Three Leading Organizations In Africa And The Mastercard Foundation Partner To Improve Livelihoods For 1.1 Million African Smallholder Farmers

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

DAKAR, Senegal – Three of the leading organizations in Africa working with smallholder farmers today joined The MasterCard Foundation to reaffirm their commitment to provide farmers with more of the financial resources and agribusiness connections they need to succeed.

At a one-day workshop and learning event in Dakar, the partners outlined how the work they are conducting has already led to improvements for farmers in Africa. As well, ICCO Cooperation used the occasion to launch its STARS (Strengthening African Rural Smallholders) program in Senegal, after recent launches in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Burkina Faso.

Collectively, these three organizations are expanding their support to improve the lives of a minimum of 1.1 million farmers in 11 countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

“Smallholder farmers in Africa, need special attention to increase productivity and break out of their subsistence operation,” said Ann Miles, Director of Financial Inclusion at The MasterCard Foundation.

“We’re proud to work with such strong partners as AgDevCo, ICCO Cooperation, and Root Capital to enable smallholders to produce more, sell better, and work with local organizations in markets that are fair, transparent, and sustainable.”

Source: Modern Ghana (link opens in a new window)

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financial inclusion, rural development