Food Security

The Farm Risk Management for Africa (FARMAF) project aims to improve food security and livelihoods of the rural poor in Africa by enhancing smallholder farmers' access to sustainable tools and instruments to manage farm risks. FARMAF is implemented by AGRINATURA, in partnership with regional and national farmers' organisations in Africa. The project, which was launched in 2012 and has a duration of four years, is funded by the EU with counterpart funding from AGRINATURA.

The ability of farmers to anticipate, avoid, and respond to natural and economic shocks is crucial for poverty reduction, food security and indeed a viable agricultural sector. However, African farmers, smallholders in particular, often lack access to tools which can help them to manage the pre- and post-harvest risks they are faced with. FARMAF aims to make these tools and services available to smallholder farmers. By doing so, FARMAF contributes to sustainable improvements in the livelihoods of farmers in Africa.  

During the launch workshop in 2012, the experiences of Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Zambia with different tools (insurance, market information systems, warehouse receipt systems and collective action) were discussed, and suggestions were made on how these can be improved and strengthened through collaboration of Regional Producers Organisations (PAFO, ROPPA, EAFF, SCAU and PROPAC), national Farmers Organisations (MWIWATA, CPF and ZNFU) and Agrinatura Research Institutes (CIRAD, NRI and WUR).

aWhere, Inc. is a data management company who has created a web based location intelligence platform, which provides visualization and data analysis tools to help organizations manage risk. Additionally, the Platform offers free, interactive access to weather data, which enables agricultural practitioners to better manage risk and make evidence-based decisions based on historical, current day, and forecasted weather data and weather alerts.