GFP CARI Infosheet - German Food Partnership

Infosheet
Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI)
Supporting the African rice value chain
1. Background
Rice is one of the most important staple foods
in Africa. As a result of factors such as population growth, urbanisation and changes in consumption patterns, demand for rice is growing
faster here than in other parts of the world. This
trend is likely to continue in the coming years.
In 2010, 8.6 million hectares were used for rice
production in sub-Saharan Africa. 90 per cent of
the rice produced in the region is cultivated by
small-holders on an average land size of less
than one hectare. For rural households rice is a
main source of food through direct consumption
as well as income through sales of surpluses.
However, local rice production does not meet
total demand. In West Africa, for example, only
about 60 per cent of demand is met by locally
produced rice. The main reasons are found in
low production and productivity. Average yields
in sub-Saharan Africa are the lowest in the
world. Rice yields are stagnating or in some
cases even declining. Locally produced rice
struggles to compete with imported rice, especially rice from Asia. This is partly due to poor
infrastructure for production, processing and
marketing.
As a result, the majority of the rural population
in rice-growing areas lives on or below the poverty line and is dependent on a low-cost and
carbohydrate-rich diet. This is reflected in a
widespread shortage in the supply of proteinrich food, vitamins and micronutrients.
2. Project Objective
CARI is a programme, commissioned by BMZ
and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
© KfW-Bildarchiv/ Bernhard Schurian
(BMGF), and implemented by GIZ. Its objective
is to improve the livelihood (income and nutritional status) of the rural population and to enhance the competitiveness of rice production.
The CARI partner countries are Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ghana in West Africa and Tanzania in East Africa. The target group consists of
122,000 small-scale rice farmers with an average daily income of less than USD 2. The programme, which is in the initial stages of implementation, runs from October 2013 to December 2017.
To implement CARI, GIZ collaborates with a
consortium of national and international partners. They include the Kilimo Trust and Technoserve, consultancy companies that are en-
gaged in implementing and monitoring activities
in Ghana and Tanzania, and the John A. Kufuor
Foundation, which is responsible for policy advocacy initiatives.
ters the cultivation of legumes (especially
beans) and horticultural products. This approach has the potential to generate benefits
especially for women and encourages production of additional foods for a more balanced diet
at the household level.
3. Project Approach
b. Increased efficiency of local rice sourcing,
processing and marketing through structured
value chain linkages, improved technology and
process management
The project involves four intervention areas: (a)
introducing and disseminating techniques to
enhance productivity and sustainability of rice
cultivation and improve the quality of yields, (b)
optimizing backward and forward linkages in
the value chain, (c) improving access to finance
for farmers and other stakeholders in the rice
value chain and (d) contributing to the formulation and implementation of national policies and
fostering regional cooperation between the
partner countries. The intervention areas are
briefly described below.
a. Increased productivity and quality of paddy
rice based on the development of sustainable
and competitive rice production systems
The project’s first intervention area refers to the
introduction and dissemination of production
techniques tailored on the local context and
aimed to enhance productivity, quality and sustainability of rice cultivation. The programme
facilitates access to extension services on good
agricultural practices (GAP) and to improved
and certified seed and inputs. Knowledge of
production techniques is disseminated by training extension workers and preparing extension
materials. Taking into account the low literacy
rates of rural households, extension services
include pictorial tools and participatory and
interactive methods. Practical exercises on
cooperatives’ demonstration plots enable farmers to learn new techniques through direct application. To conserve soil fertility, organic and
mineral fertilisers are used. Plant protection
agents, especially insecticides, are used only
when needed and growers are trained in their
risks and proper use. The elaboration of recommendations on integrated plant protection is
included in the program activities to ensure that
pesticide use is kept to a minimum. Business
knowledge is promoted through participation in
Farmer Business Schools (FBS) run by qualified trainers. Public and private stakeholders
are advised on local seed production and marketing. In order to support crop diversification
within rice production systems, CARI also fos-
The second intervention area addresses the
contractual relationships between producers
and processors. The programme strengthens
farmers’ organisations (cooperatives) in production and marketing, for instance by identifying
markets for their products.
