COVID-19 Response in Africa

You helped small-scale farmers feed their families—and your gift was matched!

The COVID-19 health crisis is creating a global hunger crisis. The World Food Programme warns we may see the worst humanitarian food crisis since the Second World War. Millions could face extreme forms of hunger—missing meals or selling livestock and tools to buy food.

With support from both individual Canadians and the Government of Canada, we are doing the following:

  • Supporting savings and loans groups so farmers can buy seeds and other inputs.
  • Providing agricultural support services to help farmers increase their harvest.
  • Assisting farmers in getting their crops to market and food to their communities.

We are grateful for all those who contributed to making this possible. Thank you for your generosity!

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Protecting Ethiopian farmers' progress toward food security

When the pandemic began during Ethiopia’s rainy season, a crucial time for planting crops, it threatened the progress Asnakech Zema has made toward food security for her family. After learning the principles of conservation agriculture, coupled with additional best farming practices, Asnakech saw her corn yields increase from 50 kg to 550kg in 2018 on a 20 by 30 metre plot of land! She began using these techniques more widely on her farm, which enabled her to grow enough food to feed her family and share with neighbours in need, while still having surplus to sell.

The support of our COVID-10 livelihoods project is making sure farmers like Asnakech Zema can continue the work they’ve done to provide food for their families.