Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, January 2024 - In a bid to accelerate and expand agricultural innovation and investment as important pillars of generating revenues and addressing hunger and poverty on a broader scale, IsDB, LLF and the Government of Benin announced the launch of a US$ 20 million initiative titled 'Integrated Agriculture Value Chain Development Project (PDI-CVA)'.

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, H.E. Mr. Gaston DOSSOUHOUI officially launched the project in a ceremony in the Préfecture of Collines in Dassa-Zoumè.

The PDI-CVA Project over the five-year period will work with local farming communities, agriculture cooperatives, private sector, and other stakeholders to capture domestic and regional market opportunities for 25,000 households in 16 communes.

The project also aims to reverse Benin's economic import dependency in the rice and maize sectors, and sustainably improve the market performance and competitiveness of maize and rice value chains, thus raising the rice productivity from the average of 1.5 to 4.5 t/ha, and maize from 1.5 to 3 t/ha. These improvements are expected to offset approximately 100,000 households against poverty, hunger, food insecurity, while also ensuring more tangible gains as highlighted below:

• Increase annual income of beneficiary households from US$ 300 to US$ 1,500;
• Create 10,000 new jobs in agricultural and non-agricultural industries;
• Develop 650 hectares of irrigated lands with an effective water management system;
• Rehabilitate 50 kilometers of access roads;
• Reduce post-harvest losses from 30% to 10%;

The project will work hand-in-hand with the partner government and local agencies to train 3,000 farmers, especially women and young people, thus enabling them to keep pace with the information needs of today’s knowledge-intensive agricultural systems.

The Lives and Livelihoods Fund and its partners are playing a major role in translating the breakthroughs of agricultural transformation in member countries into better lives and healthier people. Like all other IsDB and LLF-funded agriculture development initiatives, PDI-CVA is also part of a comprehensive approach that links higher agricultural productivity with improved incomes, livelihoods, and nutrition in rural communities.