Heifer International is on a mission to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way by supporting and investing alongside local farmers and their communities.

Heifer’s Mission

We work to end hunger and poverty in partnership with the communities we serve. Our programs support entrepreneurs around the world, creating lasting change from the ground up.

It begins with a seed investment of livestock or agriculture, followed by mentorship to help project participants build a business, and ultimately to gain access to supply chains and markets.

These families are able to earn a living income and continuously lift up their communities as they train the next generation of leaders.

By supporting and training the world’s farmers, ranchers, and female business owners, we’re investing in a new breed of success.

RWANDA

Increasing incomes and nutrition

We support farmers to set up their own cooperatives, where they share knowledge, pool resources, as well as access financing to invest and grow their farms.

Our work focuses on improving farmers’ income and families’ nutrition through quality livestock, agricultural and business training, and stronger connections to the dairy value chain along with secondary goat, swine, and poultry markets.

We work with rural women and youth to build farming families’ resilience through sustainable agricultural practices. Our gender training helps local women build their confidence and get their voices heard, so they can become community leaders and share decision-making power.

We support farmers to organize into cooperatives, where they share knowledge and pool resources, as well as access financing to invest and grow their farms. Farmers buy shares in a hub through which they sell a dependable, quality supply of milk to dairy processors, increasing their incomes.

Increased milk consumption along with fresh fruit and vegetables from kitchen gardens is also strengthening food security and nutrition.

Living Income

Heifer International invests in farmers and business owners around the world, because we know having a secure source of income can be truly transformational for families and their communities. With support from our in-country teams, project participants build sustainable businesses to close the living income gap.

Living Income is the amount of money each person in a household needs per day to live a dignified life.

In Rwanda, we are currently using US$2.07 in the East and West.

Partners

• African Development Bank
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• GIRINKA Program
• Green Mountain Coffee
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
• Local Administrative Entities Development Agency Districts
• Ministry of Local Government
• Rwanda Agriculture Board
• Rwanda Cooperative Agency
• Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources
• Rwanda National Dairy Board
• United Nations Development Programme
• United States Agency for International Development