Major Clients and Partners
The United States African Development Foundation
DDI has been the implementing partner of the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) in Nigeria since November 2002. USADF and DDI entered into a partnership for the promotion of community-level development. Under the partnership, DDI provides technical assistance to USADF grantees in Nigeria in such areas as grants management, designing business plans, providing technical assistance and training for approved projects, monitoring project implementation while also providing remediation support, and evaluating project success in meeting development objectives.
To view the current projects supported by DDI, click link below:
USAID Nigeria MARKETS
DDI has been serving as a sub-contractor under the USAID Nigeria MARKETS project since 2007. MARKETS (Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS) activities focus on expanding economic opportunities in the agricultural sector by increasing agricultural productivity, enhancing value-added processing, and increasing commercialization through private-sector led and market-driven growth and development. It identifies and addresses priority food and cash crop production systems where productivity gains will lead to 1) significant impacts on the economy and 2) improvements in household livelihoods of those involved in the agriculture sector. In addition, the program supports off-farm agricultural enterprises that enhances the value addition process and generate employment.
Specifically, DDI carries out the following:
Establish model farms.
Provide task-based in-season Training-of-Trainers (TOT) based on approved Package of Practices (POP) handbooks for farmers covering basic aspects of productivity enhancement in production in the target States. The trainings coverd fertilizer application, weeding, pest management, bird scaring, harvesting and post-harvest operations including threshing, bulking, and storage. The training also includee sessions on group management, record keeping and market-oriented agriculture. The group leaders are trained on how to replicate trainings for group members.
Conduct field/demonstration days for outgrowers.
Conduct detailed analysis of production and post harvest handling costs (determination of farm gate price, costs and margins) and the elaboration of detailed farm budgets based on the results of all the model farms.
Liaise with Nucleus Farmers to monitor the outgrowers and their field performance throughout the farming season.
The World Bank/FGN MSME Project
DDI partnered with the World Bank/Federal Government of Nigeria-funded Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Project and provided business development services to the distinct market segment of the ginger farming population in Kaduna State. This was a sub-sector focused BDS market aimed at supporting the growth of the ginger industry.
Our intervention strategy for this market segment involved prioritizing the constraints that are experienced along the value chain of the ginger sub-sector. Thereafter, we linked the enterprises with larger firms in the supply chain and ultimately to a growing market. In addition, based on a market research that involved both constraint and demand analysis, a number of services that are demanded by MSMEs and that address key business constraints were developed. This service-market, particularly in the agricultural sector, has been shown to improve the performance of MSMEs.
DFID State Accountability & Voice Initiative (SAVI), Nigeria
DDI conducted an initial assessment of SAVI staff and CSO's grant management capacity followed by the provision of both strategic and practical guidance in developing policies, practical tools and training in the management of grant funds for both SAVI and CSO staff. In addition to developing the grant funds management systems, DDI also provided training to SAVI staff in all its state offices as well as Abuja on how to operationalize the grants management system.