Our family has a unique holiday tradition: every year in December, we lend money to a fellow farmer through Kiva. These crowdfunded loans help small farmers to expand their businesses, particularly when it may be difficult for them to secure funding from commercial banks. It brings us so much joy to help uplift others in our industry. The world needs more small farms, and if we’re in a position to help them grow, we’re going to do it!
Historically, we have helped to fund loans to farmers in developing countries, because our small contributions seem to go further overseas. This year, however, we have opted to fund a loan to someone stateside. We are delighted to share that our funding pick for 2024 is Darius from Iowa!
Darius grew up farming alongside his father in a small village in Liberia. After graduating from high school, he went to college to study agriculture so that he could help improve the livelihoods of the people he cared about. This led him to work for the U.S. Agency for International Development as a district agriculture coordinator. Darius and his family moved to Iowa in 2017, where they started a vegetable farm. He and his wife conducted a survey of other local African families and found that many were traveling out of state to purchase culturally relevant foods. This motivated them to grow crops that would fill that gap, bringing the traditional foods they had enjoyed in Liberia to their new community.
Darius has requested a loan to purchase a van to transport produce from his family’s farm to their customers in and around the city of Cedar Rapids. They sell at farmers’ markets and work with food security organizations like the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, Feed Iowa First, and Field to Family. If funded, Darius will receive an interest and fee free loan for a 42 month period. As a relatively young business ourselves, we know just how impactful an opportunity like this can be. Farming is a highly capital intensive business, and it can be easy for a beginning farm to become overwhelmed with debt, especially in today’s climate of high interest rates and tight collateral requirements.
We wish Darius and his family health and prosperity in the New Year; what their farm is doing to improve food access in their community is admirable. Someday, we hope that everyone will have the option of buying fresh fruits and vegetables directly from their local farmers. Until then, we will keep supporting small farms however we can!