The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has announced One Acre Fund as the recipient of the 2023 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.

The annual $2.5 million prize recognizes a nonprofit organization for extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering. Nomination submissions are received from nonprofits around the world, and an independent, international panel of distinguished jurors makes the final selection.

Since 2006, One Acre Fund has reached a network of four million farm families across nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa through its direct service program and partnerships. The fund provides the financing, tools, and training to help farmers increase yields and profits, grow their way out of hunger, and create thriving economies. The prize will help One Acre Fund meet its 2030 goal of assisting 10 million farmers as they build pathways to prosperity. In 2023, the unrestricted funding will support One Acre Fund’s plan to sustainably grow its portfolio across key markets, reaching roughly 1.6 million farmers with its core program and more than three million additional farmers through partnerships. Funding also will catalyze implementation of One Acre Fund’s 10-year climate strategy, which prioritizes adoptable climate-smart interventions that bolster farmers’ incomes.

“Tens of millions of such families play a vital role in ensuring the well-being and food security of their communities and environments, and now stand at the forefront of the pressing global crises of our time: extreme hunger and poverty, and climate change,” said One Acre Fund co-founder and CEO Andrew Youn.

“The fact that extreme poverty is concentrated in farming, with most of the global poor living on $1 a day relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, should be at the forefront of every conversation about sustainable development,” said Hilton Foundation president and CEO Peter Laugharn. “The jury’s selection of One Acre Fund to receive the 2023 Hilton Humanitarian Prize highlights the vital role smallholder farmers have in addressing massive humanitarian challenges such as hunger and climate change.” 

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