Kiva’s Post

South Africa Wine advocates for government action to address industry challenges South Africa Wine (SAW), a non-profit advocacy organization, has called on the government to prioritize key issues affecting the wine industry ahead of the State of the Nation Address (SONA). The organization has submitted various concerns to government departments, emphasizing the need for urgent attention to safeguard the industry’s well-being. Among the highlighted issues, #SAW urged increased investment in law enforcement to combat the growing threat of illicit trade, emphasizing the importance of curbing illegal activities. Rico Basson, CEO SAW said, “We strongly urge government to ensure excise taxes remain aligned with inflation rates and linked to the incidence alcohol policy framework set by the National Treasury, thus avoiding undue burden on our industry and producers.  https://lnkd.in/drdNQ-9H #southafricawine #ngo

CLI-MARK may have ended in 2020, but it was designed to make a lasting impact. Today we will be spotlighting some of the lives changed by the CLI-MARK project. Ismaqal Village Savings and Loans Group, Kenya - IIRR supported this women’s collective through capacity-building initiatives, financial support, and business training. ▪️ Group savings increased from Kshs. 9,600 in 2018 to 720,000 in 2019. ▪️ With these savings, the group invested in land and livestock, increasing sales volumes of sheep and goats from 720 to 1,056 in one year. ▪️ Net profits rose by Kshs 96,000, enabling them to expand their business to sell school uniforms and hire out tents and chairs for events. ▪️ In the words of Ismaqal Chairlady Abdia Gedi, “Small, regular savings can accumulate and bring about a big change!” Moyale Camel Milk Cooperative, Kenya - IIRR enhanced the organizational capacity of this cooperative through training, coaching, and exposure visits. ▪️ Milk handling process improved; transportation costs decreased 50%. ▪️ Profits more than doubled, increasing from Kshs 270,000 to 600,000 between 2017 and 2019. ▪️ Milk sales volume increased from 90 to 200 liters per day. Mt. Marsabit Dairy Society, Kenya - This society saw profits increase by 280% in two years, with milk sales volumes increasing over 4x, from 20 to 90 liters per day. “From the income earned our members are now able to meet some of their family needs such as food, school fees and hospital bills. This has improved their livelihoods security and resilience to climate change” Tume Huka: Female Shop-Owner in Duburuk, Ethiopia “Before the CLI-MARK training, we never kept any records and we didn’t make much money. Now, I have learned how to monitor prices in the market, keep proper records, and work out the best time to buy and sell. As a result, we are making more money.” #pastoralism #climateadaption #ruraldevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #climatejustice #Impact #SuccessStories #Empowerment #Resilience #Kenya #Ethiopia

I've been talking about how we all need others to encourage us and pick us up sometimes. That's exactly what happened to Kibibi. She lost her poultry business due to fraud, leaving her with nothing. But she decided to join a #SavingsGroup she could trust, through one of Five Talents UK partners in #Kenya, and her fellow members encouraged her to rebuild her chicken business and learn the skills to make sound investment decisions. Now, her business is bigger than ever before. #entrepreneurship

Ending child labour starts with recognising it exists. The Dutch supply chain MVO - The Netherlands Oils and Fats Industry started this process by investigating whether child labour exists in their coconut supply chain. When it became clear children were involved in the harvest of coconuts in the Philippines, the company decided to take action. With help from RVO, they set up a project with several companies and NGOs. 🗨 "We want to leave behind a system that works locally," says Eddy Esselink from MVO. 🗨 "Together with schools and local authorities, we are setting up a system that tracks whether children attend school. The system mainly contributes to awareness. Another important issue we are addressing is poverty alleviation. A new business model should help farmers increase their income. We also keep track of knowledge and best practices. Local parties can benefit from this after the project ends. This way, we can leave behind a system that works locally." Do you wonder if child labour takes place in your production chain? And do you want to tackle this problem just like MVO? Consult our advisors, they are happy to offer advice. #childlabour #valuechain #sustainableproduction

Three goat formula, once again 12th Nov '22 - Rui villagers ask for help for water harvesting 3rd June '23 - GVT makes 11 kms of river, check dams and recharge shafts in river to increase water storage. 9th June '23 - In return, I ask the village to stop sale of illicit liquor (daaru) to save the youth. They promise. 13th Oct '23 - After gramsabha resolution and mass village movement, all shops stop selling daaru in the village. GVT gives three pregnant goats to each shopkeeper so that goat-rearing can take care of their economic needs. A win-win for all. Increasing incomes without social reforms is like a bucket with a hole.

