AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbH is a private German consulting firm focusing on agricultural, agribusiness and financial development projects in developing and transition countries. AFC was established in 1973. In 2007, AFC became a member of GOPA Consulting Group, Germany’s largest group of consulting firms in development cooperation.
Yes, we are proud to celebrate 50 Years of AFC with our slogan “Expertise and Innovation”!
Expertise was generated during the history of our company by implementing numerous projects on behalf of our contracting partners and in close exchange with different GOPA Consulting Group companies. In our business, references are quite important to be eligible in competing for new projects as demanded in the tender process.
Finally, it is our colleagues in our headquarters in Bonn and about 1,000 experts in our projects in around 50 countries abroad, who provide knowledge and networks to our company. This group with various technical backgrounds, different ages and gendermixed combining numerous cultures, is the real asset of AFC and the GOPA Consulting Group.
Thus, in this AFC Worldwide edition 2023 we describe important steps during the history of our company, further challenges and our ideas for innovation combined with practical hands-on information from selected projects abroad.
Thank you for trusting, joining and helping us during the last 50 years and in the future!
Johannes Buschmeier Managing Director / CEO
We are starting our journey in Düsseldorf, where AFC was founded under the name AFC Agriculture and Food GmbH International Consulting. Founder of AFC was Prof. Dr Otto Strecker (senior) who had previously worked as Director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Research of the Federal Agricultural Research Centre in Braunschweig from 1965 to 1967. Afterwards, he was Professor and Director of the Institute for Agricultural Policy and Market Research and holds an honorary professorship at the University of Bonn. Mr Strecker is considered a pioneer in agricultural marketing and contributed to the change from a primarily macro-economically oriented agricultural market theory to one that understands agricultural entrepreneurs as independently acting, economic entities. As a passionate consultant, his vision to found AFC was to provide production and marketing expertise to international agricultural initiatives.
We are implementing our first project with the illustrative name “Increase of meat consumption” in the Philippines. While the donor Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) would most likely not tender such a project anymore, AFC finally has its foot in the door of international development cooperation for good.
The company moves its headquarters to Bonn, the former capital of West Germany, and home to numerous organisations in the agricultural and food industry. Previously, AFC´s legal form and company name had changed multiple times, but the abbreviation AFC always remains unchanged.
Dr Hans-Joachim Leyrer becomes managing partner. In the same year, the German Agricultural Society (DLG) and AFC jointly found DLG-Agriservice, predecessor of today’s DLG-International. This cooperation created mutual synergies, since DLG gained access to a new, risk-free and international field of business and AFC profited from economies of scale, as DLG is a large non-profit organisation promoting technical progress and scientific advances in the food and agricultural industry. While nowadays DLG-Agriservice operates solely under the umbrella of DLG mainly as service provider for exhibitions and fairs, its first major development cooperation project was the Turkey’s Progressive Farmers’ Working Groups (afterwards: Önder Çiftçi Projesi (ÖÇP) in Tekirdag/Thrace). Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), the project ran from 1988 until 1996. After the project officially ended, the structures remarkably remained and ÖÇP farmers continued with their working groups for decades – a prime example of successful and sustainable development cooperation.
After the German reunification, the regional focus extends to Central and Eastern Europe. With emphasis on restructuring and privatisation, projects often aimed at transforming formerly socialist enterprises. Restructuration of agricultural production cooperatives (LPGs) in the former GDR was carried out together with experts from IAK Leipzig. Starting in 1993, one of such projects in Eastern Europe was the Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Bucharest, funded by GTZ and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). AFC implemented it until 2009 for a total of 16 years, which still makes it the longest project in AFC’s 50 years old history.
Prof. Dr Hans-Joachim Leyrer, managing partner at AFC from 1987-2007.
Prof. Dr Otto Strecker (senior) founded AFC in 1973.
We are launching our first project in financial sector development. Financed by the German Government, AFC conducts “Consulting Services for the Planning and Implementation of an Agricultural Credit System” in Latvia, cooperating with their Ministry of Agriculture. It took place from June 1992 to April 1994, marking the time in which similar to the before-mentioned projects, the ongoing privatisation process took place, also in the Baltic States. Therefore, agricultural producers and the processing industry expressed considerable demands for credits. The project addressed this movement through pre-feasibility studies, concepts and action plans for the agricultural and banking sector as well as through recommendations for policy objectives, bank supervision and an adequate agricultural credit system. For us, it was as a pioneering assignment in financial sector development that we would later build upon with the creation of a separate department to empower financial institutions and MSMEs to sustainably create growth through improved distribution, access and use of finance.
AFC invests in Central Asia International Consulting (CAIConsulting) The Kyrgyz consulting firm with its headquarter in Bishkek has recently become a full sister company of AFC and is now an official member of the GOPA Consulting Group. Today, CAIConsulting’s Managing Director Kunnura Raiymbekova leads a team of enthusiastic, motivated project managers who have an excellent understanding of their local business climate, governmental institutions, educational establishments and political environment.
AFC and the Academy of German Cooperatives (ADG) start a strategic cooperation in international financial sector development projects. Located in Montabaur in Rhineland-Palatinate, ADG enacts as a leadership and management academy, focusing on cooperative banks, enterprises and organisations. We collaborated in multiple projects, in which our partner contributed with their knowledge as a bank-training institute and cooperative system specialist.
Founder Prof. Dr Otto Strecker (senior) retires. Anselm Elles, formerly project manager and partner, joins AFC as Managing Director. Three years later, Dr Otto A. Strecker (junior) joins AFC. AFC dinner in 2004. From left to right: Béatrice Bouju, Dr Ute Jacob, Udo Gergaut (all still with AFC), and Martin WolfAFC Consultants International becomes a member of the GOPA Consulting Group, Germany’s largest group of consulting companies in development cooperation. Johannes Buschmeier (formerly Director of AFC in charge of the department Eastern Europe and Central Asia) and Hans Otto (formerly Managing Director of GOPA) take over as Managing Directors. Mr Otto stayed in the position until he retired in 2013. Wolfgang Schmitt took over and held the position until 2019. Mr Buschmeier still holds the position of Managing Director of AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants. The remaining AFC Consulting AG continues the business of management consulting mainly in Germany independently from GOPA Consulting Group.
After becoming member of the GOPA Group in 2007, AFC hosted several meetings with representatives of the holding and the group companies.
Above picture, from left to right: Dr Ute Jacob, Johannes Buschmeier, Dr Martin Güldner, Wolfgang Schmitt, Béatrice Bouju. Below picture, from left to right: Ines Meier, Eugen DiemelRellecke, Martin Eiling, Hans Otto, Hans-Joachim Ressmann-Esser, Berthold Averweg.
Dr Ute Jacob Director of the Agriculture & Agribusiness – Francophone department
“The special feature of AFC is that since 2007 there has been a Francophone Agricultural department, which before that also included a Hispanophone Agricultural department. So it was de facto divided from 2007 onwards. Despite the small number of francophone countries, the department has always managed to make a significant contribution to the order intake and number of projects in implementation. In the future, we will continue to focus on countries where we are well known and have already carried out many projects. With our engaged team, we look forward to the future with an open mind!”
We start our all-time biggest project: the GIZ-funded “Market Oriented Agriculture Programme (MOAP)” in Ghana with a volume of approximately EUR 12 Mio. over almost 12 years until March 2021. It supported the development of a market-oriented agriculture in Ghana collaborating with the private sector along various agricultural value chains. By increasing climate-sensitive production, strengthening inclusive business models and enhancing capacities of common interest groups, it led to better product quality, higher incomes and more employment throughout different value chains. AFC also implements its direct follow-up project “Sustainable Employment through Agribusiness (AgriBiz)” on behalf of GIZ and co-financed by the EU. Aiming at improved framework conditions for 500 MSMEs in cooperation with the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and Industry, it will run until 2024. Ever since the launch of MOAP, we remained active in the country, implementing 14 additional projects. The latest “Reform Partnership: Development Bank Ghana” funded by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) will be implemented by our Financial Sector Development department.
AFC founds AFCi Consultants Maroc SARL AU. The sister company is in charge of managing donor contracts in Morocco and abroad on behalf of AFC and the GOPA Consulting Group. Since the beginning, Dr Ute Jacob and Johannes Buschmeier are the Managing Directors at AFC headquarters, with Abdessadik Faouzi being the Director on the ground in Temara, close to Morocco‘s capital Rabat.
“Teamwork makes the dream work”. Company excursion in 2013.
Management board in 2013.
Ines Gebhardt Director of the Human Resource Management department
“I would like to thank AFC for giving me the opportunity to continue working for the company abroad in Laos. Although, I miss the short stop with colleagues at the coffee machine, it has given me the chance to redefine my work/life balance. As I already had some HR responsibility in my previous position at AFC, the role as Director Human Resource Management is not a completely new challenge for me. People are the most important and valuable resource of any company. My challenge is to find, recruit and promote qualified talents and to use their qualities in a well-targeted way, so that they have incredible fun at work.”
2016 2017
When AFC reached a turnover above EUR 20 million per year, four departments were formally introduced:
Anglophone Agriculture & Agribusiness department: Johannes Buschmeier (Director since 2007), Nina Thurn (Deputy Director since 2022)
Francophone Agriculture & Agribusiness department: Dr Ute Jacob (Director since 2014)
Financial Sector Development department: Holger Christ (Director since 2016), Sigitas Bubnys (Deputy Director since 2014)
Finance, Accounting & Contracts department: Petra Heinen-Manz (Director 2016 - 2019), Ines Gebhardt (Director 2019 - 2022), Ute Horn (Director since 2023), Fabian Amrath (Deputy Director since 2022)
2019 2020
Ines Gebhardt succeeded Petra Heinen-Manz and now holds the newly established office of Director Human Resource Management. In 2023, Ute Horn-Lemke, former GOPA Consultants’ Head of Shared Services Accounting and Head of Accounting for EPOS Health Management, took over as Director Finance, Accounting & Contracts.
The name AFC Consultants International changes to AFC Agriculture & Finance Consultants. It represents the two thematic focus areas, namely Agriculture & Agribusiness and Financial Sector Development.
Within Bonn, AFC moves from its former headquarters to a modern, energy efficient office space and introduces strict energy efficiency and environmental protection rules. They link-up to the following four impact indicators: flight emissions, paper, water, and electricity consumption. Since the indicator introduction, AFC constantly reduces these main consumables and achieves the certification of its Environmental Management System (EMS) according to DIN ISO 14001. In addition to the EMS applied in our headquarters, AFC compensates all its emissions from business flights through different initiatives, such as the introduction of efficient cooking stoves in Rwanda or the construction of fountains to provide clean drinking water in Sierra Leone. Since 2020, AFC Bonn operates climate neutral.
We turn the Covid-19 pandemic into an opportunity to increase our digital offers and develop our first e-learning course on Agricultural Finance in East Africa. This is followed by further offers, like our e-learning class “Climate Finance, Resilience & Financing for Biodiversity” in Uganda and a webinar series on Agricultural Value Chain Finance for the Egyptian financial sector.
“As AFC is an integral part of the GOPA Group, which plays a major role in the Group’s success, it was important to both AFC and the Group management to maintain continuity in the Finance department. As I have been involved in the development of the Finance department for the entire time that AFC has been part of the GOPA Group, I was asked to take over this position for the last two years of my active employment in order to accompany the transition to the younger generation. As I personally hold AFC with its employees and management in high esteem, I was happy to take on this role and look forward to further intensive cooperation with the department.”
“Our specialised team is the competence centre for financial sector development within the GOPA Consulting Group. It is becoming increasingly relevant for new projects often in close cooperation with our sister companies for crosscutting topics. A well-functioning financial sector is the foundation that sustains every other sector in an economy triggering job growth and prosperity: Financial inclusion strengthens local businesses and enables employment as well as sustainable national growth. Topics like Green Finance, Digital Finance and Gender Finance will remain to be core pillars in the global transformation towards a climate friendly, more inclusive and just future.”
We celebrate our 50th anniversary under the theme “Expertise and Innovation”. Proud of what we have achieved in the past decades, at the same time we are eager to follow our mission: providing competent consulting services to support agricultural, agribusiness and financial sector development in cooperation with public and private sector organisations in developing and transition countries. Today our permanent staff of approximately 63 professionals in our headquarters and our more than 1,000 experts in projects abroad are implementing around 100 projects in over 50 countries. Topics related to agriculture and agribusiness among others include crop and livestock production, food security, food safety, climate smart agriculture, marketing and trade, ICT in agriculture, policy advice. Simultaneously, we are working in financial sector development, such as in financial institutions development, agricultural & value chain finance, insurance systems, banking supervision and regulation as well as on MSME, digital, green, housing and gender finance.
