Agricultural Transformation
2023 Agricultural Transformation Spotlight
Reducing smoking around the world will have a profound impact on saving lives. At the same time, it is important to provide support to help smallholder tobacco farmers transition to other crops.
To address this need in the low-income tobacco-growing country of Malawi, Global Action is partnering with agricultural, rural development, academic and smallholder farm representatives and individuals to identify alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers.
In 2023, Global Action’s grant projects, supported by its affiliate the Agricultural Transformation Initiative, played a pivotal role enhancing the sustainability and economic viability of smallholder tobacco farms in Malawi. Grants funded by a Global Action grant have resulted in a 36 percent increase in alternative crop productivity and a 165 percent revenue gain for over 40,000 smallholder farmers.
FARMERS DIRECTLY REACHED
AVERAGE INCREASE IN YIELD PER FARMER
INCREASE IN REVENUE PER FARMER
The Centre for Agricultural Transformation Hub Construction
The construction of the Centre for Agricultural Transformation (CAT) facility, a Global Action to End Smoking grant to the LUANAR-Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources made great progress in 2023. Located on the LUANAR’s NRC campus in Malawi, this new physical hub for training, learning and innovation will be an inclusive science, technology, and business incubation center. Establishing a physical location will allow the CAT to enhance current programming, which already is helping smallholder tobacco farmers make economically viable, data-driven decisions for diversifying their livelihoods.
Since its inception in 2018, the CAT partner network programming has reached 435,752 farmers.
Agricultural Transformation Initiative Fellowship and Scholarship Fund
The Agricultural Transformation Initiative Fellowship and Scholarship Fund (ATI FSF) was funded from 2019 to 2023 by Global Action to End Smoking and administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The ATI FSF’s goal was to strengthen the capacity of researchers and professionals in Malawi to reduce the country’s reliance on tobacco exports. During the four-year program, scholarships to 17 master’s Scholars and six postdoctoral Fellows were awarded.
An impact report was published that presents key findings regarding the host institution experiences of ATI FSF Scholars and Fellows at universities in the United States, South Africa, and Malawi. The report also highlights the long-term impacts of the ATI FSF program, sharing Scholars’ and Fellows’ successes and research.
View Impact Report
The mission of the Agricultural Transformation Initiative is to prepare smallholder tobacco farmers for an era of significantly reduced demand for tobacco.
We are accelerating comprehensive, science-based global efforts to end the smoking epidemic, with a focus on marginalized communities and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
© 2023 Annual Report Global Action to End Smoking. All Rights Reserved. (formerly “Foundation for a Smoke-Free World”)