Beyond Productivity

Sustainable Livelihoods

CARE aims to make 50 million people more food secure and resilient to climate impacts by 2020. To meet this goal, CARE’s focuses Beyond Productivity in our work with local and global food systems. We use the SuPER principles to guide our work. These hold that sustainable agriculture systems (from inputs to production to processing and marketing, as well as consumption) should be Sustainable, Productive and Profitable, Equitable, and Resilient. They should be designed to achieve multiple benefits at the same time: increasing production, productivity, and incomes in ways that are resilient to climate change, while contributing to women’s empowerment, improved nutrition, and a reduced environmental footprint, and without undermining the food and nutrition security of future generations.

To achieve food and nutrition security, CARE works directly with communities to prioritize their needs and make sure their voices are heard from local to global levels. We work particularly with women and girls, who face discrimination but can be key agents of change in their communities. We support poor households to sustainably grow, buy, and appropriately use enough nutritious food and to adapt to changes in their climate and environment–now and in the future. And we help families earn, save, and spend money in ways that help themselves and their communities. By putting the priorities of poor people at the center of our efforts, we work to ensure they have more control over their futures and can realize their aspirations for themselves, their families, and their countries.