Archive for category: Agriculture

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Fighting Poverty and Supporting Rural Livelihoods in Angola

Rural Livelihoods in Angola
The southwestern African nation of Angola is home to a population of more than 39 million and a wealth of natural resources in the form of oil and minerals. Despite this potential, Angola battles poverty and inequality. World Bank data from 2018 indicate that 39.3% of Angolans live on the equivalent of less than $3 per day, and the country’s inequality index of 51.3 from the same year is among the highest in the world. Rural communities often struggle the most, but significant efforts have emerged to support families financially and foster sustainable rural livelihoods in Angola. The government and other organizations have responded with financial support programs, loans and grants and agricultural skills training, all of which encourage agri-entrepreneurship and combat poverty in both the short and long term.

Communities Left Behind

Angola is highly urbanized compared to its neighbors, with approximately 32% of its population living outside urban areas. World Bank estimates from the 2018-19 household survey show poverty at 17.8% in urban areas and 54.7% in rural areas, demonstrating significant regional inequality. While oil contributes to almost 30% of GDP and 95% of exports, this industry is less accessible to communities whose livelihoods have historically had ties to agriculture. According to the IPC in 2022, 1.32 million people across 17 municipalities in the south are vulnerable to high acute food insecurity. As this issue persists, effective and sustainable agri-farming remains vital.

Financial Support Through Kwenda

To support households vulnerable to poverty and enhance rural livelihoods in Angola, the Institute for Local Development, in partnership with the Angolan government and World Bank, rolled out a targeted, quarterly cash transfer program known as Kwenda. By May 2025, more than 1.3 million households had benefited from Kwenda’s direct cash transfers, while approximately 53,000 households had received support through its Productive Inclusion component. This assistance helped many financially support their families, while others were able to invest in food and agricultural production, a step toward more sustainable economic futures. Increased production among Kwenda-supported households helped the Catanha Bandi cooperative purchase a mill, creating a local job and making grain processing easier for members and nearby residents. Kwenda also funded an improved seed bank for the Cusseteca cooperative, from which 1,000 loaves of bread are produced every day to feed the community.

The program also includes a Productive Inclusion element, focusing on supporting income generation and rural livelihoods in Angola. Launched in 2021, this initiative saw the creation of integrated social action centers aimed at supporting families to improve income, as well as community-based credit banks and seed multiplication initiatives. For example, FAS invested 400 kg of beans in Chiombo, where approximately 50 community members harvested close to 1.5 tons of food, reimbursing this support to thrive independently. By 2024, 25,324 people participated in IP activities, with more than 126,000 indirect beneficiaries.

Angola Commercial Agriculture Development Project (PDAC)

The Angola Commercial Agriculture Development Project (PDAC) provides further support for rural livelihoods in Angola. The project promotes agri-business development through the sharing of skills and a grant program, as well as financing infrastructure for production and further development. Rebeca Rocha, an agri-entrepreneur, received training through PDAC on skills such as crop rotation to improve her agricultural activities. She revitalized her small farming business with a $4,000 grant, using this to improve infrastructure and expand, which created six jobs and increased output. Rocha now also supplies food to a pediatric hospital. The program fosters innovation in the agricultural industry, and the World Bank reports that it has directly invested around $2.12 million into 308 business plans, 75 of which women submitted.

Local Projects and ADRA Angola

ADRA is another organization sharing skills within communities that directly support rural livelihoods in Angola. It promotes fair and sustainable development at a community level and operates across 46 municipalities to improve local agri-production and food security. The organization has helped organize workshops on valuable industry skills such as finance and tax management, setting farmers and small business owners up for success, as well as crop multiplication training, which was shared with 50 residents in the Oshauyu community. While promoting the School in the Farmer’s Field initiative, its workshop on sweet potato multiplication and seed bank development benefited 35 community members, of whom 29 were women. As of September 2026, ADRA has reached 34,902 families with its initiatives focused on sustainable development and citizenship.

Looking Forward

These projects targeting rural communities and supporting agricultural development represent a hopeful future for Angola’s poor on two accounts. While increased agricultural efficiency will improve production and increase food security, training and investment also greatly benefit rural livelihoods in Angola, encouraging entrepreneurship and better long-term financial stability for community members.

