Livelihoods, value chains and food security

Rose Rabwile, agroforestry farmer Kenya. Photo: Eyeris Communication.
Rose Rabwile, agroforestry farmer Kenya. Photo: Eyeris Communication.

Sustainable and resilient livelihoods

Improving and diversifying livelihood opportunities is an effective way to fight poverty. Vi Agroforestry strengthens farmer organisations’ capacity to help members improve their livelihoods through sustainable agriculture (including agroforestry) and green enterprises. Improvements to livelihoods can include learning how to enhance the quality of a crop, refine and add value to a product, extend shelf life of a food item, or how to access competitive markets and negotiate better prices when selling. Other options can be starting a side-business or taking a part-time job besides farming.

Enhancing value chains

Making a living from farming entails being part of food systems and value chains.  With greater harvests, better storing options, up-to-date information about market prices, ways to refine and add value to your produce, and other means, the farmers and farmer organisations we work with benefit greatly.

Increased food and nutrition security

Many farmer families are unable to eat a healthy diet, even though they grow food. The broader variety of crops the farm can produce, the better the chances that the family will eat a healthy diet. Vi Agroforestry’s projects strengthens farmers’ food and nutrition security.

Economic security and financial services

Vi Agroforestry facilitates for farmer families to access to financial services through initiatives like Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), enabling farmers to save, invest in their activities, and mitigate vulnerabilities related to unexpected expenses.

Examples of what we do 

Coffee value chains

Our coffee programme in Tanzania shows that disease-resistant seedlings and agroforestry can significantly increase harvests. Read more.

Entrepreneurship among youth

Young women and men in Uganda make money from sustainable beekeeping and solar energy businesses. Read more.

Better fodder

With protein rich fodder, cows give significantly more milk. Training of trainers help spread this knowledge to dairy farmers. Read more.

Economic security

The ability of smallholder farmers to increase their income by running agricultural enterprises is often hampered by challenges. Read more.

Strong farmers’ organisations

Vi Agroforestry  strengthen the capacity of member-based farmer organisations. Read more.