(Ecofin Agency) - South Africa's Global Africa integrated farm has entered into a $167.7 million public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the Ivorian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as part of the Tiébissou Integrated Agricultural Program (PAIT). The partnership was inked on the sidelines of the Abidjan 2019 International Agricultural and Animal Resources Exhibition (SARA).

This project aims to address food insecurity and produce nutritious food on a large scale, while generating a significant number of rural jobs for women and youth and improving the skills of local smallholders so that they become, over time, large farmers.

In addition, it will also provide opportunities for small-scale farmers to engage in profitable agriculture by strengthening relations with agribusinesses and getting access to relevant commercial training, inputs, extension services, value-added structures, and markets. This is to enable a comprehensive market-oriented approach to the value chain.

Cultivation methods will be based on organic practices identical to agricultural conservation or sustainable land management techniques that respect the environment. The farm program covers maize, soya, cattle, and poultry.

André Chadrak