Agriculture

Since beginning its partnership with the Government of the Union of Comoros in 2011, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) has provided around USD 7.4 million in funding – a significant proportion of the total average of USD 40 million in Aid for Trade (AfT) from various partners between 2008 and 2019. The EIF also contributed to increased AfT from other development partners, helping to finance 18 priority areas identified by the Government's Medium-Term Plan for Trade Integration for Comoros (2012-2015) and within the framework of the island's Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2010-2014 (DSRP). This was achieved through a multi-donor roundtable organized by the Government through the NIU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and with the support of France as the donor facilitator.
The EIF programme has been supporting Uganda since 2009. The collaboration aims to realize the country’s trade policy vision and help Uganda better integrate into the global economy. Improved trade capacity and performance, fostered by in-country development programmes such as that of the EIF, have undoubtedly supported Uganda’s ongoing economic achievements.
12 December 2023 - Farai Samhungu Peter Donelan
With support from the EIF, Zambia intensified its trade growth and diversification efforts directed at different levels to achieve systemic improvements. These were: first, on strengthening linkages to both the private sector and the Government around key products, such as honey; second, on building the institutional capacity of the Government and trade-related organizations, mainstreaming trade in the country’s development framework, and improving the trade regulatory environment; and third, exploring new markets for Zambian products.
3 November 2023 - Farai Samhungu Paulin Zambelongo
The first Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) in 2003 identified a range of challenges facing the country, including lack of capacity in understanding and analysing international trade policies; low productive capacity in the agricultural sector; lack of standards in both the public and private sectors; and poor infrastructure in the processing, marketing and transport sectors. Three projects followed in the years between 2004 to 2008, focusing on trade negotiations, trade policy and statistics.
26 September 2023 - Farai Samhungu Peter Donelan
The Kingdom of Lesotho is diversifying its economy from a heavy reliance on the textiles and clothing industry through the development of, and investment in, the untapped horticulture sector, particularly production of deciduous fruits on a commercial scale. 
17 August 2023 - Kudzai Makombe Simon Hess
EIF support contributed significantly to policy reviews, alignment of legislation, development of consumer protection standards, and enhancing the capacity of sector stakeholders, including through recruitment of technical staff.
15 August 2023 - Kudzai Makombe Peter Donelan
The partnership between The Gambia and the EIF began with country-led evidence‑based research and analysis to identify its pro-poor trade priorities. The resulting policy-guiding document – the 2007 Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) – identified diversification and domestic production of goods and services in the areas of tourism, groundnuts and other agriculture products and fishing as sectors with the potential to spur sustainable development.
3 August 2023 - Farai Samhungu Peter Donelan
The EIF support to Malawi began in 2012. The Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), sought to use the EIF partnership to unlock Malawi's latent trade potential through targeted support in three strategic areas: i) strengthening the capacity of the MTI to develop trade policies and strategies and to participate more effectively in the World Trade Organization and regional trade agreements; ii) addressing challenges faced by smallholder farmers to trade; and iii) supporting the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) to better promote exports and investments for the agro-industry, including working with the World Bank in establishing the groundwork for an agro-processing special economic zone.
9 May 2023 - Daniel K. Kalinaki
Since 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, with support from the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), has been implementing the “Enhancing Capacity for Agriculture Trade” (ECAT) project across Solomon Islands. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services, and that of agriculture and livestock, are also involved.
Farming is a demanding sector, particularly for those seeking to compete in the global market. Many farmers in Zambia are unable to meet international standards and other requirements in importing countries that can help them implement good agricultural practices and stand out on the world stage.
Aware of the premium on value-added exports, the government of Burkina Faso between 2014 and 2018 partnered with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) to improve the drying and certification process of dried mangos for export. The project has been key to slowly but firmly pushing the country towards modernizing its agro-processing businesses – and juicing up its exports.
16 August 2022
The tea makers eagerly await a specific aroma or, as they say, “for the teas to speak.” The machines are switched off as soon as the leaves emit that particular aroma. The rolled hunks of darker, chunkier leaves are then hauled to the drying machine. There, another dexterous worker awaits the leaves.
24 May 2022 - Marie-France Boucher
In 2015, Togo produced less than 25,000 tons of soybeans. Since then, production increased five-fold to more than 200,000 tons in 2021. How did this happen?
5 May 2022 - Ratnakar Adhikari
The impact of the war in Ukraine on food and fuel prices will weaken economies already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate-related disasters.
22 March 2022 - Marie-France Boucher
Supporting farmers and agricultural cooperatives in a post-conflict context is not what funders of international aid often consider a safe bet. But turning swords into ploughs can pave a sustainable path out of conflict for communities, as results from a project supported by the Enhanced Integrated Framework in four districts of the country show.
