Ambassador Dean Pittman participated on August 17, 2016, in the inauguration of one of 23 hubs being built by Export Trading Group (ETG) for storage and supply of seeds in the provinces of Tete, Nampula, Manica, and Zambézia under USAID’s Partnering for Innovation (P4I) program. Ambassador Pittman saw one of USAID public-private partnerships first hand and reiterated U.S. support for private sector-led rural development. The Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique Max Tonela also participated in the inauguration.
The centers will provide 22,900 smallholder farmers the opportunity to sell or store oil seeds (soybean, sesame, groundnut, cashew) and pulses (pigeon pea, cowpeas, common beans) free of charge for 90 days, allowing them to take advantage of market price fluctuations. The hubs will also serve as a source of agricultural inputs such as certified seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and rental equipment.
The hubs are the result of a partnership between the U.S. Government through its Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Export Trading Group (ETG) under the Feed for Future Partnering for Innovation (P4I) program funded by USAID, which helps the private sector to disseminate and market agricultural technologies.
The concept of a farmer’s center/hub was developed by ETG in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with USAID’s P4I program. Through this program, the implementing partner, Fintrac (a U.S.-based consulting firm), has partnerships with private sector groups such as ETG to market agricultural technologies to small farmers and increase food security.
ETG is specifically targeting female entrepreneurs to operate their hubs. The total storage space provided by the 23 hubs will be 18,200 square meters with a capacity of 45,500 tons. The total budget of the two and a half year project is $20,101,906 with USAID and ETG contributing $6,458,484 and $13,643,422, respectively.
