Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone areas are strategically important to Myanmar’s agrifood economy, particularly for oilseeds such as sesame and groundnut, beans and pulses such as chickpea, pigeon pea, and green gram, cereals and rice in irrigated areas, and other viable agrifood products supplying domestic and export markets.
Despite this production potential, the Central Dry Zone agrifood system remains fragmented and structurally constrained. Local producers and enterprises face weak aggregation and storage systems, limited local processing and value addition, underdeveloped market linkages, low-quality standardization and traceability, high transport and energy costs, restricted access to finance, and climate-, conflict-, and market-related disruptions.
SMART will apply a Market Systems Development approach that focuses on strengthening selected agrifood SMEs and the market functions around them. Rather than providing direct production support to households, the project will work through SME-linked livelihood pathways, supporting enterprises that can create or sustain employment, improve sourcing and aggregation systems, provide services, strengthen buyer relationships, and generate income opportunities for households connected to priority value chains. This approach is appropriate to the Central Dry Zone operating environment because it responds to systemic constraints, supports locally embedded market actors, and allows the project to adapt support according to market, security, climate, and enterprise-level realities.
The project will primarily target 30 agrifood SMEs, selected from approximately 50 mapped and screened enterprises. SMEs will be selected based on market potential, local value chain linkages, operational capacity, inclusion potential, risk profile, and ability to contribute to broader market development and local economic recovery. At least 50% of supported SMEs will be women-led and/or led by youth, persons with disabilities, or members of other marginalized groups, or will demonstrate clear benefits for these groups through employment, sourcing, services, supplier relationships, or inclusive business practices. Priority value chains will include beans and pulses, oilseeds, cereals/rice, and other viable agrifood products confirmed through market systems assessment.
The project will also contribute to improved and sustainable livelihood strategies for 1,200 SME- linked households and 300 individuals. These beneficiaries may include producer and supplier households, workers, casual laborers, transporters, input suppliers, service providers, and other value chain actors who benefit through improved employment, sourcing, service, aggregation, or market relationships with supported SMEs. Household-level benefits will therefore be achieved through stronger enterprise and market relationships, rather than through direct household-level production support.
Secondary stakeholders will include financial institutions, business development service providers, buyers, wholesalers, exporters, producer and supplier groups, input suppliers, logistics providers, digital service providers, local market actors, and relevant authorities where appropriate and feasible. The project will engage these actors to address market system constraints, strengthen SME access to finance and services, improve value chain coordination, and support more transparent and inclusive market relationships.
To strengthen inclusive, resilient and market-driven agrifood systems in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone by supporting selected agrifood SMEs to improve business performance, sustain operations, access finance and markets, and generate income and employment opportunities for households connected to priority value chains.