MAEF Round 2: Call for Concept Notes

14 November 2012

This is a call for concept notes for the second round of grants from Maendeleo Agricultural Enterprise Fund’s (MAEF) Competitive Value Chain Fund (CVCF) focusing on Improving Resilience and Livelihoods for Vulnerable Smallholder Farmers in East Africa (IRaL).

This thematic call focuses on improving resilience and livelihoods of smallholder farmers through a given agricultural value chain. The concept note should show clear development of viable business enterprises that are profitable and sustainable in the long run. They should also promote innovative and replicable approaches to improving productivity, market access and returns from agriculture such that households have improved livelihoods and increased resilience to shocks.

The focus should be on enabling small-scale farmers to exploit innovative technologies with a market focus. Ideas must enhance smallholders farmers resilience given the various global changes and challenges; exploit market opportunities along product value chain for specific proven technologies and develop profitably sustainable commercial enterprises. The fund will consider agricultural sector related technologies already tested (there is proof of concept) under farmer conditions and whose viability and socio- economic potential uptake is at least partly established.

Farm Africa’s MAEF will award grants of up to USD 128,000 for 3 years, to initiatives with the greatest potential to help small-scale farmers to develop innovative and viable commercial enterprises that encompass agricultural adaptation and mitigation to climate change, improve incomes and that have methods/approaches to improve their resilience and livelihoods in a changing climate in the long term sustainably.

Download further information, eligibility and how to apply (PDF).

Download an application form (Word)

Applications MUST be submitted by email to maef-info@farmafrica.org by 28 November 2012 at 1700hrs East African time.