Grant for Agroecology Programs (GAP) Fund

Project Background
IFAD, in partnership with the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has developed the
programme for Grant for Agroecology Programs (GAP) Fund. The project leverages its existing investment grant
portfolio to pilot and implement sustainable, inclusive, agroecology-based value chain projects through Producer
Organizations (FPO/FPC/ Federation of SHGs) /Micro and Small enterprises (MSEs)/ agri-food entrepreneurs.

This Grant aims to promote integrated sustainable production systems through grants, technical assistance, and
ecosystem support for POs/ MSEs. The objective is to improve their businesses, enhance their agroecological
outcomes, and provide tangible benefits to small producers in the value chain. Such engagement with the private
sector requires dedicated capacity and support from tailored instruments that allow analysis of market opportunities,
scouting for adequate partners, and development of investment proposals to facilitate transparent, mutually
beneficial commercial linkages and collaboration along financially viable and ecologically sustainable value chains.

About Access Development as Fund Manager

Set up in March 2006, ACCESS Development Services (ACCESS) is structured uniquely to build evidence, create
models, and align thought leadership on promoting livelihoods of the poor in collaboration with Civil Society
Organizations, Governments, Private Sector, Donors, and Multilateral / Bilateral Agencies. ACCESS has extensive
experience working in value chains with the Farmers Producers Organization.

ACCESS is managing the Grant for Agroecology Programs (GAP) Fund on behalf of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) for supporting enterprises working on Agroecology Value Chains under its
Investment in Agroecology Value Chains Project (IAVCP).

Eligible Entities
Producer Organizations (POs):- These could be Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO)/ Farmers Producer Companies
(FPCs)/ Producer Organizations (POs), Producer Groups, Federation of Self-Help Groups and other forms of Producer
Collectives.

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs):- For profit enterprises linked to agroecology value chains including start up
organization and individual entrepreneurs can apply provided they are registered.

Non-profit Organizations/ NGOs can assist with the preparation of an application by a Producer Organization or Enterprise
but they cannot apply in their own right.

Key Features of the Grant for Agroecology Program (GAP) Fund

i. The fund has been designed to support the eligible entity with grant support from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 200 lakh
with a minimum of 30% project cost to be funded from other sources including own contribution/ equity of
enterprise/ entrepreneurs.

ii. Under the initiative, support will also be provided to eligible entities to prepare good-quality technical
proposals and business plans.

iii. Post project sanctions, the grantees may also seek support on specific technical know-how and expertise
critical to the success of the business plan, improve their competitiveness, and integrate of agroecological
practices in the value chain through business coaching by experts.

iv. The project proposal must align with one or more agroecological principles and outcome.

v. The project/business has to demonstrate a tangible, time-specific impact on small farmers/producers. It

should also result in a quantifiable income increase for them over time. Also, the business should preferably
 support the livelihoods of the more vulnerable, such as women, youth, tribal, and other similar disadvantaged
groups, although support does not have to be exclusively for these groups.

vi. The project/business must be able to run independently after the proposed gestation period; it must
demonstrate a clear, realistic, and time-bound vision toward financial sustainability.

vii. Proposal for a grant from Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 100 lakhs will be received on a rolling basis and grant above Rs.
1 Crore will be solicited through a Grant for Agroecology Program (GAP) Challenge Fund.

Application Process
The application will follow a two-stage process for soliciting screening, reviewing, and approving proposals.

Stage 1:- The first stage is the submission of a concept note by the eligible entity which will be evaluated and
shortlisted based on well-defined evaluation criteria, aligned with agroecology principles.

Stage 2:- The shortlisted applicants will be informed to submit the detailed grant proposal and business plan in the
prescribed format.

Evaluation Process
The broad principles used for screening and evaluating full application will include;
i. Preliminary Screening: - A preliminary screening will be done by the State Focal Person to ascertain that
the basic eligibility criteria are met by the applicants, which will include legal requirements, minimum
years of existence, broad alignment of business activity with agroecological principles, impact on small
producers and financial sustainability of the business plan.

ii. Application incomplete or inconsistent in any respect would be sent back with comments for addressing
the gaps with a timeline for returning the revised submission.

iii. The fund manager will perform the due diligence (desk-based and field-based) and project appraisal of
the shortlist the grantee for further evaluation and approval by the Investment Committee.

iv. An empowered Investment Committee comprising experts will evaluate the shortlisted proposals based
on the presentation, investment briefs, and summary notes and make a final decision on the award of
grant proposal.

Focus States
The first-choice states are Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The GAP regular fund up to Rs. 01 Crore will be for focussed states. However,
the GAP Challenge Fund (Above Rs. 1 Crore) will announced every quarter on a PAN India basis.

