Producers Direct initiatives
driving positive change
Producers Direct is our independent NGO partner who preserve the vital work of small-scale farmers. It’s led by farmers, for farmers.
Women empowerment
Producers Direct empower women in farming cooperatives to become entrepreneurs, business leaders and higher income-earners through:
- Financial investment in women-led enterprises within smallholder farming communities.
- Training led by farmers that helps women improve the quality and yield of the crops they sell and the food they grow for their families. They also learn how to start new enterprises on their farms.
- Low-interest loans and financial services that traditionally women in agriculture cannot access.
- Technology (FarmDirect) that allows for women to sell their products collectively to improve their negotiating power with buyers.
Youth opportunities
The challenges of making a living as a smallholder coffee farmer are causing younger people to seek alternative careers. And with an ageing farming population, this leaves a sector with an uncertain future.
Producers Direct provide opportunities so that young people thrive:
- Fostering a variety of employment opportunities ranging from farming and selling, to logistics and digital specialist roles.
- Scholarships to support young people in communities with professional skills.
- Providing low-interest loans that traditionally young people in agriculture cannot access and investing in youth-led agri-enterprises.
Climate action
Farmers tell us that climate change is their biggest challenge right now. It’s an immediate and ever-increasing threat to the livelihoods of farmers and workers across the world.
Producers Direct provide training, funding, technology, and technical support for farmers to adapt to and mitigate against climate change.
Farmers learn how to:
- Eliminate chemicals and pesticides that are harmful to the environment and to health.
- Foster nutrient rich soils that support healthy plants and quality crops.
- Plant trees and shrubs to absorb carbon from the atmosphere and improve soil health.
- Reduce greenhouse gases and generating cleaner energy.
- Conserve water to reduce water usage.
- Encourage wildlife to help control pests and diseases.
- Reduce waste by composting.
Technology
Producers Direct have developed some truly innovative and impactful technology. Many of these bring the benefits from Big Data which is largely inaccessible to the world’s 500 million small-scale farmers. This real-time data and insight are essential for them to break out of financial hardship and to deal with the significant climate risks they face.
New enterprises
Relying on just one agricultural product for income, such as coffee, is risky. Coffee is vulnerable to climate change and produces just one major harvest each year. Producers Direct help farmers and workers to set up new businesses and streams of income. By selling other products, such as pineapples, avocados or honey, farmers can increase their income and reduce their risk.
Producers Direct provide comprehensive support for farmers and young people to create these new businesses. This includes training and technology to provide knowledge and data needed for new enterprises, and access to financial loans and buyers.
EMPOWER
THRIVE
RESTORE
Producers Direct
