The Southern Africa Trust

Reference: CFP1/2008
The Southern Africa Trust is an independent agency that supports deeper and wider regional engagement to overcome poverty in southern Africa.
Agriculture is an extremely important sector in southern Africa.
Development strategies in the region have not yet harnessed the potential of agriculture to play its full role in ensuring not only adequate food production, but also economic and social development.
Numerous studies show that investments in community based initiatives targeting smallholder farmers in agricultural production typically result in a greater impact on economic growth and poverty reduction, taken together with investments
in infrastructure development, health and education. There is a growing consensus that investment in such efforts must be accelerated.
The Southern Africa Trust therefore invites submissions of innovative concept notes from eligible community groups and small scale farmers in southern Africa for work aimed at overcoming hunger and poverty by increasing the production of and access to food in both rural and urban areas.
This call for applications for small grants is aimed at supporting innovative practices in agricultural food production that could help to generate new public policy interventions.
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that respond to any one of the following areas of interest, although proposals that address a combination of
several areas will be favoured:
• What are you doing as a small scale farmer to reduce reliance on rainfall and to better manage the water resources used in agricultural food production?
• How are you improving the nutrient levels of the soil in order to increase the productivity of your land?
• How are you dealing with crop and livestock pests and diseases in your area in order to protect your crops and animals?
• What innovative practices are you as a small scale farmer introducing to increase crop and/or livestock production?
• What are you as a farmer and your farmers’ association, along with government, doing to improve access to farming inputs such as credit, seeds, land, fertilizer, and other inputs?
• What innovative initiatives are you involved in to increase market access for your products?
• How are you improving your ability to get your products to the market effectively?
• What are you doing to improve your access to agricultural advice and support, take on new technologies, and use knowledge from agricultural research that improves
your ability to produce? How are you applying the new knowledge and technology?
• How are smallholder farmers ensuring that their voice and needs are accommodated in national policies to improve food production?
• What innovative ways are you using to minimize the losses and improve the quality of food in post harvest food processing and storage?
• What value added services is your farmer association providing to its members in order to increase food production?
We are especially interested in innovative local initiatives of small scale farmers and associations that have the potential for producing real change in the lives of
people living in poverty.
Eligibility
Applications will be accepted from community based organisations, smallholder farmers, and farmer associations working to increase food production in southern Africa. These organisations must:
• Be rooted and governed in southern Africa; and
• Be operating at a local community level in urban and/or rural communities.
Application Process To receive a copy of the full text of the call for proposals that
gives more details, please contact Ms Shupikai Gwabuya at +27 11 318 1012 or sgwabuya@southernafricatrust.org. Information is also available at www.southernafricatrust.org.
Potential applicants requiring limited assistance to complete application forms may request such support from the Southern Africa Trust.
Applications should not exceed US$20,000 a year for a maximum of twelve months from the start of the project.
Budgets must be presented in US dollars.
The closing date for submission of concept notes is 13h00 on Monday, 8 December 2008. Late submissions will not be considered. All applications must reach the
Trust in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the reference CFP1/2008, by the deadline at either of the following addresses:
Physical Address: The Grants Manager, Southern Africa Trust, 4 Midridge North, International Business Gateway, 6th Road (off New Road), Midrand, South Africa
OR Postal Address:, The Grants Manager, Southern Africa Trust, PO Box 1234, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa The decision of the Southern Africa Trust about the allocation of a grant in support of your proposal will be  nal and no further correspondence will be entered into.
Call for Small Grant Applications from Community Based Groups and Small Scale Farmers to Support Innovative Practices in Agricultural Food Production in Southern Africa