– Hannah Rix

Hannah is based in London, United Kingdom and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Women’s Land Rights in Côte d’Ivoire Strengthen Economic Security

Women’s Land Rights in Côte d’Ivoire
Land ownership can provide an important source of income and economic security for women in rural Côte d’Ivoire, where agriculture supports many livelihoods. However, women have historically faced barriers to owning land independently, despite having equal legal rights to own and inherit property. Recent land registration programs are beginning to address this gap. Between 2018 and 2024, the Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project (PAMOFOR) helped deliver more than 51,000 land certificates, with 21% of those certificates going to female landowners. Strengthening women’s land rights in Côte d’Ivoire can therefore provide greater economic security while addressing inequalities that contribute to rural poverty.

Women Still Face a Large Land Ownership Gap

Despite having legal rights to own land, women in Côte d’Ivoire remain less likely than men to own agricultural land. OECD data from its 2022 Côte d’Ivoire SIGI study show that around 5% of women own agricultural land compared with 25% of men. This gap is particularly important because agriculture provides livelihoods for many women in rural communities, yet women continue to face difficulties accessing land and other economic resources. This can restrict women’s control over an important source of income. Improving women’s land rights in Côte d’Ivoire can help narrow this gap and give women greater control over land and the economic opportunities that come with it.

Customary Practices Can Limit Women’s Land Rights

Although Ivorian law gives women rights to own and inherit land, customary practices can make exercising those rights more difficult. OECD research shows that customary inheritance practices continue to create barriers to women’s land ownership, despite reforms intended to strengthen equal property rights. Inheritance is particularly important because it is a major way people acquire land in Côte d’Ivoire. OECD data show that 50% of female landowners obtained their land through inheritance, compared with 42% of male landowners. As inheritance is an important route to land ownership, discriminatory inheritance practices can have a significant effect on whether women gain control over land. Strengthening awareness of legal rights and recognizing women’s ownership can therefore help close the gap between rights provided by law and women’s experiences in practice.

Land Registration Is Strengthening Land Security

Côte d’Ivoire has begun expanding formal land registration to give rural landholders greater security. The PAMOFOR project, which ran from 2018 to 2024, helped the government deliver more than 51,000 land certificates, with 21% going to female landowners. The World Bank also found that the project reduced women’s risk of losing their land within five years by 55 percentage points. Building on this work, the government launched the Rural Land Tenure Management Strengthening Program (PRESFOR), which is expanding land registration across 16 of Côte d’Ivoire’s 31 regions. By increasing formal recognition of women’s ownership, these programs can give women greater security over land that supports their livelihoods.

Secure Land Rights Can Support Women’s Economic Security

Secure land rights can help women protect an important economic asset, particularly in rural communities where agriculture supports many livelihoods. FAO identifies secure land tenure as important for agricultural development and investment, while women in Côte d’Ivoire continue to face barriers to accessing land. Greater recognition of women’s ownership can therefore support poverty reduction by reducing the risk of losing land on which their livelihoods depend.

Women Have Been Underrepresented in Land Governance

Women’s land rights in Côte d’Ivoire are also affected by who participates in local decisions about land. Historical World Bank data from 2014 found that nearly 40% of Village Land Tenure Committees had no female members, while a further 55% had only one or two women among an average of 13 committee members. These committees play an important role in identifying customary land rights within villages, meaning limited female representation can reduce women’s influence over decisions that affect land ownership. PAMOFOR sought to address this by encouraging women to participate in village land committees and by providing gender-sensitive information about the registration process. Increasing women’s involvement in local land governance can help ensure that their legal rights are considered when communities identify and register customary land.

Legal Rights Do Not Always Translate Into Ownership

Although Côte d’Ivoire has strengthened legal protections for women’s property rights, access to land remains unequal in practice. While women received 21% of the land certificates delivered through the PAMOFOR project, this figure refers specifically to certificates issued under that program. More broadly, the African Development Bank reported in 2026 that women held only around 12% of registered land certificates in Côte d’Ivoire. The bank also highlighted the importance of improving women’s awareness of their rights and access to legal institutions, particularly in rural communities. Although the figures measure different things, both show that women still face inequalities in registered land ownership.

Looking Ahead

Côte d’Ivoire has made progress in formally recognizing rural land rights, but ensuring that women benefit fully from these reforms will require continued attention. PRESFOR is expected to expand land administration across the country and includes measures intended to strengthen women’s land rights. By 2029, the program aims to register 270,000 women with customary ownership rights and another 75,000 women with land-use rights. Continued efforts to involve women in registration, improve awareness of their legal rights and increase their participation in local land governance could help address barriers that still limit women’s ownership. As Côte d’Ivoire expands its rural land reforms, ensuring women can obtain and retain secure rights to land could strengthen their economic independence and make rural development more inclusive.

