# Support for Commercializing Non-timber Forest Products in Zimbabwe

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/rfi-613-22-000003-support-for-commercializing-non-timber-forest-products-in/  
Official notice: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/337877

> Zimbabwe USAID-Harare offered grants of up to $13.0 million to any type of organization. It expected to make one award. Applications closed on February 28, 2022.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Opportunity number | RFI-613-22-000003 |
| Agency | Zimbabwe USAID-Harare |
| Status | Forecast |
| Deadline | February 28, 2022 |
| Award ceiling | $13.0 million |
| Award floor | not stated |
| Expected awards | 1 |
| Total funding | not stated |
| Cost sharing | not required |
| Assistance Listings | 98.001 |

## Who can apply

- Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"

## What the grant funds

The resilience of Zimbabwe’s people depends on the productivity of its natural resources, principally land, water, and fauna. Yet Zimbabwe’s agricultural land, forests, and biodiversity are in steep decline due to climate events, increased poverty, population growth, poor land use planning, and weak governance. The decline in agricultural production, especially in Natural Regions IV and V (where annual rainfall is less than 650 mm[1], with frequent seasonal droughts, erratic rainfall and severe dry spells) has resulted in increased food insecurity, as well as reduced household nutrition and income. Consequently, there is often crop failure and/or livestock losses that necessitate vulnerable households seeking alternative income sources to procure food and purchase agricultural inputs such as seeds, calves, and fertilizers for the next farming season. Of the nearly 6,000 species of indigenous plants found in the country, some 900 of them have traditional use as food, cosmetics or medicine within these two Natural Regions and are supplementary sources of income for 60 - 70 percent of rural households who live there[2]. With the growing awareness of the nutritional and health benefits that NTFPs offer, there has been an increased demand to commercialize. For example, baobab fruit has been granted a novel foods clearance by the EU and can be exported from Zimbabwe. There are also several companies in Zimbabwe and in the region that buy and process NTFPs and are ready to offer markets to rural producers[3]. Return on investment (mainly labor for collection and processing) is much higher than from any of the major cash crops. For example, in Mutoko and Mudzi districts, it is USD 62.80 for Mobola seed and USD 14.08 for Sour Plum compared to USD 1.68 for groundnuts, which is the major cash earner in the two districts. Therefore, the Activity will seek ways to sustainably commercialize non-timber forest products in order to increase alternative income sources, improve natural resource management practices that will promote biodiversity, and reduce human-wildlife conflict. Target districts will be those districts where the NTFPs of most commercial value are of harvestable commercial quantities.

## Questions people ask

### Is RFI-613-22-000003 still open?

No. It closed on February 28, 2022.

### Who can apply for Support for Commercializing Non-timber Forest Products in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe USAID-Harare accepted applications from any type of organization.

### What is the deadline for Support for Commercializing Non-timber Forest Products in Zimbabwe?

Closed February 28, 2022. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

### How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $13.0 million each.

### Who has won USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees, Family Health International, Catholic Relief Services - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The program made 4,233 awards worth $37 billion in that time.