The winning projects of the 2015 Call for Proposals seek to introduce technological innovations to mitigate the impact of drought in Central America and strengthen crops and livestock systems in the Southern Cone, aiming at improving natural resources management in farming families.
(Washington, D.C., November 3, 2015) Today FONTAGRO announced the winning projects of the 2015 Call for Proposals about “Innovations for sustainable natural resources management in family farming in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Within the framework of the 2015 Call for Proposals, FONTAGRO received 146 project proposals. After an evaluation by a panel of experts, 17 projects were invited to submit their final proposals. All proposals were evaluated taking into account such criteria as their scientific and technological qualities and their economic, environmental, and social impact.
As a result of the assessment of the final proposals by an external evaluation panel, FONTAGRO’s Board of Directors recommended the approval of four proposals:
| Project Title | Consortium |
| Centers offering traditional seed varieties | INIA, Chile; CONAGRO, Chile; INTA, Argentina; IPTA, Paraguay; INIA, Uruguay; UDELAR, Uruguay. |
| Technological innovations for building resilient livelihoods for farming families in the Dry Corridor | Unión Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos – UNAG, Nicaragua; ARSAGRO, Honduras; Heifer Honduras and Nicaragua; CIAT, Nicaragua. |
| Innovation platform for the sustainability of family farming systems in Uruguay and Argentina | Universidad de la República – UDELAR, Uruguay; INIA, Uruguay; INTA, Argentina; Alianza del Pastizal – Birds Argentina; MGAP, Uruguay; Wageningen, Netherlands. |
| Biointensive farming for rural families in the Dry Corridor | Asociación Amigos de la Tierra, Nicaragua; INPRHU Somoto, Nicaragua; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Choluteca; Universidad Nacional Agraria – CCID, Nicaragua; ADEPES, Honduras. |
2015 Call for Proposals
The call for proposals will support innovation platforms formed by public and private organizations, which will share their knowledge in pursuit of a common vision and with the goal of promoting practices to improve the sustainable use of natural resources in family farming. The organizations will also help farming families that are threatened by climate change to innovate and strengthen their farms.
Specifically, the 2015 Call for Proposals is aimed at disseminating innovations on the sustainable management of natural resources, such as water resources threatened by overuse and pollution, land degradation and soil erosion, deforestation, loss of genetic resources and biodiversity, and advancing desertification.
FONTAGRO will provide proposals submitted with a total of $1.6 million in financing, and more than $2.4 million in matching funds will be provided by organizations in the member countries’ platform.
For information and inquiries: fontagro@iadb.org
About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO is a unique regional cooperation mechanism that promotes family farming innovation, competitiveness, and food security. It was established in 1998 and it includes fifteen member countries that have contributed a capital of some $100 million. FONTAGRO is sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Its Technical Administrative Secretariat is based at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C. FONTAGRO has cofinanced 98 projects and initiatives in its member countries for an approximate amount of $83.7 million, including contributions from other sources of funding and executing agencies. Its member countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Contact Information:
Carina Carrasco
Communications Adviser
Telephone: +1 202 623 3038. Email: ccarrasco@iadb.org
Website: www.fontagro.minimalart.info
References:
#innovation #funding #financing #LatinAmerica #Caribbean #agriculture #farming #familyfarming #familyagriculture #agriculturalists #farmers #projects #naturalresources #sustainable #seeds #livestock #cooperation #crops #biointensive #foodsecurity #Argentina #Chile #Honduras #Nicaragua #Paraguay #Uruguay #Netherlands #Udelar #Unag #Arsagro #Conagro #Inta #Wageningen #INIA #FONTAGRO #IDB #IICA