The Harvest Fund
#FutureFemaleFarmer
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
AGPower: The Harvest Fund's Core Model
We work with women's farming cooperatives in southern Zambia, a country that ranks in the bottom 20th percentiles for hunger and economic development. Due to our cooperatives' rural location, they lack basic necessities. Since 2019, we have provided training in climate-smart agriculture and solar-powered irrigation systems for year-round farming. The cooperatives also receive fertilizer, agrochemicals, and seed/seedlings for legumes, maize/corn, and tomatoes. We also help them access markets and share their revenue which goes towards input and equipment loan repayment. Our long-term goal is to help the cooperatives add value to their crops by processing or freezing the crop (e.g. converting the maize into maize meal or powdering the tomatoes into tomato powder).
Even with an annual budget of less than $200,000 and only 4 full-time staff members, 75% of whom are women, we have successfully scaled from 15 to 200 women farmers in just 3 years, despite a pandemic.
FEMPower: The Harvest Fund's Soft Skills Training Program
Oftentimes, agricultural development programs focus solely on technical skills, but our organization recognizes the importance of mindset shifts and soft-skills training for marginalized women. For each of the farmers in our cooperative, we provide support in leadership, problem-solving, budgeting, and planning skills alongside agricultural training. We prioritize each cooperative member ensuring that everyone feels valued and supported, leading to increased confidence and prosperity. Because of our efforts, 30% of women have started to explore alternative income-generating opportunities, moving beyond subsistence levels. By teaching women how to generate additional income and providing opportunities to repay loans, 10% of women have been able to stop relying on government assistance programs. The ultimate aim of our program is to increase each farmer's income by 5X, ensure access to a nutritious diet, and enable all of the women's children to attend school full-time.
SUNPower: Using the sun to irrigate farms
Many of the farmers with whom we work reside in straw-thatched huts and face challenges such as unreliable access to running water, electricity, and cellular connectivity. Additionally, the majority of our farmers are widows and serve as the family matriarchs.
To address these issues, we collaborate with cooperatives that have limited access to water, who often rely on hand-dug wells that frequently run dry. Our program involves drilling a borehole for each cooperative and installing a solar-powered irrigation system. We also provide a hose and supplies to build a fence around the irrigated plot.
Unlike other farms in the region that use diesel to power their water pumps, we promote a climate-smart approach by sourcing solar-powered water pumps. These pumps efficiently lift water and deliver it to the cooperative's plot. By implementing solar-powered irrigation, the farmers are able to cultivate crops throughout the year, so that food security remains at 100%
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total pounds of target crop harvested
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
AGPower: The Harvest Fund's Core Model
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planFinancials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The Harvest Fund
Board of directorsas of 12/20/2023
Michelle Kurian
Ackson Mwanza
The Harvest Fund
Term: 2019 - 2029
Martha Haile
Hello Tractor
Ogo Ibok
Sence Agriculture
William Chilufya
Hivos
James Robbins
Trevor Maisiri
Food for the Hungry
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data