CNFA partners with Oikocredit to sustainably improve incomes of cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire

CNFA and Oikocredit will collaborate to facilitate loan access for Ivorian cocoa producers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization, announced that Oikocredit, a social impact investor, and the Maximizing Opportunities in Cocoa Activity (MOCA) project, implemented by CNFA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen cocoa cooperatives’ capacities in financial management and increase their potential for sustainable development.

MOCA, funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program, and Oikocredit signed the MoU on April 3 in Méaguy, in the Soubré department of western Côte d’Ivoire.

Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s biggest producer of cacao beans, responsible for an estimated 40 percent of annual global production. However, many farmers live in poverty due to low cocoa productivity combined with full dependency on cacao production for their household income.

The partnership between MOCA and Oikocredit will offer better opportunities for MOCA-selected cooperatives to develop an entrepreneurial approach to cocoa farming by diversifying their sources of income and accessing appropriate financial services.

Together, Oikocredit and MOCA have already led three regional workshops in February 2019 to provide information surrounding obstacles to loan access for cocoa cooperatives and assessing the understanding of risk management and bank requirements among cocoa producers.

To formalize the collaboration, MOCA’s Chief of Party and Program Director, Marc Steen and M. Camara Sauveur, welcomed a delegation from Oikocredit composed of Bart van Eyk, Director of Investments; Laura Pool, Director of Finance and Risk; Hans Perk, Regional Director Africa; and Solène Prince-Agbodjan, Investment Officer Agriculture. They met with MOCA-selected cooperatives in Méaguy and discussed the main challenges in the Ivorian cocoa sector and opportunities to address them.

The signing ceremony for the MoU was held during the delegation’s visit.

MOCA provides capacity building, training and other support services to Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa producers, cooperatives and exporters in order to boost stakeholder productivity and efficiency, improve farm incomes, and increase the supply of high-quality cacao beans.

Oikocredit supports smallholder farmers by providing access to loans, equity investments, and capacity building for agricultural cooperatives, producers, processors, and distributors that generate high economic and social impact for smallholder farmers.

Through this collaboration, MOCA and Oikocredit intend to focus on:

• Increasing cooperatives’ capacities in financial management and good governance,
• Supporting the development of investment planning and working capital loan requests,
• Developing innovative digital finance strategies,
• Improving finance control at cooperative level,
• Improving producers’ knowledge and understanding of risk management, and
• Facilitating loan access.

“The USDA financed MOCA project works with cocoa farmers and their cooperatives to increase their professionalism,” said MOCA Chief of Party Marc Steen. “This includes improving financial management to reduce financial risks and by doing so making the cooperative more attractive for money lenders like Oikocredit.”

“At Oikocredit we believe that social impact finance and capacity building are among the most effective tools for reducing poverty. We look forward to collaborating with MOCA on strengthening our support of Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa cooperatives and furthering our work towards improving livelihoods for Ivorian smallholders,” said Hans Perk, Oikocredit’s Regional Director Africa.

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CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. We work with businesses, foundations, governments and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based, agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and financing in 45 countries around the world.

Oikocredit: Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has over 40 years’ experience funding organizations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to sustainably improve their living standards. Oikocredit finances 684 partners, with total outstanding capital of € 1,046.6 million at December 2018.

For more information, please contact:

CNFA at publicrelations@cnfa.org or visit www.cnfa.org

Oikocredit at communication@oikocredit.org or visit www.oikocredit.coop.

LAHORE, Pakistan, April 18, 2019 — The U.S.-Pakistan Partnership for Agricultural Market Development (AMD) announced the launch of a new software package to expand Pakistani meat exporters’ access to global markets.

The state-of-the-art software will track animals’ origins and where meat is processed, which will help prevent the spread of animal diseases and enhance biosecurity.  The new software package also will help farmers formulate economical feed rations with an optimal mix of nutrients, which will lower production costs.

“This software will give Pakistani meat exporters a huge advantage in accessing new global markets,” said Director of USAID Pakistan’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance Leslie-Ann Nwokora.  “Buyers will be able to trace the origin, processing, and distribution of meat, while feed formulation and ration balancing software will help farmers reduce costs and provide animals a balanced diet to ensure they remain healthy.”

This is the first time such a software package will be used in Pakistan.  The USAID-funded AMD project provides integrated support to the livestock sector through grants, training, and technical assistance to upgrade equipment, introduce innovative meat cuts and packing technology, and support Pakistani producers and exporters in meeting international food standards.

“Through projects like AMD, USAID is supporting equi

pment upgrades and other initiatives to improve product quality, boost exports, streamline supply chains, and bolster Pakistani exporters’ competitiveness and profitability,” said USAID Provincial Director for Punjab Kevin Sharp.

