In 2013, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and the Nigerian Bankers’ Committee, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) was launched with the aim of stimulating the flow of affordable finance and investments into the agricultural sector by de-risking the…

The USAID Agriculture Program, implemented in Georgia by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), aims to enhance the competitiveness of key domestic sectors with potential to create jobs and increase the revenues of micro, small and medium enterprises. Georgia’s food processing industry is an example of a sector with immense…

By Louisa Namicheishvili Around the world, food insecurity is rising due to the effects of COVID-19, conflict and climate change. To address these challenges, robust funding and investments are needed to ensure economically and environmentally sustainable food systems. At the 2022 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, I had the opportunity…

According to a recent survey conducted by the Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, lack of credit guarantees is one of the main reasons many agriculture-focused micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria are unable to access finance from financial institutions. Coupled with complex processes for assessing credit…

On October 20, 2022, Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) hosted a panel discussion focused on “Rebuilding the Economy through Agriculture,” at the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue. In honor of Nobel Prize-winning agronomist Norman E. Borlaug, the annual Dialogue hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation gathers agriculture stakeholders…

The USAID Agriculture Program, implemented in Georgia by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA), aims to accelerate the growth of agricultural sub-sectors that demonstrate strong potential to create jobs and increase the revenues of micro, small and medium enterprises. This includes the country’s emerging berry value chain, which the Program…

Richard Banda has operated Rimbecks Agro Hardware and General Dealers, an agricultural enterprise based in Petauke district, Zambia, since 2012. The enterprise, which consists of a retail shop and two outlets, provides inputs to smallholder farmers through contract farming — a method where farmers are provided with inputs by a…

By Christian Schunk In the international development sector, program implementation and business development are often viewed as the driving force behind an organization, with compliance relegated to a bench role. In parallel with this view, compliance practitioners are viewed similarly outside of their community — as process and rule-obsessed, whose…

This article was originally published in The New Times on March 30, 2022. The USAID-funded Feed the Future Rwanda Hinga Weze Activity (Hinga Weze) is concluding its five-year, $32.6 million initiative to alleviate rural poverty and malnutrition across the Rwandan districts of Gatsibo, Kayonza, Bugesera, Ngoma, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Nyamasheke…