– Aniya Akram

Aniya is based in Bradford, United Kingdom and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Addressing Common Bean Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa

Common Beans in Sub-Saharan Africa
The common bean is an integral part of Sub-Saharan Africa’s financial and nutritional security. With the continent accounting for 25% of global output, the cash crop provides employment, income and a healthy diet to both urban and rural populations. Devastating viral diseases threatening the crop, however, are increasing in frequency, putting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in peril. Here is how the TumainiBeans app is address common bean disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Common Beans in Sub-Saharan Africa

The common bean crop in Sub-Saharan Africa is a vital cash crop for the region. With Africa being the second-largest producer of the crop in the world, it brings in an average $3.84 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa per year. Through cultivation, processing and domestic trade, common beans provide income and employment to rural populations, especially to women involved in the trade. The very production of the crop benefits smallholder farmers, naturally enhancing soil fertility and aligning with crop rotations.

Common beans bring not only economic benefits to Sub-Saharan Africa but also nutritional advantages. The beans provide nutritional security for 420 million people in the region. They are high in protein and nutrients like iron and zinc, and are universally consumed in both rural and urban areas.

Crop Loss

Common beans in Sub-Saharan Africa are highly susceptible to a number of crop diseases that devastate yields and pose serious threats to the income and nutritional security of rural populations reliant on the crop.

A 2025 study published by the scientific review, Viruses, demonstrates a continent-wide upsurge in viral threats to the common bean crop. The two major viruses posing a threat are Bean Common Mosaic Virus and Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis Virus. These two viruses are transmitted by aphids or infected seeds and can reduce crop yields by a devastating 80%. Smallholder farmers find it difficult to prevent viral outbreaks, especially in remote areas, where access to disease identification and outbreak prevention resources is often out of reach due to distance and financial constraints.

The TumainiBeans App

The new TumainiBeans App offers an encouraging solution to common bean disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. In a region where traditional expert methods of disease identification are often geographically and economically inaccessible, the Tumaini app allows farmers to upload an image of any part of an infected bean plant and receive a real-time diagnosis. Independent validation saw the app achieve 90% disease classification accuracy. Downloaded onto a smartphone, the AI app is easy to use and can detect diseases even using poor-quality images. Its AI technology renders disease diagnosis accessible and timely, a crucial element in preventing the spread of viruses.

The TumainiBeans app also provides immediate, context-relevant solutions to a diagnosis, such as assistance on treatment options, advice on healthy farming practices like crop rotations and field sanitation, as well as counsel on the selection of disease-resistant crop varieties.

The technology is still new. While adoption rates, connectivity barriers and the question of whether diagnoses lead to improved yields and increased income at scale remain unknown, the Tumaini App shows potential as a useful decision-support tool for smallholder farmers whose disease-management options may be limited. With the capability to identify the problem and the solution, smallholder farmers could use this tool to protect their crops, income and livelihoods.

– Amelia Krone

Amelia is based in London, UK and focuses on Business and New Markets, Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Beekeeping in Uganda: Poverty Reduction and Conservation

Beekeeping in UgandaUganda is meeting conservation goals and alleviating poverty through its apiculture sector. Here is how beekeeping in Uganda helps with poverty reduction and conservation.

Agriculture and Poverty in Uganda

Historically, Uganda’s fertile soils made it one of East Africa’s most agriculturally productive nations. However, 60% of households rely on subsistence farming, reflecting persistent rural poverty that often leaves farmers unable to afford fertilizers, crop rotation or fallow periods needed to maintain soil health.

According to the World Bank, 16.1% of Uganda’s population lived below the national poverty line as of the 2023 to 2024 survey, down from 20.3% in 2019 to 2020, with poverty particularly concentrated in the country’s Northern and Eastern regions. National poverty reduction had largely stagnated in the years prior, making alternative sources of rural income increasingly important.

As crop yields deplete due to unsustainable practices, farmers expand crop access through the forest and wetlands. Mass subsistence farming causes ecological and economic challenges. Both the Ugandan government and local nonprofits have recognized beekeeping (apiculture) as a low-impact and highly effective solution.

