The challenges presented by hunger are huge, but not insurmountable

People on land with crops growing
Image from One Acre Fund
Clare Kelly
by Clare Kelly
20 February 2020

One Acre Fund is a non-profit social enterprise working to help smallholder farmers grow their way out of hunger. 

Andrew Youn is the Executive Director and Co-Founder One Acre Fund – he is also a close friend of Virgin Unite and part of our incredible community celebrating ‘15 Years of Wonder’. Andrew has shared what motivates him to jump out of bed every morning, the stories of impact One Acre Fund is proudest of, and how Virgin Unite has helped his team grow and deepen the quality of their impact. 

One Acre Fund is a non-profit social enterprise working to help smallholder farmers grow their way out of hunger.

It’s a bitter irony that the majority of the world’s hungriest people are farmers. According to One Acre Fund more than 50 million smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are locked in annual cycles of hunger because they’re unable to grow enough food to feed their families. Malnutrition can have serious, lifelong effects, especially for children, robbing them of their full potential as they grow up.

In this world, when we combine head and heart – we can accomplish anything

The challenges presented by hunger are huge, but not insurmountable. Modern techniques have allowed farmers around the world to unlock giant gains in crop yields. One Acre Fund is delivering proven tools to smallholders in remote areas of Sub-Saharan Africa where yields and access to financing have lagged behind.

Hunger and poverty are solvable problems – and through the work of incredible organisations such as One Acre Fund, we can eradicate both within our lifetimes. Andrew and his team have already invented effective solutions – now is the time to focus on delivering them to everyone.

Virgin Unite is committed to bringing together people and entrepreneurial ideas to create positive change for a better world – and in 2020 we are celebrating the incredible people who've been part of our journey so far. Join us as we continue to focus on systems change, not just symptoms, and lead through collaboration to help ignite a better future for humanity and the planet.