By strengthening the linkages between rice
value chain actors, CARI facilitates the establishment of supply and procurement agreements between processors and small-scale rice
producers which enable the latter to access
high-quality farming inputs, support services
and markets. At the same time, processors gain
access to good-quality paddy rice, enabling
them to deliver high-quality processed products
at a competitive price on national or regional
markets and to the end consumer.
c. Improved access to financial services for all
value chain actors
The third intervention area aims to identify and
foster financial services that support business
models involving small-holder rice producers.
These services are of two types: firstly, financial
solutions to acquire farm inputs and cover operational costs and, secondly, agricultural insurance schemes and credit guarantees both
for production credits and for investment in
infrastructure and processing, storage and marketing. The programme develops innovative
financial solutions along the rice value chain
and advises the various stakeholders (e.g.
farmers’ organisations, processors) on how to
use them effectively. An important aspect is the
promotion of saving opportunities for smallholder farmers. Designing systems to distribute the
risks among various stakeholders in the value
chain and introducing appropriate insurance
schemes for smallholder farmers is also part of
this intervention area.
d. Enabling policy environment for rice sector
development
This field of activity aims to improve political,
legal and economic frame conditions in the rice
sector. It adopts a multi-level approach. The
programme fosters public-private dialogue and
supports businesses and associations in the
rice sector to better represent their interests. To
this end the programme supports stakeholders
involved in rice-sector policy to optimize their
planning and operating processes and it fosters
regional cooperation between partner countries
and various international rice organisations and
initiatives.
Activities under intervention areas (a), (b) and
(c) are implemented through a Matching Grant
Fund (PPP fund) endowed with EUR 4,700,000.
The fund’s purpose is to stimulate investments
in the value chain that are jointly planned and
implemented by at least two partners. The focus is on initiatives that promote the capacity of
producers and processors to meet market demand. CARI actively supports the involvement
of national companies, such as rice millers and
traders, since they provide a secure market for
producers and have a clear interest in investing
in the modernisation of the sector. German
agricultural companies and foundations have
also expressed interest in CARI and could
make a valuable contribution.
Private, public and civil-society actors are eligible to apply for the Matching Grant Fund
(MGF). Applications are screened and selected
on the basis of their expected contribution to
the achievement of the programme’s objectives.
Evaluation criteria include: number of farmers
reached, degree of innovation, sustainability,
effectiveness, efficiency and scalability of an
initiative. Selected initiatives submitted by private sector actors receive a grant of up to 40
per cent of total costs. Applications submitted
by the public sector or civil society are eligible
for grants of up to 50 per cent of the total project volume.
The first call for submission of proposals started
in April 2014. So far, four proposals have been
selected and are currently being implemented
in Nigeria and Ghana. Three are described in
brief below. Further proposals from Ghana and
Tanzania are currently being processed while
applications from Burkina Faso, as well as further proposals from Nigeria and Ghana, are
expected in the last quarter of 2014.
4. Selected Proposals
Boosting the productivity and income of
small-scale farmers in the rice sector in Kogi State, Nigeria
The proposal was jointly submitted by the local
rice processing company Ajifa Rice & Allied
Agro Processing Co. Ltd. and Vancol CropCare
Ltd., which specialises in agricultural input service provision. The initiative aims to improve the
technical know-how of 5,000 small farmers,
grouped into more than 160 cooperatives.
Through the initiative, 167 rice fields will be
selected for demonstration purposes. Through
participatory methodologies and practical exercises, groups of 30 small-holder farmers on
average receive training in all aspects of good
agricultural practices (GAP). The training is
provided by experienced producers with support from Vancol CropCare and technical and
methodological advice from CARI.
In addition, Ajifa Rice is working with farmers’
organisations to develop contract farming
schemes. Long-term supply contracts provide
benefits for both sides: small scale farmers gain
access to a secure market for their products
while a more stable supply of paddy enables
Ajifa to avoid bottlenecks in rice sourcing and to
improve the efficiency of processing. Supply
agreements that foresee payment based on
agreed-upon quality standards increase transparency of transactions and enhance the competitiveness of local producers and processors
on the markets, thus generating better margins
for all value chain actors.