Beekeeping and Conservation

Beekeeping in Uganda has helped reduce deforestation by creating an economic incentive to preserve trees rather than clear them for farming. According to Uganda’s National Forestry Authority, the country’s forest cover fell from 24.1% of its land area in 1990 to 9.5% by 2015, largely due to agricultural expansion and fuelwood demand. Because apiculture depends on healthy tree cover for hive placement, shade and nectar sources, it gives rural households a way to generate income without clearing additional land. By shifting some economic dependence away from land-intensive farming, beekeeping has become a practical conservation tool that supports both forest preservation and household livelihoods.

Attracting and Protecting Pollinators

Not only does beekeeping in Uganda provide an alternative to subsistence farming, but it reduces the need to clear more land for increased crop yields. Research by the Food and Agriculture Organization finds that 75% of global food crops at least partly depend on pollination, while pollinators contribute to 35% of global crop production by volume.

Further, research that the United Nations highlighted found that stronger pollination practices could increase crop yields on underperforming farms by a median of 24%. By attracting more pollinators to their land, Ugandan farmers can improve harvests on existing plots, reducing the need to clear additional forest for farmland.

The country occupies only 2% of the world’s land mass but is ranked among the top 10 most biodiverse in the world. Beekeeping in Uganda has strengthened conservation that other species rely on, as the country is home to 322 species listed as threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (2024).

As agricultural expansion continues to reduce forest cover, threatened species such as mountain gorillas face increasing pressure from habitat loss and fragmentation. Beekeeping in Uganda plays a critical role in pollinating wild plants and supporting forest regeneration. It also helps maintain the habitats these endangered species rely on. By protecting pollinator populations and encouraging tree preservation, apiculture helps sustain the fragile ecosystems that support some of the world’s most vulnerable wildlife.

Beekeeping and Poverty Reduction

Beekeeping in Uganda supports an estimated 1.2 million beekeepers, creating market access and additional income opportunities for rural households across the country through the production and sale of honey, beeswax and other bee products. Because beekeeping requires low start-up costs and minimal resources, it remains accessible to many low-income households. Research shows apiculture allows farmers to diversify their income through honey and wax sales without interrupting primary food production. These products can be sold in local and regional markets, creating an additional source of income that can help families pay for necessities such as school fees, medical expenses and farming supplies. The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization (TUNADO) notes that Uganda’s honey sector continues to grow as both domestic and export demand increase.

TUNADO reports reaching more than 100,000 beekeepers across Uganda and training and involving 45,000 women throughout the apiculture value chain. Its 2020 annual report recorded 91,213 subscribing beekeepers, including 36,485 women, and found that beekeeping provided 100% of household income for 52% of participating beekeepers and between 35% and 70% for the remainder.

The Results

Because beekeeping requires relatively little land, labor and capital, it has created opportunities for women and young people in Uganda, groups that often face greater barriers to land ownership and formal employment. Beekeeping can strengthen livelihoods by expanding income opportunities for marginalized groups, particularly in rural communities where economic opportunities remain limited. In Uganda, organizations like TUNADO promote beekeeping among women and youth to encourage entrepreneurship and strengthen household resilience. This allows them to take part in local economies while also supporting food production and environmental conservation.

One can see the results at the individual level. One beekeeper that TUNADO featured increased honey production from 35 kilograms to 292 kilograms within two years after receiving training and support, earning 2,482,000 Ugandan shillings (UGX) in a single season and expanding her apiary to 45 colonies.

TUNADO has also expanded apiculture opportunities to groups traditionally excluded from rural economic development. A beekeeping project for people with disabilities initially targeted 30 participants in Gulu and Jinja. All 30 received training and established apiaries, while another 10 people adopted beekeeping after learning from participants in the program. About half of the original beneficiaries had begun harvesting and selling honey during the project.

Global Demand

Uganda is one of the few African countries authorized to export honey and other bee products to the European Union, giving local beekeepers access to one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets. Uganda’s apiculture sector continues to see growing demand both internationally and domestically, with products such as honey, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom becoming increasingly valuable. This expanding trade gives rural households another reliable source of income while strengthening Uganda’s economy and increasing market opportunities for beekeepers across the country.

TUNADO’s Bee A Champion 2 Initiative

Programs continue to build on these gains. TUNADO’s Bee A Champion 2 initiative targeted 3,300 direct beneficiaries, including 300 “bee champions” and 3,000 auxiliary beekeepers, with 1,000 participants drawn from refugee and host communities. The program focuses on improving livelihoods, expanding market access and increasing access to financing, demonstrating how Uganda’s growing apiculture sector is being used deliberately as a poverty-reduction strategy.

