Program Selection
We identify the best and brightest women farmers whose values align with those of The Harvest Fund
Overview
Our competitive selection process ensures that we recruit entrepreneurially-minded, talented yet disadvantaged women farmers into our program. Our program is open to any women's farming group residing in the Kafue District of Zambia and under management of the Kafue office of the Ministry of Agriculture. Our selection process starts every August and we select a minimum of one cooperative for the dry season (November to July) and for the off season (March to February).
Criteria
Each cooperative must meet the minimum criteria in order to be considered in the selection process:
- Be registered as a women's cooperative with the Kafue Ministry of Agriculture
- Have at least one cooperative line of business or source of income related to farming, specifically maize
- Have at least one member with possession of a mobile phone with sufficient talktime to make and receive calls and text messages
- Possess enough funds to send at least four cooperative members to the final competition in September at a pre-determined location along Kafue Road in Kafue town
Timeline
We launch our selection process once a year prior to the start of the Zambian rainy season
1June
Public promotion of The Harvest Fund selection process begins through Facebook, WhatsApp, and the Ministry of Agriculture's Kafue office.
2July
All interested women's cooperatives must text their camp extension officer with an expression of interest and the answer to the primary selection question by July 31st.
3August
Announcement will be made of the cooperatives selected as semi-finalists. Semi-finalists will be contacted through their camp extension officer and notified of the details of the final competition.
4September
The final competition will be held at a location in Kafue town and details will be disclosed only to semi-finalists and their camp extension officers. At least four (4) female members of each semi-finalist cooperative must attend.
5October
The finalists will be announced. Each winning cooperative will be contacted directly through their chairperson and camp extension officer. All other cooperatives will be notified through their camp extension officer.
6November
The winning cooperative for the off season begins their program.
Need More Information?
We realize that our selection process is a bit different and, thus, welcome any requests for additional information
The Harvest Fund is a US IRS 501(c)(3) registered organization