USAID launched the AMD project in 2015 to improve the ability of Pakistan’s commercial agriculture and livestock sectors to compete in international and national markets for meat, high-value and off-season vegetables, mangoes, and citrus.

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For more information on USAID programs in Pakistan, please visit: www.usaid.gov/pakistan/economic-growth-agriculture

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization, and John Deere, a leading agricultural equipment supplier, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at increasing productivity and income for smallholder farmers through mechanization.

John Deere and CNFA share the belief that mechanization is essential for the transformation of agriculture, particularly in labor intensive, subsistence agricultural systems. Yet, many smallholder farmers lack the access to capital and information surrounding best farming practices to invest in equipment and technologies, such as tractors, that hold the potential to increase farm productivity.

Under the new agreement, John Deere and CNFA aim to help facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness and increase productivity by providing mechanization to smallholder farmers through John Deere’s S.M.A.R.T. program.  This program includes a comprehensive suite of equipment and services that help emerging farmers, entrepreneurs, and farmer groups to invest in new profitable and sustainable contracting businesses.  The outcomes of these new businesses will increase productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers by improving access to and utilization of tractors, implements, and farm mechanization services.

“Sustainable agricultural mechanization is vital to increasing agricultural productivity and therefore the profitability of farming,” said CNFA President and CEO Sylvain Roy. “We look forward to partnering with John Deere to jointly promote agricultural mechanization as a critical way to improve competitiveness, enhance nutritional outcomes and drive global food security.”

“John Deere is committed to self-sustaining mechanization businesses on the continent of Africa,” according to Jacques Taylor, Deere’s Managing Director for Africa.  “Our S.M.A.R.T. campaign has been highly successful and has proven to facilitate dramatic increases in production and incomes.  This partnership with CNFA will allow us to feature these solutions and transform farming on the African continent.”

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CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture is an international agricultural development organization that specializes in the design and implementation of sustainable, enterprise-based agricultural initiatives. We work with businesses, foundations, governments and communities to build customized local and global partnerships that meet the world’s growing demand for food. Since our inception in 1985, we have designed and implemented enterprise-based, agricultural development initiatives to facilitate market access, enhance agribusiness competitiveness, increase productivity, and improve access to inputs and financing in 45 countries around the world.

John Deere: Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land – those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world’s dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity. For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at www.JohnDeere.com.

Media Contact:

CNFA: publicrelations@cnfa.org

KARACHI, Pakistan — On April 29, Consul General JoAnne Wagner inaugurated the Electronic Beam (E-Beam) irradiation facility established through support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded U.S.-Pakistan Partnerships for Agricultural Market Development (AMD) program.

The E-Beam irradiation facility benefits the agriculture sector by decreasing post-harvest food losses due to spoilage and deterioration in quality. The technology also extends the shelf life of foods, and has the potential to increase market access as well as open up new export opportunities.

“We are pleased that the U.S. Government’s efforts are helping transform Pakistan’s agriculture sector by introducing innovative technologies,” said Consul General JoAnne Wagner. “I’m confident that this technology will prove to be a game changer for Pakistan’s agricultural exports.”

E-Beam irradiation technology allows for fast and efficient sanitization of food and non-food products through an electron beam passed through packaged commodities. For fruits and vegetables this means longer shelf life and cleaner products as compared to any other sanitization methods available in the country.

USAID’s AMD program works to improve the ability of Pakistan’s commercial agriculture and livestock sectors to compete better in international and national markets in four target product lines; meat, high-value and off-season vegetables, mangoes, and citrus.  This partnership acts as a catalyst for development and investment in the target product lines, helps improve the quality and increase the quantity of exportable agricultural produce, and promotes cooperation among farmers, processors, exporters, and buyers of Pakistani agricultural products in international markets. This is resulting in increased income and generating employment opportunities for the citizens of Pakistan.

For more information on USAID programs in Pakistan, please visit the following web site: www.usaid.gov/pakistan

CNFA, Blommer Chocolate team up to strengthen production of high-quality sustainable Ivorian cacao beans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization, announced that Blommer Chocolate Co. and the Maximizing Opportunities in Cocoa Activity (MOCA) project, implemented by CNFA, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Jan. 7 aimed at improving the cocoa value chain in Côte d’Ivoire.

MOCA, funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program, provides capacity-building, training and other support services to Côte d’Ivoire cocoa producers, cooperatives and exporters in order to boost stakeholder productivity and efficiency, improve farm incomes, and increase the supply of high-quality cacao beans.

Under the new agreement, Blommer—the largest cocoa processor and ingredient chocolate supplier in North America—will partner with MOCA to work with farmers and cooperatives to strengthen the production of sustainable cacao beans.

