Publication database

FutureWater’s ThirdEye was a SWFF-supported infrared flying sensors project that created a group of flying sensors operators equipped with tools to analyze near infrared imagery in order to help farmers to make better decisions concerning the use of their limited resources, such as water, seeds and fertilizers. This report analyses the results obtained by the monitoring and evaluation field intern who conducted an evaluation survey in July and August 2018 in Mozambique, after the project had been active there for 3 years.

World Hope International provides low-cost greenhouses to farmers in Sierra Leone and Mozambique. This report encompasses the monitoring and evaluation of the greenhouses installed in Mozambique’s Gaza and Maputo provinces. With the greenhouses, farmers can grow crops faster and all year round, using less water and fewer seeds. Crops and seedlings grown in the greenhouses are of better quality and have greater chances for survival, because the greenhouses protect the plants from weather variations and pests. Farmers had an overall positive attitude towards the greenhouses and 87 percent of those interviewed plan to continue using them.

The aim of this research is to learn more about living wages in a corporate context. Most living wage research that has been conducted so far are in-depth analyses focusing on one particular case. For Eosta, an international importing business with a large product range of organic fruits and vegetables, this detailed research approach is not a feasible option. Accordingly, we decided to conduct a research pilot, focusing on one particular case; Kenyan avocados, and use the learnings and best practices to define a more broadly applicable approach. This study focuses on the case study of organic avocados from Kenya. We partnered with one of our Kenyan exporters to map the supply chain and research current wages

The Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association (EHPEA), IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative and Business for Social Responsibility have invested in gender interventions on Ethiopian floriculture farms within the Empowering the Source program.

Together with our partner Fair & Sustainable Consulting, we conducted research to test that gender interventions in Ethiopian flower farms have lead to satisfied workers leading to improved performance of the business. This is the full report.

To support the cocoa sector and help smallholder cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire access needed credit, IDH, Barry Callebaut and IFC entered into a risk sharing partnership of USD 9 million to cover up to 103,000 smallholder cocoa farmers in Cote d’Ivoire by 2020.

The objective of this study is to document the current situation in risk capital for agrifood businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa as evidence for related policy recommendations to governments, investment funds, technical service suppliers, philanthropists and other stakeholders. The paper summarises funds providing risk capital to agrifood SMEs in Africa, analyses the demand for risk capital and the extent to which demand and supply are matched. Finally, it identifies alternative means of financing for agrifood SMEs and concludes with policy recommendations.

Rural women often face gendered barriers that limit their ability to be productive, control assets and incomes, and benefit equitably from their hard work. In 2016, Root Capital began disbursing Gender Equity Grants to client agricultural businesses to implement strategies aimed at improving women’s overall quality of life and their representation in the business. In this summary, we present an assessment of these activities and the reported results.

Inclusive businesses (IBs), embodying partnerships between commercial agribusinesses and smallholder farmers/low-income communities, are considered to contribute towards rural development and agricultural sector transformation. Structured as complex organizational setups consisting of, and overcoming the limitations of, standard inclusive instruments, they allow for the inclusion of smallholders and low-income communities into commercial agricultural value chains. This publication explores if the commercial sector, through IB partnerships, contributes towards the government's transformation and developmental objectives

Case study on the Youth Initiative for Community Empowerment (YICE), an eco-inclusive enterprise that provides a agricultural services to smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods. YICE has trained a group of farm agents to act as YICE representatives and community leaders. Innovative mobile technology provides smallholder farmers with access to key information on trainings, quality farm inputs,  and fair market prices for produce.  YICE aims to use this information and the provision of microloans to empower the local community to make better, more informed decisions at various levels of the farming value chain.

Case study on Unique Quality Product Enterprise (UQE). UQE's business model is based on a market-leading approach to promote the production and processing of the cereal grain fonio. Fonio was once a major food crop across West Africa and is known for is nutritional value, taste and adaptability to local climate and soil conditions. However, the introduction of rice and other cereal crops largely replaced fonio. UQE believes in fonio’s commercial potential and identified community members who were still growing the crop for local consumption. The enterprise engaged with local landholders and wider communities to gain access to infertile, unused land for women farmers. UQE promotes the expansion and harvesting of fonio crops using traditional methods.