Strategies for International Development helps poor farmers graduate from poverty by building successful farm businesses that increase their income. This includes conserving the natural resources upon which their businesses depend and helping women play an equal role in building these businesses. More than 75% of the world's poor are small farmers trying to make the transition from subsistence to successful commercial farming, but only a small percentage have access to technical assistance. In every region of every developing country, there are hundreds of communities and thousands of farm families. Fortunately, in many of these regions farmers produce a common cash crop. SID uses a regional approach that gives all the farmers producing the common crop a chance to graduate from poverty.
Description
Guatemala. SID works in Alta Verapaz. Alta Verapaz has 26% of Guatemala’s coffee producers, but only 4.41% of national production. Farmers are poor because they have low productivity and they don't husk their coffee. Their earn $106 a year from their coffee when they could earn at least $700. SID provides technical assistance to 3,357 families.
Uganda. SID works in 5 sub-counties of Luweero District, where farmers produce 452 Kilos of coffee per acre when the minimum for good coffee farming is 2,250 Kilos. 18% sell fresh cherries for the lowest price; 69% sell dry cherries for a better price; but only 13% husk their dry cherries and sell the beans directly to exporters. Average income is $397 per year when it could be $1,200. SID provides technical assistance to 1,677 families.
Malawi. SID works in the Central Region of Malawi where dairy farmers have the best opportunity to graduate from poverty. They have more land for producing fodder than dairy farmers in other regions. They are also close the major market of the city of Lilongwe, the nation’s capital.
The dairy farmers are poor because their cows produce 9 or 10 liters per cow per day when they could produce 20, and only produce milk for 210 days a year when they could increase their production to 240 days. Farmers earn $200 per year when they could earn $700. SID provides technical assistance to 1,780 families.
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