All over the world, COVID-19 is threatening people’s access to food.

This problem is going to get a lot worse.

Social distancing is making it harder to grow and deliver food. If a country is on lockdown, farmers can’t get the seeds they need or take their crops to the market. When borders close, people lose access to basic staple foods, such as rice. COVID-19 restrictions are putting millions of people at risk for experiencing hunger in the coming months.

Help us prevent a hunger crisis

Agriculture is essential to providing food in rural areas. For 38 years, iDE has been building market-based solutions for smallholder farmers around the world. During times like these, iDE’s resilient networks of small entrepreneurs can be the difference for poor households between having a meal tomorrow or going hungry. From Nepal to Mozambique, Honduras to Cambodia, iDE’s Farm Business Advisors are the front line in a battle to secure food for small communities. There is still time to make a difference for this planting season, if we act now.

Here’s what we can do:

Help our Farm Business Advisors and the farmers they serve make the shift to using mobile technology to connect to suppliers and buyers.
Work with local officials to ensure that farmers can receive deliveries of the seeds and equipment they need in time for planting season.
Provide farmers information about COVID-19 transmission.
Design hand washing solutions that are feasible, affordable, and desirable.
Work through local markets to disseminate weather forecasts in remote areas.
Collect and share information on where supply chains are breaking down, and where supplies are available.
Conduct remote training on pest management, postharvest sales strategies, and other topics crucial for farmers.

DONATE TODAY

Other ways to help

Donate now to mobilize iDE networks of Farm Business Advisors, equip them with smartphones and COVID-19 prevention training.
Invite your friends to join the cause by starting a Facebook fundraiser at facebook.com/fund/ideorg
Help us get the word out by sharing the video above with your friends and family on your own social media pages.

DONATE

Hand hygiene—moving from a “should” to a “must”

Good hand washing habits have always been connected to good health, but the practice is even more important now to prevent COVID-19.

This health crisis will lead to a hunger crisis unless we ensure working people have the necessary information and supplies to avoid illness, allowing them to earn an income and put food on the table.

About iDE

iDE is a global organization that advances market-based approaches in agriculture; access to finance; and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) to create income and livelihood opportunities for low-income rural households. iDE has increased the incomes and improved the livelihoods of more than 34 million people by developing inclusive market ecosystems that allow more people to participate in the economy, exercise choice through economic freedom, and achieve their aspirations. The organization has offices in 14 countries around the world which employ over 1,000 people — 96% of whom are local — to create real change that gives people the power to prosper on their own terms. iDE guarantees an average social return on investment of a minimum of $10 in annual income or livelihood savings for every dollar invested in iDE globally.

iDE is ranked #22 by NGO Advisor’s “Top 500 World NGOs” in 2020.

Read more: iDE's Awards and Recognitions

Even remote farmers are threatened by COVID-19

Our usual support during the growing season has been hampered, or completely suspended in order to prevent the spread of the disease, and that’s why we’re trying new methods to help rural farmers.

Because FBAs are entrepreneurs who connect urban suppliers and buyers to rural smallholder farmers, they can be a powerful force in a time of crisis.