Press Release

USAID Awards CNFA Five Year Southern Africa Farmer-to-Farmer Program

Program will increase employment and incomes in rural areas by delivering investment and technical assistance to agribusiness enterprises 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded CNFA the five-year, $8 million Southern Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program for FY14-FY18. Using a value chain approach to focus resources and to more effectively build linkages between industry stakeholders, CNFA will complete 25 country projects in legumes and horticulture for three core countries including Angola, Malawi and Mozambique.  As a result, CNFA will assist 116 host organizations where an estimated 9,300 individuals will be trained, including more than 3,700 women, generating an aggregated $9.3 million in increased gross sales for hosts.

For more than two decades, CNFA has implemented different portions of the F2F program, including regions in East Africa and Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (ECCA) and has completed more than 1,500 assignments. Through the Southern Africa Farmer-to-Farmer program, CNFA will deliver at least 310 volunteer assignments to support value chains critical for household food security, nutrition and incomes.

The John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program began implementation in 1985 and provides voluntary technical assistance to farmers, farm groups and agribusinesses in developing and transitional countries.  The program relies on the expertise of volunteers from U.S. farms, land grant universities, cooperatives, private agribusinesses and nonprofit organizations to promote sustainable improvements in food security and agricultural processing, production and marketing.

CNFA, based in Washington, D.C., stimulates economic growth and improves rural livelihoods by empowering the private sector.  CNFA’s unique approach is founded on six core capacities: 1) commercial input supply and farm services; 2) economic resilience and rapid recovery; 3) agricultural productivity, food security and nutrition; 4) value chain development; 5) volunteer technical assistance and 6) access to finance. CNFA has worked in over 38 countries worldwide and impacted the lives of more than 70 million people.  For more information, visit www.cnfa.org.