Strategies for International Development

Strategies for International Development (SID) is a U.S. nonprofit that designs, proves, and promotes better methods for eradicating rural poverty. We help farmers conserve the land upon which their livelihoods depend, while they also increase their income. We also help them adopt business practices and make better business decisions. We ensure equal participation of women in all project activities and benefits. More than 75% of the world's poor are small farmers trying to make the transition from subsistence to successful commercial farming, but only a small percentage of them have access to technical assistance in making the change. In every region of every developing country, there are hundreds of communities and thousands of farm families. Fortunately, in many of these regions farmers produce a common cash crop. SID is applying a regional approach that gives all the farmers producing the common crop or product a chance to graduate from poverty. We work in Guatemala, Uganda, and Malawi. The core activities of the regional approach are: 1. Farmers define the practices they need to adopt to conserve land and increase income. Agricultural and environmental technicians help, but the farmers take the lead. 2. District officials, primary school teachers, and others promote knowledge of the practices and encourage their adoption. The practices become common knowledge and expected behavior. 3. SID conducts demonstration fairs in the practices. Farmers see and try their hand at the practices, and they become palpable and acceptable. 4. SID provides technical assistance in adopting the practices in villages that agree to adopt all of them. The early-adopters conserve land, increase income, and become examples for others. 5. SID helps early-adopter women to improve their public speaking, empowerment, and leadership. They participate equally in the technical assistance and start second businesses.