Malawi Food for Progress Program

Land O’Lakes has continued to exemplify corporate social responsibility in developing nations through hands-on commitments, while simultaneously advancing agricultural development, food security and investment opportunities for the private sector. This year, the Land O’Lakes International Development division successfully completed two monumental programs: one in Sri Lanka, where 4,200 farmers increased their incomes by 75 percent, and another in Malawi, where poverty and hunger for 14,000 people were reduced.

In August, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited a Land O’Lakes-supported milk bulking group in Lumbadzi, Malawi, and announced the United States’ plan to invest $46 million into Malawi’s agricultural value chains.

“We’re managing bigger projects, and we are more successful than ever,” said Jon Halverson, vice president of Land O’Lakes International Development. “We’re examining how to be a more innovative implementer, how to strengthen the ties to the company, and how to explore innovative investment in resource-poor settings.”

In 2012, International Development won $57 million in new funding, breaking its previous record. To increase food security and nutrition in parts of Africa, International Development launched three programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. In Kenya, Tanzania and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, the programs will promote agricultural innovations for addressing farmer-identified needs. With support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the division also started new initiatives to strengthen various value chains including beef, dairy and aquaculture in Mozambique, Bangladesh and Mongolia.

Learn more about: First Run Donation Program | Agricultural Productivity