ADRA International

Best Practice Award for Agroforestry, Extension Services/Farmer Training and Horticulture Production
In response to chronic food insecurity in rural Ghana, ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) implemented a USAID-funded food security integrated program, “Sustainable Rural Livelihood Enhancement & Poverty Reduction Through the Establishment of Perennial Tree Crops,” using an agroforestry approach that enabled smallholder farmers to establish citrus and mango trees, intercropped with staple crops such as maize, beans, plantains and vegetables. Key strategies included training in improved agricultural techniques and farming as a business, strengthening market linkages and provision of agricultural inputs/credit. Enhanced productivity for staple crops and increased incomes from trees, $345/acre for citrus and $ 1,379/acre for mangos, helped households to reduce the food shortage from 4 to 1.2 months and contributed to sustained income and a break in the poverty cycle. ADRA’s approach to agroforestry, supported by capacity building and market linkages, offers great opportunities for sustainable rural livelihood enhancement and poverty reduction.

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Jozimo Santos

Africare

Best Practice Award for Access to Markets, Nutrition and Value Chain Development
Africare’s “Zimbabwe Soybean Market Linkage Project” significantly improved food security and incomes of over 2000 smallholder farmers through the promotion of soybean production, marketing and processing. Five thousand farmers were trained in soybean production and processing by experienced community-based facilitators and extension staff. Women and children are excited to now have once scarce protein in abundance (+40%) through a wide array of confectioneries (soy beverages, soy burgers, fritters and soymilk). Lucrative markets are now accessible to association members due to robust research and dissemination of market information through information centers and the consolidation and marketing of soybean and soybean products (edible oil and soybean cake (stock feed)). Three oil-pressing plants have been established through a revolving loan fund and are providing a local market for soybean, employment and value addition by 73%. The project is a model for replication in other regions.

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Paul Pascal Chimedza

Freedom from Hunger

Innovation Award for Access to Financial Services, Gender Integration and Food Security
Freedom from Hunger’s Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) initiative tested the feasibility and sustainability of adding health protection options for microfinance clients. Five microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America added combinations of health education, health financing and linkages to healthcare providers and products at an average annual marginal cost to MFIs of just 29 cents per client family, only reducing average annual MFI profit from 26% to 24%. Research indicates clients have better health knowledge and behaviors, and health services are now more available to over 600,000 clients in participating MFIs (3.5 million, including family members).

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Marcia Metcalfe

Heifer International

Best Practice Award for Livestock Production, Producer Associations & Cooperatives and Value Chain Development
Through the “Integrated Dairy Development Project in Albania,” Heifer International has empowered 630 families in rural areas to increase their food and income by transforming subsistence farms into a sustainable resource while increasing cooperation between farmers. The donation of heifers, combined with effective technical assistance and training on community development, dairy food chain, milk quality, hygiene, and marketing and business plans provided an added value to individual farmers. The establishment of farmer associations and their active role in community life has provided direct assistance to families and increased access and visibility in the market, encouraging greater cooperation and partnerships with different stakeholders.

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Fejzo Begal
Shae Simoneau

Winrock International

Innovation Award for Natural Resources Management and Productivity
Multiple-use water services (MUS) is a consumer-oriented approach to water service delivery that takes people’s multiple domestic and productive water needs as the starting point to plan, finance and manage integrated water services. In the Zinder region of Niger, Winrock International’s innovative “Water for Health and Wealth” MUS Project, funded by USAID and Coca Cola, is helping poor households gain access to water for drinking, food production and income generation using locally manufactured pumps. By taking an integrated approach to water services, Winrock is helping households reduce water-related diseases and turn limited gardens into a year-round source of income with benefits to both health and livelihoods.

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Mary Renwick, PhD

About the Best Practices and Innovations Initiative

The BPI Initiative was launched in September 2009 with the support of IFAD to promote information sharing on effective program approaches and improve practice standards. All submissions were reviewed by a selection committee of experts and evaluated according to six criteria: evidence of effectiveness/success, efficiency/cost-effectiveness, equitable outcomes for women and men, sustainability and replicability/adaptability.