The past years have taught all of us, how volatile and inter-connected the world’s different systems are – may it be natural, health, political, finance or food systems. We faced and are still facing multiple crises all at once. This includes climate change. This includes the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes the Russian war against Ukraine, inflation, political instability and food shortages.
We as AFC are well aware that we cannot deal with all of these topics, let alone solve them. Nevertheless, we will always address the ones, in which we are proficient. Specifically to mention is food security, which we expect to be one of the crucial challenges in the future. As short-term measures, in Ukraine we have proven that we are able to deliver emergency aid (see page 63) and improve resilience by providing finance coaching for Ukrainian entrepreneurs. As long-term measures, in countless projects we have effectively improved and established crop and livestock production, climate resiliency, value chains and food safety. In an ever-changing environment, thereby we ensure to make safe food available to people, which are in need of it. We enable people to find employment and make a living of their production, supporting them to cope with economic pressure. Promoting economies using a dual approach, besides agriculture production, our finance experts support individuals also in financial literacy, access to suitable financial products and insurance to improve their economic opportunities while lowering their risks – posed by climate change amongst others.
Respecting the tasks that lie ahead of us, at the same time, we feel well equipped to tackle them. That is not only due to our 50 years of expertise, but also because of our continuous motivation to extend our horizons and adapt to future trends and developments. In an ever-changing world, we are always seeking to innovate – whether in our projects, e.g. through digital solutions in agriculture or banking, or in modern ways of working together. That is what we stand for: 50 years of experience and innovation. We want to thank all of you – our past, present and future companions for your trust and dedication to jointly keep on delivering sustainable solutions in agriculture, agribusiness and financial sector development worldwide.
Learning about strategic decision-making, synergies and joint forces as well as AFC’s role and success within the GOPA Consulting Group. A look back at the past, present and an outlook on the future, the GOPA Group’s CEO Dr Martin Güldner in discussion with AFC Managing Director Johannes Buschmeier.
AFC joined GOPA Group in 2007. What were the main reasons for this step?
Güldner: GOPA both collaborated and competed with AFC several times in the past, and we always had the impression that AFC had a strong and committed team. In addition, and following discussions with former AFC shareholders, we jointly came to the conclusion that, with EUR six million turnover, the international business of AFC was too small to be competitive or to grow in the future. To be embedded in the GOPA Group, with its access to new networks and financial coverage such as guarantees, and in the strong and like-minded GOPA Group management team, seemed to be the right approach for the company and its colleagues. What’s more, the AFC team proved that this was the right idea leading, as it did, to exceptional success.
What has changed for the work of AFC since joining the GOPA Group?
Buschmeier: A number of AFC-colleagues had long lasting experiences in the agricultural sector and consequently were proud of previous achievements. The Financial Sector Development Department was quite small at that time but we were convinced about the potential. Thus, we were keen to continue the successful work of AFC, but at the same time, we recognised that a strong company group focusing on development cooperation offered unique chances for further development of AFC.
We quickly realised that all the colleagues in the GOPA group have a similar spirit to us. After clarifying the future working fields of AFC in several constructive workshops, we understood that our new shareholder Martin Güldner wanted to help us realising our full potential. Finally, we are proud to be a strong member of GOPA Group.
What has this cooperation achieved since then?
Güldner: As in every good partnership, there is always an element of “give and take”. We learned from each other and tried to get the best from both organisations. AFC plays an important role in the GOPA Group Directors Forum, helping to shape the Group for the better. On the other hand, our AFC colleagues have benefitted from the GOPA Group approach (as defined in the GOPA Rule Book) and our shared services and joint working groups, like the Acquisition Coordination Meeting and regional working groups, to name only a few. This has allowed them to tap into new networks and to focus on the markets, on new clients like the Millennium Change Corporation, and on their technical profile in a more targeted sector-based approach. We are so proud of what we have accomplished together.
Buschmeier: In figures, after 17 years AFC has increased its turnover from EUR six to 33 million annually. These figures already tell us, it has been a success story. However, success has many faces. To mention a few, the cooperation enables us to use strong synergies, e.g. joint databases, a joint compliance system and market intelligence. Also, while AFC is fully responsible for its strategic company decisions, we are involved as a full partner in GOPA Group strategies. Vice versa, AFC shares its strong experience, and our strong regional knowledge such as in Central Asia and Morocco for the benefit of other Group companies.
Global crises are becoming increasingly complex and interrelated, which is partly also reflected in development cooperation tenders. Do you believe the broad spectrum of expertise within the GOPA Group helps to address these crosscutting issues properly?
Güldner: Absolutely. The future of our business will be more and more interrelated and we are increasingly becoming a ‘know-how broker’ that brings crosscutting solutions together. In this picture, the Group’s broad spectrum of sectors becomes increasingly important and we have significantly increased our competiveness by bringing our sector-related expertise to proposals and projects. For example, in education and agriculture, finance and renewable energy, and in fragile countries with various degrees of technical capacity, such as in Syria and in West Africa, etc.
Where do you especially see challenges, potential and synergies for AFC within the GOPA Group to cope with these interconnected challenges?
Buschmeier: In the agricultural sector, the integration of climate change aspects for further development is key and with this come a number of challenges in terms of worldwide food security. Climate change aspects are topics of other GOPA Group companies as well. Crosscutting activities benefit all companies and finally the recipients of our projects, which is of utmost
importance. Our financial sector development department covers financial systems and banking in all sectors, like green finance and even banking supervision. Thus, we cooperate for example with our colleagues from Intec in renewable energy. Another aspect is human resource development, where our young colleagues can profit from various engagements in the whole GOPA Group. Banking and agriculture are pushing digitalisation and again general experiences are being shared in GOPA Group. We have to further diversify our portfolio and to offer services to complex programmes. Referring to agricultural value chains, further education and training of young farmers is an important topic and we already offer services for ATVET together with our colleagues from GOPA Worldwide. Energy and especially renewable energy will play an important role also in stages of processing and storing of food products.
What are your expectations and forecasts for donor organisations’ strategies and directions in the future?
Güldner: We should not talk anymore about “donors”. We work in the context of “development partners” of all kinds. We see many new players and organisations in our markets – and a new alignment with the private sector. In this context, AFC is very well-positioned and is one of the frontrunners in the Group. Looking to the Group’s strategy, we see two trends and challenges. The first is regionalisation – how to shift our business model from a German/headquarter-focused business approach to the countries we are working in. The second trend is towards new clients to support our growth. GOPA Group is the leading service provider in Europe, in particular for the European Commission, for GIZ and KFW. However, to be competitive in a very aggressive market environment –and that is the reality for our markets, where there is a lot of consolidation and increasing price competition and pressure on fee rates etc. – we have to grow and to enter new markets if we want to be successful or independent as a Group. This is why we have opened an office in the US, to approach and to be eligible for USAID – the biggest contributor to development aid. This is a joint initiative and I am sure that it will be important also for the development of AFC.
Buschmeier: Well, the GOPA Group is capable to serve a wide range of clients. One of our most important contracting partner is GIZ. Today GIZ tenders a wide range of projects of different sizes. The financial budget is not the most important criteria for an interesting project, but our project and financial managers are all very qualified in their fields of work and expect to implement interesting and challenging projects in terms of job satisfaction. Thus, we do hope that development cooperation contracts will tender out reasonable parts of programmes to specialised consulting firms. The discussion of combining technical assistance and financial cooperation has a long history. In future, we may be forced to respond more quickly and in coordination with donors to global challenges in a number of fragile countries. AFC is prepared to take responsibility for larger projects and to react flexibly to changing requirements. Digitalisation has also gained importance in development cooperation. Currently procedures are consequently digitalised and it is interesting to see that a number of countries were front setters for example in mobile money applications. In agricultural production, irrigation is a topic with increasing relevance due to draughts and floods caused by climate change. We are testing irrigation schemes which use satellite data to calculate the quantity of water needed on a given day to achieve and keep high harvests and saving water at the same time. Even smallholders may apply this system. Of course, new ICT technologies must be affordable and economically viable for our target groups.
Lastly, both of you experienced many joint travels, field visits and events between AFC and GOPA Group partners. Which one do you think back to most fondly and why?
Güldner: Whenever I travel, I meet AFC colleagues and teams on the ground – we always try to organise joint dinners and to visit the projects. I would say that these meetings, where I experience the teams’ strong commitment to the impact of their work, was and is the most impressive aspect for me.
For me, our last GOPA Group Day was very special as the digital format gave us, for the first time, the opportunity to reach out to our colleagues in the field. Further developing a good mix of communication channels will be key to our joint success. We need physical meetings, digital collaboration, a joint Group culture and modern/digital instruments, such as new interactive portals, to be attractive to our young colleagues and the next generation.
Buschmeier: A lot of examples could be mentioned. I refer to a joint mission with Martin Güldner to Central Asia. This was a new region for Martin and I was hoping to provide many insights
about a region, which I know for more than 25 years. A number of topics worked quite well, like impressive visits to our ongoing projects on site, partly in a very beautiful landscape, which is definitely a big plus for projects in agriculture.
However, during a visit to the Minister of Economy in charge of one of our projects, he used the opportunity to address several claims to Martin, which I hardly expected. Nevertheless, in the next days, most of the subjects were clarified with the Deputy Minister and we organised an interesting GOPA Group project meeting with all team leaders who were active in Tajikistan at that time. Finally, by coincidence we had the chance to view a horse race at the end of the mission in Kyrgyzstan. Why I am looking back at this memory so fondly is because it shows that even though we always encounter challenges during our missions, we can solve them together as a team and with support of different colleagues from GOPA Group in Germany and on site in our projects. Furthermore, we enjoy working with colleagues from different cultures!
“I started as a student assistant over 5 years ago. AFC gave me the opportunity to develop my skills and myself and to contribute to the success of interesting projects around the world. I look forward to the future of AFC, because of the amazing team, interesting problems to challenge and the good working atmosphere.”
Nina Thurn, Deputy Head of Agriculture & Agribusiness –Anglophone Department
“I started working at AFC as a short-term expert in a project in China in the beginning of 2019 and joined the Anglophone agricultural team afterwards at AFC headquarter. Right from the start, I particularly enjoyed working in a company that operates worldwide with great technical expertise. A very good knowledge exchange between colleagues and flat hierarchies are, in my opinion, one of the great advantages of AFC. Even in critical situations, you can rely on the support of your colleagues and the management.”
Annie Stephanie Nana Junior Consultant and Project Manager of Agriculture & Agribusiness – Francophone Department
“Since about one year I am working with AFC and it is an enriching experience with each day offering new opportunities and challenges. I like working in international cooperation projects, because we get to travel and interact with colleagues from various nationalities and cultural backgrounds. The company also offers opportunities to grow professionally by sponsoring external courses to pick up more skills, which will be useful for my career.”
Béatrice Bouju Project Assistant of Agriculture & Agribusiness – Francophone Department“After 35 years with the company, AFC has become a very important part of my life. Here I have learned everything concerning agriculture, agribusiness and financing systems. In addition, neither the term “deadline”, nor the importance of working under pressure is unfamiliar to me anymore. Nevertheless, you do not find such a team spirit as at AFC everywhere!”
“You can be in a hell and feel like in a heaven as long as you are in such the good company like AFC. I enjoy and feel gifted working for this highly professional and qualified company, surrounded by the most talented staff.”
Medina Hromadzic Accountant of Finance, Accounting & Contracts Department
“I work for AFC since three years and I like working in an international environment with great colleagues from all over the world. Considering that I come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a small country, which is still recovering from the consequences of war, I have a special honour to work in a company that supports projects in other developing countries and emerging economies.”
Alexis Nyamugira Consultant and Project Manager of Financial Sector Development Department
“Working for Agriculture & Finance Consultants on projects related to Financial Sector Development is an incredibly rewarding and impactful experience. During the last two years, I have been working on projects on biodiversity finance, solar energy finance, and access to finance for farmers, working with a diverse group of professionals. Working in international cooperation is an exciting and fulfilling career path for those interested in making a positive impact on the world and advancing global economic growth.”