By creating income opportunities, opening access to export markets and supporting women and young farmers, apiculture is helping strengthen rural livelihoods across the country. At the same time, its role in protecting forests and supporting biodiversity shows how economic growth and conservation can work together, making beekeeping an increasingly important tool in Uganda’s fight against poverty.

The growing reach of organizations such as TUNADO shows that this approach is already producing measurable results. By helping Ugandans turn healthy ecosystems into sustainable sources of income, beekeeping offers a solution in which reducing poverty does not have to come at the expense of Uganda’s forests and biodiversity.

– Kale Overton

Kale is based in Saint Petersburg, FL, USA and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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AI in Agriculture: Reducing Undernourishment in India

Undernourishment in IndiaIndia faces one of the world’s most persistent food security challenges. About 9.8% of people in India experienced undernourishment in 2023-2025, while rising food costs continue to push a healthy diet further out of reach for millions of families.

India has fought this crisis since the early 2000s, and the effort shows results: undernourishment fell from 21.1% in 2004-2006 to 9.8% in 2023-2025. Affordability tells a harder story: 520.1 million people, 35.5% of the country, could not afford a healthy diet in 2025, and that diet now costs nearly 48% more than it did in 2017. Better crops, fewer losses and stronger food programs will all be needed to keep that progress going.

Farming and Undernourishment in India

More than half of India’s farmland still depends entirely on rainfall, so a single erratic monsoon, heatwave or drought can devastate a season’s harvest. Decades of policy have rewarded rice and wheat above all else, and that focus has pushed pulses, oilseeds and nutrient-rich millets to the margins while draining groundwater in the northwest. Farmers also lose substantial amounts of food after harvest: a 2022 government-commissioned study estimated losses of 3.89% to 5.92% for cereals, 6.02% to 15.05% for fruits and 4.87% to 11.61% for vegetables. Programs like NFSA, PM-POSHAN, ICDS and Rice Fortification secure calories and micronutrients well, but they still struggle to put protein, dairy and fresh greens on every table.

AI in agriculture is emerging as one answer to these gaps. The World Bank Group’s AgriConnect initiative, which aims to transform farming for 300 million smallholders worldwide, equips farmers with digital tools that work even on basic smartphones and in areas with weak connectivity, and those tools deliver fast, practical advice for managing crops day to day. Farmers who use them can head off pest outbreaks before they spread, time their harvests more precisely and reach government aid programs more easily.

Kerala’s KATHIR Platform

Kerala’s state government built KATHIR together with the World Bank Group, and the platform already holds data on more than 3 million farmers while mapping over 1.1 million hectares of cropland.

The platform packs in a wide range of tools: a 10-day weather forecast, sowing and irrigation advice, fertilizer recommendations, and early alerts for pests, crop stress and extreme weather.

KATHIR operates on two levels at once. Farmers get quick, usable guidance for their own fields, while the state government gains satellite crop tracking, harvest mapping, farmer identification and land enumeration, tools that let officials see exactly where support is needed and act on it.

Maharashtra’s MahaVISTAAR-AI

Maharashtra took a different route with MahaVISTAAR-AI, a generative-AI chatbot that answers farmers through voice or simple text, no typing skills or app literacy required. Farmers have downloaded the tool more than 3 million times, and the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility helped fund its development.

Looking Ahead

The World Bank Group plans to push these platforms well past crop advice. Future versions will help farmers complete official paperwork and connect them directly with banks and other institutions willing to design financial products built around their needs, cutting through bureaucracy that keeps many smallholders locked out of credit.

India’s experiment sits inside a much larger regional push. Google DeepMind built its Agricultural Landscape Understanding (ALU) and Agricultural Monitoring and Event Detection (AMED) models to map field boundaries and track farm activity, and those models played an early role in shaping India’s approach. DeepMind now extends that same support to countries across Asia-Pacific and Africa, work that matters given estimates that global food production must grow by as much as 50% by 2050 to feed 9.7 billion people.

AI in agriculture gives farmers who have long gone without expert support a direct, low-cost line to exactly that. If platforms like KATHIR and MahaVISTAAR-AI keep growing, and if banks and governments build the financial tools the World Bank Group has planned, AI could become an important tool for supporting rural livelihoods and reducing poverty India.

