Government of Ireland Africa Agri-food Development Program (AADP) 2020

The programme is a joint initiative by the Ireland Ministry for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Ministry of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support partnerships between Irish and African agri-food companies.

Application Deadline: 2nd August 2019 (5.00pm on Friday).

About the Award: The Objective of the AADP is to develop partnerships between the Irish Agri-Food Sector and African countries to support sustainable growth of the local food industry, build markets for local produce and support mutual trade between Ireland and Africa.

It is intended that any investment by the AADP will be catalytic support with co-funding from the private sector. The fund is designed to leverage greater expertise, experience and investment from the Irish agri-food sector and projects should demonstrate results with a long-term developmental impact that will ultimately lead to sustainable benefits through investment by the private sector.

Irish agri-food expertise is extremely wide-ranging and examples of suitable AADP projects include:

• Business development
• Production system
• Technology Transfer
• R & D
• Project Management

Type: Entrepreneurship/Grants

Eligibility: 

• The partners involved must include one Irish registered agri food company and one local commercial entity in Africa;
• All proposed projects must be commercial in nature and focus. Funding will only be awarded to Irish registered agri food companies.
• AADP funding is up to a maximum of €250,000 per company for a full project or €100,000 for a feasibility study.
• AADP funding will not exceed 50% of the costs of the project;
• The funds contributed by the Irish registered agri food company must not comprise funding received from any other Irish Public funding source.
• If an applicant company was previously successful in applying for AADP funding, it must explain clearly (in the application form) the new project goals/outcomes and how they differ from those in the initial funding round.
• If an applicant company proposes to undertake a feasibility study, it should include a list of ‘potential’ partners with the application.
• Projects will be supported in the following countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia;
  • Funding from the AADF must bring about additionality and not replace existing funding;
  • Successful AADF funding applicants will be encouraged to engage with Irish NGOs where possible on various aspects of the projects i.e. Mechanical and Engineering, Project design, etc.

Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated against the following criteria:

• Development Impact
• Company expertise (Technical, financial etc)
• Commercial viability
• Risk Analysis
• Monitoring and Expenditure

It is intended that any investment by the AADP will be catalytic support with co-funding from the private sector. The fund is designed to leverage greater expertise, experience and investment from the Irish agri-food sector and projects should demonstrate results with a long-term developmental impact that will ultimately lead to sustainable benefits through investment by the private sector.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Possible funding of up to €250,000 in total per company

How to Apply: 

•  Applications – Full Project (doc 88Kb) are now being accepted through this application form only.
• Applications – Feasibility Study (doc 86Kb)  are now being accepted through this application form only.
• The forms must be completed by the Irish applicant company and submitted to aadp@agriculture.gov.ie.

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Important Note: Only Irish Agri-Food companies can apply.

Award Providers: The Africa Agri-Food Development Programme (AADP) is a joint initiative between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.