“Food producers are first responders!”
These wise and salient words came from Rosa Rodriguez, country director for Heifer’s programs in Ecuador. Rosa likens food producers to the heroic doctors and nurses we are all celebrating and paying respects to their courage throughout the current pandemic “because they guarantee people’s health by delivering nutritious, healthy and safe food.”
About a year ago, Heifer Ecuador began the Future of Food project. This project looked to reimagine how farmers could grow enough food to meet growing populations — make that food as healthy as possible as diets shift from processed products — and expand their growing capacity amid the worsening impacts of climate change.
COVID-19 brought new urgency to this effort, as public markets were forced to close and cities went into quarantine.
“Food distribution channels had been broken,” Rosa said. “Families in the cities started to look for fresh, safe food, and they wanted to have food delivery to their homes.”
Rosa, her team and project participants snapped into action to establish a safe, farm-to-table delivery service. They quickly produced a menu of products and a rudimentary app for customers to place orders from their smartphones. Now, baskets of farm-grown vegetables, beans, quinoa and other healthy food orders are delivered directly to people’s homes by bicycle.
The Future of Food is also taking off in the Galapagos, the archipelago of 19 islands some 600 miles off Ecuador’s coast. A major tourist destination, people living there are suffering mightily due to COVID-19. Little land is available for farming because 97% of it is protected. Residents get most of their food from the mainland, but shipments can take up to a week to arrive, severely limiting fresh, healthy food.
Heifer Ecuador is partnering with the Ministry of Agriculture, Farming, Aquaculture and Fishing to provide a more stable food system for the Galapagos and to help farmers transition from chemical to natural agriculture.
Heifer is piloting similarly creative food security solutions worldwide.
In Nepal, we helped implement travel passes during lockdown so farmers could sell and deliver food using an “agri-ambulance.” Cooperatives supported by Heifer Nepal are continuing to provide vital services to farmers in rural areas, community veterinarians are continuing to ensure farmers can care for and vaccinate their livestock, and milk collection centers remain open.
In Mexico, we’re supporting poultry farmers using strict biosecurity controls.
In Rwanda, our team is stocking community animal health workers with medicines and vaccines tailored to current conditions.
And farmers across our project portfolio are equipped with ample supplies of masks, sanitizer and other safety equipment.
COVID-19 has caused great hardship among small-scale farmers, but with your support, families worldwide are lifted out of poverty, building long-lasting livelihoods and brighter futures for their children. Thank you for your steadfast support!
