Our strategy to eradicate poverty in Africa focuses on creating economic opportunities. We aim to empower local agricultural economies by incorporating the most marginalized communities into our business model.

Extreme poverty means being unable to meet basic needs like food, water, and shelter. This issue affects more than half of the people in Zambia, especially in rural areas.

People struggle to meet these needs because of poor infrastructure and weak political and economic systems. Many Zambians do not feel motivated to save or invest because public services do not provide for essential needs. As a result, most of their income goes toward urgent medical care, safe drinking water, or minimal food. Sadly, many find themselves stuck in a cycle of emergency spending.

To reduce poverty effectively, we need to make significant changes. Zambia and other African countries must improve their economies to boost productivity and competitiveness. Shifting focus to more productive farming and other growing industries can create job opportunities. This can help people earn enough money to escape poverty. Additionally, these sectors can generate income, which helps the government provide essential services to its people.

Many global economies began as agrarian societies, including the United States and China. The introduction of advanced mechanization significantly boosted agricultural productivity, allowing basic food needs to be met and enabling the development of other economic sectors, such as telecommunications and manufacturing. However, many of these previously agrarian economies had established basic infrastructure—like roads and running water—centuries ago.

At The Harvest Fund, we acknowledge that much of Zambian rural agriculture is hindered by the lack of running water, an electrical grid, and roads. To address these challenges, we work local farming cooperatives farmers to meet their fundamental needs, particularly access to water for agriculture. We emphasize using solar-powered water pumps, as many of our cooperatives reside in areas without an electrical grid.

While improving water access helps address some agricultural productivity challenges, we recognize that other issues persist, such as losing profits when crop prices unexpectedly plummet due to government policies. Lack of refrigeration also results in overripe, unsellable crops. Thus, we also focus on reducing post-harvest loss, which refer to the crops that go to waste after they're picked.

Many businesses see social impact as a lesser concern, often treating it as an add-on like corporate giving. This is also true in Zambia, where many large agricultural companies ignore the needs of the poorest and most marginalized communities. They often say it is too difficult to engage with these groups. Despite these challenges, we are dedicated to building a sustainable agricultural value chain that includes marginalized groups, especially rural female farmers who are vital to agriculture.

To address serious agricultural productivity issues, including post-harvest loss, we take a proactive approach. We source undervalued and overripe vegetables from our cooperatives that would otherwise go to waste. We collect these vegetables and store them properly to keep their quality. Then, we turn these surplus products into long-lasting items that benefit both consumers and our partners in agriculture.

Our finished products, branded and sold as Hearty Harvest, provide nutritious food options and help local farmers by creating a steady market for their produce. This initiative reduces food waste and improves the livelihoods of those who are often overlooked in the agriculture sector. Through our efforts, we aim to create a fairer agricultural ecosystem that values every contributor.