AfricaPress-Tanzania: DESPITE the coronavirus outbreak, Tanzania agriculture sector will benefit from a grant project financing from the French Development Agency (AFD), with the aim of catalysing a scaling up and out of organic agriculture in in the country.
According to a statement issued in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the project financing agreement that was signed with the African Organic Network (AfrONet), will be implemented in Dodoma, Ruvuma, Zanzibar and Mafia.
The grant financing is dedicated to the Institutional Innovations for Organic Agriculture in Africa (IIABA), project, to the tune of 1.5 million Euros (3.75bn/-).
The IIABA project, coordinated by Tanzania-based non-profit organisation AfrONet, aims to catalyse a scaling up and out of organic agriculture in Tanzania, Uganda, and Morocco and thereby facilitate its development more broadly in Africa.
The funds will support institutional innovations in organic agriculture, focusing on the development of fair and inclusive markets, the strengthening of systems to guarantee the quality and traceability of organic products, and support for the definition and implementation of public policies facilitating the development of organic agriculture.
AfrONet is the beneficiary and coordinator of the project.
The national member associations of its network include Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU), Moroccan interprofessional federation of the organic sector (Fimabio) and the Agro-ecological initiatives network in Morocco (Riam), are responsible for the national management of the innovations in each country.
AfrONet, the African Network of Organic Agriculture Movements, is a Tanzania-based non-for-profit international non-governmental organisation.
As an umbrella organisation it aims at uniting and representing African organic stakeholders throughout the African continent.
They will be supported by two French research institutes, the International Cooperation Centre for Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), and the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), which will provide technical assistance, conduct studies and underpin all the partners’ activities through action research.
The financing was made through AFD’s Sectoral innovation facility for NGOs (FISONG), dedicated in 2019 to organic agriculture.
FISONG is a “thematic call for proposals” promoting the emergence of innovative practices led by French and non-French civil society organisations. AFD funds, supports and accelerates the transitions to a fairer and more sustainable world.
Focusing on climate, biodiversity, agriculture, education, urban development, health and governance, our teams carry out more than 4,000 projects in 115 countries contributing to the commitment of France to support the sustainable development goals.
Present in Tanzania since 2008, AFD group is providing financing solutions and technical assistance (more than 760 million Euros (1.90tri/-) over the last 10 years) to support the Tanzanian government, local authorities, private sector and NGOs to reduce economic, social and territorial inequalities through the promotion of sustainable and inclusive development.
