Category
Integrated Investment Appraisal
Country
Ethiopia
Client
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Industry
Agriculture Food Security Rural Development
TL;DR
This project develops intensive agricultural systems for food-insecure Ethiopian households, focusing on irrigated vegetable production. It aims to boost incomes and graduate 50,000 households from a safety net program through improved vegetable value chains, supported by a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis for USAID/Ethiopia.

This project involves the development of intensive agricultural systems for chronically food-insecure households in 16 woredas across Ethiopia's Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, and Tigray regions. The project aims to address food insecurity and low agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers with limited land holdings, and is expected to generate economic and social benefits by increasing household incomes and graduating 50,000 households from the Productive Safety Net Program through improved vegetable value chains. These analyses support the project's implementation as part of GRAD's integrated approach to value chain development across four commodity sectors. As part of the evaluation, a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis was conducted in line with international good practices, assessing the project's financial viability, economic efficiency, and distributional impacts. The analysis included detailed production forecasts, market assessments, cost estimates for irrigation systems and inputs, and risk-adjusted sensitivity scenarios, ensuring robust decision-making support for USAID/Ethiopia and implementing partners (CARE, REST, ORDA, CRS, SNV, and Tufts University).