Strengthening smallholder supply chains for soy and poultry in Zimbabwe

Over the medium term, IFC may seek investment opportunities in the animal protein sector in Zimbabwe.

This program will lay the groundwork for investment by strengthening soy and poultry supply chains in three ways: 1) increasing productivity through training; 2) increasing access to inputs and 3) farmer aggregation.

Cost effective training methodologies utilizing ICTs are encouraged. Access to inputs could be increased through outgrower programs linked to private sector companies or linkages to financial services (the program cannot purchase inputs, beyond those required for demonstration).

See full tender here: smallholder supply chains soy and poultry – zimbabwe

Espression of Interest Deadline: 09 March 2015

World Bank Group Furthers Strategic Engagement with the Netherlands

February 17, 2015 — IFC and the World Bank held a series of policy meetings last week with the Dutch where they agreed on strengthening their partnership by wbengaging in strategic priorities, finding new ways of working together, and exploring the implications of our partnership in light of the recent organizational changes within the World Bank Group.
The meetings, which followed high-level strategic consultations held in September 2013, explored further engagement in four key mutual strategic priorities: agriculture and food security; fragility, conflict and violence; water; and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

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Fake Seeds Study – Kenya

One of the objectives of the Kenya Agribusiness IC Program is to support the enactment of competitive seed regulations in Kenya in order to unlock private sector led growth of the seed sector. The prevalence of fake seeds has negative consequences on competition in the industry as genuine seed proprietors shy away from the market, and farmers are disillusioned by the low value to their farming operation of the use of improved seed. It is therefore critical to assess the extent of faking of seeds in Kenya in order to be able to design effective interventions to reduce or completely eliminate fake seeds.

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WB Job opening: Senior Agriculture Economist – Dakar, Senegal

Job Title: Senior Agriculture Economist
Job Family: Agriculture & Rural Development
Job Type: Professional & Technical
Grade: GG
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Recruitment Type: International Hire
Language Requirement: English [Essential]; French [Essential]
Closing Date: 20-Jan-2015

GFADR seeks a Senior Agriculture Economist to support its strategic, advisory, and operational work in Senegal and where needed elsewhere.  The Bank has a very active engagement on agriculture in Senegal, consisting of a significant portfolio of projects covering among other agricultural research, food security, agribusiness and value-chain development.  There is a very active policy dialogue and close coordination with other development partners.  Agriculture also figures highly in Senegal’s country partnership strategy.

Info at http://bit.ly/1BZUm1S

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IFC publishes Good Practice Note on Improving Animal Welfare

On December 31, 2014, the IFC published its latest Good Practice Note on Animal Welfare, a revision of the 2006 Good Practice Note on Animal Welfare. Input was provided by, amongst others, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Atradius Dutch State Business – Export Credit Agency, and the Office of the Netherlands Executive Director.animal welfare note

This Good Practice Note contributes to IFC’s continued commitment to supporting clients in a responsible and forward-looking approach to traditional livestock production (dairy, beef, broiler chickens, layer chickens, pigs, and ducks) and to aquaculture in intensive and extensive systems to, among other things, help producers access and maintain entry to high quality and value market segments. Continue reading