Contact Information
For Further Information https://www.accessdev.org/agroecology-fund/
Contact details Phone No:- 011- 45697039/ 45761146
Email: [email protected]
 Annexure
Agroecological Principles

Distinguishing features of the GAP Fund from traditional value chain investment programs are critical for a
project’s suitability for investment.
1. Integration of Agroecological Principles
The project for investment1 will have to align with GAP Fund’s vision regarding agroecological principles,
as given in Table 1 below which provides a full description of the 10 Elements of Agroecology from the Food
and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It also includes suggestive (non-exhaustive)
examples for each element.

Table # 1: The Ten Elements of Agroecology as per FAO

Component Description Examples of Agroecologically Sound Production Systems and Value
Chains (Not Exhaustive)
Diversity  Diversification is key  Crop rotations and Intercropping
to agroecological  Polycultures
transitions to  Animal integration
ensure food security  Diversity in landscaping, diversity through varieties and breeds,
and nutrition while and/or other forms of diversity
conserving,  Functional biodiversity for pest control
protecting, and  Incomes diversity from differentiated markets
enhancing natural
resources.
Synergies  Building synergies  Permanent soil cover through mulching.
enhances key  Contour lines that use traditional ecological knowledge with
functions across scientific knowledge used to maintain soil health, prevent erosion,
food systems, etc.
supporting  Production and use of organic matter using local resources
production and  Selective combination of annual crops, trees, perennial crops,
multiple ecosystem leguminous crops, livestock, etc.
services.  Territorial/landscape planning maximizing synergies in a territory
(e.g., watershed approaches)
 Integration of value chains to create synergies (e.g. by-products
from one value chain to be used as raw material by another. In
other words, the output from one chain could serve as input for
another)
Efficiency  Innovative  Enhanced productivity of labour and natural resources. Other
agroecological efficiency (input/output) measures to be used as appropriate.
practices produce  Reduce/eliminate external inputs through recycling to enhance
more using fewer efficiency
external resources.  Reduction in wastage through recycling and other means
 Use of bio-fertilizers /bio-stimulants/microbes to fix atmospheric
nitrogen, carbon, etc
 Efficient use of natural resources
 Water harvesting and water-efficient irrigation systems (e.g., drip
irrigation systems)
Recycling  More recycling  Production and use of compost/equivalent
means agricultural  Reduce pollution/waste
production with  Recycling of nutrients and biomass, water, etc, to enhance
lower economic and efficiency, reduce pollution, etc.
environmental  Agroforestry
Table # 1: The Ten Elements of Agroecology as per FAO
Component Description Examples of Agroecologically Sound Production Systems and Value
Chains (Not Exhaustive)
costs.  Crop–livestock systems
Co-creation  Agricultural  Local practical and context-specific knowledge of methods of
and Sharing innovations farming and production including traditional and indigenous
of respond better to knowledge, producers’ and traders’ practical knowledge, and
Knowledge local challenges global scientific knowledge
when they are co-  Producer experimentation that results in new hybrid knowledge,
created through which is a combination of lab-to-land and local context-specific
participatory knowledge
processes.  Participatory processes for sharing local, context-specific, and
hybrid knowledge, including lab-to-land workshops and programs,
participatory plant breeding, inter alia.
 Farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing and farmer field schools.
 Mechanisms for sharing of best practices/ models/
stories/evidence with stakeholders
Resilience  Enhanced resilience  Natural methods of pest control
of people,  Diversified agricultural landscapes that enhance pest and disease
communities, and control functions
ecosystems is key to  Natural methods to increase soil health
sustainable food  Resistance to extreme weather, including the use of soil
and agricultural conservation techniques (minimal labor) and natural and
systems. continuous drainage systems, etc.
 Capacity to recover from agricultural and production
setbacks/emergencies by using agroecological-oriented
agriculture insurance, reinsurance, and emergency funds.
 Agroecologically oriented vulnerability reducing financial services,
including warehouse receipts and other post-harvest financing.
 Diversification of activities across related and unrelated activities
 Reducing dependence on external inputs
 Backward and forward integration of activities in the chain to
reduce dependence and enhance resilience
Human and  Protecting and  Social cohesion and cooperation through cooperatives, and
Social improving rural producer organizations, especially for disadvantaged groups
Values livelihoods, equity, including tribals, women, and youth in agriculture
and social well-  Fair prices for both producers and consumers
being is essential for  Solidarity initiatives
sustainable food  Sharing systems (e.g., digital apps to share tractors and other
and agricultural types of machinery)
systems.  Social, gender, financial, and other inclusion
Culture and  By supporting  Traditional integrated production systems
Food healthy, diversified,  Local food systems and markets
Traditions and culturally  Preservation of cultural agricultural systems
appropriate diets,  Hybrid of traditional and scientific food systems and habits
agroecology  Maintaining and promoting agriculture methods that respect
contributes to food peoples’ cultures and food systems
security and  Enabling support for producer-managed seed systems (peasant
nutrition while seeds) as well as community-managed seed banks
maintaining the  Enhancing utilization and sustainable management of traditional
health of (and wild foods) through the promotion of local indigenous food
ecosystems. and seed markets
 Neglected crops, ancient varieties, perennials and so on.
Responsible  Sustainable food  Access to land, natural (including water), and other common
Governance and agriculture property resources, including mutual guarantee social justice
require responsible systems
 Table # 1: The Ten Elements of Agroecology as per FAO
Component Description Examples of Agroecologically Sound Production Systems and Value
Chains (Not Exhaustive)
and effective  Territorial, landscape, and community-level governance
governance  Long-term investments for maintaining and preserving all local
mechanisms at knowledge and systems, as mentioned in the other components
different scales –  Natural resources governance with mutual benefit for producers
from local to and other stakeholders
national to global.  Enabling infrastructure for agroecological produce branding,
certification, etc.
 Enabling and ensuring effective communication at all levels of
engagement through production systems and value chains.
 Cooperative governance frameworks for mutual benefit
Circular and  Circular and  Increased incomes for producers, reduction in their vulnerability,
Solidarity solidarity and enhancement of their livelihood, food and nutrition security
Economy economies that  Local food systems and markets, traditional territorial markets,
reconnect and so on.
producers and  Participatory guarantee systems (including productive alliances
consumers provide between producers and consumers and territorial guarantee
innovative solutions systems such as bio-districts)
for living within our  Community-supported agriculture and e-commerce schemes
planetary (including digital and mobile applications)
boundaries while  Diversification of risks and multiple coping mechanisms
ensuring the social  Producers and buyers co-exist and swap different products (milk
foundation for production and tea shop example)
inclusive and  Agro tourism and eco-tourism
sustainable  Mutual guarantee systems
development.  Dynamic local producer’s markets
 Denomination of origin and traceability
 E-commerce price and sale information
Note: The proposed agroecology value chain project/business does not need to demonstrate all of the
elements; it may cover one or more with a clear articulation of the alignment. However, the proposed project
must not be in conflict with any of the above elements.

