can be part of the solution to climate change.

🔗 Visit the link in the comments to learn more about Trina and the transformative power of trees.

#COP28 #FarmToThrive #FarmersFirst

Today is Food and Agriculture Day at #COP28 and we're supporting the urgent call to include food systems in the Global Stocktake decision text. 

"The latest Global Stocktake decision text makes no reference to food systems or the critical need to support smallholders who are experiencing devastating climate impacts.

As our 'Global Croptake' shows, smallholders make up 70% of people living in poverty and their entire livelihood is often dependent on an acre or two of land. Meanwhile over 2 billion people rely on smallholder farms for food and income. Despite this, less than 1% of global finance aids these farmers in adapting to climate breakdown.

World leaders must act now to include food systems and smallholders in the next iteration of the Global Stocktake text," Annie Wakanyi, One Acre Fund's Director of Global Government Partnerships.

Learn more in our 'Global Croptake' here 👇
https://loom.ly/-91mrSg

#FarmToThrive #FarmersFirst #GlobalStocktake #ClimateResilience

In a packed room at our event at #COP28 on Wednesday, we discussed how:

1. While negotiators have agreed to establish the global Loss and Damage Fund, they must design a wide range of safety nets – including climate insurance – that are targeted to the lived reality of priority populations like smallholder farmers.

2. There is a clear need to create a set of parameters to determine which solutions will be financed through the Fund.

3. Restructuring and incentivizing the insurance market is necessary to align it with smallholder farmers’ interests.

4. Rethinking subsidy provisions in African countries is essential to closing the equity gap for the world’s most climate vulnerable farmers.

5. Through our new reinsurance fund, One Acre Fund Re, we’re committing to creating a more sustainable way to absorb climate adaptation finance and increase premium subsidies to farmers, participate in the development and pricing of climate insurance products, and ensure profits are channelled back to farmers while also creating a sustainably financed program.

Incredible insights were shared by all panelists, here are some highlights from the conversation:

🌟”There's nothing small about smallholder farmers - their impact, their numbers, their challenges. There are over 270 million smallholders in emerging markets - that’s a big number insurance companies can’t ignore,” Syed Farhan Fasihuddin.

🌟”The Loss and Damage Fund should support the enabling environment around insurance. We need the right data and structures in place—including digital infrastructure. Providers need a clear tracking and tracing mechanism which will lead to more money flowing into this”, Andrew Mude.

🌟“It’s not just farmers being protected, it’s also about protecting their economies and the global food system. We are one. It’s the ultimate community product,” Rowan Douglas CBE.

🌟”It’s about working out what delivers the most value for farmers and working back from there,” Johannes Borchert.

Thanks to our partners IFC - International Finance Corporation, African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, African Development Bank Group,U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Howden Group Holdings and special guest from Forbes, Felicia Jackson. Plus to everyone who supported the event including Food Systems Partnership, Greenhouse Communications.

Introducing One Acre Fund Re - a new reinsurance fund for #SmallholderFarmers in the face of devastating impacts on crop yields caused by climate breakdown.🌽

Affordable agri-insurance is only available in 4 out of 54 countries across Africa, which means African smallholders are making do with far less financial protection than their counterparts in the Global North. In fact, only 3% of African farmers have insurance coverage, despite them being one of the most vulnerable groups to the impacts of the climate crisis. 🌪️
 
A partnership between One Acre Fund, IFC - International Finance Corporation, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, One Acre Fund Re will help provide a safety net for 1 million #SmallholderFarmers across Africa in 2024 - and that's just the start. By 2030 we plan to support 4 million farmers with insurance.
 
To learn about how One Acre Fund Re will make a difference to the lives of smallholders in Africa, watch our video below and read more here: https://loom.ly/5KqgqCs

ORG:ONEACREFUND

One Acre Fund