Johannes Geisen Senior Consultant and Project Manager of Agriculture & Agribusiness – Anglophone Department
“After working in various positions in the Philippines for 10 years, I joined AFC in August 1999. What I appreciate most about AFC since then is the work ethics and professional attitude of the staff, as well as the multicultural composition of the teams and the mixed age composition, which ensures the transfer of knowledge and experience on the one hand and the introduction of new, modern perspectives on the other. A good team culture and a beneficiary-oriented mindset characterise AFC. Due to the broad technical spectrum and the variety of customers served, working at AFC is never boring!”
Ahmad Janjan Recruiter and Relationship Manager of Human Resources Department“I am an Agricultural Engineer specialised in horticulture from the University of Aleppo, Syria, and have been working as a Recruiter and Relationship Manager at AFC in Bonn since August 2017. My tasks include, among others, identifying, approaching, and recruiting experts worldwide. Communication with international experts makes me happy, especially when I can use my mother tongue Arabic, but also English, German, and Turkish.”
The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) took place in Berlin on January 19 to 21, 2023. AFC participated with colleagues from six countries and a stand at the innovation forum.
After two years in digital format, the GFFA took place on January 19 to 21, 2023 in presence. The GFFA is an international conference on central topics for global agricultural and food policies. Hosted by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), it is held in Berlin on an annual basis at the same time as the International Green Week and features a large number of events that provide an international audience of experts from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society. In old tradition, AFC participated with a stand and the teams of our seven BMEL-funded bilateral cooperation projects and their project managers from Bonn for a refreshing exchange and fruitful networking (see p. 22).
The 2023 GFFA addressed the issue “Food Systems Transformation: A Worldwide Response to Multiple Crises”. With the 2030 Agenda, the international community has set itself ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, such as ending global hunger. Despite this, the number of people affected by hunger is continuing to rise. In addition to the climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian war against Ukraine has become a new driving force of global food insecurity. The world is currently facing the worst food crisis since World War II.
To overcome the first food shortcut in Ukraine, the AFC-managed German Food Bridge was immediately established providing food aid to the people in Ukraine. Embedded in measures of the bilateral cooperation project Agritrade Ukraine of the BMEL, our team coordinates official requests from Ukraine with donation offers of the food industry in Germany. The aim is to bring food aid to Ukraine quickly, in line with needs and in a targeted manner. To this end, we are in close contact with the relevant public authorities and non-governmental organisations in Ukraine
as well as with the storage hub in Poland. In addition, many companies from the organic food industry offered donations. Our BMEL-funded project “German-Ukrainian Cooperation in organic agriculture (COA)” supports a donation portal to complement the German Food Bridge as a contact point for food aid from the organic sector. (for further information, see p. 63)
At the GFFA’s innovation forum, the German Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir together with his Ukrainian colleague Minister Mykola Solskyi visited the AFC stand. Mr Özdemir highlighted the work of the German Food Bridge and COA project and personally honoured our expert André Pilling (on the right photo below) of the German Food Bridge as well as our COA team leader Dr Stefan Dreesmann (on the left photo below) for their continuous efforts and engagement during these difficult and challenging times.
Daniela Böhm Senior Consultant
As official sponsor, AFC participated in the ninth German-African Agribusiness Forum (GAAF) held on January 23, 2023 in Berlin Germany and organised by the Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft (German-African Business Association) and the German Agribusiness Alliance. Over 200 participants from 32 countries discussed the latest agribusiness developments. Our GOPA Consulting Group’s CEO and Vice Chairman of the Afrika-Verein Dr Martin Güldner opened the event.
This year, the GAAF focused on "The Path to Food Sovereignty –Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture for Africa". Our economic system is significantly based on investment. Both public and private sector investments are necessary to provide the needed capital to support farmers as well as food processors. But for now, access to finance can still be difficult in large parts of the African continent.
How can access to financing be made easier and what changes need to be undertaken to make finance better accessible for everyone were the leading questions of the panel on financing Africa’s agriculture and how to encourage private sector investment moderated by AFC’s Managing Director. Johannes Buschmeier talked with Hon. Dr Lou Obup Opiew (Commissioner for Investment at Regional Government of Gambella Region, Ethiopia), Yosuke Kotsuji (Head of Africa Agribusiness at International Finance Corporation, Kenya), Frank Nordmann (General Manager Key Accounts and Sustainable Development at Grimme Landmaschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Germany) and Abah Ofon (Senior Manager Export Development Advisory at African Export-Import Bank, Egypt) about finding the right funding for agribusiness projects of both large companies, public private partnerships and smaller businesses and start-ups.
Yosuke Kotsuji explained the role of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Africa and how cooperation between public and private investment works. He mentioned the effects of the latest global crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian war against Ukraine on food chains and underlined the need for further investments. Johannes Buschmeier discussed with him about the regions in Africa favourable for selected private investments. As IFC has been quite active in various regions of Africa, high-level political decision makers from the auditorium showed interest and asked about IFC’s criteria enabling for investments.
Abah Ofon from the African Export-Import Bank in Egypt presented financial products to support trade activities within Africa and with Europe under the ongoing challenges of the current war against Ukraine.
The Investment Commissioner Dr Lou Obup Opiew of the Gambella Regional Government, invited investors to benefit from government programmes that include tax audits in specific regions of Ethiopia. The contributions of the panellists and the international high-level audience brought new approaches and food for thoughts. Discussions continued after the official closing of the session. We look forward to the next German-African Agribusiness Forum organised by the Afrika-Verein!
Daniela Böhm Senior Consultant Johannes Buschmeier moderating the panel discussionSix countries, seven projects and 23 colleagues – we invited the teams of BMEL-funded bilateral cooperation projects to a workshop in Berlin to connect and exchange together with the project managers from AFC headquarters in Bonn.
On January 18, 2023, fifteen team leaders and project staff from Kazakhstan, Morocco, Thailand, Ukraine, and Zambia met in Berlin for an internal networking event and technical exchange. The experts had two common denominators – all projects are funded by the same donor, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), represented by its general mandatory GFA. Moreover, all projects are affected by the current political situation, characterised by the Russian war against Ukraine with consequences of food systems worldwide. The topic of food security matched the main aspect of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), which started the next day (see p. 20).
The motto of our workshop was “The wheel does not always have to be reinvented, and what has been successful in one project or country can also be useful to others.” Consequently, the experts shared ideas and experiences in the first part of the meeting. They were encouraged to try new approaches technically as well as in administrative aspects and got to know different perspectives for common challenges in daily project life. Thanks to interactive
discussions, the participants benefited from swarm intelligence and team spirit.
Then, Dr Olga Trofimsteva, country representative Ukraine for AFC and IAK with focus on agricultural economy, food security and reconstruction of the agricultural sector, referred to the global impact of the war in Ukraine on food security and effects on AFC’s ongoing projects. She pointed out global domino effects. On the one hand, acute food prices have tremendously hiked in 2022. On the other hand, Ukraine’s prominent place among agricultural exporters to the EU remains significant. Regarding projects, short-term priorities are measures to improve
• food security and food accessibility,
• humanitarian aid,
• local small-scale production systems (a topic which deserves a lot more political attention then it currently receives) as well as
• immediate access to the financial resources for SMEs.
Long-term post-war assignments in our projects are
• Building of resilient agrifood systems
• Sustainability and climate adaptation
• Infrastructure and logistics development
• New technologies, including vertical farming
• People & human capital development
As the agriculture and food sector belongs to the promising sectors related to the future of foreign direct investment inflows for Ukraine, the importance and relevance of AFC’s projects rises in the view of reconstructing the country as well as of global food security in general.
The project meeting finished by a joint dinner with stories of and behind the daily project lives.
AFC implements the following BMEL-funded projects:
• German-Zambian Agricultural, Training and Knowledge Centre
• German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture
• German-Kazakh Agricultural Political Dialogue
• German-Moroccan Technical Dialogue on Agriculture and Forestry – Component 1 Organic agriculture
• German-Moroccan Technical Dialogue on Agriculture and Forestry – Component 2 Professionalisation of agricultural and forestry cooperatives
• German-Thai Cooperation Project, Promotion of Sustainable Development of Cluster Farms in Thailand
• German Food Bridge Ukraine
Stefanie Senior ConsultantAFC’s strategy workshop took place on September 19 to 20, 2022 in Altenahr, Germany.
In July 2021, a severe weather depression caused continuous and heavy rain in the region neighbouring to Bonn, whereupon the river Ahr rose sharply. Several districts were devastated by the floods. In addition to the confirmed fatalities, the flooding led to widespread power outages, forced evacuations and damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the affected areas.
To support the tourism sector in this region, AFC decided to organise the annual Strategy workshop and excursion called Green Day in Altenahr. On September, 19 2022, all project managers exchanged in different sessions on how to improve our internal organisation and prepare for upcoming markets. In the evening, all colleagues from Bonn arrived at the hotel for a joint barbecue.
After another strategic session on the following day, our excursion started. For our Green Day, we booked a guided tour in Altenahr. The former touristic town is famous for its beautiful landscape inviting for hiking tours through the vineyards. The town was almost entirely submerged in 2021. A year after, it is still suffering from the natural catastrophe. Several streets and bridges remain damaged. Many destroyed houses, wine bars and restaurants, especially in the lower part of the village near the river, stay uninhabited and abandoned. Not all businesses will return and become up running because former citizens lost their motivation to resettle in an area, which might be hit again
by climate change. Financing reconstruction is slow or missing because the municipality waits for the state, but bureaucracy hampers the state, our guide explained. The owner of the houses count on insurances that refuse to pay as natural catastrophes are excluded. Some achievements have been made and progress is ongoing – our hotel was rebuilt and could reopen.
After the guided tour in town, we hiked through the vineyards and learned about the unique agro-climatic conditions of the valley allowing the cultivation of grape varieties for red wine, while in other regions only white wine production takes place. The day ended with a wine tasting and a “wine olympiad”.
Daniela Böhm Senior ConsultantOn September, 6 to 7 2022, 13 employees from AFC have successfully completed a Travel Security Training carried out by Krisenwerk. The trainers, both former police officers, guided us through diverse challenges concerning our everyday business and the respective dangers when traveling to medium risk countries.
In several group sessions, we discussed our own experiences made in these countries and displayed delicate situations occurring within backstopping missions. We learned many tools to prevent incidents and to remind on how to behave in highrisk situations.
However, studying the theory and discussing certain situations is far apart from experiencing them in reality. Therefore, our trainers simulated realistic scenarios such as a car jack, where one group was driving in a car on the training perimeter and were surprised by the other group masked and armed jumping out of bushes. In another scenario, three group members surprised the rest of the group and staged a hostage situation. Lastly, two group members entered the room stammering about an incident on the market and the group had to react and to take care of the shocked colleagues. It turned out that some AFC employees could also successfully pursue a career as actors!
The exercises and training situations helped us to evaluate risky situations properly and to pay attention to our surroundings even in unsuspicious situations. Luckily, security incidents are very rare in our daily business and we hope it stays that way, but with the security training, we are well prepared!
Because of the pandemic, our annual Christmas cooking had to be cancelled in December 2021. But as flexible as consultants can be, we simply postponed the event to June the year after and invited all colleagues to our “Christmas party” on the 23rd of June 2022.
Guided by professional chefs, we prepared this time a barbecue together and had a fantastic event – just in summer sweating at 35 degrees in front of the grill.
On September 9, 2022, the International Cooperation Cup took place in Bonn, Germany organised by GIZ. Trained by the GOPA Group’s Africa Director Houseine Diabaté, football players of the companies GOPA Worldwide, Infra and Intec from Bad Homburg, B&S Europe from Brussels and AFC from Bonn formed the GOPA Consulting Group team. Twelve teams working in the international development cooperation competed in this event. We were in third place and are very proud to bring home the corresponding trophy of the tournament! db db
100 54 1,073
Total projects
Total countries
Total project staff
Our study for IFAD focussed on three agricultural value chains to develop financial products of which smallholders will benefit in the near future.
Agriculture constitutes a relevant factor in Zambian economy activities, but several factors hamper its development in the rural regions. Among others, the lack of access to and usage of suitable financial services for all actors along the value chain is one of the main obstacles limiting the growth of the sector.
In the framework of the project financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and managed by Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ), AFC has been appointed for carrying out a study on three agriculture value chains to be prioritised and to develop related financial products. In the end, the ultimate goal is to increase financial access and use of financial services by the rural population, especially smallholder farmers.