14 December 2021 - Deanna Ramsay Marie-France Boucher
Yet the country is now Africa’s fourth largest pineapple exporter, and its trade of the fruit with the European Union (EU) increased by almost six times between 2000 and 2014, reaching between 400,000 and 500,000 tons a year. But in 2017 there was a major hitch when the government instituted a voluntary ban on exports to the EU because of high pesticide levels found in its fruit.
19 August 2021
The multimillion-dollar shea industry is booming in French-speaking Africa. With the right support, there is a lot of room for the sector to grow and for rural women to benefit.
19 August 2021
French-speaking Africa is home to high-value agricultural products. EIF is working with producers and processors to make sure they can meet national and global market demands.
19 August 2021
French-speaking Africa has a lot of potential for trade. Find out what sectors have the most promise.
8 April 2021 - Deanna Ramsay
Getting organic certification for shea can be a journey
18 February 2021 - Aadesh Subedi
Originally published by Thomson Reuters Foundation, Tuesday, 9 February 2021 03:30 GMT
11 February 2021
Originally published by International Trade Centre on 3rd February 2021
2 February 2021 - Deanna Ramsay
The quiet outside the nondescript warehouse belies what is happening inside. Machines whir, and halls and walls are piled high with filled sacks of sesame, of chickpeas, of mung beans.
26 January 2021 - Deanna Ramsay
Guinea trying out south-south cooperation venture with Tunisia Trade in Guinea today centres mostly around the export of gold and bauxite, which is used to create aluminum. The country has the world’s largest deposits of the red rock, and aluminum prices are increasing.
19 January 2021 - Deanna Ramsay
A fresh style of training for agriculturalists addresses topics from creativity to financial literacy
5 January 2021 - Deanna Ramsay
Trainings in beekeeping and the provision of hives aims to create additional income sources for agriculturalists Beekeeping doesn’t come naturally, really. 
For smallholder farmers and processors in LDCs, cotton by-products could provide additional income as they adjust to COVID-19 and other exogenous factors impacting world lint prices
Rice plays a strategic role in food security in West Africa, but the region increasingly relies on imports, and local value chains face constraints in terms of technology, finance and coordination. 
24 November 2020 - Dr. Karishma Banga
The government of Uganda put containment measures in place to tackle COVID-19. These included quarantines; bans on public gatherings and weekly markets; closures of schools, borders and nonessential retail outlets; and the suspension of international flights.
24 September 2020 - Marlynne Hopper
COVID-19 is highlighting the interconnectedness of agri-food trade; and work needs to be done to mobilise action to build safe food systems
16 September 2020 - Deanna Ramsay
“Ethiopia has huge potential in honey if we increase our capacity in terms of some value addition of the honey products and identifying new markets. In terms of capacity in Africa, I think we are the leading country, so we can develop this as a new area to get export earnings,” said Mesgenu Arga Moach, State Minister of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.
18 August 2020
Biruktawit Begashaw started her own export company, Qine Trading, five years ago in Addis Ababa. Her business got a boost after attending Gulfood in Dubai, sponsored through Ethiopia’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Enhanced Integrated Framework.
18 August 2020 - Deanna Ramsay
For a new business owner, one international trade fair got things rolling
10 August 2020 - Deanna Ramsay
There was space to enhance this system – by improving the quality and packaging of the potatoes Bhutan puts up for sale, making prices more competitive and shortening the transaction times for farmers.
Food products comprise around 17% of LDC merchandise imports – more than double the world average of 8%.
16 July 2020 - Sophia Gnych
OECD’s Seed Schemes are working to protect food systems globally, with important benefits for least developed countries
16 June 2020 - Michelle Kovacevic
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFRPRI) Senior Research Fellow discusses the challenges and opportunities for food security in least developed countries amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
14 May 2020
Tewodros Yilma of Alpha Trading in Ethiopia discusses his business processing and exporting agricultural products, the role of trade fairs and his plans for the future.
14 May 2020 - Deanna Ramsay
Finding new buyers and tapping new markets, harnessing agriculture’s potential
22 April 2020 - Kai Hughes
Information access via tech could increase yields and incomes for cotton farmers in Africa
SDG 2 commits governments to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, with five specific targets setting the level and ambition of this goal.
25 February 2020 - Deliby Chimbalu
To get international buyers, Malawi businesses tackling marketing and certifications
13 February 2020 - Mischa Tripoli
Agriculture 4.0, fuelled by innovation and technology, is driving more productive, efficient and sustainable food systems.
17 December 2019 - Deanna Ramsay
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Senior Research Fellow discusses agriculture-based economies and how the current US-China trade situation is affecting the world’s poor
New report delves into the trade data on agriculture on the continent, finding positive trends, points of concern and suggestions for the future
Investment mobilization and technology transfers could increase incomes, and enable value addition
25 September 2019 - Deanna Ramsay
The tiny West African country The Gambia is striving to export its crops globally.
