Breaking the yoke of Poverty through Research and Innovation

A female African smallholder farmer stands next to a wheelbarrow filled with freshly harvested vegetables, in the middle of a lush green farm with corn and other crops, under a cloudy sky.

We envision millions of smallholder farmers receiving improved agronomic knowledge & appropriate technologies through innovative business models at scale.

Applied Research

The first step toward innovation is researching the problems, causes, and complex dynamics involved in smallholder farms. This includes background research, user testing, concept testing of potential solutions, and finally rigorous field evaluation of innovations. Research is done through fellowships, funded pilots, and through existing partner activities.

Co-Development

As potential solutions emerge during the research phase of our activities, the next step is to develop these concepts into workable pilots in field contexts. This is done in partnership, with our most important partners being the farmers themselves who contribute feedback and co-develop these concepts into solutions.

Venture Building

Innovations incubated during our research and piloting activities that show promise to achieve impact while operating on a sustainable business model are then advanced to the venture building stage. Seed investment is sought from external partners, investors, or others who see the potential and are willing to put their capital to work to see it materialize.

The Small Farm Innovation Lab is a not-for-profit Venture Builder, which combines the market and business-minded approach of Venture Capital with the patience, empathy and rigor of a non-profit research foundation.