来自加纳的企业家David Foli Ayivor已经看到了Covid-19危机对农民和城市人民的毁灭性影响。当大流行关闭供应链时，村庄的人们在当地市场面临粮食短缺时，未经收获或未售出的农产品正在腐烂。非洲的粮食系统承受着压力，使生产者和消费者在困难的情况下。

Ayivor和其他企业家知道，他们的业务有所作为，可以帮助建立更具弹性的食品安全景观。随着世界各地的共同19日大流行期间的斗争，许多像Ayivor这样的企业家都在适应新市场，并在陷入困境的时期帮助人们。

These pioneers in Africa’s恢复经济— whose companies directly heal degraded land by growing trees or helping farmers produce food more sustainably — are providing essential services in this time of crisis. Their unique supply chains connect rural landscapes to urban centers, allowing them to improve the health and productivity of agricultural land, stay strong in times of adversity and sustainably meet demand.

Here are four entrepreneurs whose businesses are improving the health or productivity of vital landscapes, while also serving their communities during the coronavirus pandemic:

Foli Ayivor: Putting a Freeze on Food Waste

Foli Ayivor（中间）出售原本会浪费的干果和蔬菜。foli ayivor的照片
Foli Ayivor（中间）出售原本会浪费的干果和蔬菜。foli ayivor的照片

Ayivor是Agromyx这是一家阿克拉（Accra）的即时食品公司，从农民那里购买和处理过多的农产品，否则会腐烂，然后冷冻干燥水果和蔬菜。最近，Covid-19造成了收获后的损失明显更多。政府的现场政策破坏了传统的供应链。许多农民发现很难找到购买者的农产品，使他们的整个收获和收入在他们的领域腐烂。

At the same time, consumers and businesses that can’t access fresh food daily are demanding more of the nutritious, freeze-dried food that Agromyx produces. Ayivor is buying as much as he can from his network of 12 farmers, but he is operating at capacity and needs more investment to meet the demand.

Ayivor参加了WRI的Land Accelerator他说，2019年，针对像他这样的企业家的培训计划“以制定新的策略，并更好地了解我的客户领域”。该计划使他迅速适应市场并帮助更多的农民。

在土地加速器上，Aviyor开始制定他的计划，以购买更多的机械以满足需求。现在，由于危机，他扩大了这些计划。他继续与他在那里遇到的导师合作，以使自己的球场和财务模式适应这种新情况。最终，Ayivor认为，由于他的新市场地位，他现在更接近筹款目标。

Lorna Omuodo：创建更清洁的空气和表面

In addition to creating biofuel, Lorna Omuodo (right) recently started producing hand sanitizer and disinfectant from leftover sugarcane. Photo by Lorna Omuodo
In addition to creating biofuel, Lorna Omuodo (right) recently started producing hand sanitizer and disinfectant from leftover sugarcane. Photo by Lorna Omuodo

在肯尼亚，Lorna Omuodo的公司E-Motohelps low-income customers transition from cooking with firewood to clean-burning biofuel. Unlike most biofuels that use crops, Omuodo uses leftover sugarcane stalks that would otherwise go to waste. E-moto protects households from indoor air pollution, which杀人600,000 people annually in Africa, while also protecting Kenya’s forests by reducing demand for firewood. Omuodo, also a Land Accelerator alum, began her company in August 2019 by supplying 500 families per month, mostly in Kabaa, a town outside of Nairobi.

当Covid-19到达非洲时，Omuodo看到许多人无法使用可以杀死该病毒的消毒剂。她创建了一系列的生物乙醇洗手液和表面消毒剂，并用她用来制造生物燃料的甘蔗废物。在收到第三方实验室结果，她的消毒剂是安全的，并获得了肯尼亚政府的许可，她现在正在将自己的产品分发给全国的供应商。现在，E-Moto每天将多达28,800瓶的消毒剂发送给肯尼亚各地的城市，每天收入约5,000美元。

Omuodo现在通过培训卡巴的家庭使用已经生长的高粱来运营自己的社区酿酒厂，从而加强供应。她还与异丙醇和甲醇生产商合作，使她能够进行烹饪和消毒剂的定制混合物，以便E-Moto可以继续满足强烈的需求。

Twahir说：烹饪森林砍伐的解决方案

Said Twahir’s company makes deforestation- and smoke-free briquettes that allows people to safely cook at home. Photo by Peter Irungu/WRI
Said Twahir’s company makes deforestation- and smoke-free briquettes that allows people to safely cook at home. Photo by Peter Irungu/WRI

其他土地加速器公司被认为对经济至关重要。Twahir说Kencoco，，，，a company in coastal Kenya that turns discarded coconut husks into deforestation-free, smoke-free charcoal briquettes for cooking. Twahir has shifted his focus from providing briquettes to hotels and restaurants to serving higher demand from households.

Twahir observed that “people have already cut down most of the trees in the neighborhood” because of the high demand for charcoal. With everyone eating at home, deforestation could have soared to meet that demand. But just one week after Nairobi was shut down, the government granted Kencoco permission to distribute sustainable briquettes to homes in neighboring districts, protecting trees and providing an essential service.

Edwin Kamau: Keeping the Fertilizer Coming

Edwin Kamau is providing an essential service to his community by turning waste into fertilizer pellets for local farmers. Photo by Peter Irungu/WRI
Edwin Kamau is providing an essential service to his community by turning waste into fertilizer pellets for local farmers. Photo by Peter Irungu/WRI

Edwin Kamau is the founder ofEcoH Holdings，，，，一家肯尼亚公司将有机废物转化为肥料颗粒，以帮助农民改善土壤健康并增加粮食生产。他已获得政府的许可，作为必不可少的服务，每月收集一次有机废物，以继续为当地农民制造和分配肥料。

“The demand for fertilizer has gone down since the farmers are also participating in the shutdown,” Kamau said. “However, we are in communication with various farmer cooperatives to provide them with bulk orders.” At the same time, he noted that farmers still need fertilizer during the shutdown to protect their crop yields, and his company is actively collaborating with communities to meet demand.

Building Vital Landscapes in Africa

These four entrepreneurs are all taking different approaches to tackling the COVID-19 crisis in Africa, but they have embraced one central principal: Protecting and restoring nature builds stronger, healthier food systems that work better for farmers and city dwellers, especially during a crisis. By connecting the rural and urban together, African entrepreneurs are building vital landscapes that work well for farmers, their families and people living in cities. And ultimately, Africa’s restoration entrepreneurs can play a role in helping the continent更好地建立在19日危机之后。

您是恢复企业家还是您认识的企业家？这些故事激发了您的灵感吗？土地加速器今年将扩展到南亚和拉丁美洲。申请here呢

您还可以注册土地加速器的更新here。