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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give $25 million to help hundreds of thousands of small cashew farmers in Africa, thanks to comprehensive data and contacts from the African Cashew Alliance, working with the lead grantee, GTZ, and other organizations. “The African Cashew Alliance, along with key partners, contributed significantly to the proposal,” said Vanessa Adams, chief of party of USAID’s West Africa Trade Hub, which is managed by CARANA Corporation. The Trade Hub helped found the ACA in 2005 and is home to its secretariat. The $25 million grant is complemented by $25 million in in-kind contributions from the cashew industry itself. The project will improve the quality of raw cashew nuts, increase farmer productivity, strengthen links between smallholder farmers and the marketplace, boost African processing capacity, and promote a sustainable global market for African cashews – all goals of the ACA’s charter. Made up of industry stakeholders from Africa and beyond, the ACA supplied the Gates Foundation with key data on the cashew industry in Africa, international market intelligence and introductions to global buyers. In 2008, Adams traveled twice to Germany to prepare the proposal with GTZ, the national German donor agency, and other partners. The Trade Hub also guided visits of the Gates Foundation and large international buyers to West Africa and connected several key players at the ACA’s 2008 annual conference in Tanzania, which the Gates Foundation attended. Published February 2009 Share through your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
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