Call for Solutions Private Sector-Related Innovative Rural Development

The Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA) is launching a Call for Rural Innovative Solutions in agriculture to invite the submission of write-ups for known existing solutions applicable to rural agriculture. These solutions should enable smallholder farmers to increase their production, incomes and generate employment for youth and women. The focus would be on solutions generated or piloted by the private sector for up scaling and adoption by smallholder farmers. The shortlisted solutions will be documented, packaged into knowledge products and promoted at global showcasing events for AGRA, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and potentially up-taken by other organizations for wider adoption across Africa and Asia and the Pacific regions. The solution providers will enjoy full acknowledgement and recognition of selected solutions.

Objective and outputs

AGRA has partnered with IFAD to identify, document, and promote the uptake of 40 private sector-related innovative rural development solutions in Africa. The objective of this program is to promote the selected rural development solutions on the Rural Solutions Portal, a web-based knowledge-sharing platform set up by IFAD that collects and shares rural development solutions for subsequent uptake by practitioners and end users in the field of agriculture and rural transformation. Rural development solutions are innovations, technologies, processes and methodologies for the rural world. Use the following link to access the portal: https://ruralsolutionsportal.org/en/home

These solutions should be from the following thematic areas:

•  Input system development (e.g. research and development, seed systems development, fertilizer systems development, innovations for input adoption through private business models, financial inclusion, etc.).
•  Policy (e.g. solutions in policy sequencing, land registration and online land rental market and agricultural parks among other things).
•  Small machinery and mechanization (e.g. pre-production and post-harvest tools and equipment and irrigation technologies).
•  Information Communication Technology (e.g. solutions in e-commerce enabled value chain development, digital-enabled extension, use of satellite imagery or drones for monitoring & information systems).

Submission Details

The proposals should be received from May 03rd to June 15th, 2019 2359hrs (EAT) at the following address: [email protected] . Please include in the subject line “SSTC Call for Solutions”.

Kindly download and use the solution template for your submission. To see an example of the final product please visit the Rural Solutions Portal https://ruralsolutionsportal.org/en/home

Enquiries For enquiries, please contact Jane Njuguna [email protected] or Xinqing Lu [email protected] .