Home |CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: COMPETITIVE VALUE CHAIN FUND, ROUND ONE THEME – WOMEN FARMERS IN THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN

CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: COMPETITIVE VALUE CHAIN FUND, ROUND ONE THEME – WOMEN FARMERS IN THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN

Submitted by Website Officer on 9 August 2011 - 2:07pm
Organization: 
FARM Africa
Deadline: 
14 August 2011
FARM-Africa is an International Non-governmental Organisation (INGO) that works in remote and resource-poor rural areas in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Our vision is of a prosperous rural Africa and we work with pastoralists, smallholder farmers and forest communities to find practical solutions to reduce poverty through sustainable livelihood improvements and the effective management of renewable natural resources.

FARM-Africa is now launching a call for concept notes for the first round of grants from the Maendeleo Agricultural Enterprise Fund Competitive Value Chain Fund.  The theme of this call is women farmers in the agricultural value chain and FARM-Africa is looking to fund projects that will enable women farmers to access profitable markets in East Africa.

The Maendeleo Agricultural Enterprise Fund (MAEF) builds on FARM-Africa’s previous initiative the Maendeleo Agricultural Technology Fund and will award grants of up to £80,000 for 3 years to initiatives with the greatest potential to help small-scale farmers to achieve self-sufficiency in the long term.  The fund aims to develop initiatives that support small-scale farmers to adopt appropriate new technologies that can: improve their traditional farming skills and increase their agricultural productivity; add value to their harvest through improved post-harvest handling and simple agro-processing techniques; and bring their produce to profitable markets to maximise their gains. 

The Competitive Value Chain Fund (CVCF) aims to generate, deepen and sustain socio-economic impacts by investing in innovative agricultural technologies that maximise the potential to improve agricultural productivity and agri-business opportunities that can be scaled-out and replicated successfully by smallholder farmers.  Concept notes should focus on enabling women farmers to exploit market opportunities along product value chains for specific proven technologies. This could be through value addition, processing and/or improved access to profitable markets and participation in those markets. The fund will consider all agricultural and livestock related-technologies which have already been tested under farmer conditions and whose viability and socio- economic potential is at least partly established.

Eligibility
Applications are invited from organisations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with a track record of at least 3 years in agricultural development and managing donor funds. Applicants can be Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), private companies, research organisations or universities based in the target countries. 

To qualify, applicant organisations must form an innovative, effective synergistic partnership for delivery of the project.  Partners may include any of the organisation types listed above and/or farmer organisations and extension service providers and partnerships may be formed across national boundaries within East Africa.

How to Apply
Applicants should submit concepts notes, not exceeding three pages in font size 12 containing brief statements on the following:
(i) Project rationale and merit of technology, clear product value chain; 
(ii) Key objectives; 
(iii) Proposed partnerships and the specific roles/contributions of each partner in the project; 
(iv) Innovative approaches and methods that will ensure successful adoption of technology, farmer empowerment and an increase in social economic status, including systems for delivery of key inputs and for output marketing; 
(v) Any positive or negative social and environmental effects of the project and how the latter will be dealt with; 
(vi) Expected social and economic impacts; 
(vii) Potential social and financial /economic project sustainability and potential for scaling-up; 
(viii) Mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.

Application deadline:
Applications must be submitted by email to info@maendeleo-atf.org by 15th August 2011.  
Applicants who are successful at this Concept Note stage will be contacted with information about the detailed project proposal development process and timetable.
How to Apply: 
How to Apply
Applicants should submit concepts notes, not exceeding three pages in font size 12 containing brief statements on the following:
(i) Project rationale and merit of technology, clear product value chain; 
(ii) Key objectives; 
(iii) Proposed partnerships and the specific roles/contributions of each partner in the project; 
(iv) Innovative approaches and methods that will ensure successful adoption of technology, farmer empowerment and an increase in social economic status, including systems for delivery of key inputs and for output marketing; 
(v) Any positive or negative social and environmental effects of the project and how the latter will be dealt with; 
(vi) Expected social and economic impacts; 
(vii) Potential social and financial /economic project sustainability and potential for scaling-up; 
(viii) Mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.
Application deadline:
Applications must be submitted by email to info@maendeleo-atf.org by 15th August 2011.  
Applicants who are successful at this Concept Note stage will be contacted with information about the detailed project proposal development process and timetable.
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Microsoft Office document icon 2011.07.26 MAEF CVCF Round 1 Call for CNs - FULL.doc89 KB