Emergency Aid Food Crisis

At a glance:

• The impact of the war against Ukraine poses major challenges for agricultural and food systems worldwide as well as for smallholder farmers in the Global South. For this reason, BMZ launched the Emergency Aid Food Crisis and commissioned GIZ for its implementation. The Emergency Aid Food Crisis is a Fund Single Measure and was implemented in 37 countries around the world that are most affected by the consequences of the war. 
• The Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag) was commissioned with EUR 17.3 million so called Ukraine special cash funds by BMZ and collaborated with nine additional GIZ projects for the implementation of the Emergency Aid Food Crisis.  
• The Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA) received EUR 8.1 million for implementation as part of this project partnership. 
• The projects of the Emergency Aid Food Crisis under INA implementation ran from June 2022 to April 2024. 
• The INA projects were implemented together with Fairtrade International, Forum Fairer Handel e.V. (Forum Fairer Handel) and Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. (Welthungerhilfe) in 23 countries. 

The Emergency Aid Food Crisis had the following core objectives:

1. Strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers against future crises through emergency aid and capacity building. 

2. Mitigate the socio-economic challenges of the food crisis caused by the war against Ukraine. 

3. Strengthen local food markets. 

The ongoing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges posed by the climate crisis are putting a noticeable burden on smallholder farmers in our partner countries who depend on agricultural production and processing. The consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine are further exacerbating this situation. Rising prices for food, energy and fertilizer, logistics problems and a lack of access to markets are jeopardizing progress towards resilience as well as the livelihoods and food security of many smallholder farmers in our partner countries worldwide. For this reason, BMZ launched the Emergency Aid Food Crisis and commissioned GIZ for its implementation. i4Ag was commissioned with EUR 17.3 million Ukraine special cash funds that BMZ provided for emergency aid. For implementation, i4Ag cooperated with nine other GIZ projects. As part of this project partnership, INA received a budget of EUR 8.1 million for project implementation.

A factsheet developed by i4Ag compiles overarching information on the structure, approach and objectives of the Fund Single Measure.  

The INA projects of the Emergency Aid Food Crisis were divided into three strands: 

• the Fund for the Producer Partners of Forum Fairer Handel 
• the Fund for the Producer Partners of Fairtrade International 
• the Promotion of Value Chains and the Improvement of Food Security with Welthungerhilfe 

The projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa aimed to strengthen smallholder production systems sustainably to make them more resilient against future crises. 

The Emergency Aid Food Crisis complemented the single measure COVID-19 Emergency Aid for Fair Trade. Following a similar implementation structure, the Emergency Aid Food Crisis built on the established cooperation with civil society project partners under the COVID-19 Emergency Aid for Fair Trade. This may contribute to a longer-term anchoring and impact on the ground. Learn more about the COVID-19 Emergency Aid for Fair Trade here. 

Forum Fairer Handel implemented a total of 33 projects in nine countries in Latin America and Asia. In Latin America, the consequences of the war against Ukraine led to sharp price fluctuations on the food market. 26 projects in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Nicaragua, and Honduras could mitigate the consequences of the war. In Peru, for example, Forum Fairer Handel supported the organic cultivation of local potatoes. In addition to procurements for the processing of local potatoes, various workshops were held on the topics of climate-resilient cultivation methods, pest control and digital data management. 

Lebanon 

GIZ also helped to strengthen local food markets in Lebanon. A grant agreement with Welthungerhilfe amounted to around EUR 2,204,000. In cooperation with the non-governmental organization Arc en Ciel, wheat and grain producers gained better market access through the development of a weekly agricultural market (BEM food outlet). The collaboration with The Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) improved access to shared resources through an agro-industrial incubator. Access to the incubator enables smallholder farmers to improve the quality of their products, such as wheat or legumes, through efficient processing and packaging methods. The targeted technical support for smallholder farmers aimed to further reduce production losses. The project reached a total of over 2,500 people. 

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, Welthungerhilfe promoted the cultivation and local processing of coffee. To maintain the coffee value chain in the Jimma region, GIZ entered into a grant agreement with Welthungerhilfe over one million euros. In total, the project reached over 14,000 people.  
The measures included training on Good Agricultural Practices with focus on sustainable farm management, increasing yields, income diversification through beekeeping, processing and storage. This also included measures to improve and expand the WASH-systems (water, sanitation, and hygiene) in the villages of the project region. For example, hygiene products were distributed, and a series of workshops were held on menstrual hygiene topics. 

Uganda

Through Welthungerhilfe another project was implemented in Uganda that supported refugees and host communities in the West Nile region to mitigate the local impact of the global food crisis. A grant agreement between GIZ and Welthungerhilfe over EUR 820,000 aimed to strengthen the resilience of local food and nutrition systems. 4,800 smallholder farmers in refugee and host communities were supported to improve their food production through targeted training and procurement. Workshops on agronomic and climate-friendly farming methods were held in the beginning of 2023, enabling smallholder farmers to increase their food yields. In the spring months of 2023, beneficiaries received, among other things, vegetable seeds for the upcoming harvest season. 

Fairtrade International

Producers with Fairtrade certification were supported by the Fund for the Producer Partners of Fairtrade International. Smallholder farmers in a total of 14 countries were supported in strengthening their agricultural production systems against future crises through a grant agreement over EUR 825,000 with GIZ. For example, the projects supported smallholder farmers in Brazil in sustainable fertilizer production, helped to renovate old kitchens in Indonesia to produce coconut sugar, and promoted beekeeping in Malawi as a means of income diversification. Nearly 23,000 smallholder farmers benefited from these measures. 

What was achieved overall? 

Overall, more than 100,000 smallholder farmers in 23 countries around the world were reached through the INA projects of the Emergency Aid Food Crisis. Through the procurement of goods, more than 25,000 smallholder farmers were able to improve their production capacities. Almost 29,000 smallholder farmers participated in gender-sensitive trainings to strengthen their skills in the agri-food sector. Finally, 134 measures were implemented to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and their organizations against the consequences of the global food crisis and future challenges.  

This project was commissioned by the SEWOH Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag) and was implemented by the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains.