Norway commits five-year funding to civil society

World hunger is on the rise for the fifth consecutive year. Almost 300 million people do not know when and how they will get their next meal. Parts of sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable.

Improving food security is a key priority for the Norwegian government's development policy: Norway supports increased local food production and self-sufficiency in African countries. Increasing the yields of small-scale farmers and making food production more adapted to climate change, is key. Norway supports African states in their work to increase food self-sufficiency.

Support to NGOs working in six African states

The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Norad, has awarded support for five years to five different organisations working in Niger, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Mozambique.

‘With this financial support to civil society, Norway wants to reach small-scale farmers. We want to increase production and make them more resilient to climate change, economic difficulties, and conflict. We are supporting improvements of local value chains to get food from the fields and into to the cities. In this way, we support African countries' own efforts for increased food security,’ says Anne Beathe Kristiansen Tvinnereim, Minister for Development Cooperation of Norway.

Five consortia have been awarded funding over five years

• The Royal Norwegian Society for Development, in collaboration with NORCAP: Increased food production, income and resilience to climate change for small-scale food producers in Tanzania and Mozambique. Total: NOK 200 million over five years.
• The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada: Integrating agriculture and aquaculture to increase food security in Malawi. Total: NOK 170 million over five years.
• PELUM Uganda, in collaboration with Oxfam Novib and CIRAD: Development and conservation of local seed varieties to provide more nutritious food, through collaboration with farmers in Uganda, Malawi and Niger. Total: NOK 175 million over five years.
• SNV, in collaboration with Farm Africa: Dutch SNV will work with farmer cooperatives and small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in Tanzania. The aim is to increase production of durum, sunflower and beans, among other crops, and to ensure that farmers are left with increased food security and more money in their pockets. Total: NOK 200 million over five years.
• Stichting IDH, Sustainable Trade Initiative: Working with the private sector to increase smallholder production of maize, rice, beans, oil and root crops in Tanzania and Ethiopia, as well as creating jobs through local food processing. Total: NOK 255 million over five years.

Women smallholder farmers most important to reach

According to the UN, gender inequality in agriculture has a considerable impact on global food security and nutrition: Women food producers face more obstacles and are more harshly affected than men by the global food crisis. Eliminating gender gaps in food systems could reduce the number of food insecure people by 45 million and increase income for states. Gender equality and targeted measures for women food producers were therefore a key part of the call for proposals.

‘Women work in all parts of the food supply, from production, processing and sales. And they but must be given better opportunities. Supporting women who work with food will provide both more food security and more economic development for everyone,’ says Kristiansen Tvinnereim.

Interest in support from civil society organisations from around the world

Norad received 200 concept notes from civil society organizations, of which 12 organisations were invited to develop full applications.  The applications were assessed by a group of experts in agronomy, civil society strengthening, value chain development and gender equality, in addition to Norway's embassies contributing with country specific assessments.

In part translated from in Norwegian using AI, quality assured by staff.