VisionRI shortlisted for AfDB funded Agribusiness project in Malawi

The 2.2 years’ Risk Sharing Facility (RSF) project is aimed at increasing farm income, promoting agribusiness and involving youths and women in the agribusiness sector.

India’s prestigious global development consulting firm VisionRI has been shortlisted to establish and manage a ‘Risk Sharing Facility’ (RSF) under an ‘Agribusiness Infrastructure and Youth in Agribusiness Project’ (AIYAP) funded by African Development Bank (AfDB) in Southern African nation Malawi. Besides managing the facility for the project duration, the assignment also requires to develop it's short (1 year), medium (2-5 years) and long-term (5-10 years) sustainable plan.

“Agribusiness is one of the most promising sectors in the Post-COVID-19 pandemic world. As the COVID-19 has adversely affected almost all the sectors of the world economy causing huge unemployment, a holistic approach to agribusiness will be of great help for nations in absorbing shocks of an imminent global recession and providing livelihoods to both unskilled and skilled population across genders and age groups. We are hopeful to get the assignment and contribute to the development of Malawi,” said Mr. J. P. Singh, Managing Director, VisionRI Connexion Services Pvt. Ltd. The project will be executed by the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development, Malawi.

As per the terms of reference, the assignment will cover two districts of Nkhata Bay – Linga irrigation scheme and Nkhotakota – Dwambaziirrigation scheme. “The successful firm is expected to come up with a sustainability plan for making sure that the RSF should become self-sustaining,” reads the terms of reference. In addition to VisionRI, five more firms have been shortlisted for the project. They are Community Finance Limited, A2F Consulting Limited, National Bank of Malawi, NBS Bank and African Financial & Technical Assistance. All the shortlisted firms are required to submit their technical and financial proposals latest by July 3, 2020. 

The project is aimed at improving crop production and productivity leading to improve net farm incomes of the project beneficiaries, expanding opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness to rural youths in Malawi as a means to advance rural livelihoods and economic development and enhance import substitution through improved value additions and processing. 

Risk sharing as a mechanism for triggering a structural shift in an economy’s agricultural potential is a relatively new but high potential policy tool. Prior to 2011, the idea had been utilized in a series of smaller-scale experiments in the United States, Austria, Indonesia and in a special vehicle backed by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).  AGRA’s work with Standard Bank provided an initial African case study that partially set the stage for a more ambitious project in Nigeria designed and launched by the Central Bank, the Ministry of Agriculture and the country’s commercial lenders with technical support from AGRA and 3^rd party advisers.