Making Cents International is part of a consortium, led by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), that was awarded a $15 million Feed the Future Innovation Lab activity on global horticulture research. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the activity spans five years and will help advance horticultural and social innovations in West Africa, East Africa, South/Southeast Asia, and Central America for nutritional and financial security. To build community resilience, a holistic, inclusive, locally-led approach will be followed to develop environmentally sustainable, market-oriented production and postharvest handling methods that can provide smallholder farmers and other stakeholders in fruit and vegetable value chains more income, as well as improved access to fruits and vegetables to better nourish their families and communities.
Consortium partners also include Florida A&M University, Michigan State University, Texas A&M, World Vegetable Center, and Penn State University. Making Cents will provide technical expertise on cross-cutting issues concerning youth, including advising on project effectiveness in reaching youth and connecting with local, in-country youth organizations on implementation.