Synthesis of the CultiAF partnership, 2013-2023

IDRC (2023) Synthesis of the CultiAF partnership, 2013-2023 #64 p.

This synthesis presents the results of a 10-year journey that IDRC and ACIAR have taken together in funding agricultural research to inform policy and help improve food and nutrition security in East and Southern Africa.

To find effective and sustainable solutions to these challenges, IDRC and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) teamed up in 2013 to launch the Cultivate Africa's Future Fund (CultiAF). The 10-year partnership has supported the development and scale up of sustainable, climate-resilient and gender-responsive innovations for smallholder agricultural producers.

Across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, CultiAF-supported innovations enhanced farmers’ resilience and incomes and provided consumers with higher quality and more accessible produce. In total, CultiAF funded 17 projects, which supported the development and testing of 53 innovations over two phases between 2013 and 2023.

Collectively, these projects supported farmers and communities in managing and reducing post-harvest losses, empowering women, increasing uptake of climate-smart agricultural technologies, improving nutritional outcomes among humans and livestock, developing food quality and safety standards, and attracting public and private sector investments in agribusinesses. By leveraging the strengths, resources and expertise of each organization, the ACIAR-IDRC partnership broadened CultiAF’s scope in terms of geographical reach and financial investment, beyond where each institution would have reached alone.

https://youtu.be/S6Iyp-B6rOk?si=QPRiATc5YlmmbCsK