Quality linseed production with smallholder farmers Ethiopia has hundred thousands of farmers annually producing 84,000 tons of linseed for oil purposes for the local food market. The production per hectare, however, is relatively low, due to poor seed quality, poor tillage practices and lack of crop rotation. The lack of crop rotation is also a general problem hampering all companies working with outgrowers in Ethiopia. These farmers tend to use the same piece of land for the same high value cash crop continuously, resulting in lower production levels and all types of pests and diseases. This project will work on both mentioned problems at the same time. The business to be established, is described as the creation of the linseed market chain, starting from the introduction of advanced flax varieties up to the export and domestic sales of the produced linseed, embedded in a permanent outgrower system based on sustainable crop rotation with seed potatoes and vegetables. The investment comprises the proper training of the outgrowers on a complete crop rotation scheme, providing them with small-scale mechanisation and the establishment of seed cleaning facilities. As such, the local linseed market will be strengthened, obviating the need for import of linseed oil and creating the possibility to earn foreign currency by exporting linseeds. At the same time the project will improve the farming systems of the contract farmers by maintaining and improving the soil fertility and by diversifying the income source. For this purpose, the Applicant Van de Bilt Zaden en Vlas B.V. will invest in a long-term cooperation with their Ethiopian partner Solagrow PLC.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Both partners have a good reputation in general, but also on CSR. Van de Bilt has no written CSR policy yet, but will formulate one. Van de Bilt has very few turnover of employees and has received the certificate of "Hofleverancier" a few years ago. Solagrow is well known in Ethiopia of its good CSR practices, for instance the good quality clinic it established at its premises for its employees and all people of the surrounding villages. But also the way it has established a system to keep their salaries at pace with the sometimes high inflation in Ethiopia, is an example for other companies. The same principles will be applied in this project.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe company will employ 76 people on medium- and high-level and 517 on basic-level. This will increase to 194 and 1,366 respectively in the two years after PSI. The working and employment conditions are very good at Solagrow and will remain so.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe knowledge and technology transfer to the farmers on the crop protocol of linseed is new for the country. The current problems of low and deteriorating production levels and increase of pests are caused by neglecting the crop protocol and giving priority to other, theoretically better yielding crops. Also, the knowledge on proper storage after harvesting is new, as is the knowledge on crop rotation. As part of the PPP between Ethiopia and the Netherlands on oil seeds, trials have been done on the effect of crop rotation on the yield of grains and linseed by WUR, Biersteker Consultancy, the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute and the Dutch Product Board for Margarines, Fats and Oils, clearly showing the huge benefits of crop rotation in terms of total yield level, soil fertility and oil content of linseed seeds. The next knowledge gap is found on the investment in machinery for proper seed bed preparation. The project will provide access to the adequate tools of mechanisation and seed cleaning to the farmers, without the need to invest in this type of hardware themselves. Further, the project will invest in teaching the outgrowers the benefits of cooperating in associations. The latter is not new for the country, but is still very weak in most places.•	Chain effectsThe impact on the chain will be very significant. First of all, the impact on the 300 (and future 750) outgrowers will be very big. On average one contract farmer will have additional profit of around 75 euro per hectare only for the linseed. For the entire year of three crops the additional profit will be around 200 euro per hectare. An average outgrower will have 0.5 ha. This means that the impact in the community will be an increased income of 30,000 euro at the last year of the project and 75,000 euro two years after the project. In addition, the introduction of the crop rotation systems means a way out of the negative cycle of diminishing crops for these farmers.Other beneficiaries of the project include input suppliers of fertilizers, bags, rope and fuel, the transport sector and the oil millers in Ethiopia.•	EnvironmentThe impact will be positive. The farmers will be taught how to produce higher quantities of better products, but using less pesticides and fertilizers as compared to the current situation. The policy of Solagrow is not to use any chemical biocides as long as the causal agent can be controlled with other means and kept under the economic threshold. The introduction of proper crop rotation will reduce the risk of depletion of the soil of the farmer fields.•	Position of womenOn management level one third of the employees will be female overall 45% will be women. Women will also benefit through the construction of the health post, which also functions as a maternity clinic. To create a sustainable linseed market chain in Ethiopia with 300 outgrowers, based on a complete crop rotation scheme of linseed, seed potatoes and vegetables.