SAFE - Mercy Corps/ADRA Sudan SAFE - Mercy Corps/ADRA Sudan The international organisations Mercy Corps and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) have applied to Sida for funding of 93 million SEK to carry out "Strenghtening Agricultural Markets and Food Security (SAFE)" in Sudan for the period 2019-2022. The intervention will be carried out by a consortia of Mercy Corps and ADRA, where the former is the agreement partner to Sida. 

The intervetion aims at improving agricultural production through environmentally sustainable farming and improved marketing systems. The geographical areas chosen are Blue Nile (BNS) and South Kordofan (SKS) states in Sudan targeting 3 localities and 4 localities in BNS and SKS respectively. 

The intervention is to a large extent based on a Market Systems Approach (MSD) applying adaptive management, which means that changes of project activities might take place during the project period. A MSD approach aims to address underlying causes of poor perfomance in specific markets that matter to people living in poverty, resulting in scaleable long-term changes. This may also mean that it takes longer to see concrete results, but that these should be sustainable once they are achieved. The approach will therefore mean that Sida needs to accept changes in the programme and be an active dialogue partner.

The common rationale is to address the underlying causes of poor performance in specific markets that matter to poor people, producing scaleable long-term change.

The overall goal of the programme is improved food security for 20,000 male and female smallholder farmer households through enhanced gender equitable market access and agricultural production  To achieve the project goal, the project has the following objectivies:

1. Male and female smallholder farmers have increased and more climate resilient yields
2. Male and female smallholder farmers increase sustainable natural resources management practices
3. Male and female smallholder farmers have improved market linkages (access to finance and agricultural inputs) 
4. Increased equality between men, women, boys and girls and increased empowerment of women and girls in smallholder agricultural market systems.

The intervention's total budget is 93,25 million SEK, out of which 0.25 million SEK is allocated for an internal management and control review during the second year of the intervention which would be procured by Sida. De internationella organisationerna Mercy Corps och Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) har ansökt om stöd från Sida om 93 MSEK för att tillsammans genomföra projektet "Strenghtening Agricultural Markets and Food Security (SAFE)" i Sudan under perioden 2019-2022. Av dessa organisationer är Mercy Corps Sidas avtalspart.

Insatsen syftar till att öka jordbruksproduktionen genom miljömässigt hållbart jordbruk och bättre fungerande jordbruksmarknader. Insatsen kommer att fokusera på tre respektive fyra områden i delstaterna Blå Nilen och Södra Kordofan.

Insatsen bygger till stor del på en marknadssystemansats (MSD) med ett adaptivt arbetssätt vilket innebär att projektets aktiviteter kan komma att förändras under aktivitetsperioden. En MSD-ansats syftar till att adressera grundorsaker till att marknader som är av vikt för människor som lever i fattigdom inte tillräckligt gagnar dessa grupper, vilket på sikt ska resultera i långsiktiga förändringar som kan skalas upp till att nå många. Detta kan också innebära att det tar längre tid att se konkreta resultat men att dessa är uthålliga när de väl uppnås. Ansatsen kommer däför innebära att Sida behöver ta ställning till förändringar i programmet och vara en aktiv dialogpart.

Det övergripande målet med insatsen är förbättrad livsmedelsförsörjning för 20 000 småbrukande bondehushåll, motsvarande 120 000 personer,  genom ökat och jämställt marknadstillträde och ökad jordbrukproduktion. Målet förväntas uppnås genom att uppfylla följande förväntade resultat:

1. Manliga och kvinnliga småbrukande bönder har ökad och mer klimatresilient produktion
2. Manliga och kvinnliga småbrukande bönder ökar tillämpningen av hållbar naturresursanvändning
3. Manliga och kvinnliga småbrukande bönder har förbättrade marknadskopplingar (tillgång till finansiering och insatsvaror för jordbruket)
4. Ökad jämställdhet mellan män, kvinnor, pojkar och flickor och mer egenmakt till kvinnor och flickor verksamma inom marknader av vikt för det småskaliga jordbruket.

Insatsens budget är 93,25 MSEK varav 250 000 SEK är avsatta för systemrevision under insatsens andra år och upphandlad av Sida. Sida supports Mercy Corps in their implementation of the Strengthening Agricultural Markets and Food Security (SAFE) programme in Sudan (Planit id 13260) between 2019 and 2025, with a total amount of SEK 148 121 800.

The last CoP was done in October 2022 and demonstrated delays during the reporting period (July 2021 to June 2022), still with indicative and promising results. It was further ascertained that the reporting period (July 2021 to June 2022) witnessed substantial progress in the engagement of private sector partners and the uptake of opportunities by the programme participants. Sida later assessed that the objectives of the programme would be achieved as the activity period was extended.

The current reporting period of the SAFE programme covers their fourth year of implementation (July 2022  September 2023). Mercy Corps concludes from the narrative report that during this year the SAFE team has continued to build upon the robust momentum, partnership, community structures (trainers, farmer groups and cooperatives) and lessons learned, that had been built from year 2 and year 3. Sida has had several dialogue and financial meetings with Mercy Corps during the first half of 2024, and the concluding impression is that Mercy Corps delivers well within the SAFE programme, in spite of very challenging context. During the year, Sudan experienced the outburst of clashes on15th April between Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), practically bringing the country into a state of civil war, that continues. This has deepened the already ongoing economic, political and climate change crises.

The main goal of the Strengthening Agriculture Market and Food Security SAFE project is to improve the food security for 31 000 male and female smallholder farmer households across South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, through enhanced gender equitable market access and agricultural production resilience. The project is guided by a Market Systems Development (MSD) and resilience approaches, to sustain food security gains despite the complex risk environment in which smallholder farmers are exposed to. The project is centred around five key objectives:

Objective 1: Increased yields for vulnerable male and female smallholder farmers.

Objective 2: Increased sustainable natural resource management practices.

Objective 3: Male and female smallholder farmers have improved market linkages (access to finance and agricultural inputs).

Objective 4: Increased gender equity between men, women, boys and girls and increased empowerment of women and girls in smallholder agricultural market systems.

Objective 5: Increased preparedness and ability to respond to disasters.

In August 2023 the final Evaluation Data Analysis of the SAFE programme was produced (scheduled at the end of the original implementation period). The study was solid and lessons/recommendations from this work are referred to in parts below and in connection with the results from implementation year four (4) 2022-2023.