IFAD PACT partnership with Vita and the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture
The Participatory Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT) Programme is a national initiative in Ethiopia funded by IFAD, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, focused on strengthening climate resilience, improving food security, and reducing rural poverty through sustainable agriculture and environmental interventions.
An innovative component is the Production and Dissemination of the Improved Cookstoves Project (April 2026–March 2029), implemented by Vita Ethiopia in partnership with the Government of Ethiopia and IFAD. The project addresses widespread dependence on traditional biomass cooking, which drives environmental degradation, health risks and gender inequality.
- Vita established the Vita Green Impact Fund in May 2023 as an impact investment fund mobilising carbon finance to deliver clean cookstoves, water and forestry to underserved communities in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
- By March 2026, Vita has reached 1.1 million people with these services and from this success, has been selected as the first non-governmental implementing partner in Ethiopia under the PACT and IFAD frameworks.
- The core community intervention is the distribution of 91,200 improved cookstoves to 45,600 households* in 25 woredas across six regions of Ethiopia
- Vita will apply a Community-Led Total (CLT) Stove methodology, which is achieving 92% adoption by households in Vita-served communities.
- With average carbon emission savings of 1.6 tonnes per annum, the project will generate 146,000 carbon credits per annum, accredited by Gold Standard.
*2 per HH, one for boiling and one for baking
General Objective
Create and expand a sustainable, universal-access model for rural Ethiopian cookstoves using carbon finance.
Specific Objectives
- Increase adoption and sustained use of improved cookstoves.
- Strengthen local stove production systems
- Create jobs and income opportunities (especially for women)
- Reduce health risks from indoor air pollution
- Reduce gender gap and household burden linked to fuel collection
Implementation Scope
- Local manufacturing via female-led co-operatives
- Training of artisans, extension workers and users
- Quality assurance aligned with the Gold Standard carbon accreditation process
- High-integrity carbon credits that are CORSIA-eligible through Article 6 crediting mechanisms (showcase for COP 32 in Addis Ababa, Nov 2027)
This is a climate + health + livelihoods + carbon finance integrated programme that:
- Changes household energy behaviour at community level (CLT model)
- Builds local production capacity
- Generates measurable carbon credits
- Links climate action with rural economic empowerment
Vita Green Impact Fund
- Vita established the Green Impact Fund as a charity-owned impact investment model, raising blended finance in the form of 6% interest loans alongside grants.
- The Vita Green Impact Fund secures carbon accreditation for Vita, mobilizing finance for cookstove, water, and forestry programs in East Africa.
- The Vita Green Impact Fund is managed by a professional non-profit fund manager and is designed to ensure that all residual profits flow back to African communities.
- One of the key hallmarks of the Vita Green Impact Fund is the circularity aspect – as a non-commercial player, all residual profits from the sale of the offsets is circled back into the communities through scaling the programmes.