Switzerland and Luxembourg are mobilizing an overall budget of EUR 55 million to support smallholder farmers. The new ten years program, called SSNUP (Smallholder Safety Net Upscaling Program) draws on the knowledge and expertise of the technical assistance facilities of leading impact investment managers like Incofin IM.
The vast majority of low-income populations live in rural areas and essentially consist of vulnerable smallholder households who practice subsistence farming. In order to improve practices and bolster the agricultural markets in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, the Luxembourgish and Swiss development organizations chose for a close cooperation with partners like Incofin Investment Management. Incofin is considered a reference in the field of financial inclusion and the agri-food value chain and has successfully set up several technical assistance facilities. Through this partnership, the public and private sector will co-fund technical assistance projects for the agricultural value chain.
SSNUP will be coordinated by ADA, the Luxembourgish NGO specialized in inclusive finance. It is a ten-year project of which the first phase (2020-2023) has now been officially launched. The global goal of this phase is to strengthen sustainably the safety nets of around three million smallholder households, contributing to several SDGs like for example “No Hunger” and “Gender Equality”. It starts with an estimated budget of EUR 18 million, EUR 12 million of which will be co-funded by Switzerland and Luxembourg. The remaining EUR 6 million will be pooled from the private sector and other donors.
