As a subcontractor to the non profit organisation ACDI/VOCA, Crown Agents USA (CA-USA) has been awarded a task order for Ethiopia under the USAID Support for Food Security Activities (SFSA) IQC. The Agricultural Growth Programme-Value Chain Expansion (AGP-VCE) project is part of USAID/Ethiopia's commitment to support an Ethiopian-led initiative for agricultural growth emerging from the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) process.
With almost 90% of Ethiopia's population relying on agriculture for their livelihood, it is increasingly important to bolster their economic growth through trade and agricultural growth efforts in order to reduce poverty and widespread hunger.
The goal of the AGP-VCE is to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger in Ethiopia by improving the productivity and competitiveness of value chains that offer jobs and income opportunities for rural households. AGP-VCE's objectives are to:
- Improve the competitiveness of selected value chains, including coffee, honey, maize, sesame and wheat;
- Improve access to finance;
- Improve the enabling environment of selected value chains; and to
- Stimulate increased innovation and investment
CA-USA's role in the project will be to reduce transaction costs in order to improve the market environment, provide technical assistance in meeting internationally accepted quality standards, strengthen market and transportation infrastructure and storage facilities, facilitate the development of new markets, and expand trade for Ethiopian value chains.
ACDI/VOCA is drawing on its abundant experience in Africa regarding food security and agricultural value chain knowledge. As a part of this consortium, Crown Agents USA will respond to constraints identified along the value chains related to logistics, storage and transport, trade facilitation, and technical assistance in meeting international quality and safety standards. Other consortium partners include Booz Allen Hamilton, Coffee Quality Institute, Danya International, The International Fertilizer Development Center, John Mellor Associates, and Kimetrica. The consortium will also work in partnership with private and public organizations in Ethiopia.
These efforts serve the larger goals of USAID's new food security programme, the Feed the Future initiative, which integrates regional hunger- and poverty-fighting efforts in countries with chronic food insecurity and insufficient production of staple crops. Ultimately, these trade enhancing efforts will facilitate imports and exports, creating employment and integrating Ethiopia into the global economy.