Value chain innovations with high prospects for women and youth value chain actors

Though agricultural innovations and technologies are continuously being created, their effective dissemination to and uptake remains a challenge especially for value chain actors especially women and youth.

The programme ‘s approach to improving uptake of innovations and technologies by women and youth is as follows:

• • Identification of key challenges that hinder women and youth productivity in the PVCs and their corresponding opportunities with high prospects for women and youth empowerment which is captured in the County specific Gender and Social Inclusion Action Plans (GSAIP)
  • Provision of innovation grants that will support adoption of innovations and technologies by women, youth and men to enhance their boost productivity

 Innovation grants

These are programme funds available to direct value chain actors to enable adoption of innovation, technologies or management practices within the PVCs in a specific County.  The funds are accessed through the programmer’s innovation proposals application template.

The key considerations in funding innovation proposals are;

• • Applicants must be VC actors within the programme prioritized value chains as a group and not as individuals.
  • The funds are should support only innovations that linked to an identified opportunity within the SIVCAP.
  • The proposals must demonstrate how the innovation will contribute towards job creation, income growth and transition VCAs to the next income levels.