SNV, a Dutch development organization, with the major aim of improving the value chain in fruit and vegetable sectors, has unveiled a 100 million birr Smallholder Chain Integration Fund to be granted to industry role players.
The grant, which is part of Horticulture-Livelihood, Innovation, and Food safety in Ethiopia (Horti-LIFE) program, will award up to 80 applicants engaged in the horticulture sector.
The fund released on July 26, 2020, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), will grant up to 30,000 euro (1.26 million birr) for a single project.
“Through the grant, SNV aims to increase the income of smallholder farmers and productivity, boost their access to market and reliable inputs and make horticulture products affordable and safe,” said Yetnayet Girma, Agri-sector lead at SNV.
The project will take place in 47 woredas in four regional states, namely Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region states.
SNV will award applicants who will bring the best proposals to integrate smallholder farmers in high-value chains by offering access to inputs, services, finance, knowledge and skills, and markets.
Private companies, small and medium and sized enterprises, start-ups, farmers, cooperative unions, wholesalers, retailers, supermarkets, and other industry role players can apply for the fund.
Applicants can compete for a maximum of 3 different project proposals, and the grant is awarded for each project that will get selected. However, applicants are also expected to match the grant and co-finance the project, contributing at least 40% of the proposed project’s total budget.
SNV plans to releases the grants in a set of cycles. In the first cycle, which has a closing date of September 15, 2020, up to 35 proposals will be awarded, and in the second cycle, 25 projects will follow.
“So far, 100 people have shown interest in the grant and have contacted us,” said Geberemicahel Habte, Agri-business advisor at SNV.
The grant unveiled by SNV is part of a 20 million dollar Horticulture-Livelihood, Innovation, and Food Safety program funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
This project aims to increase the income of 100,000 smallholder farmers as well as private companies and raise food and nutrition security, market integration, and climate change resilience of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.
“SNV is releasing grant for a second time after successfully completing the first phase,” said Geberemichael.
In the first phase launched in 2016, 25 applicants were awarded up to 25,000 euros each.
The horticulture sector in Ethiopia employs around 200,000 citizens and occupies 10,897.21 hectares of land.
There are around 126 investments in Ethiopia that are engaged in exporting flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. In the last fiscal year, the nation earned 318 million USD from the export of flowers and other horticulture products.
The flower sector takes the lion’s share in the revenue amounting to 216 million dollars while the remaining 57 million dollars was secured from vegetables, fruit and herbs export, according to
Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, UK, USA, Japan, Norway, Germany, UAE, Belgium, and Italy are the main export destinations of Ethiopian horticulture products
SNV is a not-for-profit international organization founded in the Netherlands and has been active in Ethiopia since 1974. The Dutch organization is engaged in agriculture, energy, and Water, Sanitation, and hygiene sectors.