Sourcing Fish I was looking for good-quality, wild-caught salmon and went to a fancy market in a trendy part of town. The labelling read "Bay of Fundy Salmon". When I asked if it was wild- caught, the answer was that it was farmed, which means that there are contaminants and these fish are not naturally raised. What !?! Farmed fish from the Bay of Fundy? What a shame. Anyhow, this details the importance of doing your research before making a purchase.

Did you know that coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages? Furthermore, 95% of the 12.5 million coffee farms are considered small farms. On average, smallholder farmers earn only $1500 from their coffee production. The condition of poverty is cyclical. Poor farmers can’t afford to invest in necessary coffee production practices, which results in a crop of less quality and even smaller volumes. Smallholders who have access to credit have the option to go into debt to invest in fertilizers and other inputs, hoping that next year prices and volumes will be better, and they can pay their debt back. Because of this vicious cycle, families annually suffer a period of food insecurity when the money from the coffee has run out and food prices are higher. During these months, they eat less, buy cheaper food, or borrow money to overcome their thin months, as they are often called. With our  “Campaign to End Hunger in the Coffeelands”, we are raising  funds to support our critical food security programs, giving back to smallholders who need such the most. Together, we can cultivate a food-secure future for coffee farming communities and ensure they have access to nutritious food all year long! Join us today and support small coffee farmers: https://lnkd.in/gr98vz5j

New Post: VC Office Hours: Unlocking the Farmers’ Market with Black Farmer Fund - Black farmers seem to have received the rough end of every stick this past century. In 1910, they represented around 14% of U.S. farmers and owned over 16 million acres of land. Today, one in 100 farmers are Black, owning less than 5 million acres and losing $326 billion in land value. Farmers are suing the USDA for alleged discrimination. VC investment in the agtech space has been booming these past few years, and many farmers also receive some type of subsidized funding, whether from the government or nonprofit organizations. These opportunities do not appear to be trickling down to Black founders, however. Crunchbase found that since 2018, $98.6 million out of $39.4 billion have gone to just five Black-owned agtech companies. This, alongside the government’s alleged discrimination, means that Black farmers have been marginalized from accessing the right financial resources they need to survive in this particular market. It was for these reasons that in 2017, Karen Washington and Olivia Watkins created the Black Farmer Fund. The fund provides economic and social opportunity to Black farmers and agricultural and food businesses in the Northeast with the goal of helping build community wealth for Black agricultural businesses throughout the region. There are around 703 Black-owned farms across the Northeast out of 196,000 total, Watkins said, adding that in New York alone, the average Black farmer makes –$906, while white farmers make around $42,000. “There is a massive racial wealth gap in agriculture and across industries,” Watkins said. The fund is technically a nonprofit with a debt fund attached. It raised an oversubscribed $1.1 million pilot fund in 2021 from investors and institutions, which it then invested into eight businesses. It is raising its second fund with a target of $20 million and has hit about half that amount so far, Watkins said. As a debt fund, it offers low-interest community notes and grants, writing checks ranging from $1,000 to $3 million. #Office #Hours #Unlocking #Farmers #Market #Black #Farmer #Fundhttps://lnkd.in/dz9e8F-R

What does LEAF do? Our new website tells stories of making a way where there was no way...cooperatives across the US, small businesses in underserved areas, and independent healthy food markets in MA. leaffund.org 🍃 📢 🥦 #smallbusiness #cooperative #coopeconomy

"Growing Justice is a pooled fund co-designed by funders, farmers, advocates, food suppliers, purchasers, and community partners from Native and non-native communities nationwide. Growing Justice envisions a future in which Tribal, Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, and immigrant people engaged in food markets as suppliers, producers, distributors, workers, and eaters at community-serving institutions are economically and physically thriving thanks in part to efforts by large community institutions to prioritize equitable good food procurement." https://lnkd.in/g8n6cDJ3