Crop Trust Power of Diversity Grants 2026 for Opportunity Crops (€2.2 million Total in Grant Funding)

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Applications are open for Crop Trust Power of Diversity Grants 2026. The Power of Diversity Grants 2026 is an international agricultural grant program managed by the Crop Trust under the Power of Diversity Funding Facility. The program is designed to support the production, processing, marketing, and promotion of underutilized but highly nutritious and climate-resilient crops known as “Opportunity Crops.”

Opportunity crops are getting a boost in six countries thanks to the Power of Diversity Funding Facility. On 12 May 2026, the Facility issued a Call for Proposals, officially launching a EUR 2.2 million grant program in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Colombia. The Power of Diversity Grants program is calling for proposals to support targeted action in those countries to improve production, processing and consumer awareness of opportunity crops.

The Power of Diversity Grants program will fund targeted projects that strengthen the value chains of selected opportunity crops – nutritious, climate-resilient crops that are well adapted to challenging environments but remain underutilized. Specific target crops for increased investments were identified through national stakeholder consultations in the six countries in 2025.

Crop Trust Power of Diversity Grants Information

The overall program budget is €2.2 million. Individual project budgets generally range between:

USD 100,000 – USD 200,000

Applicants can apply for:

One intervention area
Multiple intervention areas
Multiple crops
Multiple countries (if eligible)

A total of €2.2 million has been allocated for projects across six countries:

Nigeria
Kenya
Zambia
Tanzania
Uganda
Colombia

The grant aims to strengthen food systems, improve nutrition, increase farmers’ income, and promote climate resilience through investment in selected crops.

Crop Trust Power of Diversity Grants Focus

Each grant will fund a high-impact, scalable project that strengthens specific opportunity crop value chains. The project should address one or several of the intervention areas for each value chain and crop, as national stakeholders identified potential to:

Increase productivity through seed system development and good agricultural practices
Strengthen post-harvest and processing capacities
Improve market access and enhance value chain efficiency
Increase consumer awareness

Enhancing the value chains of opportunity crops holds great potential to provide better nutrition, open economic opportunities and improve lives and livelihoods for communities. The Power of Diversity Grants program marks a step forward for investment into these opportunity crops and for resilience and food security in these countries.

Countries, Crops and Activities

The Power of Diversity Grants 2026 will be awarded to promote specific opportunity crops selected by stakeholders in countries supported by the Power of Diversity Funding Facility. Project proposals should be relevant to the following countries and crops, with specific intervention scope of activities for each crop available below.

1. Nigeria

Crop: Fonio
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
- Processing improvement
- Public awareness raising
Crop: Pigeon Pea
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Seed systems development
- Public awareness campaigns

2. Zambia

Crop: Sorghum
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Seed system development
- Production and storage technologies
- Value chain linkages
Crop: Cowpea
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Seed system development
- Storage and production technologies
- Market/value chain linkages

3. Kenya

Crop: Finger Millet
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Integrated Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
- Market linkages
- Value chain governance
- Stakeholder coordination
Crop: Amaranth
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Awareness creation
- Demand generation
- Advocacy
- Policy and enabling environment support

4. Colombia

Crop: Chontaduro
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Agroecological pest management
- Resilient production systems
- Improved seed systems
Crop: Chayote
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Consumer awareness campaigns
- Demand stimulation
- Communication campaigns

5. Tanzania

Crop: Sweet Potato Leaves
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Value chain coordination
- Consumer awareness
- Access to innovative technologies
Crop: Bambara Groundnut
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Consumer awareness
- Value chain coordination
- Innovative technology access

6. Uganda

Crop: Pumpkin
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Good agricultural practices
- Integrated pest management
- Consumer demand creation
- Public awareness
- Processing and value addition
Crop: Amaranth
Activities/Intervention Areas
- Market-oriented processing
- Value addition
- Off-season production
- Water management

Eligibility Criteria for Crop Trust Power of Diversity Grants

Eligible applicants include:

NGOs
Agribusiness companies
Research institutions
Farmer organizations
Cooperatives
Private sector organizations
Consortiums/partnerships

Applicants must meet the following conditions:

Technical Eligibility
- At least 3 years of in-country experience
- Relevant expertise in agriculture/value chain development
- Experience related to the selected crop/intervention
Financial Eligibility
- Applicants must provide:
- Audited financial statements for 2023, 2024, and 2025
- Proof that annual turnover exceeds the proposed project budget
Legal Eligibility
- Organizations must:
- Have sound administrative systems
- Not be involved in fraud or legal violations
- Have the capacity to manage grant-funded projects