Government of Ireland Africa Agri-food Development Program (AADP) 2023

The Ireland Africa Agri-food Development 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: 14th April 2023.

About the Ireland Africa Agri-food 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 for Ireland Africa Agri-food: 

• 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 Ireland Africa Agri-food Development Program: Possible funding of up to €250,000 in total per company

How to Apply: The AADP is now open for submissions. Application forms must be completed by the Irish applicant company and submitted to aadp@agriculture.gov.ie. 

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 5.00pm on Friday, 14th April 2023. 

Please monitor this website and the Departments’ Social Media accounts for updates:

Dept of Agriculture, Food & the Marine Twitter | Dept of Foreign Affairs Twitter

Application Forms

Applications will only be accepted through the official AADP Application Forms.

To request an Application Form for a Full Project or Feasibility Study please email aadp@agriculture.gov.ie with the subject line “Application Form Request”

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: The Ireland 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.