– Juan Guillermo Rueda Castrillón

Juan is based in Barcelona, Spain and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Growing Jamaica’s Agricultural Sector Improves Rural Livelihoods

Jamaica’s Agricultural SectorWith one in three respondents suffering from severe food insecurity in Jamaica in the 2023 Caribbean Food Security & Livelihoods Survey, food poverty and agricultural production are pressing issues in Jamaica. The high cost of agricultural inputs further intensifies financial difficulties for Jamaican farmers in rural areas, where income levels are lower. However, the government and international organizations like the U.N. and the World University Service of Canada have contributed to Jamaica’s growing agricultural sector, improving rural livelihoods.

Government Investment

The agricultural industry employs close to one in five Jamaicans. Demonstrating its commitment to improving the livelihoods of agricultural workers, in April 2025, the Jamaican government invested over $4.5 billion through the Rural Economic Development Initiative II (REDI II) Programme, which focuses on strengthening the agricultural and tourism sectors.

The investment involves an upgrade in agricultural infrastructure, including the installation of greenhouses in 22 sites, cold storage facilities and irrigation facilities, making crops more resistant to decay and variations in temperature and rainfall. REDI II also aims to increase farmers’ access to hotel and export markets. As of December 2025, more than 5,000 beneficiaries have received income-generating small grants, while close to 1,000 have received training and agricultural inputs, facilitating higher crop yields and more stable sources of income for Jamaican farmers.

Combating Praedial Larceny

Praedial larceny, the theft of agricultural produce, farming equipment and livestock, has been extremely damaging to Jamaica’s agricultural sector, resulting in losses of millions of dollars per year and reducing investment. Addressing this problem, the government set up the Agricultural Protection Branch within the Jamaica Constabulary Force in June 2025.

This specialized unit provides training in agricultural laws, educating officers in investigating and prosecuting cases of farm theft. Additionally, through gathering intelligence, increasing patrols, and teaching farmers about preventive measures, the unit heightens security on the farm, deterring potential criminals. In the span of a year, reports of theft in Trelawny farming communities dropped to almost zero. Given that praedial larceny threatens local production and supply, the unit’s work is vital in securing the livelihoods of farmers as well as in stabilizing Jamaica’s food supply and agricultural economy, protecting Jamaica’s growing agricultural sector.

UN Project Increases Resilience in Kitson Town

The efforts of international organizations have also been instrumental in Jamaica’s growing agricultural sector. The Improving Rural Livelihoods through Resilient Agrifood Systems project, carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, concluded this March, laying a solid foundation for the continued development of agricultural businesses in Kitson Town, St. Catherine.

Under the project, more than 200 participants received training in protected agriculture (growing crops in a controlled environment), the management of livestock and business skills, while agricultural programs for high school students paved the way for future prosperity in agricultural communities.

Furthermore, the provision of greenhouses and related production inputs such as fertilizers, organic pesticides and pH meters, fortified crop production and farmers’ income sources against unpredictable climatic patterns, enhancing rural livelihoods. The project was particularly empowering for women, who accounted for over 60% of its participants, increasing their independence and contributions to agricultural production.

Helping Farmers Recover from Hurricanes

The World University Service of Canada is committed to consolidating Jamaica’s growing agricultural sector through both short-term and long-term approaches. Due to frequent hurricanes in Jamaica, the organization strives to improve farmers’ abilities to respond to and recover from natural disasters. More than 1,000 farmers acquired agricultural recovery kits, consisting of essential production inputs, facilitating the resumption of agricultural production in the wake of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.

Regarding long-term measures, the “trade-and-aid” initiative both secures access to export markets and revitalizes potato production in Jamaica through the provision of Canadian agricultural technology, ensuring farmers possess the necessary resources to earn a living. By offering storm-preparedness training and promoting climate-smart agricultural systems, the organization equips vulnerable rural communities with the knowledge and tools to protect their livelihoods against an increasingly volatile climate.

Stronger Agricultural Economy Benefits Jamaican Farmers

These various efforts are continually supporting Jamaica’s growing agricultural sector, enhancing its resilience and improving the lives of Jamaican farmers. The agricultural sector grew by close to 14% in the second quarter of 2025, demonstrating a swift bounce back from Hurricane Beryl, which struck in the summer of 2024. Infrastructure, material aid, education and security measures have made significant progress in increasing production, strengthening income stability and reducing food insecurity.