In the past months, our team has worked on developing Value Chain Finance products, advising the DBZ team on how to channel funds to selected financial service providers, identifying which financial service best meets the needs of involved actors. Based on different criteria, such as export potential, job creation and accessibility to market among others, and in concertation with DBZ, our team has selected the poultry, dairy and soya beans value chains. For them potential agriculture financial products would have been developed.
As a matter of fact, developing products for agriculture requires to consider other aspects with regard to products targeting commerce or business activities, such as crop varieties and their related specificities, in terms of inputs and seasonality, or different financial needs at the start of the season. Additional needs to adapt financial products adequately are knowledge on agriculture and value chain finance. For this reason, our team has trained a part of the DBZ staff in a hybrid format, in person and online, making use of the training course on agriculture finance for bankers developed by AFC.
In view of the growing population and advancing climate change in Northern Uganda, the need for irrigated crop production and consequently the pressure on water resources for agricultural purposes has increased significantly. How farmer trainings on irrigated agriculture and improved water resource management can help.
While irrigated agriculture is still underdeveloped, it can serve to produce crops during the dry season (January to March) and thus generate additional income for small-scale farmers. At the same time, integrated water resource management is necessary to ensure the sustainability of water supply in the face of declining overall availability.
Since 2020, AFC-GOPA is hence supporting small-scale irrigated agriculture as well as water resource management within the GIZ programme “Promoting Rural Development in Northern Uganda (PRUDEV)”.
We support around 1,020 small-scale farmers, organised into 53 groups, in the field of irrigated agriculture as well as nine district governments and a relevant number of local communities
in improved water resource management. The capacity development of farmers is implemented via 26 communitybased trainers, which are trained and coached by AFC local staff and external experts. It focuses on organisational development, irrigation technologies, good agricultural practices, market development and the set up and strengthening of inclusive business models. The irrigated production puts a special focus on horticulture during the dry season (cabbage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, eggplant and watermelon), when market prices and marketing opportunities are high. Our activities support the dissemination of adapted technologies for smallscale irrigation in order to increase water efficiency and labour saving (e.g. solar water pumps; drip and sprinkler irrigation; water harvesting). All experiences are gathered into two business models – a low cost and a medium cost – that indicate
step by step what is needed to set up a profitable small-scale irrigation system. These business models will be handed out to all important stakeholders in Northern Uganda.
In order to improve the sustainability of water supply, we advise the district local governments on how to include the water resource management into the district planning. In coordination with the districts and lower local government, we supported communities in the elaboration and implementation of community action plans and wetland management plans for improved water resource management. While this work includes a significant part of technical advice, the focus is on the facilitation of consensus building, which allows community members to tackle problems under a shared vision.
During its first year of operation, the project achieved a significant improvement in the application of good agricultural practices in vegetable production as well as group dynamics and leadership. The second dry season focused on improving the irrigation technologies, quality of inputs (seeds, fertilizers) and marketing. When trainings take place on demonstration plots, farmers apply the learnings in their own fields, increasing their gross income
by more than 200% so far. Sharing and transferring experiences between groups and towards other stakeholders has been done extensively. For the current year, the implementing team emphasises on planning of the production process and farming as a business. Activities run until September 2023.
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In Southern Madagascar AFC supports smallholder farmers in adapting agricultural value chains to climate change by introducing climate risk insurance.
Over the past years, climate change has hit Madagascar and its population harder and harder, especially the Southern regions, where long periods of drought alternate with heavy flooding. Lack of suitable infrastructure and poor economic conditions currently hamper the livelihood of the rural population, who struggles to cope with climatic events.
From 2018 to 2022, we implemented the “Adaptation of agriculture value chains to climate change project (PrAda)” in Madagascar, which is embedded in a larger GIZ programme. AFC introduced a climate risk insurance product and supported its operationalisation to protect smallholder farmers against climate and weather-related events. The project was co-financed by the European Union and executed via the Madagascan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MINAE).
The core result of this first phase is an index-based insurance product targeting peanut producers cultivating in Anosy, Androy and Atsimo Atsinanana regions in Southern Madagascar. In assessing the potential of the insurance, our team of local and international experts analysed the current socio-economic and agricultural conditions of peanut production in the three regions. We conducted focus group discussions and interviews with peanut producers and other actors along the value chain – in concertation with GIZ for advocacy activities at national level including the counterparts, i.e. the MINAE and the Ministry of Finance. The peanut value chain has been identified as the one with most potential for a climate risk insurance product in the target regions. The national insurance company ARO is our technical partner. As one of few experienced local insurers, they had applied and subsequently been selected to be the projects’ partner insurance company.
The local partner organisation is the General Meteorological Direction responsible of publishing weather forecasts. Working together with national institutions ensures sustainability of our actions and enables them to establish ownership of processes and procedures.
Three years after its launch, around 450 smallholder farmers insured their peanut fields against droughts. They are holding insurance policies from ARO – from whom they are reimbursed if
the index is triggered. Farmers can buy policies in their villages, at the marketing and information campaigns organised by ARO. Payout is made if the rainfall is below the threshold as per index calculated and based on satellite data amongst others. Climate insurance is one way to mitigate economic risks, and nowadays it has become easier to predict climate events because of existing early warning systems and accessible satellite data. Nevertheless, heavy rainfalls are still unpredictable where they will actually happen. This is why the product focusses on droughts as a recurring phenomenon affecting many farmers at the same time.
Furthermore, AFC developed training materials on financial education and trained farmers and their families: being able to manage the household’s economy – including business and family resources – increases the ability to cope with sudden shocks.
The first phase ended in November 2022. AFC was awarded to implement the second phase of the project up to June 2025. In addition to further developing the insurance product, the second phase foresees to formulate other tailored financial services such as credit and savings that will strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers in selected agriculture value chains in the three Southern regions. Our technical partner continues to be the national insurance company ARO, with whom we will finetune technical features of the insurance.
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Tailored solutions have been initiated to strengthen the potato, rice, maize, and cassava value chain in Nigeria.
Finance for agriculture faces many hurdles both on the supply and on the demand side. Many financial institutions still perceive agriculture as risky without making effort to understand the cash flow cycle, mitigate the risks and design suitable financial products. Smallholder farmers regularly lack ‘formal credentials’ such as identification, land titles or a credit history. Moreover, most of them reside ‘off the beaten track’ – sometimes literally so.
Yet, agricultural value chain finance is an intuitively promising approach: engaging with input suppliers, producers and processors that sell and buy to each other on a regular basis provides comfort to partner financial institutions (PFI). Any concluded transaction and collected information strengthens the links in the chain, i.e. actors can vouch for others. Hence, this approach reduces the cost of loan appraisal, underwriting, and monitoring.
In the frame of the GIZ project “Promotion of agricultural finance for agri-based enterprises”, we enabled over 12,500 smallholder farmers and agribusiness managers in 11 federal states of Nigeria to use new or adapted financial services. Some of the project areas score among the lowest of Nigeria’s financial inclusion indicators, e.g. many of our trainees opened bank accounts, and/ or used ATM-cards for the first time in their lives.
We strengthened the rice, maize, cassava, and potato value chain in terms of agricultural finance. All of them have a strong end-user market in Nigeria’s urban centres. For instance, Nigeria imports large quantities of rice and maize, even though its domestic production has increased over the past decade. In practice, governance in our value chains is weak. Our team worked relentlessly to bring farmers, producers, off-takers and financial institutions together. This approach was successful for the potato value chain. The Sterling Bank financed the distribution of imported potato seedlings to eight farmer cooperatives. In total 79 farmers took the loan and produced potatoes.
In the cassava value chain, we partnered with IFAD to bring together farmer cooperatives, Nigerian commercial banks, and an international off-taker that processes cassava to instant pasta. In the end, the commercial banks withdrew from financing and cancelled the agreements at the last moment given the long cultivation period of 12 months and the short timeframe for off-take, which is 48 hours after harvest. The experiences of our AgFin project show that successful financing agricultural enterprises is a complex endeavour. For the PFI, it is important to have an agri-finance strategy that commits resources to serving agricultural markets.
One of our partners with such a strategy was the Jaiz Bank. The management at head office and branch level was eager to take full advantage from the partnership with our project team. Our experts offered support in product development, brokering partnerships and training of staff. It is required to have a bank verification number for opening a bank account at the Central Bank of Nigeria. After having completed our training, smallholder farmers registered and opened a bank account; most of them for the first time, before accessing a loan.
The Jaiz Bank first developed and piloted group-based working capital credit for smallholder farmers who produce irrigated rice.
Subsequently, they expanded and adapted the approach for farmers cultivating rain-fed rice and for rice-processing MSMEs. Today, Jaiz Bank offers these savings and credit products in several regions of North Western Nigeria. The bank also pilot-tested financing cassava production by sequencing the repayment cycle and identifying a ready and able off-taker.
In total, six PFIs affirmed improved capacity through the training and support by our project. These PFIs integrated 11 adapted or newly developed financial products into their portfolios. Within two years, about EUR four million were lent out to producers and processors in the four agricultural value chains.
Savings accounts (incl. ATM access) for smallholder farmers
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking of cocoa, cooking banana and manioc products? Most likely, you were not thinking of mushroom substrate, fuel briquettes, or vinegar. However, those are all products that derive from cocoa, plantain and cassava plants.
The cocoa plant has a lot more to offer than just cocoa beans for delicious chocolate. The beans, coated in mucilage, excrete a juice that can be collected during the fermentation of the beans after harvest. The fermented juice turns into tasty cocoa vinegar for salads and cooking. Further, the beans are safely stored in a thick shell. Compositing the shell results in a nutritious fertiliser for plants or substrate for mushroom production. After injecting the plastic-wrapped substrate with mushroom mycelium, it has to be stored in a dry space. Within a few weeks, the mushrooms are ready to harvest. Dried and pressed cocoa shells are fuel briquettes serving as substitutes instead of wood or coal. The skin of the cassava tuber as well as the leaves of banana plants are a good source for fertiliser and briquettes. It is even possible to extract fibres from banana plant trunks and spin twine from it, which can be used to produce cocoa or coffee bags.
As a side effect, removing the cocoa shells and juice from the fields reduces the accumulation of phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium that become toxic to the soil in too high concentrations.
Côte d’Ivoire produces 40% of the cocoa in the world and yet almost 55% of the cocoa producers and their families live below the poverty line. The processing and marketing of by-products offers a grand opportunity to diversify income streams and thus reduces risks and increases food security. Supporting small and medium enterprises (SME) or farmer cooperatives in adopting the processing of by-products can increase their income and creates jobs.
As part of the Green Innovation Centre for the Agriculture and Food Sector in Côte d’Ivoire, funded by GIZ, AFC has promoted cocoa, cassava and plantain processing and marketing since 2019. In the cocoa value chain, almost 800 managers and employees of SME were trained in quality improvement, production of vinegar, compost, champignons and drinking chocolate and food safety certifications such as HACCP.
To support innovation and the creation of new business and jobs, we supported the installation of two training centres. At the “National Polytechnic Institute Félix Houphouët-Boigny” in
Yamoussoukro cocoa bean processing is supported. Start-ups or SME will receive trainings on transformation processes and tools, packaging, quality control and food safety certification. Once established, the training centre will provide equipment for producing cocoa butter, cocoa powder and chocolate. Moreover, training in business development, accounting, marketing and access to finance will be offered. At the “National Agency for Support to Rural Development” training centre in Gagnoa producers, cooperatives and SME will be supported in the processing of cocoa, cassava and plantain by-products. Three training units on the production of briquettes, vinegar, and mushrooms and compost are planned where producers receive hands-on training and are able to test the required equipment.
As William Brody said:
“Knowledge drives innovation, innovation drives productivity, productivity drives economic growth”
disseminating innovation and increasing productivity. With training and access to financing the processing of cocoa shells, cassava leaves and plantain fibres can sustainably improve the income of smallholder farms, employment and regional food supply.
– the utilisation of cocoa, manioc and plantain by-products in Côte d’Ivoire is still at the very beginning. Nevertheless, the knowledge exists already and the establishment of the training centres in Yamoussoukro and Gagnoa are the first step towards
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Missing rainfall heavily affects Madagascar’s rural areas. To tackle increasing hunger and poverty in the South of the country, AFC introduced solar-powered micro-irrigation schemes for family farming.
