Impact Story. From subsistence farmer to commercial farmer.
It is harvest time and Jekoniah is bringing in the best crop he has ever grown - more than 25 bags of maize. Things started to change for Jekoniah when he joined a farmer group organized by Pearl Foods, a Cheetah Development investment. He waited two years to join, verifying the success of his neighbors in working with Cheetah
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| Jekoniah and Ray Menard |
because he couldn't take a risk on a loan with his family living right at the edge. He's glad he did, because now he has a new life.
Jekoniah joined a small group of farmers organized by Cheetah that guarantee each other's loans. The local bank was willing to make the loan to Jekoniah's farmers group because Cheetah provided collateral and the sale of the farmers group crops is guaranteed by Pearl Foods. It will cost Jekoniah 5 bags to repay the loan, he will keep 10 bags for food (finally enough!) and sell 10 bags for around $280. This is the most money he has ever had. Jekoniah has crossed the line from subsistence farming to commercial farming.
But this is not only change for Jekoniah and his family, but also for his entire community. Higher farmer incomes mean the local clinic is upgraded, the villagers convinced the local government to improve the road, fields are being surveyed for land titles and a church is being built. This is what it means to bring livelihoods and economic development.
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