The United Nations estimates that one billion of the world's people living under the poverty line (less than $1. 25/day) depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihood. Among the 500 million who own and manage small-scale farms (defined as less than five acres), they are able to produce eighty percent of the food consumed by the developing world. However, despite their contributions to the global food supply, small-scale farmers are among those most susceptible to chronic hunger and poverty. Marginal lands, challenging climactic conditions, and lack of access to information inhibit these farmers from growing adequate food to meet their families' nutritional and economic needs. ECHO's five-year Strategic Plan identifies several goals for responding to the needs of small-scale farmers and those who work alongside them. End goals are as follows:(1) A global network of well-equipped agricultural change agents supported by ECHO, transfers knowledge and skills to the poor, small-scale farmers and gardeners. (2) An international network readily accesses ECHO's repository for sustainable hunger solutions and agricultural production. (3) The poor world-wide have adequate supplies of nutritious food, plant production and water resources. (4) Those associated with ECHO have proper knowledge and understanding of the world hunger situation and are committed to alleviating hunger and poverty.

ECHO's approach to reducing hunger employs the following strategies:First, ECHO disseminates information about innovative agricultural techniques proven to enhance crop production and reduce hunger. These resources are shared via a virtual portal, ECHOcommunity. org. ECHOcommunity has been growing rapidly since it launched in 2011 and now includes over 7,000 registered members. Members may download hundreds of technical documents about sustainable agriculture or appropriate technologies, and issues of ECHO's quarterly bulletin, ECHO Development Notes. Technical information is gathered from universities, network members, and the results of ECHO's own research trials. ECHO staff are readily available to provide consulting and technical assistance. Developing more video training resources and building accessibility from mobile platforms are both important building blocks for future success as explained below. Second, ECHO operates seedbanks (Asia, East Africa, U. S. ) of over 350 underutilized crops with potential for improving food production on marginal lands. Network members may order up to ten free trial packets of seed per year, then test which varieties have the greatest potential for reducing hunger in their respective communities. Third, ECHO provides training and networking opportunities for international workers and farmers. An annual conference is held in Florida, with regional conferences in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. ECHO also operates a competitive year-long internship program and several short-term training courses at its Global Farm in Southwest Florida. The Global Farm serves as a living classroom with seven simulated climate zones that demonstrate various farming challenges and potential food production solutions. In recent years ECHO has realized the need to bring its resources even closer to those it serves by establishing Regional Impact Centers in Southeast Asia (2008), East Africa (2012) and West Africa (2014). One of ECHO's near-term goals is to launch a Regional Impact Team for Latin America and the Caribbean by 2015. A fifth ECHO strategy recently emerged in recognition of local hunger needs in Southwest Florida. ECHO now offers community gardening assistance for local schools, shelters and soup kitchens. In addition, over one ton of produce from the Global Farm is donated to local food banks annually. Finally, ECHO educates the public through tours of the Global Farm and a variety of educational events, with the goal of inspiring people to take action against global hunger. ECHO hosts over 10,000 visitors to tour the Global Farm each year.

ECHO is uniquely positioned to provide technical support in a global, noncompetitive fashion. For over 30 years, ECHO has been building its network of international development workers as well as its repository of proven techniques, plants and farming systems. ECHO's core asset is its global network of international development workers and organizations. The impact of the ECHOcommunity network is substantiated by the nearly 1,000,000 page views the site has received. A survey among network members revealed that each member impacts on average 116 other people with ECHO resources. This leveraging effect has allowed ECHO resources to reach hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers for whom they are most critical. The impact of ECHO's global work and agricultural research has been recognized in a variety of newspaper articles and press releases, scientific journals, and magazines articles. ECHO was recently referenced in Howard G. Buffett's new book, 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World. Buffett's foundation is among the leading advocates for reducing hunger through global sustainable agriculture, and has awarded ECHO with research grants for improving soil fertility. Internally, one of ECHO's strengths is a diversified and committed donor base. Over half of ECHO's revenue comes from 2,581 individual donors. There are also hundreds of churches, church groups, businesses and civic clubs that give to ECHO. In addition, last year ECHO received $867,000 in grant funding from 55 different foundations and grantors. As an organization, ECHO is well-equipped with a dynamic governing Board of Directors, a committed staff of 64, and nearly 300 volunteers per year. Charity Navigator recently ranked ECHO the number one international charity in Florida, and among the top 100 in the United States, based on governance practices, financial accountability, donor policies, and management of administrative costs.

