Agricultural Value Chains for Sustainable Development (A4SD)

Contribute to the achievements of the Agenda 2030 and its SDGs by promoting well selected agricultural value chains in Sub-Sahara Africa

Challenges

Agricultural production occupies two third of the Sub-Saharan population and feeds many more including urban population. Rural livelihoods depend on it but 25% percent suffer from hunger or malnutrition. Productivity increases lagging behind rapid population growth put food security at risk. Current agricultural practices do not suffice to close the gap. Limited access to technical and financial services and quality inputs lead to yields way below their potential. Weak marketing, insufficient business intelligence, skills and negotiation power leave smallholder farmers with unattractively low incomes: the youth migrates.

Impact and Results SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms

Training of farmers in Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and economics through Farmer Business Schools (FBS) resulted in yield increases (16 – 214%) and increased income (up to 150%). Since 2009 more than 1.8 million smallholder farmers were trained (22% women). GAP is labor intensive and creates informal occupation in rural areas where formal employment is scarce. We estimate to have created approximately 680.000 informal jobs in four value chains. This is a significant contribution to SDG 1.

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Due to increased incomes farmers are able to buy food on local markets and improve their families’ food security. Training on nutrition imparts knowledge on a good and balanced diet. In combination, this contributes to achieving SDG 2.

Project name Agricultural Value Chains for Sustainable Development (A4SD)

Lead executing agency

Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Outcome 1.8 million African farmers trained

Impact up to 150% income increase

Project region 14 African countries

Duration 2008 – 2020

Budget spend 124 million Euro + 132 million Euro cash and in-kind contributions by project partners

SDG 17: Partnership for goals

A4SD follows a multi-stakeholder approach, working closely with 155 partners from the private sector, civil society, microfinance, research and government institutions. Building on overlapping interests fosters increased performance of all actors and sustainable impact when program interventions phase out. This impact driven networking for a common development goal focuses on a common value chain mobilizing resources from all partners. It requires complex program management but is key to success at a wider scale. Beyond direct investment all partners contributed know how, business links and personnel worth 132 million Euro. With a relatively small core team, the program can therefore reach a high number of direct beneficiaries. Evaluations rating interventions according to OECD DAC criteria highlight the innovative Matching Grant Fund (MGF) models high efficiency (value for money). A4SD directly contributes to SDG 17.

FBS Training for smallholders –> More income

Smallholders yielding rice

Published by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Address: Dag-Hammarskjöld Weg 1-5

65760 Eschborn Germany T: +49 6196 79 - 0 F: +49 6196 7980 - 0

Contact: Ulrich Sabel-Koschella

Ulrich.Sabel-Koschella@giz.de www.a4sd.net

GIZ is responsible for the content of this publication

In cooperation European Union, with: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation On behalf of: German Federal Ministry for Cooperation

and Development (BMZ) Layout: creative republic, Germany

© GIZ & A4SD / UN / shutterstock / creative republic

May 2017

Marshall Plan with Africa Contributing to the achievement of several SDGs is fully in line with development priorities laid out in the “Marshall Plan with Africa”, recently released by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The establishment of value chains and targeted support for agriculture form the cornerstones of the projects regrouped under A4SD. Creating jobs and increasing income in production and processing leads to improved food security, the Marshall plans main target.

Our approach: inclusive business Based on the Value-Link concept, A4SD supports holistic of smallholders and their primary production up to processing facilities and marketing. This is crucial to mobilize Private Sector interest in inclusive business with smallholder farmers. By pooling public and private expertise, networks and resources we sustainably improve rural population’s livelihoods at a significant scale - reaching millions. Agriculture as a business boosts production, feeding growing populations.

Technical-economic producer references on Good Agri-cultural Practices (GAP) have been developed for 15 value chains in 15 countries. These are short documents for extension workers and farmers. They provide illustrated key messages on GAP as well as harvest and post-harvest techniques.

Together with well targeted cost-effective demand-oriented extension and market linkage along the value chain they are key to intensify production. Farmer Business School (FBS) strengthens smallholder’s business attitudes and management skills for better and diversified income and nutrition. FBS complements training on GAP, financial and technical services that smallholders demand. Since 2012, 13 development programs use FBS in 15 African countries as an entry point to farming as a Business. The Matching Fund is an integrated development partnership uniting public and civil society actors to blend financial and in-kind resources for clearly defined activities aligned with a common project focus in a common value chain. This mobilizes significantly more resources and leverages synergies, resulting in a significantly higher impact. Mutual Learning by exchanging experiences, successes and failures across value chains, accelerates upscaling of best practices to new value chains and countries. The multi-stakeholder platform allows to better share and exchange individual strengths and experiences of the respective projects. A gradual harmonization of monitoring and evaluation of interventions in the four value chains allows to show collective

impact at an aggregated level and to comply with increasing M&E transparency requirements.

Please visit: www.A4SD.net

Value chain

Business Linkages & Skills Development Business Environment & Financial services

Development & Provision

of inputs

Food and Quality Raw

Material

Transparency

Standards Market

Assessment &

Information

• Supply- & Quality-

Management • Processing • Efficiency

• By-Products