Ethiopia, Barley Organization of Supply and Training (BOOST)

Donor:

International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Partners:

Soufflet Malt Ethiopia
HEINEKEN Breweries Ethiopia
Agricultural Transformation Agency
Oromia Seed Enterprise, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
Micro Finance Institutions
Oromia Agriculture Research Institute
Bureau of Agriculture
Oromia Cooperative Promotion Agency
Oromia Bureau of Finance and Economic Cooperation
Oromia Agriculture and Natural Resource Bureau

Goal

The goal of the project is to enhance the productivity of farmers and the quality of the resulting malt barley to meet Soufflet Malt Ethiopia’s local sourcing objectives in terms of quality grades as well as quantity

What we do

EUCORD is partnering with Soufflet Malt Ethiopia (SME) to assist with the implementation of the Barley Organization Of Supply and Training in South East and Central Oromia otherwise known as BOOST.

EUCORD is responsible for Component 1: Improving the malt barley production capacity of farmers by increasing access to improved seed varieties and other agricultural inputs. Support by IFC is used to:

Improve farmers’ access to improved seed varieties
Improve farmers’ access to other inputs such as crop protection products and fertilizer
Build the agronomic and technical capacity of barley producers

In addition, IFC is handling Component 2 through a contract with Precise Consult International, which is building the business management capacity of aggregators using the Agribusiness Leadership Program (ALP) and improving the clustering of farmers. Component 3, which is linked to establishing contract farming and farmer financing models, is implemented by Soufflet Malt Ethiopia.

Accomplishments

During the project period the project reached 79,044 households through on-farm demonstrations, seed distribution, and provision of training and advisory support. A total of 474,264 beneficiaries were reached indirectly and 82,902 hectares were covered with improved malt barley varieties and recommended agronomic practices.

Major accomplishments achieved up till present include:

The total volume of grain supplied to the malt industry is 184,439 tons
Provision of training on Good Agricultural Practices to more than 40,000 farmers
Provision of quality testing training to 395 aggregators
Supported establishment and linkages with 247 input retailers for the distribution of seed and other inputs
Facilitated the distribution of 16,205 tons seed of improved malt barley varieties
Organization of 94 on-farm demonstrations and more than 200 farmer field days