DFCD intends to support Origen Fresh in developing a more resilient, traceable and responsible smallholder sourcing network
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), through its Origination Facility, intends to support EatFresh, a Tanzanian producer and exporter of fresh Hass avocados and avocado oil. Operating from Iringa in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands, the company sources avocados from approximately 2,300 contracted smallholder farmers and processes both export-grade fruit and lower-grade avocados into value-added products. EatFresh aims to expand its sourcing network and processing capacity while strengthening the resilience and sustainability of its supply chain.The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), through its Origination Facility, intends to support EatFresh, a Tanzanian producer and exporter of fresh Hass avocados and avocado oil. Operating from Iringa in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands, the company sources avocados from approximately 2,300 contracted smallholder farmers and processes both export-grade fruit and lower-grade avocados into value-added products. EatFresh aims to expand its sourcing network and processing capacity while strengthening the resilience and sustainability of its supply chain.
The DFCD Origination Facility, managed by WWF-NL and SNV, supports the development of investment-ready projects with a strong climate resilience and impact focus. The proposed project focuses on strengthening climate adaptation, water resilience, biodiversity management, farmer traceability, environmental and social practices, and climate-smart agricultural training across EatFresh’s sourcing network. The project will also help the company prepare for larger-scale investment to support its future growth.
EatFresh operates in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands, one of East Africa’s most important agricultural regions. The landscape supports millions of people through crop and livestock production and is a major source of avocados, maize, tea, and coffee. However, the region is becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate-related risks, including changing rainfall patterns, prolonged dry periods, rising temperatures, and growing pressure on water resources.
These changes can affect avocado yields, fruit quality and production reliability, creating risks for both smallholder farmers and agribusinesses. Farmers often have limited capacity to respond to climate-related shocks, while businesses face increasing uncertainty regarding future supply volumes and quality. At the same time, agricultural expansion and changing land use can place pressure on important ecosystems, including forests, wetlands and other habitats that provide vital ecosystem services such as water regulation and soil protection.
As EatFresh expands its sourcing network, stronger systems are needed to understand and manage climate, water and biodiversity risks while responding to evolving market, certification, investor and regulatory expectations.
EatFresh has established strong relationships with smallholder farmers and has developed a business model that creates value from both fresh avocado exports and avocado oil production. The company also provides farmers with access to markets, agronomic support and harvesting services.
By assessing climate, water and biodiversity risks and incorporating the findings into farmer training, sourcing criteria and traceability systems, EatFresh can make better-informed decisions about how and where it expands. The project will also strengthen the company’s capacity to support farmers with climate-smart agricultural practices that improve resilience, productivity and sustainability over the long term.
In the proposed collaboration, WWF-NL and WWF Tanzania will support EatFresh through the following activities:
Assessing climate, water and biodiversity risks across current and future sourcing areas and developing practical action plans to strengthen resilience.
Expanding farmer training programmes by integrating climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices, including support for organic production.
Strengthening farmer traceability, environmental and social management systems, and sustainability-related data collection.
Supporting progress towards organic certification and greater investment readiness to enable responsible business growth and supply chain expansion.
Securing investment following the Origination project will help EatFresh achieve the following:
Train approximately 2,000 farmers in climate-smart, sustainable, and organic farming practices.
Achieve additional sustainability certification and strengthen access to export markets.
Improve traceability, environmental performance, and climate resilience across the avocado value chain.
“This partnership with the DFCD comes at a defining moment for EatFresh. With WWF’s support we will put in place farm-level traceability across our smallholder network, complete the environmental permitting and certification of our avocado-oil refinery, and turn our zero-waste model where every avocado we buy becomes fresh fruit, oil, briquette fuel into a fully certified, investment-ready business. This is what climate-smart value addition at origin looks like: more income for over 2,000 farming families in the Southern Highlands, premium Tanzanian products in world markets, and not a single fruit wasted.”
– Mrs. Hadija Jabiri, CEO GBRI (EatFresh)
“Avocados are becoming one of Tanzania’s more valuable exports, and EatFresh’s supply chain is a good example of how exposed that value still is to climate, water and biodiversity risk. The company already sources from more than 2,300 smallholder farmers, and earns from the fruit, the oil, and soon the waste it plans to turn into fuel.
What DFCD adds here, as in other projects across the region, is funding for the work EatFresh cannot yet finance at the scale required: climate, water and biodiversity risk assessments, stronger environmental and social systems, farmer training, traceability and environmental approvals. That is what should leave the business carrying less risk, holding stronger sustainability credentials, and able to unlock larger commercial capital.”
– Abubakar Lewano, DFCD Regional Lead for Africa
“Partnerships such as this demonstrate the transformative impact that can be achieved when climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, and responsible investment are brought together. Smallholder farmers play a vital role in Tanzania’s agricultural value chains, yet their livelihoods and productivity are increasingly threatened by climate change and environmental degradation. By strengthening farmers’ capacities, enhancing traceability, and promoting sustainable management of water resources and biodiversity, we can foster a more resilient and inclusive avocado value chain that generates economic opportunities while securing the natural resources that underpin future growth”
– Amani Ngusaru, Country Director.
With DFCD support and future investment, EatFresh will generate the climate, water and biodiversity insights needed to guide the continued development of its sourcing network in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands. The company will then translate these findings into practical farmer training materials, traceability systems, sourcing criteria, and management processes that strengthen resilience across the value chain.
By combining climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture and improved market access, the project aims to support smallholder livelihoods while helping protect the natural resources that underpin agricultural production in one of Tanzania’s most important farming landscapes.
For more information, please contact:
Abubakar Lewano
DFCD Regional Lead for Africa
alewano@wwfkenya.org
In case you have any grievances in relation to this DFCD Origination Facility project, please contact the WWF service desk at servicedesk@wwf.nl.
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) is a climate fund, dedicated to supporting climate adaptation and mitigation projects which benefit vulnerable communities and landscapes. Initially funded by the Dutch government, it is powered by a consortium of four expert organisations: FMO (Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank), CFM (Climate Fund Managers), SNV, a global development partner, and WWF Netherlands.
