The Maendeleo
Agricultural Technology Fund (MATF), managed
by FARM Africa was established in 2002 with
joint funding from the Rockefeller Foundation
and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation which,
since 2005, has been channeled through the
Kilimo Trust.
MATF is focussed
on improving the agricultural Gross Domestic
Product and livelihoods of rural and peri-urban
communities in East Africa through agricultural
innovations while enhancing productivity of
natural resources.
MATF is a grant
making initiative that incubates innovations;
links small-scale farmers to profitable markets;
enables them access new technologies and skills;
generates models of good practice; and scales
out successful impact.
The MATF secretariat is based in the Food
and Agricultural Research Management (FARM)
Africa country office in Nairobi, Kenya. An
Advisory Panel (AP) comprising seven agricultural
experts from the three East African countries,
along with representatives from both donor
organisations and FARM-Africa provide support
and strategic direction for the management
of the fund.
WHY MATF?
Agricultural productivity and growth in African
countries have stagnated for many years, largely
because of institutional failures and market
constraints, along with limited transfer and
adoption of improved technologies by smallholder
farmers. This has resulted in decreased productivity
and poor income generation in many rural families,
fuelling a vicious cycle of poverty and food
insecurity.
To counter this trend, MATF was established
as a grant making initiative to incubate innovations;
link small-scale farmers to profitable markets;
enable them access new technologies and skills;
generate models of good practice; and scale
out successful impact.
Since inception,
MATF has become a key player in agricultural
development work and has helped different
organisations and institutions to move innovative
agricultural technologies from research into
farmers’ fields. 56 organisations in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have benefitted
from 67 grants that have been disbursed ranging
from £30,000 in the first round to currently
£80,000. Types of technologies and approaches
that have been supported include 20 crop production
systems, 8 livestock production systems, 13
agricultural practices, methods of processing
and nutrition and 9 market access approaches.
MATF’s
success is attributed to partnerships in a
network of over 250 reputable grass roots
development organisations and partners. MATF
carefully selects and supports consortia of
partners who can make particular projects
work and also address weak linkages in the
value chain.
Through its
projects, MATF has clearly demonstrated the
ability to increase productivity at farm level,
generating a wealth of knowledge on viable
technologies and dissemination processes.
For
more details Download
the MATF Brochure [1.8MB]
