Historically grown in small quantities and contained to household backyards, pineapples and papayas in Sierra Leone have, until recently, provided limited food and income for farming families. However, because pineapples and papayas can be harvested year-round and demand high market prices, large-scale farming of the fruits is attractive to nearly all Sierra Leonean farmers. The poorest farming families lack the capital to invest in the resources required for planting, so WHI bridges this gap by providing the initial inputs necessary to get farmers started, including the cost of training, agricultural inputs, irrigation and machinery. Over the course of the program and through the profits farmers receive from their harvest, communities gain the means to invest resources back into their farms and their communities.  

 

In addition, in 2016 WHI established Hope Farms to demonstrate drip irrigation techniques to farmers. WHI’s drip irrigation system is fed by WHI-built wells and conserves water by allowing it to slowly drip on plant roots in a controlled fashion.  

 

Finally, WHI’s Mango Outgrowers project connects communities who have an excess of natural mango supply with commercially driven supply chains, engaging smallholder farmers in sustainable, income-generating activity that offers high returns for the entire community.