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World Food Day: Availability, Access and Use : Stronger agricultural inputs, tools and financing are key
In much of the world populations are expanding dramatically with demand for food increasing in-step. Food security is composed of three facets; availability, access and use, and in many of the countries where we invest we see challenges across all three. At Acumen Fund we believe that a critical way to improve food security is by improving smallholder farmers’ access to stronger agricultural inputs, tools and financing. In a sector where innovation abounds, millions of smallholder farmers are still struggling to produce decent crop yields, resulting in poor nutrition, bad health and stagnant growth. For the last decade Acumen has been addressing this issue through a series of innovative investments in agriculture in Africa and South Asia.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
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Partners in Food Solutions, USAID and TechnoServe Expand Partnership to Improve Food Security in Africa
$15 million Public-Private Partnership Agreement will enable consortium of global food companies to help transform food processing through its 500+ corporate volunteer network
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- nutrition
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How Entrepreneurs Can Fight Drug Traffickers
There’s nothing like attending the heady, exhilarating Clinton Global Initiative to get me out of the operational trenches of entrepreneurship for social change. But this year, I was distracted by a conversation taking place just down the street at the UN General Assembly—on drug trafficking.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Impact Assessment
- Region
- Latin America
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Sweetening the Deal: Empowering Peruvian Chocolatiers
From Oct. 2011 to July 2012, I worked in Tarapoto, a small Peruvian jungle town in the San Martin province. San Martin was known in the 1980s and ’90s as a hotbed of illicit coca production feeding the drug trade, but years of development efforts have since helped to make legitimate agriculture the engine keying the region’s rapid economic growth.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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The $450 Billion Opportunity: Catalyzing Smallholder Agricultural Finance
As population growth and rising incomes create unprecedented demand for food, multinational companies increasingly rely on smallholders to secure their supply of agricultural commodities. As a result, smallholders present a compelling opportunity for buyers, lenders, and other actors in the agricultural value chain. However, smallholder production is often characterized by low yields, low quality, poor linkages, and little access to finance. A Dalberg report released Wednesday called “Catalyzing Smallholder Agricultural Finance” suggests that with increased financing, farmers can improve their yields and products and in some cases double their income.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Using Innovative, Low-cost Solutions to Provide Safe Drinking Water in India
P.Venkatesh, a resident of Boduppal village in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, is a carpenter of modest means. The ever-increasing price of essentials has forced him to cut corners to save each paisa as he struggles to look after his family of four. But despite all odds and after much deliberation, three months ago he decided to make provision for yet another non-negotiable in his monthly budget -- drinking water.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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New Dalberg Report Guides Investors on Addressing Finance Demand for Smallholder Farmers
WASHINGTON DC – Dalberg Global Development Advisors has released a new report today identifying innovative and sustainable ways that investors can help fulfill the largely unmet need for smallholder agricultural financing.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Peace Pays: Rebuilding Livelihoods in Northern Uganda
On Friday, the world will celebrate Peace Day, giving this work a special significance. Conflict and poverty are inextricably linked. On the other hand, economic growth reduces the risk of conflict. TechnoServe has seen this throughout our history, in countries such as Nicaragua and Mozambique. Giving people the opportunity to earn a living is one of the best ways to guarantee a lasting peace.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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