To drive those efforts, Blommer and MOCA will collaborate over the next year to increase cooperatives’ management capacities, launch pilot mobile money solutions with selected cooperatives, and improve distribution channels for agricultural inputs.

“Blommer is a recognized leader in advancing sustainability efforts in cocoa communities,” said MOCA Chief of Party Marc Steen. “We look forward to working closely with them, and to leveraging our joint expertise to improve Ivorian farmers’ incomes and livelihoods through the sustainable production of high-quality cocoa.”

“Blommer is excited to launch this new partnership and pilot introducing new approaches to identified bottlenecks” said Kip Walk, Senior Director, Sustainability. “Finding ways to improve management capacities and instituting systems supporting mobile money are critical to the long-term success of the cocoa farming sector.”

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CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, an international agricultural development organization, specializes in designing sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives. CNFA builds strong local and global partnerships, incorporates innovative approaches in its programs, and fosters inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 44 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latina America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.

Blommer Chocolate Company: Blommer Chocolate Company is the largest cocoa processor and ingredient chocolate supplier in North America. With over 800 employees and five strategically located manufacturing facilities in North America and China, the company provides comprehensive business solutions for domestic and international customers of all sizes in the confectionery, baking and dairy industries. Among Blommer’s core competencies are cocoa bean processing, chocolate manufacturing, commodity risk management, and product and process R&D. The company is a leader in advancing sustainable cocoa farming as a founding member of the World Cocoa Foundation, a member of the Cocoa Action sustainability initiative, a member of the Cocoa and Forests Initiative and through its privately managed global farmer programs. Founded in 1939, the company has developed and maintains an outstanding reputation for customer service and quality.

Events will improve partners’ understanding and increase MOCA’s regional visibility

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded Maximizing Opportunities in Cocoa Activity (MOCA), a three-year initiative implemented by CNFA to strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector, will officially launch activities in three Ivorian cocoa-producing regions.

December 11, 13 and 14, 2018, Abengourou, Daloa and Soubré, the departmental cities of the Nawa, Haut-Sassandra and Indénié-Duablin cocoa-producing regions where MOCA has a local presence, will host the ceremonies for the official launch of MOCA’s activities.

“MOCA is excited to start with the implementation of the project with selected cooperatives and partners in the three regions. We see a lot of potential to build upon past initiatives to further support the cocoa sector in the three regions to the benefit of cocoa farmers,” said Marc Steen, Chief of Party at MOCA.

MOCA, funded by USDA’s Food for Progress program, works to increase the quality and availability of the production and inputs, improve harvesting and post-harvest handling, facilitate trade relations, and strengthen producers to better meet the international market demand.

The event will bring together regional stakeholders from the Ivorian cocoa sector to present the objectives of the project and the general strategy for achieving MOCA’s objectives. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with the project’s management team to understand the implementation stages of the project as well as the different components of MOCA.

MOCA is expecting 200 participants over the three events, including the U.S. Embassy and Conseil Café Cacao representatives, local authorities, partnering cooperatives, agroleaders and financial institutions.

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CNFA: The MOCA project is implemented in Côte d’Ivoire by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization that specializes in designing sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives. CNFA builds strong local and global partnerships, incorporates innovative approaches in its programs, and fosters inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 44 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.

On November 19, 2018, leaders in the public and private sector, including U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Ambassador Ross Wilson; USAID Mission Director, Peter Wiebler; Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Nodar Kereselidze, and leading Georgian agribusinesses convened to announce the launch of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agriculture Program.

This new five-year program, implemented by CNFA (Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture), an international agriculture development organization, will work closely with the Georgian Government and Georgia’s agribusiness leaders to create more rural jobs, improve rural livelihoods and advance sustainable economic growth and development in Georgia.

The program will mobilize past USAID partners and prominent Georgian agribusinesses to share the knowledge and skills they have acquired with new participants of the program. Technical assistance will be accompanied by co-financing targeting micro, small, and medium enterprises as well as cooperatives to address constraints in the availability of planting materials, production, post-harvest handling, processing, and market access.

The USAID Agriculture Program plans to create 3,000 new jobs, increase sales by 60 million USD and leverage over 7 million USD of increased investments from the private sector over the course of the five-year project.

