Two-thirds of Africans rely on agriculture for survival, but many African farmers lack access to stable markets and affordable inputs that would allow them to support their families and sustain their livelihoods. Building on President Clinton’s long-standing commitment to Africa, Clinton Development Initiative programs are encouraging economic growth in Malawi and Rwanda through enterprise partnerships with thousands of smallholder farmers. The Clinton Development Initiative (CDI) in Malawi is supported financially by the Salida Capital Foundation, and the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative (CHDI) in Rwanda is a partnership between the Clinton Foundation and the Hunter Foundation.
The Clinton Foundation operates at the invitation of the governments of Malawi and Rwanda to implement programs that can bring ongoing, lasting benefits to large populations while emphasizing scale and sustainability. Our focus in Malawi is on two large-scale projects — the Anchor Farm Project and Trees of Hope Project — which are helping farmers realize greater farm income through greatly improved yields and access to formal markets for better prices. In Rwanda, we have initiated two agribusiness projects that will bring increased incomes and security to farmers and their communities: Soyco LTD and Rwandan Farmers Coffee Company.
The objective of the Clinton Foundation programs in Malawi and Rwanda is to strengthen the ability of local farmers’ organizations to take over full operational and financial responsibility for the projects. Our programs are founded on the belief that the projects can and should include their own revenue generating capability, so that they become financially self sufficient instead of relying on the ongoing support of foreign donors.