16 September 2019 - Deanna Ramsay Michelle Kovacevic
Cooperative endeavor to enhance exports yields solid solutions
19 August 2019 - Deanna Ramsay
Government plus grassroots combo laying foundations for MSME success
5 August 2019 - Michelle Kovacevic
Making more and better ginger crops means more income
29 July 2019
Noah's Ark owner Samuel Musoke discusses his small business and what he needs to succeed from Masaka District in Uganda.
10 July 2019 - Deliby Chimbalu
New buyers means employment opportunities and much much more
Skills strategies can provide a bridging mechanism to enable disadvantaged groups such as youth and women to gain from international trade.
Conquering a nut pollutant means lives and livelihoods saved in the process
9 April 2019 - Michelle Kovacevic
Bhutan’s potato ‘stock market’ goes online
Country is diversifying into soy, and farmers are seeing profits
LUANG PRABANG – 11 MARCH 2019 – Lao PDR’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) have officially launched a new effort to increase the country’s exports and support investments in business development.
4 February 2019 - Michelle Kovacevic
Implementation is everything in aligning trade and agriculture in LDCs in Africa
28 January 2019 - Deanna Ramsay
In countries where farming sustains families and economies, sustainable trade in agricultural products means everything
15 October 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
Increasing agricultural proceeds, processing and marketing are critical in Malawi’s development plans
17 September 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
Strategic alliances and alignments are key to making trade in agriculture work, for all
A multimedia collection from the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF)
In some of the most impoverished countries in the world, agriculture is the backbone of the economy
31 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
In The Gambia, family-owned cashew processors are primed for expansion
29 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
Island nation focusing on its unique, specialty plant life to kick start economic growth
27 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
Malawians are forging new markets for their agricultural exports, within and without Africa
26 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
And the government and NASFAM are searching out even more markets for the country's agricultural production, looking to trade with neighboring countries and to Europe with processed items.
24 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
The country is striving to enhance agro-processing, secure new markets and increase exports
18 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
When agriculture and trade align, change happens for incomes and economies
14 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
With cashew prices surging and armed with solid trade policy, the country is looking to boost its farmers and processors
13 August 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
In Comoros, an essential oils doyenne has plans for her country’s unique yields
9 August 2018
Malawi's farmers have been cultivating new crops with the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi, supported by the Government of Malawi and EIF
9 August 2018
The Gambia has been working across its supply chain to enhance trade in the country
8 August 2018
EIF is the only multilateral partnership working to support trade for development in the world's poorest countries. Check out how we are doing this, on the ground, with our partners, together with governments, always for development, always for the Least Developed Countries.
24 July 2018
The ylang-ylang, vanilla and cloves that grow in Comoros are being used to spur economic growth, with young entrepreneurs leading the way
23 July 2018
Inclusive and sustainable agribusiness value chains can provide one of the highest returns on investment in terms of growth, poverty reduction, pro-poor employment, and women's economic empowerment in LDCs.
19 July 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
The Government is targeting its precious ylang-ylang, vanilla and cloves – key cash crops with global demand. Through the partnership with EIF, cooperatives, trainings for female entrepreneurs like Houria and small business support in the form of vats, labels and processing items have laid the foundation for increased trade for the country.
In a country with a majority of the population cultivating small plots of land, empowering smallholder farmers is the key to economic success
14 May 2018 - Elena Immambocus
A new book on sanitary and phytosanitary gaps from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) highlights ways to support farmers, processors, traders and governments in developing countries to access global markets
11 April 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
Additional land to sow, targeted trainings, and market security mean higher incomes for smallholders
(MASERU/GENEVA) March 9, 2018 – The Kingdom of Lesotho is continuing to invest in agro-processing for its farmers: A brand new horticultural market centre will allow them to better preserve their fruits and vegetables and receive prompt payments for their products.
9 March 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
Just-launched facility offers state-of-the-art services, and promises to boost business
18 February 2018
“Coconuts are both culturally and economically important to Samoans,” says Alberta Vitale, Associate Director of Samoa’s Women in Business Development Incorporated (WIBDI).
13 February 2018
Burkina Faso’s cashew industry is in the midst of a drastic makeover.
13 February 2018 - Michelle Kovacevic
Burkina Faso's cashew sector has been re-made, as a matter of national priority.
28 January 2018 - Deanna Ramsay
By investing in modern rice milling facilities, Cambodia could produce higher quality milled rice for growing international markets and gain international recognition for its milled rice standard.
24 January 2018 - UNCTAD
Two dozen Beninese women making a unique type of garri flour sign up to a new code of practice to better market their product and boost incomes
23 January 2018
Project strengthens value chains of vanilla, clove and ylang ylang in the Union of the Comoros Originally posted at ITC News
26 November 2017 - Annette Ssemuwemba
Aminata Dominique Diouf was seven years old when her father bought a small farm 15 minutes from the Senegal-Gambia border.
Chandra and her 25 colleagues from her women's association take a break from the day's farming business to hold a meeting on their ginger business prospects and the stiff market competition they face with India's value-added ginger.