Value Chain Development Programme

This programme takes a holistic and demand-driven approach to addressing constraints along the cassava and rice value chains. It does so through an inclusive strategy, strengthening the capacity of actors along the chain – including producers and processors – as well as public and private institutions, service providers, policy-makers and regulators.

At the same time, the programme strongly emphasizes the development of commodity-specific Value Chain Action Plans at the local government level, which serve as the basis for rolling out sustainable activities to reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth. The objective is to sustainably enhance rural incomes and food security. The target groups include 15,000 smallholder farming households, 1,680 processors and 800 traders.

Specifically, the programme focuses on:

• Developing agricultural markets and increasing market access for smallholder farmers and small to medium-scale agro-processors
• Enhancing smallholder productivity – and thus increasing the volume and quality of marketable produce – by strengthening farmers' organizations as well as supporting smallholder production.

Thirty-five per cent of the matching grants provided by the programme are to be earmarked for women, enabling them to upgrade their production and processing technologies and capacities. In addition, the programme is applying the Gender Action Learning System, a community-led methodology for rural livelihood development and gender equality.