Blantyre, Malawi, September 25, 2019 —IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced a three-year project with Global Tea and Commodities Ltd. subsidiary Sable Farming to help 3,000 macadamia nut farmers in Malawi—at least half of them women—improve their financial literacy and strengthen their farming operations.
IFC will also work directly with macadamia cooperatives in the country to improve their management capacity so they can better and more efficiently serve and support farmers. Macadamia nuts are an important crop in Malawi, the world’s seventh largest producer, but growers often lack the support needed to run successful, sustainable businesses.
IFC’s advisory support follows a $4 million investment from IFC and the Private Sector Window of GAFSP, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, in Global Tea in 2018 to help it expand its tea, macadamia, and coffee processing operations across eastern and southern Africa.
Global Tea’s Chairman, Nadeem Ahmed, said, “IFC’s support for the farmers we work with aligns with our smallholder sourcing strategy, which will help create better value for the customer, the farmers, and the country. Meanwhile, the investment from IFC and GAFSP is helping us increase our processing capacity to meet the growing global demand for macadamia.”
Tania Lozansky, IFC Senior Manager for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services Advisory, said, “IFC will leverage its expertise strengthening smallholder supply chains to help farmers in Malawi benefit from a long-term relationship with Global Tea. IFC is committed to supporting Malawi’s agriculture sector, especially its farmers, because of its importance to the country’s economy.”
The project will be implemented among smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Thyolo and Mzimba Districts, where rolling hills and good growing conditions produce crunchy, tasty macadamias. Training for farmers will include courses on record keeping, decision making and managing loans.
Global Tea is Malawi’s largest coffee producer and one of its top macadamia producers. It launched its smallholder macadamia program in 2016 and is providing 300,000 seedlings to 3,000 farmers, along with technical agronomic support on managing pests and plant disease and other topics.
IFC’s support will help Global Tea develop a more sustainable sourcing partnership that will improve the livelihoods of 3,000 farmers and their families.
As part of its partnership with Global Tea, IFC has also helped the company replace its diesel generators with solar panels at its Malawi and Mombasa facilities.
In addition to GAFSP, the advisory project is supported by IFC’s Conflict Affected States in Africa Initiative (CASA), backed by Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. CASA is a dedicated regional platform to accelerate private sector development in post-conflict countries.
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities where they are needed most. In fiscal year 2019, we delivered more than $19 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
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About Global Tea and Commodities Ltd.
Global Tea was founded by Nadeem Ahmed in the United Kingdom in 1992. The Group has been operating macadamia and coffee plantations in Malawi since 2001 and tea packing factories in Kenya since 2004. Global Tea is also the largest buyer of teas in Africa, having purchased 18 percent of Africa´s total Tea production in 2017.
About GAFSP
The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) is a multi-donor global program focused on increasing agricultural productivity for smallholders to reduce poverty and increase food and nutrition security. The GAFSP Private Sector Window, managed by IFC, provides long- and short-term loans, credit guarantees, and equity as well as technical assistance to private sector companies and financial intermediaries in eligible IDA countries to improve productivity growth, deepen farmer’s links to markets and access to finance and increase capacity and technical skills. It is supported by the governments of Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Contacts
In Blantyre, Malawi Devon Maylie +27 83 782 9912 E-mail: dmaylie@ifc.org
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