81309964-Deforestation-free livestock farming and Green Finance in Ecuador

The "Deforestation-free supply chains in Ecuador, ELKE (by its German acronym), program, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ, by its German acronym), aims to improve the framework conditions and capacities of key actors to increase the sustainability of production and marketing in the agriculture and aquaculture supply chains for cocoa, shrimp, livestock, timber and pitahaya, thereby reducing pressure on forest ecosystems in the provinces of Esmeraldas and Manabí. The target group of the project are agricultural producers and shrimp producers organized in production communities and cooperatives in the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas. These include small, medium-sized and large producers who are expanding their production by converting natural forest. The project's target group also includes intermediaries such as medium-sized and large companies in the private sector (dairies, large supermarkets, shrimp exporters, producer and marketing associations) that buy, process and/or market the producers' products. Furthermore, advisors from state or private service providers and NGOs that support the target group. In addition, the representatives of ministries, authorities at provincial level and the municipal administrations in the two provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas are also target groups of the project. ELKE's scope was defined together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG, by its Spanish acronym), the Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad), the Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD, by its Spanish acronym) of the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas, and the involvement of the private sector as an important actor in the development of due diligence and traceability tools. The objective of the module is to contribute to the reduction of deforestation in selected agriculture and aquaculture supply chains in the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas. There are four expected outputs to be reached by the program. Output 1 aims to strengthen the technical and financial framework conditions for the adaptation and application of sustainable production techniques and marketing processes in the selected deforestation-free supply chains. The impact assumption is that the improvement of certification, financial (through Green Finance instruments) and incentive systems will contribute to reducing deforestation in selected agricultural and aquaculture supply chains in the selected provinces. Output 2 is aimed at strengthening the capacities of field advisors and producer organizations in agricultural and aquaculture production with regard to the introduction of sustainable, deforestation-free production techniques, adaptation to climate change and integration of the gender approach. The impact assumption is that agricultural and aquaculture producers will improve the productivity of their farms through better support from field advisors and producer organizations, no longer deforest their land and thus contribute to reducing deforestation in the selected supply chains. Output 3 creates the essential conditions for sustainable and deforestation-free producers to access national and international markets for products from the selected agricultural and aquaculture supply chains. The impact assumption is that easier access to national and international markets will contribute to reducing deforestation in the selected supply chains. The aim of Output 4 is to reach agreements between key actors on the use of sustainable, climate-adapted and deforestation-free production techniques on agricultural and aquaculture land located in protected and sustainable use areas.