The Bio-fortified Value Chains for Improved Maternal and Child Nutrition (B4MCN) II project is a World Vision Australia and World Vision Burundi initiative funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Running from July 2021 to June 2026, the project works to strengthen the economic participation of smallholder farmers — particularly women, people with disabilities, and the Batwa community — within key market systems in Burundi’s provinces of Muyinga, Karusi, and Kirundo. Through gender-sensitive approaches and a focus on high-value crops such as iron-rich beans, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, maize, and rabbit production, the project addresses the root causes of child malnutrition while building household resilience and inclusive economic opportunity.
Results to date reflect meaningful progress: equitable household decision-making has risen to nearly 79%, women hold 57% of leadership positions in savings groups, and targeted interventions have reached more than 54% female participants alongside marginalized Batwa and disability communities. Recognized as a gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI) Promising Practice, B4MCN II demonstrates how intentional, transformative design can break intergenerational cycles of poverty and malnutrition.
