May 7, 2008

New Project Won: West Africa–RAISE PLUS Agribusiness and Trade Promotion Program

ACDI/VOCA has won a $2.1 million RAISE PLUS Agribusiness and Trade Promotion program as a subgrantee to Abt Associates under the USAID-funded initiative in West Africa.

The project’s primary objective is to increase the value and volume of intra-regional agricultural trade. Its activities will contribute to achieving the 6 percent agricultural growth target set under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) of the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development (AU-NEPAD).

CAADP and has been endorsed by African heads of state and governments as a vision for the acceleration of agricultural growth, food security and rural development in Africa. AU-NEPAD has developed the following goals for Africa to be achieved by 2015:

• attaining food security
• improving agricultural productivity to achieve a 6 percent annual growth rate
• developing dynamic regional and subregional agricultural markets
• integrating farmers into a market economy
• achieving more equitable distribution of wealth

To find out more about ACDI/VOCA’s work in Africa, click here.