Projects to improve productivity and access to markets for small producers are submitted.
(Washington, D.C., Monday, October 17, 2016) Today FONTAGRO announced the winning projects of its 2016 Call for Proposals on “Innovations to improve family agriculture through value chains that facilitate market access.”
Within the framework of the 2016 Call for Proposals, FONTAGRO received 95 case proposals. Fifteen consortia were invited to submit their final proposals, which were evaluated by an external evaluation panel. The panel analyzed such criteria as scientific and technical qualities, economic, environmental, and social impacts.
Winners
As a result of the external evaluation, FONTAGRO’s Board of Directors recommended the approval of four proposals:
| Project Title | Consortium |
| Family Farmers, Innovation, and Markets | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Argentina;
Fundación para el Desarrollo del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (FUNDESNAP), Bolivia;
Instituto de Economía, Geografía y Demografía (IEGD), Spain. |
| Technological Innovation in Andean Cacao | Universidad del Tolima, Colombia;
Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM), Peru;
Universidad de Ibagué, Colombia. |
| Developing Microeconomies in the Production of Essential Oils on Mining Soils | Universidad Nacional de La Pampa (UNLP), Argentina;
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Argentina; Santa Rosa Municipality, La Pampa Province, Argentina; Rocío de Miel S.A., Argentina;
Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB), Colombia; Universidad de Santander (UDES), Colombia; Asociación de Productores Agroecológicos Kankuamos, Colombia; Fundación Universitaria Andina (Uniandina), Colombia; Universidad Popular del Cesar (UPC), Colombia. |
| Andean Fruticulture Productivity and Competitiveness | Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL), Colombia;
National Training Service (SENA), Colombia; FLP Procesados S.A.S., Colombia;
Agricultural Knowledge & Innovation Services (AKIS International), Spain;
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP), Ecuador; FLP, Ecuador. |
These winning proposals introduce specific regional solutions, in which two or more countries work together to generate innovations that improve small producers’ productivity and integration into markets.
Proposed innovations include creating dissemination platforms to share knowledge on best practices regarding market access, implemented by producers in Argentina, Bolivia, and Spain.
Another project aims to improve the quality of cocoa beans and how to differentiate these products in order to gain access to new markets in Peru and Colombia.
A comprehensive project, submitted by Argentina and Colombia, aims to promote the production and sustainability of aromatic spices and essential oils, using such available resources as industrial waste. The project seeks to improve regional economies in areas with mining activity, based on the production of cosmetics and repellents using biotechnology.
Lastly, another original proposal set in Colombia and Ecuador seeks to improve the productivity and competitiveness of avocado, citrus, and passion fruit—among others—with the collaboration of Spain. This would be achieved through coordinated actions among producer associations, academic institutions, and agribusinesses.
FONTAGRO will provide proposals submitted with a total of $1.6 million in funding, and more than $3.5 million in matching funds will be provided by the organizations that participate in the projects.
The past three calls for proposals have resulted in FONTAGRO supporting a total of 16 projects, which have been directed, in a balanced way, by institutions from all three regions represented in FONTAGRO: Central America, the Andean region, and the Southern Cone.
For information and inquiries: fontagro@iadb.org
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About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO is a unique regional cooperation mechanism that promotes family farming innovation, competitiveness, and food security. It was established in 1998 and it includes fifteen member countries that have contributed a capital of some $100 million. FONTAGRO is sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Its Technical Administrative Secretariat is based at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C. FONTAGRO has cofinanced more than 100 projects and initiatives in its member countries for an approximate amount of $88.7 million, including contributions from other sources of funding and executing agencies. Its member countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Contact Information:
Carina Carrasco
Communications Adviser
Telephone: +1 202 623 3038. Email: ccarrasco@iadb.org
References:
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