In recent years, the seasonal rainfall in Southern Madagascar was disrupted because of climate change. The traditional agricultural calendars have been disturbed in their planning and production cycle. Under these conditions, new challenges for agriculture have risen. Major topics are the conservation and rational use of surface water, particularly the introduction and commercialisation of micro-irrigation techniques, which are very new to Madagascar.
To address these challenges, the EU-funded “Support for the Financing of Agriculture and Inclusive Sectors (AFAFI South)” programme started in April 2018 and runs over a period of seven years. It seeks to reduce systemic poverty and to improve the food security of rural populations sustainably, especially women in the three major regions Androy, Anosy, Atsimo Atsinanana in the South and Southeast of the world’s third largest island. The programme targets approximately 250,000 people living in 42,000 households concentrated in four different agro-ecological zones.
Farming families already impoverished by successive waves of drought cannot work with machines requiring expensive fuel, which is otherwise unavailable in the isolated rural areas. Our team of four key experts and specialised short-term experts had to find an innovative solution.
In 2021, our former team leader asked the Dutch NGO Practica, specialised in the field of irrigation for family farming, to analyse the possibility of introducing solar-powered irrigation techniques at low costs in Southern Madagascar.
From 2022 onwards, 60 solar kits were tested in the field. The kits offered different types of equipment to vulnerable farming families. Based on a solar-powered supply consisting of two to three mobile 80 Watt panels, different models of solar pumps were exposed to the real conditions of intensive use in the field. German technology submersible pumps and small Indianmade solar motor pumps were tested if they respond on the needs. The main requirement is a sufficient pumping and spraying capacity with a flow rate of around two m3 per hour. Because of the high
risk of theft in those insecure regions, the second requirement is the possibility of transporting the equipment from the houses to the fields on a daily basis. As the traditional crops are usually rain-fed in Southern Madagascar, the farmers are very new to irrigation. This is why it is also important that the equipment is easy and resistant to be used intensively by non-professionals. In the end, it is Indian technology proved the most suitable for the intense conditions of use. Around 50 farming families were able to produce diversified vegetable and legume during the last agricultural season.
Farmers are enthusiastic about this innovation, which allows them to irrigate up to 3,000 m2 per farm and grow three different crops in a row per year. Between December and March, it is now possible to grow cereals such as maize and sorghum, food legumes such as beans or cowpeas between March and June,
and diversified vegetables between June and October without the risk of drought if a nearby surface water resource is available. The AFAFI South programme and our team plan to scale up the pilot activity in 2023. With local technical support, 170 new kits will be distributed in three additional areas.
To lift the rural population out of poverty and improve the food security, the farmers will be professionalised in practicing market gardening and seed production.
The operation of more than 200 pumps in the field and the interest that this new technology has aroused among villagers as well as development operators in the South (NGOs, UN agencies, donors, etc.) and the private sector is promising for the sustainable adoption of the solar-powered micro-irrigation system in this part of the country.
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In 2014, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) launched the special initiative “ONE WORLD without Hunger”. Under this umbrella, the mango and potato value chain were chosen to be strengthened by the Green Innovation Centre in Mali.
Since January 2017, AFC in consortium with ECO Consult elaborated innovations to push the mango and potato value chain. Seven innovations were promoted along both value chains until now. As the end of our mandate is announced for September 2023, the team has embarked on a process of developing and implementing strategies for anchoring innovations in 2022 to ensure the sustainability of its support. The aim is to ensure that partners take ownership of, use and care for these innovations in an autonomous way.
An organisational model was set up, which included a strategy committee and core groups. The objective of the strategy committee was to steer the development and implementation of sustainable anchoring strategies for innovations in the context of the progressive phasing out of the Green Innovation Centre project. On operational level, the core groups were in charge of formulating and putting the strategies in place by innovation or by group of innovations.
During the preparation phase, the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders were defined, an inventory made of what is available and an outline for drafting the strategy formulated. The next step implied the co-creation of innovative strategies. Joint sessions of core groups with partner leaders were organised in which the pre-validation of strategies took place. After the finalisation and validation sessions with key stakeholders, the strategy was shared with all relevant partners.
The innovative strategies were jointly put in place through certain priority activities of the action plans, co-financing of the activities with the partners, and round tables with the technical and financial partners how to turn the action plans into practice. The development of strategies was a participatory learning process for the value chain actors. It helped to put the central question of sustainability of the actions carried out since 2017 back on the table and to plan the closure of the Green Innovation Centre in general and AFC’s exit in particular.
The National Directorate of Agriculture (NDA) has also taken ownership of the different strategies and focal points are responsible for monitoring implementation. The latter will work in close collaboration with the innovation carriers designated in the sector associations (interprofessions). For example, the approach of integrated management of ware potato production has been
transferred to the national confederation of potato producers in Mali. This structure – affiliated to the potato interprofession of Mali – is the NDA’s interlocutor for the implementation of the strategy to anchor this innovation. In relation to the mango value chain, the integrated fruit fly management is entrusted to the family of mango producers.
For the mango and potato value chain, seven anchoring strategies and their accompanying action plans have been established. The seven strategies comprise:
• Integrated management of table potato production
• Warehousing of table potatoes
• Local multiplication of seed potatoes
• Good agricultural practices for mango production and orchard maintenance
• Integrated fruit fly management
• Good harvesting and post-harvest practices for mangoes
Quality approach for small and medium enterprises in the mango value chain
The anchoring strategies enabled our team to better plan its withdrawal and the closure of the project in consultation with the Green Innovation Centre and GIZ, the NDA and its partners. One of the major challenges remains the mobilisation of financial
resources for the implementation of the action plans of the different anchoring strategies. To facilitate the resource mobilisation along the value chains, the State and the technical and financial partners, our team will support inter-stakeholder negotiations.
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The biodiversity finance facility in Uganda combines gender equality and biodiversity for the first time. The loans enable investments of small and medium female farmers, both male and female, in biodiversity-protecting measures. Financial training promoted the loans and connected business women at the same time.
It is a fact today that gender equality leads to better achievement of socio-economic development goals. The same holds true for environmental goals. The OECD (2021) fi nds that women around the world are disproportionately aff ected by climate change and loss of biodiversity. This is especially the case in some rural communities, where women frequently have less access to land and more restrictions than men, often face barriers to decent work and fi nance, and habitually shoulder an over-proportionate share of unpaid work.
Therefore, we have devoted attention to reaching both men and women within the technical assistance to the East African Development Bank in its biodiversity fi nance facility. The facility is a pioneering initiative by KfW. We designed the operational framework to lend to the target sectors – eco-tourism, forestry, aquaculture, climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy. The Finance Trust Bank and Opportunity Bank of Uganda lent out EUR 1.3 million for financing climate-proof investments of small and medium farmers as a pilot which we guided.
Both banks have a strong focus on providing access to finance to women and have a fairly favourable mix of male and female staff. For instance, our team trained 175 staff of which 48% were female. However, only 41% of credit officers and (middle) managers are women, whereas 58% of back office staff are female.
Most of the Financial Trust Bank’s biodiversity loans went to female borrowers. Their average loan amount is smaller than that of the Opportunity Bank of Uganda which provided biodiversity loans to more corporate borrowers – mostly male-controlled and managed. Therefore, we offered an additional two-day training for female entrepreneurs mobilised from customers of the Financial Trust Bank. This brought a triple win: to build financial management capacity, to strengthen networking among business women, and to promote the biodiversity loans.
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After four years, the second phase of the Sino-German Crop Production and Agrotechnology Demonstration Park was successfully completed. A lot of intensive bilateral exchange was initiated through trainings, demonstrations, and conferences among other formats.
The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)’s Bilateral Cooperation Programme with its partner countries in general aims to contribute to a high-performance agriculture worldwide that works efficiently and conserves resources to ensure sustainable food security for people and at the same time protect the environment. In August 2015, the BMEL together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China launched the “Sino-German Crop Production and Agrotechnology Park” (DCALDP) project.
The overall objective of the project was to improve productivity, reduce negative environmental impacts and contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural land. Moreover, the project focussed on supporting sustainable
development of Chinese agriculture through practical and theoretical trainings and demonstrations in the area of modern and environmental-friendly crop production. For this purpose, the project partner Jiangsu Provincial Agricultural Reclamation and Development Corporation (SKIAD) made available approximately 150 ha on their Huanghai Farm Branch, located in Jiangsu Province close to the Yellow Sea.
From August 2015 to July 2018, AFC in partnership with DLG International implemented phase 1 of the project. The execution of the four-year’s phase 2 from August 2018 to December 2022 was carried out by AFC leading the consortium of DLG International and IAK Agrarconsulting GmbH Leipzig. During more than seven years, our project
activities mainly focussed on capacity building, trials and demonstrations as well as knowledge dissemination. The trials and demonstrations had the aim to utilise crop production potentials by means of modern, sustainable production and management methods, while at the same time, conserving natural resources and improving soil structure and fertility. Trials in more than 15 topics demonstrated improved crop production methods. For example, 20 to 30% less nitrogen was applied without losing yield.
Proper crop protection management demonstrated on the field an overall reduction of 30% of crop protection measures. Using adapted, precise machinery and applying enhanced soil preparation techniques, seed rates could be reduced by up to 30%. Rape was successfully integrated in the winter crop rotation and other new crop rotations were introduced also on external SKIAD farms, so that the area of field trials increased by more than 2,600 ha since 2021. Through land consolidation, reduction of fertiliser and seed, we achieved time and labour savings on the producers’ side.
To disseminate the knowledge of innovative cultivation measures, six field days were organised and visited by
approximately 2,000 visitors on site. During the pandemic, the field days were hosted in hybrid format and counted 80,000 online viewers. Smaller field and demonstration days for external visitors at the project site and on other farms in several provinces were held. To make results and findings available to a wider public, press conferences and other crossdiscipline events took place also on national level in addition to field and demonstration days.
The activities were complemented by developing practical skills and methods for sustainable crop production technologies, farm management and business organisation, as well as in-depth knowledge how to use modern machinery. In practical courses on the demonstration fields, more than 2,000 participants could be trained. We reached out to more than 8,000 participants with our theory courses, i.e. seminars, lectures, webinars.
For our Chinese partners, a training of trainers (ToT) programme was a completely new format. The ToT for 16 young professionals from Huanghai Farm was very well appreciated with throughout positive feedback from the participants. Through the ToT, multipliers, and networking with
trainings institutions, universities and scientific institutions, innovative capacity-building measures was piloted. More than 30 educational articles, four guidebooks, four handouts, six field guides and other learning and information materials including 34 educational information videos were developed. Moreover, five study tours to Europe for management staff of the partner took place promoting active exchange between Chinese and European experts and farm managers.
Enabling access to project information and exchange with experts, scientists and other interested parties from the
(Chinese) agricultural sector, a project platform on the Chinese social media WeChat was set up. Around 15,000 readers benefitted of more than 100 postings on the platform. After seven years of strengthening the Sino-German exchange, the project ended in December 2022.
A summary of the project and its achievements as well as some of the documents prepared can be downloaded here: Sino German Crop Production and Agrotechnology Demonstration Park (huanghai-demopark.cn).
For further information, please contact:
During the pandemic, domestic markets collapsed in Bangladesh. To overcome the situation, a livestock and dairy project was borne to reconnect suppliers and consumers.
The Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote in his treatise “Theory of Moral Sentiments” published in 1759 how the invisible hand of market brings equilibrium between supply and demand. The onslaught of the Corona pandemic in the second quarter of 2020 brought much of Bangladesh to standstill because of frequent lockdowns and severe restrictions on physical movement of people. The consequence was disastrous for small producers. Dairy farmers could not sell their milk, and in turn feed their animals. Women who reared chicken could not sell their eggs because of market shutdown. Farmers suffered because they did not earn enough to buy rice and oil to feed their families. Chicken meat prices plummeted by 60% while poultry feed prices rose by 50%. Urban consumers were worse off due to the breakdown of supply chain for agricultural produce. Without the invisible hand of the market, working ordinary life was paralysed.
