10 years ago, in 2012 the world was addressing two crises: The Horn of Africa Drought and the Sahel Food Emergency Crisis. Both crises featured drought or below average rainfall wreaking both famine and havoc on smallholder farmers on two different sides of Africa, some 6,000 miles or 10,000 kilometers apart. Farming families were pushed deeper into both desperation and extreme poverty. We needed an approach that could simultaneously help smallholder farmers move out of poverty while dealing with weather-related shocks.
World Vision responded with an approach that we call THRIVE - Transforming Household Resilience in Vulnerable Environments – that helps farmers build both improved and resilient livelihoods. We began putting this approach in place in various places across Africa, with our first large-scale implementation of THRIVE rolling out in Tanzania in 2013.
The results of the THRIVE approach are now available in full, and World Vision is thrilled to present them here.
Christopher Shore, Chief Development Officer, Economic Empowerment
Results and Impact of THRIVE Tanzania – the TANGO Report
World Vision is delighted to provide the results of our flagship approach to ending extreme poverty – our THRIVE program in Tanzania. Responding to smallholder farmers’ needs to build both improved and resilient livelihoods, we created an integrated and holistic approach which first addresses the farmer’s worldview, and then the business of farming, the natural resources of farming, and the situational awareness needed for farming. How did we do?
According to an industry-leading research organization, TANGO International, the results were overwhelmingly positive. When comparing end line data to baseline data, TANGO found that households in the THRIVE program showed significant improvement in all parts of the THRIVE model:
Smallholder farmers and their families moved from dependence to an empowered worldview
Household incomes and productive assets increased
On-farm and off-farm natural resource management improved
Household livelihood systems became more resilient to shocks and disasters
As can be seen in the fuller reports, THRIVE farmers’ annual incomes skyrocketed from $138/year to $1,370/year. Food security improved, driven by the increased quantity and diversity of crops. Farmers were able to access loans for both business and household needs. Parents were increasingly able to provide for the basic needs of their children. Resilience grew dramatically, coming from both cash savings and diversified incomes. Improved farming practices and increased stewardship of natural resources was observed widely
We believe that THRIVE is a game-changer when it comes to ending extreme poverty! Using the THRIVE approach, any one of the 10 richest people in the world could completely end extreme poverty for 2 of every 3 people currently living in extreme poverty. Now that we have a roadmap, we are excited about the future!
March 31 – Palm Springs “Fork to Farm” Evening - A Palm Springs evening of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and stimulating conversation with Edgar Martinez, CEO of VisionFund International and Christopher Shore, CDO for Economic Empowerment. Join us for an engaging update by our global experts in economic empowerment on the breakthroughs made with our Recovery Lending for Resilience work and our exciting plans for helping millions of people break the cycle of global poverty. To RSVP please click HERE.
July 21 – Ending Extreme Poverty In Our Lifetime 2.0 - SAVE THE DATE! With many lessons learned from our THRIVE and Recovery Lending for Resilience programs, join us for the launch of our new Economic Empowerment Business Plan. This will be an entirely virtual event.
Newsflash
War Pushes Food Prices Higher
War in Ukraine unleashes dramatic changes for global food prices and increases concerns about food security. With 30% of global wheat and 80% of sunflower oil supply coming from Ukraine, prices and risks are rising. One might THINK that would be good news for all farmers, but with fertilizer prices also rising, and drought stalking some regions, the prospects are not so clear. Smallholder farmers tend to be among the world’s most food insecure people.
World Vision Re-Declares East Africa Hunger Emergency Response
Almost one year after World Vision declared an East Africa Hunger Emergency Response (EAHER), the situation has gone from bad to worse. A deadly mix of conflict, the climate crisis and COVID-19 has pushed millions of people to the very edge of starvation. UN reports indicate that 22.4 million people in East Africa are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance due to food insecurity, with 2.4 million classified as being in emergency (IPC4) and nearly half a million people in famine-like conditions (IPC5). Of critical concern are the estimated 5.5 million vulnerable children experiencing high levels of malnutrition.Time is running out and action must be taken now to prevent the needless deaths of tens of thousands of children.
Praises and Prayer Requests
PRAISE
Praise for the remarkable results THRIVE has had and is having around the world
PRAYER
Pray for resolution to the war in Ukraine. Not only is there great suffering from the conflict, but this is causing food prices globally to rise dramatically and is likely to make food security a huge problem in many parts of the world
Pray for wisdom for the team creating the new World Vision Economic Empowerment Business Plan