In Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi, a new service for small-scale farmers has spread to more than 100,000 families in just four years. An organization called One Acre Fund brings struggling farmers together to establish a market community and offers them a unique investment package of seeds, fertilizer, training, loans, and market access.

To provide a hedge against drought or disease, One Acre’s “market bundle” includes crop insurance. Ninety-nine percent of the farmers repay their loans, and many double their income per planted acre. Could this sort of integrated development be a model for the rest of Africa?

This video was produced by the Under-Told Stories Project and The Center for Investigative Reporting.

Reporter: Fred de Sam Lazaro
Producer and camera: Cassandra Herrman
Editors: Cassandra Herrman and David Ritsher
Consulting producer: Stephen Talbot
Series producer: Cassandra Herrman
Executive producer: Sharon Tiller