It was in April 2021, the World Bank-financed “Livestock Development and Dairy Project” in Bangladesh stepped into
revive the market. Initially, in Cumilla, tuk-tuks were hired to buy milk, egg, and meat from farmers’ doorstep and sell at busy road cross points. Later, the idea was replicated in the entire country. Until March 2022, 22,709 teams of project officials sold 6.06 million litres of milk, 74.5 million pieces of eggs, 1.9 million kg of chicken meat. Along with relief sales, the project provided cash grants to more than 620,000 poultry and dairy households. The 36-year old Nazma of Nawabgang, who lost her husband due to Corona, received EUR 135 as grant to buy feeds for her cows. Now with an assured market provided by the project, Nazma has bought one more cow from her earnings. She is grateful to the project for timely help “the project has given me a new lease of life. They have given me one more chance to stand up on my feet and hold my head high”.
AFC and its local partner in Bangladesh are happy to provide technical and business advice to the project, which clearly is benefitting a large number of vulnerable people and communities.
For further information, please contact:
Together with three institutions, AFC provided expert advice and helped shape the course to elaborate the first inclusive and green finance policy and taxonomy in Papua New Guinea. This framework will assist to identify, track, monitor, and demonstrate the scope and volume of green and inclusive financial flows, whether it is in the form of a loan, equity, guarantee, or some other financial instrument.
The fragile environment of Pacific Island countries is increasingly facing pressures that threaten the sustainability of communities and its natural environment. A responsible management of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) natural environment is one of the most pressing issues of our time, associated with climate stress, pollution, and a prodigious need for clean energy. Climate mitigation and adaptation actions are grounded in local realities. Papua New Guinea is ranked as the tenth most vulnerable country in the world to the risk of climate change. With its highly dispersed and remote population (87% of the population live in rural areas, while more than 70% of households depend on subsistence agriculture), the risk of exposure to natural hazards in certain sectors or geographies is very high and may even worsen with population growth and other development pressures. Multiple climate hazards will occur simultaneously, and multiple climatic and nonclimatic risks will interact, resulting in overall compounding and cascading risks across economic sectors, vulnerable communities, and regions.
Climate change deepens financial exclusion and is one of the greatest threats to PNG’s financial stability and a key barrier to poverty alleviation, well-being, and economic development efforts. Thus, climate resilient development action is more urgent now than ever!
Therefore, AFC, on behalf of the Global Green Growth Institute, has founded the framework for an inclusive green finance policy (IGFP) for the financial sector of Papua New Guinea. The framework was developed in partnership with the Bank of Papua New Guinea and the Centre for Excellence in Financial Inclusion.
The IGFP will classify and help to identify feasible and effective mitigation and adaptation options to reduce risks to people and nature. It provides companies, financial institutions, and policymakers with appropriate definitions of which economic activities and business practices can be considered environmentally sustainable and thus can be categorised as green, according to best practices and science-based models, to avoid greenwashing practices. This is achieved by developing a nationally-agreed classification framework of activities that contribute to climate change mitigation, adaptation, resilience, pollution prevention, resource conservation, inclusiveness, and livelihood improvement. This framework serves to identify, track, monitor, and demonstrate – through quantitative metrics – the scope and volume of their green and inclusive financial flows, whether it is in the form of a loan, equity, guarantee, or some other financial instrument. The IGFP is supported by the roadmap, which sets out practical action steps necessary to complete the green taxonomy and related policies and to implement the IGFP and Taxonomy in Papua New Guinea.
The first edition of the PNG’s Inclusive and Green Taxonomy will be further developed, and should be used as catalyst and policy guide for the following endeavours:
The
Guidelines for disclosure and risk management in the financial sector – enhance the quality of disclosure in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports.
Apart from that, through 2022, AFC has been implementing two further inclusive green finance projects. One in Armenia – facilitating energy efficient housing finance, in cooperation with the National Mortgage Company and its 14 partner finance institutions. And another project in Pakistan, supporting the
Encourage the development of innovative sustainable finance products and/or services.
Ensure the proper utilisation of natural resources, good environmental conditions, and protection of PNG’s main economic capital assets.
Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company in setting up a targeted credit facility earmarked for households in rural and remote areas, in need for off-grid solar home systems, which can be purchased from reliable vendors using subsidised credit funds of the German government.
For further information, please contact:
Planting of Sugarcane at the pilot cluster farm at Dan Khun Thod District, Nakorn Ratchasima Province.
Elena Yunatska Project manager elena.yunatska@afci.de
John Mayshak Team leader john.mayshak@afci.de
An instrument to motivate financial institutions to redirect resources towards environmental-friendly projects.
basis for the development of incentives, and disincentive policies by various ministries and institutions.
For almost a decade now, AFC has been implementing two phases of the Rural Finance Programme of the KfW Development Bank and the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade in Tajikistan. Since April 2021, we resumed our work with both partners, implementing the new Financial Sector Programme “Value Chain Agri-Finance” which focuses on the dual approach in supporting on the one hand the financial institutions in value chain finance and on the other hand agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
For a period of three years, the competitiveness within the agricultural value chains shall be enhanced by offering working capital finance and by increasing the availability of long-term finance for agricultural equipment and machinery. In total, EUR 8.6 million will be provided to selected financial institutions ensuring access to finance for agricultural SMEs in Tajikistan.
Following the dual approach, partner financial institutions (PFI) and SMEs of the agricultural sector will benefit from the project. Based on requirements such as long-term and sustainable lending practices and at the same time providing other financial services to the population, five PFIs have been selected to participate in the project. They are supported in the development of financial products for agricultural value chain finance and receive capacity building and training measures to improve their agricultural business model and SME credit technology.
In August and November 2022, a series of trainings on SME lending in the agricultural sector were held, which 150 employees of PFIs, 26 of whom were women, attended. The training courses were conducted at two levels – from basic knowledge about SME lending specifics to advanced knowledge and skills on SME appraisal by applying comprehensive financial tools and crosschecking methods to verify the financial information. The training courses were targeted to loan officers, risk managers, branch and service centre managers, heads of lending units, likewise other personnel involved in the SME lending.
“АFС rеliаblу supported us in designing appropriate аgriМSМЕ lоап products, in imрrоviпg оur agricultural business models, and introduced credit risk assessment methods. Jointly, we successfully implemented ап епvirоnmеntаl and social mаnаgеmеnt system. They furthеr provided us very insightful trainings in credit risk mаnаgеmеnt methods fоr agri-lending. ln addition to that, АFС is соntinuing to support us in implementation of the ongoing project bу conducting monitoring, defining eligible sub-borrowers, mаnаging disbursеmеnt апd rерауmеnt рrосеssеs of lоаn tranches”.
(Testimonial from one of our PFIs)
In February and September of 2022, PFIs were skilled in developing the Agricultural Value Chain Finance Product targeting small and medium businesses along the value chain for the purpose of working capital or fixed asset financing. The product was piloted and then adapted to the existing market features. By the end of last year, more than 358 loans worth more than EUR three million were disbursed in local currency by financial institutions; 50 of them in the amount of EUR 615 thousand were issued for investment purposes to agri-SMEs.
From August to November 2022, our team assisted in formulating and introducing Environmental and Social Management Systems at the PFIs, contributing to the sustainable extension of long-term loans. Subsequent trainings were held for all PFIs on the implementation of environmental and social issues in the assessment processes of potential funds for sub-borrowers.
For many years, Mahmaliev Ahmadjon has been cultivating different crops and vegetables on an area of five ha. Recently he built a greenhouse to grow lemons. The purpose of the loan is to purchase farm inputs such as mineral fertiliser, pesticides as well as seedlings. The current cold winter affected the trees in the greenhouse, but Mahmaliev still expects an ordinary harvest this year. He is very happy that he got the opportunity to take a loan at a subsidised low interest rate.
The service provider Azizkhojaev Ashurali is engaged for ploughing of lands with his agricultural machines. He previously owned a tractor from 2003. With the new loan, he was able to buy the latest model, offering his services with the newly bought equipment. The project partner bank offered him the opportunity to take a loan with the subsidised interest rate. Azizkhojaev gave his old tractor to his brother, so they can now jointly provide their ploughing services.
Ensuring SMEs’ access to affordable funds in local currency, increasing their competitiveness and building capacities to enter new markets, are the main goals of the project. A new approach to financing SMEs as well as the new knowledge and skills of PFI employees for providing loans to the agricultural SMEs, allow achieving the goals.
In the subsequent stages of the project, workshops on risk management, corporate client financing, and training of trainers, will contribute to the capacity building of PFIs. Through the provision of trainings in business planning and credit application to agricultural SMEs and entrepreneurs, we will further strengthen the agricultural value chains.
For further information, please contact:
Mareike Decker Project manager mareike.decker@afci.de Sigitas Bubnys Team leader sigitas.bubnys@afci.de
Firuza Safarova Deputy team leader firuza.safavora@afci.de
In Laos, we are currently establishing a Credit Guarantee Scheme that offers loan guarantees to participating partner financial institutions (PFIs). The PFIs in turn will give access to finance to privately-owned MSMEs.
In the Lao PDR, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) account for about 99% of all registered firms and employ over 80% of Laotian workforce. Despite their importance for the socio-economic development of the country, they contribute less than 20% to the national GDP. In addition, the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic and the following lockdowns have negatively hit the MSME sector, especially in the country’s dominant sectors – tourism and manufacturing.
One of the main reasons preventing MSMEs to advance is the lack of access to finance, which is mainly due to missing collateral. The Lao financial sector does currently not provide enough capital to MSMEs, which hinders them from growing and recovering from the economic pandemic consequences.
Against this background, the Department of SME Promotion (DoSMEP) within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, together with the World Bank supports privately owned MSMEs by providing loan guarantees. They set up the project to establish a Credit Guarantee Fund. The fund offers loan guarantees to participating partner financial institutions (PFIs). The PFIs will then enhance access to finance for MSMEs. Thereby, they contribute to
overcome the negative effects of the pandemic. The guarantees are only to be issued if the bank would otherwise not provide a loan. Thus, MSMEs, which had formerly been excluded due to the lack of accepted collateral, will gain credits nowadays through the credit scheme.
Jointly with the colleagues from DoSMEP, our team of experts will firstly draft the business plan for the scheme, and then establish and operationalise the Credit Guarantee Fund. The project has started in February 2023 and will run until June 2025.
In addition to the Credit Guarantee Scheme, AFC is furthermore in charge of the following three international projects in Laos:
• KfW-supported Lao Access to Finance fund (LAFF);
• ADB financed-project on matching grants and climate friendly agribusinesses; and
• World Bank-project providing Technical Assistance to PFIs
For further information, please contact:
Jakob Lutz Project manager jakob.lutz@afci.de
Bilal Ahmad Team leader bilal.ahmad@afci.de
In Mauritania, AFC has carried out a study for a pilot project entitled “Fish products in school canteens”, to improve school feeding but also strengthening the fishery sector.
Thanks to the favourable hydro-climatic conditions, the Mauritanian coasts are known to be among the most fishrich in the world. The fishery sector plays a key role in the national economy. It contributes to almost 10% to the GDP and represents up to 50% of Mauritanian exports. Small pelagics such as horse mackerel, sardinella, sardines, and mackerel amongst others are of great economic importance as they constitute the main marine catches and are an essential resource for the fight against poverty and food insecurity. Nevertheless, national consumption of fishery products remains low and comes essentially from the artisanal sector. On national level, the consumption per person does not exceed 10kg and only reaches 20kg per person per year in the urban coastal areas around Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. The fishery value chains are poorly developed with regard to the export of minimally processed fish to Europe and Asia. Furthermore, 80% of the jobs in the sector come from artisanal fishing, which therefore plays
a crucial role in terms of job creation and improving the living conditions of the rural population.
In view of this situation and the growing interest in school feeding, the Mauritanian government has decided to put in place an ambitious support policy. The policy will serve to develop a national programme of school canteens based on local products, including fishery products. In this context, AFC has carried out a study for a pilot project entitled “Fish products in school canteens”, funded by GIZ. This project aims to improve the food security of pupils in the most deprived areas, to alleviate poverty by strengthening the artisanal fisheries value chain and to promote the sustainable exploitation of small sea fish species. This study identified and evaluated the technical and economic conditions necessary for the implementation of the pilot project. To this end, an in-depth and detailed diagnosis of the state of play of school feeding and the level of canteen equipment in a
representative sample of schools was carried out. This diagnosis also describes the logistics to be considered and the main actors capable of ensuring the supply and processing of fish in a sustainable manner. The results of this diagnosis, consolidated by an analysis of the nutritional needs of the pupils concerned, made it possible to draw up a list of fish-based products to be introduced into the pupils’ meals. Sanitary and nutritional tests with local laboratories were carried out to guarantee the good product quality. To assess the pupils’ satisfaction level of these dishes, acceptance tests were conducted in the canteens. The study also identified the risks associated with this pilot project and proposed recommendations to reduce them to an acceptable level. These recommendations were presented and discussed in a fruitful exchange with stakeholders at a SWOT workshop, conducted in September 2022 in Nouakchott.
