IFC partners with AMEA to professionalize farmer organizations in Côte d’Ivoire
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced its support for the launch of the Côte d’Ivoire chapter of the Global Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA).
AMEA aims to improve the quality and performance of the agriculture and agribusiness value chains in Côte d’Ivoire by making available training materials, assessment tools, and service provider rosters to support the professionalization of the country’s cooperatives and agricultural input suppliers.
Agriculture is an essential component of the economic growth and development of Côte d'Ivoire. It is the world's largest producer of cocoa and cashew nuts and exports palm oil, cotton, pineapple, mangoes and bananas.
Two thirds of Ivorians draw their livelihood from the agricultural sector, which contributes nearly 21 percent of Côte d'Ivoire’s GDP and provides almost half of jobs for active workers. Despite this, the sector’s potential is diminished by limited local processing, insufficient product quality, and post-harvest losses, and weak management skills of farmer organizations.
Marc Steen, Chief of Party of Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) and member of the AMEA Secretariat said: “Establishing an AMEA platform in Côte d’Ivoire with a credible partner like IFC, is a unique opportunity to leverage expertise and experiences of experts to help farmer organizations reach their full potential, deliver quality services to their clients, and raise the profile of agricultural products made in Côte d’Ivoire”.
AMEA will develop a community of best practices in the agriculture and agribusiness value chain, support networking amongst cooperatives and with supporting organizations, provide training and coaching materials to cooperatives and establish a publicly accessible directory of cooperative, service providers and projects in Côte d’Ivoire. Besides IFC, CNFA, USDA, Technoserve, IDH, Cargill and Rainforest Alliance have joined AMEA in Côte d’ Ivoire.
Olivier Buyoya, IFC Country Manager for Côte d’Ivoire, said, “IFC is proud to help establish AMEA in Côte d’Ivoire. Working with our partners and all stakeholders in the agriculture and agribusiness sector, we hope to develop efficient mechanisms to support and sustain the growth of farmer organizations and strengthen the value chain to attract and retain more private investment in the sector.”
IFC plays a key role in advancing agriculture and agribusiness in developing countries. In 2018, IFC investment reached 3.7 million farmers and supported the creation of 464 thousand jobs, including 131,000 jobs for women.