– Katy Wong

Katy is based in Hong Kong and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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S M Sehgal Foundation: Rural Poverty Reduction in India

S M Sehgal FoundationPoverty narratives in rural India continue to flood Western media and major news outlets. According to the World Bank, 16.1% of India’s population lived below the lower-middle-income poverty line of $4.20 per person per day in 2023-24, down from 57.7% in 2011-12. Yet behind the headlines lies a more complicated reality: rural poverty is rarely rooted in one single challenge. Educational accessibility influences agricultural practices; crop output depends on reliable water supply; household income levels shape health care and resource access; and inadequate educational facilities can disproportionately limit learning opportunities for young women.

S M Sehgal Foundation: An Interconnected Approach

One nonprofit taking an interconnected approach to mitigating these challenges is the S M Sehgal Foundation, a rural development NGO that has reached more than 7 million people since its inception in 1999.

In a recent interview with The Borgen Project, Board of Trustees Chairperson Jay Sehgal explained how an organization that began with agricultural reform has established itself in several areas of community advancement. According to Sehgal, the foundation’s original question was simple: how could it help poor farmers improve their livelihoods through sustainable farming and more reliable crop yields? The idea grew from the professional experiences of Dr. Suri Sehgal, whose career in seed genetics offered a firsthand view of the economic precarity facing small farmers in developing countries.

Soil health and mechanization efforts quickly exposed another constraint. Sehgal explained, “Farmers get poorer because they have to buy the water to be able to do the agriculture.” Farmers rely heavily on groundwater irrigation, with agriculture accounting for almost 90% of India’s groundwater use and extraction depleting aquifer reserves in many regions.

In response, the Sehgal Foundation works with communities on rainwater harvesting, dam installation, restoring village ponds, recharge wells and water filtration. For the foundation, addressing agricultural poverty entails looking beyond crops to the resources that make their growth possible.

Empowering Women and Education

Since the start of its water conservation efforts, the Sehgal Foundation has prioritized including women in its programs. In the process, the team encountered low literacy rates among the girls involved and started examining the barriers behind this discrepancy. Sehgal explained, “If any family had a little bit of money, they will send the boy to the private school where the girls are sent to these government schools… completely run-down schools. There is no toilet for the girls. There’s no water in the school. The roofs are leaking.”

Rather than building entirely new schools, the Sehgal Foundation zeroed in on transforming existing ones and improving conditions and literacy through its Transform Lives One School at a Time initiative. To improve technological literacy, the foundation added computer labs, printers and libraries so students can better keep pace with their urban counterparts.

Building Trust with Communities

Identifying interconnected problems was only part of the solution. Sehgal underscored that winning public trust was no easy task. Recalling considerable skepticism when the organization first approached villagers, he said it took almost nine months of working in the villages and meeting with residents before one community agreed to try a project.

Once that pilot effort was successful, Sehgal recalled, the response looked more like, “Hey, this is fantastic, let us do more.”

– Natasha Agarwal

Natasha is based in Philadelphia, PA, USA and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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How Beekeeping in Uganda Is Transforming Rural Communities

Beekeeping in UgandaAgriculture remains an important source of income for Ugandan families, particularly in rural communities. However, farmers often face limited access to financing, reliable markets and opportunities to add value to their products. The World Bank estimated that more than four in 10 Ugandans lived below the international poverty line of $2.15 per person per day in 2024. Beekeeping offers rural families another way to generate income while supporting agriculture and biodiversity.

The Growing Role of Beekeeping

Beekeeping, also known as apiculture, has become an increasingly important agricultural activity in Uganda. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries reported that honey production increased from 20,875 metric tons in 2022 to 2023 to 21,505 metric tons in 2023 to 2024, a 3% increase. The ministry identifies apiculture as an opportunity for employment, income generation and profitability, particularly for women and young people.

Beyond honey production, bees support agriculture through pollination. Pollinators help maintain food production and biodiversity, making beekeeping valuable to farmers who grow crops alongside their apiaries. Beekeeping can provide smallholder farmers with an additional source of income while supporting the ecosystems on which agriculture depends.

Beekeeping Creates Opportunities for Women

Women can also use beekeeping to diversify their incomes and gain greater economic independence. The Budongo Women Bee Enterprise in Uganda’s Masindi region provides one example. Eleven women created the cooperative in 2012, and 40 women have since benefited directly from training in beekeeping and candle making. Members sell honey twice a year and produce mosquito-repellent candles from beeswax.