The importance of this project lies not only in its effect on the nutrition and health of Mauritanian children, but also in its capacity to ensure a better structuring of the fisheries sector, particularly artisanal fisheries. This will obviously lead to the creation of decent jobs, particularly for rural women, who are the main actors in the artisanal processing of fish in Mauritania.
For further information, please contact:
Salwa Haddad Project manager salwa.haddad@afci.de
In the Arab Republic of Egypt, banks follow a conservative lending approach for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which is reflected in a low loan-to-deposit ratio attaining approximately 45%. This is why a lot of Egyptian businesses operate in different modes of informality. To improve the situation, the KfW-funded “Financing for MSME II” project assists the Micro Small Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSME-DA) by supporting financial institutions and developing financial products, i.e. lending, and thus opening the door to formal markets for start-ups in Egypt.
First, AFC elaborated a feasibility study measuring the viability of microfinance activities and suggested a design for two thematic financing windows under the KfW’s credit line with a focus on female entrepreneurs and borrowers, and green microfinance projects addressing climate, renewable energy and resource efficiency. Hereby, we targeted MSMEs operating as informal businesses or in remote and structural disadvantaged regions. In a market analysis, champions among NGOs and microfinance companies were identified having a strong potential for sustainable financing activities and the promotion for gender equality within the sector.
Secondly, AFC supported MSME-DA in the promotion of MSMEs via KfW credit lines on the one hand, for start-ups and on the other hand, for microfinance. In collaboration with MSME-DA internal credit line documents, policies and procedures were formulated to set up environmental and social management systems and to push innovations. We advised on the qualification and exclusion criteria as well as on individual loan applications. Additionally, we designed a
special financial product prototype oriented to new business projects and start-ups. Later, two of the agency’s branches will pilot and implemented the product prototype.
In neighbouring Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; 98% of companies are MSMEs employing around 70% of the workforce of the private sector. The MSMEs are forced to finance their investments through own capital, as only 10% of all bank loans are granted to them. To overcome this problem, the GIZ-funded I-FIN project dedicated to develop innovative approaches for the financial inclusion of growth-oriented MSMEs. Financial intermediaries such as banks, microfinance, insurance, leasing, crowdfunding and fin-tech companies, and payment service providers will be strengthened with regard to the provision of financial services for MSMEs, especially for women-led MSMEs. In the beginning, in order to identify those sectors of Jordanian economy which have the highest potential for the innovations financed via MSMEs, existing financial service offerings as well as main opportunities and barriers for MSMEs in accessing finance were analysed in a study.
The next step will be to select the most reliable and impactful partner financial service providers (PFSPs). Selected PFSPs will be accompanied to develop new financial services tailored to the needs of MSMEs, to adapt existing offerings and
business model processes and design and test the prototypes. In addition, we assist the Central Bank of Jordan in introducing regulatory practices for alternative financing products e.g. leasing, factoring, crowd funding.
OUR WORK STREAMS IN I-FIN PROJECT IN JORDAN
Digitalisation
Digital banks
Focused on MSMEs
Alternative financing products
Leasing, factoring, crowdfunding, green finance, insurtech and loan guarantees
Expanded e-wallet services
Savings, merchant credit + store credit, insurance
Bank/MFI processes and loan guarantees
Market enabling technologies
Enterprise blockchain. digital identity, API managment and open banking
Alternative credit scroring
Alternative data (transaction data, social media), psychometric analytics
Vladislav Nimerenco Project manager vladislav.nimerenco@afci.deFor further information, please contact:
In November 2021, AFC was awarded the contract for the implementation of the “Strengthening Agricultural Livelihoods in Anbar” to be implemented under the project “Restoration of Peace, Livelihoods and Economic Cycles in Anbar (RePLECA)”! RePLECA is implemented by the Ministry of Planning of Iraq and local partners with the support of GIZ, acting on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project focusses on rebuilding infrastructure and business activities in Anbar. The assignment of AFC started on November 2021, and is at the time of writing slated to end by October 2023.
Historically, Anbar, with its fertile farmland and water supply from the Euphrates River and surrounding lakes, was Iraq’s breadbasket, located in Western Iraq. Agriculture was the main source of employment and livelihood for Anbar’s rural and semirural population. This was especially true for women, of whom more than 40% earned their living in agriculture.
During the years of armed conflict, the productive and social infrastructure in Anbar was severely damaged or destroyed. The still fragile security situation adds to uncertainties the local population faces. As a result, a large part of the population lacks important prerequisites for peaceful social coexistence, livelihood security and income generation.
Combined with the particular socioeconomic circumstances of Anbar governorate, the lack of productive employment opportunities and the resulting low household incomes mean that many families have difficulty or no means of meeting their basic needs. This causes or increases distrust of the government in Baghdad.
To improve the livelihoods of households and families in Anbar, the restoration of productive and social infrastructure is crucial.
To address the issues, RePLECA interventions target vulnerable individuals living in rural and semi-urban regions in the North of Iraq’s Anbar Governorate as well as administrative staff at sub-national level as intermediaries. By supporting incomegenerating measures in agriculture, the strengthening of economic cycles, and peacebuilding measures, the household and municipality level is to be positively impacted. The field of agriculture has been identified as particularly promising and with great potential. Boosting the yields of small-scale farms and farming households can contribute to improved food security and higher family income. Increasing employment prospects in the upstream and downstream sectors of the agriculture and food industry also provide income and meaning to those benefitting. Supporting social reconstruction by improving the organisational basis for peaceful participation and decisionmaking processes with a view to increasing the economic, social and political involvement of the population provides purpose and a positive outlook.
Within its contract, AFC is responsible for implementing a set of activities aimed to contribute to the positive development of the economy and cementing social cohesion through the improved potential for securing livelihoods. These include:
1. Conduct value chain studies and develop/validate value chain upgrading strategies based on the findings.
2. Improve farmers’ access to knowledge and training and developing the partner’s capacities.
3. Set up/strengthen farmer organisations.
4. Support job skills training in the value chains. TVET education and training programmes are to be developed.
5. Design and implement business start-up and development activities such as incubation/acceleration with a focus on small producers and the introduction of agri-tech in collaboration with local training partners.
During the first year of implementation, AFC Iraq was legally established as an Iraqi company in order to be able to operate in Anbar. Studies were conducted focused on the value chains of potato, tomato, cucumber, dates, and wheat. As of March 2023, the studies are undergoing final layouts for publication.
Other activities have focused on the training of 30 local staff and seven female freelance trainers, drafting a training concept and training trainers. The trainers then implemented a first cycle of farmer field schools (FFS) on the production of potato, tomato, cucumber, and dates in 40 different sites, reaching 1,000 farmers. The focus is on introducing new methods of alleviating climate change’s impact and improving production efficiency. The feedback of participants is very positive; the FFS approach can
significantly contribute to the development of farmers’ operations. In a planned second cycle, the focus will be to incorporate even more aspects on entrepreneurship development. Other activities aim to provide training and advisory services to ten existing or new farmer organisations, assisting them to develop new or improve existing business plans and providing material support.
About 50 teachers of vocational institutes, and at least 200 participants, will receive skills training following a prior needs assessment. Lastly, selected start-ups and entrepreneurs will receive – in kind or cash – grants under a fund for business activation grants, totaling EUR 695,000.
For further information, please contact:
In the aftermath of the Arab Spring and since the outbreak of the global economic and financial crisis, most countries of the European Southern Neighbourhood could not recover to the level of economic growth rates reached before 2008.
Since November 2018, AFC together with GOPA Worldwide Consultants implements the “Support to Economic Governance and Reforms in the Southern Neighbourhood” project funded by the European Commission. The project operates in ten countries of the European Southern Neighbourhood, namely Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, and Syria. It aims to foster inclusive and sustainable growth by improving the business environment for MSMEs by supporting policy and regulatory reforms drawing on European and international good practices.
The project supports public-private and inter-institutional dialogue in the framework of a community of practice called “Tabadool” (exchange in Arabic) gathering more than 200 policy makers, regulators and private sector representatives around two working groups respectively on access to finance and internationalisation. These working groups issued roadmaps by countries that were consolidated in a regional document that paved the way for knowledge development, dialogue, trainings on emerging topics deserving to be tackled through a regional lens. The activities are closely coordinated with the Union for the Mediterranean (Barcelona, Spain), the International Trade Center, the OECD and INSME (Italy) and include digital single windows for external trade, simplification of trade procedures, microfinance impact enhancement through digitalisation, green deal and corporate responsibility through South Mediterranean value chains.
As regards access to finance, AFC provides support in facilitating small enterprises’ access to finance by scaling up innovative financial institutions and by sensitising on the EU Payment Service Directive 2 that requires European financial institutions to share their data with third parties thus creating the big data required to foster the emergence of the banking 4.0.
A community of practice was established gathering more than 250 policymakers, private sector and civil society representatives interested in improving the MSME business environment in the Southern Mediterranean countries. This network contributed to enrich the roster of over 150 good practices and recommendations in the field of access to finance, internationalisation, gender inclusion and entrepreneurship developed by the project’s experts. The community of practice allows for raising awareness and discussing emerging topics inspired by the EU, notably the regulatory sandbox that tests regulatory innovations and thus paving the way for new financial services.
The dialogue, online or hybrid at national or regional level, enables to exchange inspiring practices that nurture the informed elaboration of bilateral and multilateral EU cooperation programmes and other development partners as well as the South-South exchange of practices and interinstitutional coordination.
For further information, please contact:
In Algeria, farmers have developed strategies and innovations to adapt their practices to an arid climate, rough mineral soils and water often loaded with mineral salts. These practices, although they allow them to obtain good results, are not always environmentally friendly. To develop better agricultural practices while enhancing the competitiveness of agricultural production in these regions, the EU and GIZ-funded “Agricultural Sector Support Programme (PASA)” is dedicated to water management, agro-industry and agricultural pollution.
The PASA programme is divided into two poles. In collaboration with the Algerian National Institute for Agricultural Research, AFC manages the GIZ-funded South Pole running from October 2018 to June 2023. Our activities concentrate on the chilli and organic dates value chains in the wilaya of Biskra and the potato value chain in the wilaya of El Oued in the South of Algeria.
To increase agricultural productivity and the upstream segment of the three sectors, value chain analyses were conducted and profitable business linkages with upstream actors were promoted. A diagnostic of the regulatory, institutional and technical framework of potato seed multiplication was carried out and an institutional strengthening programme elaborated and introduced. This value chain governance process has been supported through the creation of online dialogue platforms based on freeware and open access to better monitor the chilli, dates and potato production.
Furthermore, environmental issues shall be integrated into the planning of agricultural production. The proposed actions to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture in these regions are to rationalise water use, limit the impact of pollution from the use of pesticides, enhance the composting of waste and avoid pollution from mineral and organic fertilisers as
well as preserve indigenous varieties that are adapted to agroclimatic conditions.
To enhance the knowledge of common or specific themes in the date and market gardening value chains and related sectoral themes, several trainings and demonstration sessions have been organised and collaborative pilot projects have been implemented.
One of our main activities related to organic dates production was the development of a good agricultural practices guide. This guide is essential for the sustainability of the value chain and the image of the Algerian date. In early December 2022, we organised a training session in composting palm waste for interested date farmers.
For the potato production, different measures were tested on a two-hectares field trial, namely drip irrigation versus sprinkler irrigation, fertilisation and fertigation, phytosanitary treatments as well as natural and organic treatments and fertilisation. Regular on-site demonstration visits were organised at each cultivation stage. At least 100 farmers, extension workers and academics from El Oued participated in the demonstration activities. In a national conference, the results of the analyses and piloted actions were presented.
For further information, please contact:
AFC’s activities in Ukraine comprise two projects one year after the Russian war started. The German Food Bridge brings emergency aid, while the German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture strengthens the country on a longterm basis.
Extreme conditions caused by air and land attacks, the partial occupation of farms, the lack of inputs or the loss of workers due to conscription into the army dominate the current situation of the Ukrainian agricultural sector. Moreover, in the areas where fighting has taken place and is still ongoing, there is permanent danger of mines. In addition, many areas are contaminated with pollutants from the fighting. Nevertheless, agricultural production continued in Ukraine from the beginning of the war. This is only possible because the population is accepting great hardships, the frontal attack by Russia on their culture and their system and threatening their lives.
