How we work
Our strategic goals
Our overall goal is:
sustainable livestock-based food systems ensure food and nutrition security and resilient livelihoods of marginalized communities in times of climate crisis and fragility.
To achieve this goal, we build upon three strategic outcomes:
Outcome 1
livestock-based communities have improved their access to integrated animal health services with healthy animals providing safe, quality food.
Outcome 2
livestock keepers have improved their production and increased their climate resilience through agroecological transition.
Outcome 3
food producers and (small-scale) market actors have improved access to knowledge, technologies, services, and market linkages for increased local food consumption and job creation.
Our theory of change
The geographical focus on fragile contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa, which are strongly affected by shocks and stresses from climate change, makes nexus thinking between humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and peacebuilding a priority for our work (Triple Nexus).
Our working approaches
VSF-Suisse commits to applying systemic working approaches:
We embrace the One Health approach, that links human, animal, and environmental health. This integrated approach enhances communication, collaboration, coordination, and capacity development (4 Cs) between sectors, leading to earlier detection of health events and better responses to the needs of rural communities.
We continue to implement the sustainable livelihoods approach, focusing on strengthening interrelated capabilities such as economic, human, political, socio-cultural, and protective capabilities. We follow the capacity development butterfly model, which interconnects the individual, network, organization, and system levels.
We promote a rights-based approach, aligning with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the pledge to leave no one behind of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We focus on rights linked to land access, tenure, water, and basic services. Our understanding of rights-based programming emphasizes advocacy for peasant rights and engagement in networks like VSF International and the Sufosec Alliance.
We promote gender equality and social inclusion by enhancing access to and control over resources and ensuring participation in decision-making processes for marginalized groups, including women and youth. We also empower young people by encouraging them to participate in agricultural development initiatives and by creating jobs in rural and peri-urban areas.
We promote agroecology, leveraging our expertise in livestock to implement relevant practices tailored to different contexts, such as rangeland management in pastoral areas, or crop rotation in agro-pastoral settings. We aim to drive food systems towards agroecological transformation. Agrobiodiversity as a component of agroecology looks at preserving the diversity of production systems with the double aim of maintaining the systems’ resilience and of offering communities more diverse diets.
VSF-Suisse contributes to enhancing the climate resilience of ecosystems, recognizing the interconnectedness of drylands and water resources. The principles of integrated natural resource management guide our approach to understanding resource access and land tenure systems, exemplified by our work in participatory rangeland management.
VSF-Suisse promotes more inclusive markets by empowering marginalized actors within the core functions of market systems, strengthening supporting services, and advocating for equitable policies. We collaborate with farmers’ organizations and systemic partners in various sectors, focusing on access to climate-smart technologies, green and clean energy solutions, equitable irrigation, financial inclusion, and digital solutions.
VSF-Suisse is committed to conflict sensitivity, recognizing the potential impacts of our interventions in conflict-affected contexts. We aim to institutionalize conflict-sensitive programming, avoiding tensions and contributing to reducing them where possible. From the Greater Horn of Africa to the Sahel countries in West Africa, VSF-Suisse operates in regions affected by protracted conflicts and recurrent natural disasters. We therefore give high priority to fostering synergies and the humanitarian – development – peace nexus.