Links to coverage of the launch event by Georgian media can be found below:

1. https://imedinews.ge/ge/ekonomika/86066/usaidis-soplis-meurneobis-akhali-programa-gaikhsna
2. https://bpn.ge/ekonomika/50584-usaid-is-soflis-meurneobis-akhali-programis-farglebshi-dagegmilia-3-000-samushao-adgilis-sheqmna.html?lang=ka-GE
3. https://www.interpressnews.ge/ka/article/521749-nodar-kereselize-usaid-is-soplis-meurneobis-axali-programis-prezentacias-daescro/

CNFA to boost productivity, incomes through volunteer technical assistance in six countries

WASHINGTON, D.C. — CNFA, Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, an international agricultural development organization, announced that it was awarded a five-year, $12.25 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Programs in Southern Africa and Moldova. USAID administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.

CNFA has 20 years of experience in implementing USAID F2F Programs, which connect farmers, agribusinesses and agriculture organizations with U.S. volunteer technical experts who provide market-driven solutions designed to boost agricultural productivity and incomes. Over the past two decades, CNFA has fielded more than 2,900 F2F volunteers in 24 countries, most recently in Malawi, Mozambique and Angola.

Under the new award, CNFA will select and field volunteer experts tasked with supporting the production, processing and marketing of products in the aquaculture, horticulture, legume, livestock and rice value chains in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe in Southern Africa, and in Moldova in Eastern Europe.

“CNFA is fortunate to be able to leverage two decades of experience working with Farmer-to Farmer Programs to implement these new initiatives,” said CNFA President and Chief Executive Officer Sylvain Roy. “CNFA’s accumulated expertise will allow us to develop these programs in the most efficient and effective manner possible—and to provide the maximum impact for each beneficiary in terms of economic growth and food security.”

Under the F2F program, CNFA engages the farming community, private sector, universities and other stakeholders to recruit skilled agricultural and business experts, who then use their technical expertise to help program beneficiaries create and implement market-driven solutions that boost productivity and economic outcomes. By improving livelihoods, F2F programs also encourage social stability and reduce the risk of conflict.

CNFA also announced the appointment of agriculture and agribusiness expert Dr. Marjatta Eilittä to serve as Program Director for the new five-year project. In her new role, Eilittä will work closely with senior agricultural experts and program managers who support the value chains in their respective countries to ensure successful implementation of the program in each country.

Eilittä previously served with the University of Florida’s Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems funded by USAID. Prior to that, she provided financial and technical oversight for a $43 million USAID-funded project serving several West African countries.

Over the course of the five-year award, CNFA will design and conduct 420 volunteer assignments supporting 263 hosts across the six beneficiary countries. Plans call for the volunteer assignments to reach 80,741 beneficiaries through formal, on-the-job-training.

Expected impacts over the term of the program include an estimated $1.4 million increase in beneficiary net incomes, and a projected $46.7 million in sales by the hosts.

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CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, an international agricultural development organization, specializes in designing sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives. CNFA builds strong local and global partnerships, incorporates innovative approaches in its programs, and fosters inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 44 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latina America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.

Partnership will leverage ANADER’s local presence in key cocoa-growing regions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization, announced that Côte d’Ivoire’s Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural (ANADER) has entered into a partnership with Maximizing Opportunities in Cocoa Activity (MOCA), a three-year, CNFA-implemented initiative to strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector.

Under the new agreement, signed Sept. 22 by MOCA Chief of Party Marc Steen and ANADER CEO Dr. Sidiki Cisse, the organizations will collaborate to improve the efficiency of Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa value chain and bolster the capacity of the country’s cocoa stakeholders.

“ANADER’s expertise and experience in the cocoa sector will ensure that MOCA’s field activities are implemented in a competent and expeditious manner,” Steen said. “I am confident this new partnership will prove to be a major asset in achieving the project’s objectives.”

“Our organization looks forward to assisting the MOCA project in its efforts to improve the economic benefits of cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire,” ANADER’s Cisse said. “Numerous opportunities in the cocoa sector are just waiting to be exploited—particularly in terms of improving quality, processing, marketing, and resilience to the effects of climate change.”

MOCA, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program and implemented by CNFA, works to increase the quality and availability of the production and inputs, improve harvesting and post-harvest handling, facilitate trade relations, and strengthen producers to better meet the international market demand.

ANADER works to improve the professionalism of farmers and agricultural organizations, providing training and consultation to farmers using tools and programs designed to ensure sustainable and controlled development.

Project activities will focus on regions where ANADER has a local presence, including the Nawa, Haut-Sassandra and Indénié-Duablin cocoa-producing regions.

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CNFA: The MOCA project is implemented in Côte d’Ivoire by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), an international agricultural development organization that specializes in designing sustainable, market-led agricultural initiatives. CNFA builds strong local and global partnerships, incorporates innovative approaches in its programs, and fosters inclusive development to offer enhanced opportunities to under-served groups. Since 1985, CNFA has managed more than $600 million in donor-funded agriculture development programs and has worked in 44 countries across the world in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.