Photo credit: UNDP DRC
CAFI seeks bidders or consortia to address deforestation related to small-scale agriculture
5 April 2021 - Small-scale deforestation for agriculture is the main direct driver of forest disturbance in the region, contributing to approximately 84% of the total area of forest lost between 2000 and 2014. This includes clearing for rotational agriculture (82.1 ± 1.8%) and semi-permanent conversion of woody vegetation to cropland (2.1 ± 0.5%), both of which could represent subsistence agriculture or cash crop production. In addition, yields are very low and farming techniques are not sustainable (soil depletion, deforestation).
CAFI intends to mobilize substantial funding to support the development of innovative approaches in the agricultural sector and will seek to maximize field investments in actions with tangible impact and then move toward payment-by-results mechanisms that promote the maintenance of good practices while creating a leverage effect.
In this context, CAFI is launching a Call for Expressions of Interest to identify innovative operational projects (in direct support of agricultural actors) that will significantly increase zero-deforestation agricultural production, promote a healthy and balanced diet, and improve the living conditions of a large number of farming households in a sustainable, resilient, equitable and cost-effective manner while protecting biodiversity and forest ecosystems.
Operators should focus on local producers (small and medium-sized farms) and innovative approaches that are sustainable in the sense of agricultural productivity (maintaining and/or improving soil fertility) with a view to preserving forest areas (zero-deforestation agriculture and agro-forestry models). Activities will be deployed mainly in savannah regions and between forest areas and urban markets. The bidders or consortia bidding may be, in accordance with CAFI's legal framework :
- United Nations System Agencies
- The World Bank
- International Cooperation Organizations
- International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) or research institutes - whose eligibility will have to be confirmed
For more information and to apply, please download the document by clicking here. The deadline for submission is 31 July 2021.