Clients

World Bank-Water and Sanitation Program

World Bank, Water and Sanitation Program (WSP-Ethiopia) supports the Government of Ethiopia in scaling up rural sanitation and hygiene. In particular, WSP plans to support the design and implementation of a pilot sanitation marketing approaches in one region (Amhara) in Ethiopia.  With this plan, WSP contracted SNV in Ethiopia to conduct the supply chain assessment for sanitation-related products and services with a pilot focus on rural Amhara. SNV has built up extensive experiences in different aspects water, sanitation and hygiene, and considers the supply analyses of sanitation products and services important and very timely.  

CARE

Working in more than 70 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean andEurope, CARE is one of the world’s largest relief and development organizations.CARE offers long-standing project, policy and research experience in the areas of food security, livelihoods and economic development, and nutrition. CARE invests heavily in the social and economic empowerment of women as a lynchpin of its contribution to poverty eradication. In order to ensure more effective and equitable participation of women in markets, CARE utilizes the Value Chain Analysis and a Program Design Tool Kit that places stronger emphasis on women and girls as agents in driving development and eradicating poverty. CARE’s programs combine both financial services and market based value chain opportunities for the poor. As poor people are concentrated in agricultural activities in most of the countries in which CARE works, the majority of our efforts focus on agro-enterprises. CARE implements nearly 300 programs with elements of agriculture and natural resources in approximately 60 countries. CARE works at all levels of the value chain by engaging traders, service providers, retailers and exporters and by working with other NGOs, community-based organizations and both local and national government agencies to enable the poor to reach domestic, regional and international markets. CARE complements its work in facilitating access to markets by simultaneously linking the poor to financial resources, implementing microfinance programs in 21 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

CARE integrates health and nutrition into food security programming, contributing to improved nutritional status of beneficiaries by developing and promoting strategies that help smallholders apply a nutrition lens to agricultural production systems. CARE also contributes to the food security of women and children by promoting and supporting the care and appropriate feeding of pregnant and lactating women and their infants and children.

CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an US-based Private Voluntary Organization founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of theUnited States. CRS/Ethiopia has its head office based in Addis Ababa, with 175 national and 6 international staffs. CRS has a commitment to become an industry leader in agro-enterprise (value chain) that links poor farmers to markets. Rural enterprise development efforts are directed toward empowering rural communities to engage in markets equitably and profitably so that farm families can earn income and cash for products and services. CRS provides support to rural families to increase farm income and support rural economic growth, through market opportunity identification and value chain analyses, farmer technology evaluation and links to research, extension and the necessary business development services.

CRS’ operational approach in Ethiopia, is to work through local NGO partner organizations to increase local NGO capacity, assure more effective community participation, and maintain strong government linkages, particularly at the regional, zonal and woreda levels. CRS also has strong working relationships with woreda, zonal and regional government officials. CRS is an active representative of civil society at the World Bank and participates in forums of the Consultative Group of International Agriculture Research (CGIAR). CRS has developed close partnerships with key national and international research organizations, and zonal and woreda Agriculture Offices in order to promote the agro-enterprise development approach.

ORDA

The Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA) was established in 1984 with the mission of empowering poor communities and their organizations in Amhara to achieve livelihoods and environmental security. ORDA currently operates in 83 woredas within all 11 zones of Amhara. The organization implements projects focused on livelihoods, food security, agriculture and soil and water conservation as well as health and education programming. The food security and agricultural program of ORDA has improved the livelihoods of thousands of poor households in the region. The major components of this program are promoting and introducing improved crop varieties, seed multiplication on farmers plot, promotion of horticultural crops, improving livestock productivity, forage development, supporting veterinary service, market linkage promotion, support to cooperatives, introduction and promotion of village saving and credit groups/cooperatives, and promotion of non-farm income generating activities. Programs have had measurable results in food security with regard to horticultural development, market linkage in light of value chain analysis, village saving and credit group promotion, and gender responsive market led livelihood diversification.

REST

The Relief Society of Tigray was established in 1978 to serve the needs of populations affected by civil war and famine. The current REST long-term goal is tocontribute to poverty reduction in Tigray by sustainably strengthening food insecure household livelihoods in REST operational areasby strengthening smallholder livelihoods, increasing water security, scaling-up action for sustainable natural resource management, empowering women, improving access to health and education services, and strengthening community development institutions.

REST is the largest operational NGO in the Tigray region. It is well-known as an innovator and experienced grassroots organization with extensive capacity in food security programming, natural resource management, rural water supply, livelihood diversification, value chain development, marketing, emergency response, and basic social service provision such as in health and education. The largest implementer of the Title II funded Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) inEthiopia, in 2009 REST was selected to pilot the CGAP “graduation model” inEastern Tigray; in which impressive results and good practices have already been generated. REST is a past and current participant in the MLVP, SPSNP and PSNPPlus. REST is also the pioneer of microfinance inEthiopia; it established AEMFI (current Board Chair status), and Dedebit Credit and Savings Institution (DECSI), one of the leading MFIs inAfrica, and has been instrumental in shaping the industry and its policies. As operational principles, and on the basis of its history and breadth of programming, REST collaborates and coordinates with the government at all levels, is inherently embedded in the communities it serves, and maintains strong links with the private sector as a means of boosting agricultural input supply and markets. As a result of these combined comparative advantages, REST is able to work effectively and efficiently with the most poor and vulnerable throughout Tigray, for sustained and high impact results.

Tufts University, Feinstein International Center

The Feinstein International Center of Tufts University specializes in research and education around the broad themes of humanitarian and development policy and programming. USAID’s former Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, William Garvelink cited the Feinstein International Centeras being “highly influential in informing USAID’s analysis of humanitarian and livelihoods needs in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Darfur”. The Center’s work in livelihoods and nutrition of marginalized communities, points strongly to the importance of focusing not only on the basic needs of marginalized communities, but also on the livelihood systems of these people and the ways in which livelihoods shift, adapt, and evolve under stress. The Center conducted the longitudinal impact assessment of the current PSNPPlus Program. They will play a central role in monitoring and evaluating the GRAD Program.