Agriculture is the basis of the nutrition. It is also a major export and thus economic variable, specifically for the future of foreign direct investment inflows for the country. In the view of reconstructing the country as well as of global food security in
general, the importance and relevance of supportive projects remains and rises.
Since 2015, AFC is continuously implementing projects in Ukraine. At the moment, two main projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) cover emergency aid as well as long-term structural support for the agricultural sector.
In the beginning of March 2022 and only days after the start of the Russian war against Ukraine, the German Food Bridge was created bringing food aid quickly to where it is most urgently needed. Until the end of 2022 and as part of the bilateral cooperation project “Agritrade Ukraine”, it has been embedded into the project “German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD)” since January 2023. The team acquires donations from food producers, retailers and other initiatives and supports the organisations by coordinating the pick-up and delivery of the donated goods from their warehouses mostly in Germany to Ukraine. The German Food Bridge established a unique supply chain in cooperation with the freight forwarding company DB Cargo Transa, a Polish logistics hub in Dębica and a network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). DB Cargo Transa delivers the donated goods from Germany to the Polish hub. In Dębica, the goods are temporarily stored. Local NGOs pick them up and deliver them to the civilians in the war-injured regions.
As of February 2023, around around 100 companies and institutions have already donated approximately 500 truckloads comprising over 14,000 pallets of food and other emergency aid products. Besides the network of over 50 NGOs, especially in
the first months, the initiative closely cooperated with the Polish Governmental Agency for Strategic Reserves, which provided temporary storage capacities in their hubs and organised the delivery via rail. Other partners of the initiative are the GermanUkrainian Chamber of Commerce, the German-Polish Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the DELTA Production and Trade Company, which have established the hub in Dębica, Poland.
Launched in 2016, the second intervention, the “GermanUkrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture (COA) “, strengthens the legislative and structural framework of organic agriculture. Nowadays, active participation in activities are to build up and support aid measures in Ukraine. Despite extremely critical conditions in the country, it has already been possible to help effectively and quickly in a short time. The foundation for further engagement has been laid. The project’s existing networks with organic farming organisations and activists in Germany turned out as very helpful.
Activities included actively approaching German organisations and companies to acquire food donations, which met with a very positive response. Until February 2023, about 1,100 pallets of food and hygiene articles have been collected and transported to Ukraine via the initiative www.deine-ukrainehilfe.de. Furthermore, fundraising campaigns were started to support more than 3,000 refugees that have currently found shelter on farms of the organisations “Permaculture” and “Ecovillages” as well as a biodynamic farm near Lviv. More than EUR 20,000 have been raised so far.
In addition, COA initiated a fundraising campaign with GLS Treuhand’s Future Foundation for Agriculture and developed a concept for the individual relief measures for which the donations are to be used. Nearly EUR 600,000 have been collected. For the future, COA will support the campaign through its expertise on organic farming and direct contacts with farms, while the administration of donations will be coordinated by
the foundation. A special focus will be on small and mediumsized farms in Ukraine. Organic organisations were also helped with batteries and solar panels that were delivered, so that many electricity outages can be bridged.
Next to the emergency aid measures, COA continues strengthening the institutional environment of the sector, for example by analysing the economic impact of the Ukrainian Organic Law and by elaborating and publishing a guide to the main changes in the new organic regulation in EU countries. Also, practical advice is given by COA. The practical guide on mechanical weed control will be useful for agricultural producers regardless of farming methods. It provides the necessary basic agritechnical knowledge and practical examples as a prerequisite for successful weed control by mechanical methods. The guide is one of more than 400 documents published on COA’s organic knowledge platform (www.organic-platform.org), the first and only knowledge management tool in Ukrainian language on organic agriculture. Moreover, our team advocates for the Ukrainian organic sector on international events such as the organic trade fair Biofach or the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2023 that both took place in Germany (for further information see p. 20).
Since the ongoing war leads to the conclusion that Ukraine will need even more international support in the future, AFC is well positioned for tasks and challenges to come. Together with our partner IAK Leipzig in all projects in Ukraine, we continue our efforts to stand with Ukraine and to build up activities aiming at direct aid as well as at long-term reconstruction.
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From December 2020 to December 2022, AFC implemented the “Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)” project in Albania, which was dedicated to support the value chains of orchard fruits, greenhouse vegetables and small ruminants.
What makes this project special is the variety of activities that were carried out in the three different value chains. Throughout the implementation of this first phase of the SRD project, we initiated a number of innovations that stabilise incomes and make agriculture more attractive for young adults in Albania.
Starting with the value chain of orchard fruits, the activities ranged from pre-harvest operations like calcium applications, biological pest control and chemical fruit thinning to improved storage of apples via 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) application, since it strongly resembles the natural ripening hormone ethylene, to be used to block the fruit’s ethylene receptors. For cherries modified atmosphere bags have been introduced. Farmers were also exposed to mobile applications for pest and disease
identification as well as the weather-based determination of the best time of treatment.
In the greenhouse value chain, we made biological pest control the central topic of our interventions. With these organic measures, Albanian farmers can lower pesticide residues and maintain access to retail chains in Europe. In the first season of 2022, five greenhouse demonstrations for biological pest control application were established in partnership with AgroBio, a Spanish provider of beneficial organisms. Three demonstrations with sweet pepper brought very good results with no pest infestation and zero pesticide residues after lab analyses. For 2022’s second season, again five greenhouse
demonstrations were organised – this time in partnership with Koppert from the Netherlands. As pest infestation is usually higher during the second season, the use of beneficial organisms was combined with mating disruption pheromones to increase effectiveness. To conquer market shares in Europe, it is not enough to reduce residues. The crop usually also requires certification.
For three groups of vegetable producers, we supported the Global-GAP group certification. In addition, we helped to get the country stand at the trade fair Fruit Logistica 2022 in Germany up and running so that Albanian exporters who joined the stand with small individual booths could communicate the strengths of the vegetable industry to international buyers.
In the third value chain of sheep and goat milk, our project team trained 1,086 farmers in critical issues of sheep and goat health as well as milking hygiene. With this knowledge, farmers will be able to improve their milk quality, which cheese factories were trained to determine with the help of suitable field labs. Training and sensitisation for proper milk quality assessment was provided for staff of 14 cheese makers. In addition, we assisted dairy companies to develop concepts for investments in wastewater treatment preventing inappropriate disposal of heavily salted water from the cheese-making process.
To raise consumer awareness for the quality of some outstanding locally made cheese, we helped to organise national cheese tasting events in 2021 and 2023. This format allows for replication
from 2023 onwards. The events award prizes for the best cheeses and present the cheese subsector effectively to the Albanian public and in future, hopefully, to international consumers, too.
Cross-cutting topics such as commercial composting tackle high fertiliser prices and provide organic matter to greenhouses. Furthermore, they support establishing a new municipalityowned wholesale market in Tirana showing the diversity and broad spectrum of AFC’s innovative approach.
After two successful years of implementation, the second phase will now focus on working with a limited number of the abovementioned innovations and bring them to scale. Upscaling of piloted innovations will be the theme of the new SRD project phase starting in February 2023 for which AFC received a direct award.
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Rawan Alomari joined in March 2023 as Anglophone Finance and Contract Manager. She holds a Master’s degree in International and Development Economics and an MBA in CSR and NGO management. In Jordan, she has four years of experience with international NGOs. Before joining AFC, she worked also four years as Finance Coordinator with IFOAM-OI in Bonn. She speaks Arabic, English and German.
Katja Conrad joined the Accounting team in July 2022. She holds a Master’s degree in Arabic, American and Educational Studies from the University of Leipzig and has previous work experience in the field of media design. During her retraining as Industrial Business Management Assistant, she focused on financial accounting and is working as an accountant since then. She is a native speaker of German and fluent in English.
Ilayda Daldal started her apprenticeship in November 2022 to become an industrial business management assistant. She holds a secondary school certificate (FOS-Fachoberschulreife) and continued her career afterwards at a vocational college for Economy and Administration before joining AFC: her language skills are German, English and Turkish.
Eric Donadille joined the Francophone Finance and Contract Manager team in June 2022. Before that, he held various financial positions within a global Logistics organisation, also in different countries. French is his native language, German his daily language and English is a must have!
Julian Fahr started in November 2022 as Anglophone Finance and Contract Manager. He holds a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Amsterdam. In the interdisciplinary Master’s programme, he specialised in Green Economy and wrote his thesis on the development of wind energy in Southern Mexico. Mr Fahr also holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Bonn. Before joining AFC, he completed a 6-month internship at the Goethe Institute in Mexico City. In addition to his native German, he is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English and to a lower in French and Polish, which he is currently learning.
Benedetta Ferraro joined in February 2022 as Project Manager in the Financial Sector Development team, focusing mainly on agriculture finance projects. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship and is a certified agriculture finance expert. Before joining AFC, she has been working as project manager in financial inclusion and microfinance assignments in rural areas, and has gained a solid hands-on experience on the field in Caribbean and Northern Africa. Other to her mother tongue Italian, she fluently speaks German, English and French, and has working knowledge of Spanish.
Mathias Ghomfo Mfumtum started as a Francophone Finance and Contract Manager in April 2022. He is specialised in accounting, controlling and taxation and holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Applied Sciences Münster. Mr Ghomfo Mfumtum also obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree (Diplom) in Accounting and finance from the University of Douala in Cameroon, where he is originally from. Before joining AFC, he was employed as a tax administrator for 1.5 years at the Technische Hochschule Cologne. He is fluent in French and German and has a good command in English.
Salwa Haddad started in April 2022 as a Project Manager in the Francophone Department. She holds a double Master’s degree in Agricultural and Life Sciences and in Food and Resource Economics from the Catholic University of LouvainLa-Neuve (UCL), Belgium, and the University of Bonn, Germany, resp ectively. She further holds an Engineering degree in agricultural economics from the Higher School of Agriculture of Mograne, University of Carthage, Tunisia. Currently, she is finalising her doctoral thesis, in which she assesses the global economic and environmental impacts of the growing expansion of the Bioeconomy. In addition to her native language, Arabic, she speaks English, French and German.
Kai Holländer joined the Anglophone and Francophone team as Project Manager in June 2022. He holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural and Environmental Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Mainz. For his master thesis, he focused on the impact of intensive potato production on local biodiversity in the Virunga Volcanoe area in Rwanda. Before starting at AFC, he worked in the field of applied field research for eco-toxicological wildlife studies in agricultural areas and as agricultural consultant. He speaks German, English, French and Spanish.
Ute Horn-Lemke joined in January 2023 as Head of Finance. Her professional training ended in 1980 as a wholesale and foreign trade merchant (Groß- und Außenhandelskauffrau). Before working for AFC, she started in 1982 to work for the GOPA Group; first at the accounting department with GOPA mbH. In 1997, she changed to EPOS Health Consultants GmbH as Head of Accounting and as interim Head of Finance. In 2012, she switched again to GOPA to the Shared Services Department and in 2017 to the new founded GOPA Group Service GmbH as Head of Department. During this time, she worked on several projects (as there was the introduction of our digital management system Maconomy and much more) and as interim Accountant as well as Head of Accounting for many GOPA Group companies.
Alexander Lotz started as a Logistics Expert for the German Food Bridge in March 2022. Afterwards he became Project Manager in the Anglophone department in July 2022 and additionally took over as management assistant in February 2023. He holds a Logistics Bachelor from Koblenz University of Applied Sciences and a M.Sc. in Sustainable Resource Management with a specialisation in Agricultural Land-Use from the Technical University of Munich. Mr Lotz has experience as an intern and expert for GIZ in Eschborn, Bangkok and Jakarta, and conducted research in Rwanda. He speaks native German, fluently English and basic Spanish.
Annie Stephanie Nana joined the Francophone department as Project Manager in May 2022. She holds a Master’s degree in Ecology and B.Sc in Plant Biology from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon. Before joining AFC, she was a researcher at the Centre for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn in Germany, leading her PhD project founded by the Schlumberger Foundation. As independent consultant she has been working in development projects with focus on agriculture, water quality and wastewater management. She is fluent in French, English and is currently learning German. Her mother tongue is Bamileke (medumba, le nda’nda’, fe’fe’).