The 10 elements have been operationalized in 13 principles by the HLPE.2 Those are recycling; input
reduction; soil health; animal health; biodiversity; synergy; economic diversification; co-creation of
knowledge; social values and diets; fairness; connectivity; land and natural resource governance; and
participation. These principles are well aligned with the 10 elements of agroecology.
2. Criteria 2- Impact on Small Holder Farmers/ Small & Marginal Producers
The project/business has to demonstrate a tangible, time-specific impact on small farmers/producers. It
should also result in a quantifiable income increase for them over time. Also, the business should
preferably support the livelihoods of the more vulnerable such as women, youth, tribal, and other similar
disadvantaged groups, although support does not have to be exclusively for these groups. Several
measures of impact are proposed here: a) tangible income increases for small producers; b) reduction in
vulnerability for them as exemplified by enhanced and diverse coping mechanisms including access to
emergency funds; c) diversification of risk for small producers as espoused by their dependence on multiple
sources of income; d) number of households enabled for participation in viable value chains; e) total
acreage/hectares of agroecological farming supported; f) value of co-financing/follow-on financing for
POEs/MSEs; and g) other aspects as appropriate to the context and project.
3. Criteria 3- Sustainability & Financial Viability of the Business

2
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The project/business must be able to run independently after the proposed gestation period; it must
demonstrate a clear, realistic, and time-bound vision toward financial sustainability and viability in terms of
various parameters discussed in the subsequent sections. Important measures of sustainability in this
context are: a) a time-bound (preferably 3-to-5-year time frame) plan to break even and earn a surplus; b)
the strength and reality of the assumptions in the business plan and the actual business plan itself in terms
of the realistic and achievable nature of the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow
statement projections; and c) key financial aspects including various financial ratios.
The Focus states of the project include Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

Different kinds of business grants are envisaged under the project for various segments of eligible POEs
and MSEs:
• Type # 1: Project finance/implementation grants — They will contribute directly towards upscaling
agroecological value chain enterprises. This is the primary business grant mechanism, and its basic
purpose is to facilitate implementation toward initiating, growing, or expanding the enterprise.
These could include business grants for aspects such as (but not limited to) the following: financial
support for the purchase of equipment, the redesign of farming systems, enabling small producers to
market and distribute their agroecologically produced products, and facilitating small farmers to
introduce drought-resistant farming practices, improve soil carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, or bring in specialized expertise (technical staff). Basically, this grant will help to create
a sustainable agroecologically compliant business model and enterprise.

• Two types of Grants have been designed- 1) Regular Fund: These grant investments would be in the
range of INR 20 lakhs (Rs.2 million) to 1 crore (Rs.10 million); and 2) Challenge Fund: These grant
investments would be in the range of INR 1 crore (Rs.10 million) to 2 crore (Rs.20 million).
For both these grants, it is mandatory that a minimum of 30% of the project cost be funded from other
sources, including the own contribution/equity of the enterprise/entrepreneur.