Strategies for International Development

Uganda. SID works in 5 sub-counties of Luweero District, where farmers produce 452 Kilos of coffee per acre, when the minimum for good coffee farming is 2,250 Kilos. 18% sell fresh cherries for the lowest price; 69% sell dry cherries for a better price, but only 13% husk their dry cherries and sell the beans directly to exporters. Average income is $397 per year, when it could be $1,200. SID provides technical assistance to 1,677 families.

Malawi. SID works in Malawi's Central Region, where dairy farmers have the best opportunity to graduate from poverty. They have more land for producing fodder than dairy farmers in other regions. They are also close to the city of Lilongwe's major market, the nation’s capital.

The dairy farmers are poor because their cows produce only 9 or 10 liters per cow per day when they could produce 20, and they produce milk for only 210 days a year when they could increase production to 240 days. Farmers earn $200 per year when they could earn $700. SID provides technical assistance to 1,780 families.

Tanzania. SID began its work in the Kagera Region in late 2024. We provide monthly technical assistance to 2,522 farm families in 104 villages. SID is helping them increase their productivity, price, and income from Robusta coffee. Farmers in the Kagera Region need to prune their coffee trees, stump older trees, and fertilize them to increase productivity. The recommended number of trees is 450 per acre, but most farmers have only 50 to 150 trees per acre. Also, most farmers dry their cherries but do not take the extra step of hulling them and selling the beans.

Guatemala. SID works in Alta Verapaz. Alta Verapaz accounts for 26% of Guatemala’s coffee producers but only 4.41% of national production. Farmers are poor because they have low productivity, and they don't husk their coffee. They earn $106 a year from their coffee when they could earn at least $700. SID provides technical assistance to 3,357 families.