The initiative connects beekeeping with broader community development. The women receive training in marketing, financial management and leadership while the cooperative supports sustainable land-use practices and tree planting. By combining honey production with other products and skills, the project gives women several ways to generate income while encouraging environmental conservation.

Supporting a Growing Industry

Organizations such as the Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization (TUNADO) also support the country’s beekeeping sector by connecting beekeepers, processors, trainers, researchers and other industry participants. TUNADO reports that its activities have reached more than 100,000 beekeepers across Uganda, including 45,000 women involved in different parts of the apiculture value chain. The organization also reports training 1,400 people with disabilities in beekeeping and honey production.

These efforts can help farmers access knowledge and markets while creating opportunities beyond the farm. Beekeeping can support jobs in honey processing, packaging, equipment production and marketing, allowing rural communities to benefit from several stages of the value chain.

A Sustainable Path Forward

Beekeeping does not require farmers to abandon other agricultural activities. Instead, farmers can integrate hives into existing farming systems while benefiting from pollination and additional products such as beeswax and propolis.

However, beekeepers still face challenges, including limited access to modern equipment, financing, training and reliable markets. Expanding technical support and improving access to higher-value markets could help more farmers benefit from the growing honey industry.

– Violette Bardouil

Violette is based in Paris, France and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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eAgrar: The Digital Platform for Small Farms in Serbia

digital platform for small farms in SerbiaAccording to the World Bank, Serbia’s economy grew by only 2% in 2025, a notable decline from 3.9% the year before. Poor weather conditions were a major factor, particularly affecting farm output and dragging down overall growth. The poverty rate held steady at about 7.8% in 2025, and while further decreases are expected, they will likely come slowly. Many of those still living in poverty face long-term unemployment, which makes it difficult for them to share in the benefits of economic recovery. On a more hopeful note, Serbia’s gross domestic product (GDP) per person stood at $15,262 in 2025, and the economy is projected to pick up in 2026 as consumer spending and investment strengthen.

Farming remains vital to rural communities across the country, yet the sector struggles with ongoing challenges that contribute to these poverty trends. Even so, the government continues to invest heavily in agricultural support. A report from the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) in April 2026 found that Serbia allocates more than 100 billion Serbian dinars (RSD), about $920 million each year to farm subsidies, with roughly 280,000 to 300,000 farmers submitting applications annually. In 2023, to make this system more open and user-friendly, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced a digital platform for small farms in Serbia named eAgrar.

What Is eAgrar?

eAgrar is an online platform designed to modernize how farmers register their agricultural properties and apply for government subsidies. Before this system existed, farmers had to register in person at government offices, filling out paperwork by hand and spending hours waiting in lines. The platform allows farm owners to handle the entire process online from home, on a computer or a device such as a smartphone or tablet. In its first year, more than 330,000 farms were registered through the system, showing how quickly Serbian farmers embraced the change.

eAgrar helps farmers update records faster and with fewer issues, while the system keeps a history of all past changes. Farmers can also view their own registration information and subsidy applications at any time, and the platform’s connection with other government databases simplifies verification without extra documents. Overall, this digital platform for small farms in Serbia is helping small-scale farmers access financial support more easily. One reported estimate suggests that farmers who keep their registration current and use available subsidies earn 15% to 20% more than those who do not, supporting incomes and Serbia’s rural economy.

eAgrar’s Reach

According to an article published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the platform has made a difference for farmers like Milivoje Ćosić, a smallholder from the village of Mionica who took over family land passed down through generations. Before eAgrar, applying for subsidies was a slow process that could stretch over a week. Now, Ćosić uses the platform to request financial support from home using just his smartphone. He says going digital has made farm registration easier and simplified the steps for getting aid, making agriculture more appealing to the younger generation. His daughter Irina shares this outlook, viewing the platform as part of a modern farming landscape that gives people her age the chance to start their own agricultural businesses on family land.

What eAgrar Means for Serbia

eAgrar stands as a pivotal digital platform for small farms in Serbia, changing how farmers access financial support. This easier access to subsidies and registration can help lift farming families out of poverty and support a more resilient agricultural economy. In a country where agriculture plays an important role in economic output, platforms like eAgrar show how modernization can help address rural poverty.

– Melody Ruiz

Melody is based in Bronx, NY, USA and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr