TANZANIA – French Development Agency, AFD (Agence Française de Développement) has signed a 1.5 million Euros (US$1.6m) grant agreement with the African Organic Network (AfrONet) to implement the Institutional Innovations for Organic Agriculture in Africa (IIABA) project in Tanzania.

The IIABA project aims to catalyse scaling up of organic agriculture in the country and will be implemented in Dodoma, Ruvuma, Zanzibar and Mafia, reports Daily News.

The financing of the project 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.

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 development of organic agriculture.

The project 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).

They will provide technical assistance, conduct studies and underpin all the partners’ activities through action research.

AfrONet, the coordinator of the project facilitates its developmental projects in Tanzania, Uganda, and Morocco

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 Agroecological initiatives network in Morocco (Riam), who are responsible for the national management of the innovations in each country.

As an umbrella organisation it aims at uniting and representing African organic stakeholders throughout the African continent.

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, it has carried 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 has provided financing solutions and technical assistance of more than 760 million Euros  (US$820m) 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.