ECHO has developed a systematic Monitoring and Evaluation Plan as part of its five-year Strategic Plan that identifies qualitative and quantitative indicators to assess progress toward each end goal. Assessment tools include monthly ECHOcommunity statistics, anonymous surveys among ECHOcommunity users, evaluations at the end of each ECHO conference and training event, exit interviews with interns, and impact stories from the field. Key indicators and means of measuring progress are described below:Expanded use of ECHO resources in every region of the globe. Measured by number of countries through which ECHOcommunity is accessed monthly (avg. in 2013-14 = 132). Measured also by growth in number of users around the world. ECHO resources address relevant agricultural needs. Measured by (a) number of agricultural practitioners who contribute to ECHO's repository of information, (b) technical documents produced, and (c) survey results that query network members about the relevance of ECHO resources. Recipients of ECHO resources apply knowledge and share it with others. Measured by survey results that query members about how they use and share ECHO knowledge as well as the numbers of people directly impacted through their use of ECHO resources. A large and widely-distributed network shares agricultural experiences and practices. Measured by (a) ECHOcommunity's internal capacity to track linkages and messages between network members, (b) ECHOcommunity survey results, and (c) conference and networking event participant evaluations. Near-term goal is to further enhance ECHOcommunity's capacity for information exchange by hiring a Digital Media Specialist in mid-2014. ECHO's repository of information is easily accessed. Measured by (a) number of monthly ECHOcommunity site hits, (b) survey results, and (c) number of technical requests received by ECHO's Technical Response Unit per month, and average length of time to respond to requests. Medium-term target is to develop smartphone and tablet functionality for accessing ECHOcommunity resources by 2015. ECHO seeds and information are used to directly improve food production for small-scale farmers. Measured by (a) percentage of ECHOcommunity members directly engaged with those living in poverty, (b) practical ideas discovered and/or disseminated by ECHO that offer low or no-cost solutions for farmers, and (c) publication of ECHO agricultural research results. Near-term targets are to (1) expand ECHO's Appropriate Technology demonstration and training area by the end of 2014, and (2) publish the results of ECHO's South Africa research trials in a peer-reviewed journal during 2015.

Among ECHO's greatest achievements are the launch of ECHOcommunity. org in 2011, and the establishment of two new Regional Impact Centers (an East Africa Center in Tanzania (2012) and a West Africa Center in Burkina Faso (2014). The successful realization of these goals significantly advances ECHO's ultimate long-term goal of making its resources accessible to the small-scale farmers who need them most. Specifically, the ability to disseminate resources electronically via ECHOcommunity rather than via mail has garnered the interest of a rapidly growing number of network members. In fact, ECHO's network membership doubled in the last year alone. ECHOcommunity can be translated into 76 languages, and an increasing number of ECHO's technical documents are natively translated into at least 8 regional languages, making resources accessible to most of the world's non-English speakers. The establishment of Regional Impact Centers has likewise expanded ECHO's sphere of influence both numerically as well as in terms of the relevance of its resources. These centers allow ECHO resources to better meet specific regional needs, and encourage mutual learning between ECHO and local farmers. Local agriculture conferences and networking forums are now offered for those unable to travel outside the region. ECHO is also better able to translate more of its technical documents into local languages. The virtual presence of ECHOcommunity. org and the physical presence of Regional Impact Centers allow ECHO to collect more systematic and detailed information about its impact on reducing hunger among small-scale farmers. Beyond survey results, ECHO staff now have greater means for corresponding with or personally visiting farmer families whose nutritional and economic well-being has significantly improved by applying ECHO knowledge. ECHO continues to solicit feedback from practitioners around the globe for how best to serve them and enhance their effectiveness. The opportunities and demands of technology challenge ECHO's financial and human resources, but progress is being made. Getting knowledge resources into the hands of those who can most benefit small-scale farmers is an on-going challenge.