The Agroecology Learning Alliance in Southeast Asia (ALiSEA) launched the Small Grant Facility 2023, aiming to empower its members and partners in promoting agroecology in the Sub-Mekong Region. This initiative, part of the ASSET project and Uni4Coop – Partner Project, offered a crucial support on three key topics:
- Topic 1: Supporting and Improving Market Access for Agroecology Products: This track aimed to assist agroecological producers in reaching wider markets, ensuring their products gain fair value and contribute to sustainable food systems.
- Topic 2: Linking Field Experience in Agroecology and Food Systems to Public Policy: This track aimed to bridge the gap between practical knowledge gained in agroecology and policy development, advocating for policies that support sustainable food production and market access.
- Topic 3: Empowering and Strengthening Youth Involvement in Agroecology: This track aimed to engage young people in understanding, applying, benefiting from innovative agroecology farming, agroecological practices and leadership.
The application window ran from August to October 2023, attracting significant interest. To equip potential applicants with the necessary skills, ALiSEA organized information and proposal-writing sessions in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, reaching 51 members (including 22 women).
The ALiSEA Small Grant 2023 signifies a crucial step towards a more sustainable and equitable food system in the Sub-Mekong Region.
The success of the program hinges on the dedicated efforts of ALiSEA members, partners, and the awarded grantees. By working together, they can create a ripple effect of positive change, paving the way for a more sustainable and equitable future for the region’s food systems and communities.
Full Proposal
In October 2023, thirty proposals were submitted in total out of which fifteen were pre-selected for the concept note stage. The table below shows the proposals allocation by country.
The stakeholder’s representation as team leader of the proposal is as follows: 14 National NGOs, along with 6 from research Institutes, 5 from international NGOs, 3 from private sectors and one each from academia and Farmers Organizations.
The number of proposals per topic:
- Topic 1: (Supporting and Improving Market Access for Agroecology Products) 14 full proposals (Laos: 6; Cambodia: 3; Vietnam: 4; Thailand: 1)
- Topic 2: (Linking Field Experience in Agroecology and Food Systems to Public Policy) 4 full proposal (Cambodia: 1; Vietnam: 3)
- Topic 3: (Empowering and Strengthening Youth Involvement in Agroecology) 12 full proposals (Laos: 5; Cambodia: 5; Vietnam: 2)
The number of proposals per topic:
- Topic 1: (Supporting and Improving Market Access for Agroecology Products) 8 full proposals (Laos: 3; Cambodia: 1; Vietnam: 3; Thailand: 1)
- Topic 2: (Linking Field Experience in Agroecology and Food Systems to Public Policy) 2 full proposal (Cambodia: 1; Vietnam: 1)
- Topic 3: (Empowering and Strengthening Youth Involvement in Agroecology) 5 full proposals (Laos: 3; Cambodia: 2)
In conclusion, the final step of the Full Proposal selected, the selection committee members identified (9) nine Full Proposal. Kindly find below the allocation per country and topic.
- Topic 1: (Supporting and Improving Market Access for Agroecology Products) 4 full proposals (Laos:1; Cambodia: 1; Vietnam: 1; Thailand: 1)
- Topic 2: (Linking Field Experience in Agroecology and Food Systems to Public Policy) 1 full proposal (Vietnam: 1)
- Topic 3: (Empowering and Strengthening Youth Involvement in Agroecology ) 4 full proposals (Laos: 2; Cambodia: 2)
The total cumulative budget granted in 2023 by ALiSEA is 125,939 EUR. In addition, we have a strong collaboration and contribution budget granted by Uni4Coop for ALiSEA members in Cambodia from 2022-2026 in the amount of 72,415 EUR.