Blog posts tagged with Kiva Labs Agriculture

Oct 10, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: Want to become a chocolate investor? (Yes, we said chocolate.) By Rebekah Chang
Have you satisfied a chocolate craving recently?

Chocolate bars, hot chocolate, chocolate syrup, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, the list goes on. And if your taste buds are anything like mine, you’ve probably run to the store to satisfy a craving at some point. We love our chocolate -- most clearly evidenced by the $700 million Americans spend on Valentine's Day alone.

Globally, around US$80 to $90 billion is spent on chocolate every year. And demand continues to rise as populations and incomes increase around the world. The demand for chocolate... Continue Reading >
Oct 10, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: How you can change the world -- one land title at a time By Rebekah Chang
By 2030, it’s predicted that 2 billion people around the world will live in slums -- double the current number, and over 25% of the planet's population today.
 
Slum dwellers face many problems, as we’ve highlighted in a previous post on sanitation conditions in slums. But one of their greatest challenges is land ownership. Very few people living in slums are able to obtain titles to their land. And when families don’t have formal land titles, they're subjected to constant threats of eviction, bribes and worse.
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Oct 10, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: Agricultural co-ops make their mark in rural Kenya By Rebekah Chang
Happy International Year of Cooperatives!
 
Earlier this year, the United Nations General Assembly drew attention to the important role of cooperatives by designating 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives. Cooperatives (co-ops) are member-owned and member-driven enterprises that play an important role in sustainable development.
 
Co-ops are especially important for creating jobs, providing education and training for members, and coordinating lobbying and advocacy campaigns. Co-ops also provide social...
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Sep 9, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: Storage Facilities for Smallholder Farmers in East Africa By Rebekah Chang
Fend off the Osamas!
 
No, you haven’t clicked on the wrong post. I am, in fact, talking about storage challenges for smallholder farmers in East Africa. “Osamas,” or grain borers, are the name used by smallholder farmers for the dark brown beetles that easily chew through plastic mesh storage bags to attack maize stores. They are one of the major challenges faced by smallholder farmers in East Africa in storing maize. 
 
In East Africa, smallholder farmers account for around 75% of employment and 75% of...
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Aug 8, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: Growing agricultural economies, starting with small farms By Ian Matthews
If you haven’t noticed, we here in the United States are in the middle of a severe drought. Temperatures from Virginia to Nevada have been well over 100 degrees for months and it hasn’t rained an inch since April.
 
Farmers all over the American Midwest are taking the extraordinary measure of chopping down their crops to use as hay for cattle. The weather could affect up to 40% of this year’s total corn and soybean yields. In response, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and USDA have rolled out a joint...
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May 5, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: Why do farmers need finance? By Ian Matthews
 
Víctor Tulio lives with his wife and son in Costa Rica. With a loan, he expects to be able to buy fertilizer and pay laborers to make the most of the good climate and soil conditions to grow coffee. He hopes to put into practice his experience managing coffee production to buy the best inputs and grow the highest quality product he can.

This is a randomly selected loan profile from the Kiva site. Víctor is just one of 1,100 borrowers that work in agriculture... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2012 Kiva HQ KV
Kiva Innovations: Loaning for a new “Green Revolution” By Ian Matthews
 
This is part of a larger series on Kiva’s strategic initiatives and innovative loan products, which are designed to expand opportunities for more borrowers. Kiva is excited to partner with companies and organizations innovating in the agricultural sector to support farmers and increase productivity -- read on for more.

Agriculture is the No. 1 source of income for most of the world’s poor. In Africa, it provides two-thirds of all employment. And for the 75% of impoverished people living in rural communities, it is often the only industry... Continue Reading >