All stakeholders are involved in the dialogue
with the financial sector with the aim of developing financial solutions to support and expand
out grower schemes.
Boosting the income of small-holder farmers in the rice sector in the Niger region,
Nigeria
This project proposal was submitted by the
Niger State Rice Investment Consortium, an
alliance of government agencies, financial service providers and farmers’ organisations, together with a local rice mill, Onyx Rice Mill.
The initiative takes into account roles and
needs of various value chain stakeholders,
including small scale farmers, rice millers, agricultural mechanisation centres and providers of
technical and financial services.
To improve production practices, technical
training is provided on more than 165 demonstration plots. Small-holder farmers learn, for
example, to calculate costs and benefits of
modern inputs such as certified rice seed. They
are also trained in the use of irrigation solutions,
which enables them to achieve more than one
harvest a year and thus boosts both income
and per-hectare productivity.
The technical training is delivered by experts
from the Agricultural Graduates Association of
Nigeria. Local suppliers of agricultural inputs
such as Biostadt and Bioshop also take part in
the training. Certified seeds are provided by
organisations such as the National Cereals
Research Institute. The Nigerian government’s
Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) provides
seed and fertiliser on favourable terms. The
Onyx Rice Mill buys the rice from the farmers
and is advised on business development in
order to improve its out grower schemes. Credit
institutions offer financial solutions tailored to
the needs of the value chain (including ‘in cash’
schemes to bridge the liquidity bottlenecks associated with paying seasonal workers and ‘in
kind’ schemes to cover the costs of laboursaving mechanisation such as tractor services
and to finance production loans for inputs).
Boosting income and productivity in the rice
sector in the Volta Region, Ghana
This project proposal was developed by the
local rice processing company WORAWORA
Ltd. together with WORAWORA Outgrower
Services Ltd. The focus of the project is to develop a contract farming scheme to ensure a
sustainable and efficient rice supply chain. This
approach benefits both the small-holder famers
and the rice processing company. Farmers get
access to a secure market, while the more stable supply of paddy rice enables WORAWORA
to increase the efficiency of processing and
meet market demand for locally produced rice.
The initiative is implementing various measures
to boost the productivity of small scale farmers
and to improve the incomes and livelihood of
rice growers through higher yields.
To strengthen cooperation in contract farming
schemes, farmers are organized in groups and
trained in good agricultural practices (GAP) for
rice production. The training courses are run by
agricultural extension services at community
level with the support of WORAWORA Outgrower Services Ltd. and methodological and
technical advice from CARI. Business
knowledge is promoted through training courses (FBS) aiming to encourage small scale
farmers to consider their agricultural activities
as a business. In addition, improved ricegrowing practices are demonstrated in the field.
This facilitates the dissemination of improved
rice technologies and increases small-holder
farmers’ uptake of good agricultural practices.
Additionally the initiative aims to strengthen the
capacity of key service providers along the value chain and to improve farmers‘ access to
these services. Stakeholder forums are used to
strengthen the position of small-holders and
ensure open and fair negotiations with service
providers.
CARI is currently holding discussions with other
local partners to kick start the implementation of
another project proposal in the Volta Region of
Ghana.
5. Anticipated results by 12/2017
By December 2017, CARI intends to achieve
the following results in the partner countries:
• More than 120,000 smallholder farmers are
integrated in and benefit from business models
that meet criteria of higher productivity as well
as economic and ecological sustainability;
• The per-hectare income of small-holder rice
farmers increases;
• 90 per cent of small-holder farmers apply sustainable technology packages;
• 60 per cent of small-holder farmers diversify
their crops by growing two other products with
higher nutritional value compared to rice;
• Policy recommendations for the rice sector are
published.
Published by
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Registered offices
Bonn and Eschborn
Koordinationsbüro German Food Partnership (GFP)
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1-5
65760 Eschborn
T +49 6196 79-0
F +49 6196 79-115
www.giz.de
www.germanfoodpartnership.org
[email protected]
October 2014
On behalf of
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ)
Special Initiative "One World – No Hunger"
Addresses of the BMZ offices
BMZ Bonn
BMZ Berlin | im Europahaus
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T +49 228 99 535-0
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