Deadline: 25-Sep-2025
UN Women is seeking proposals from Civil Society Organizations to implement gender-responsive interventions in the onion value chain in the Shkoder municipality, Albania.
The areas of focus are increased and more equitable investment in people to remove barriers and create opportunities for those at risk of exclusion, innovative and integrated policy solutions that accelerate sustainable, productive and inclusive development, and gender-responsive governance that strengthens equality and non-discrimination. The key thematic areas are ending violence against women, women’s economic empowerment, gender-responsive budgeting, and gender responsive governance.
The project, “Empowering women for rural development in Northern Albania,” is funded by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Development Cooperation Agency in Tirana (AICS Tirana). Its main goal is to improve the empowerment of women in Northern Albania and promote their role as active contributors to sustainable rural development. The intervention will specifically target at least 30 women in the Drisht Onion value chain within the Postribë Administrative Unit. The overall objective is to empower women in the onion value chains by enhancing their access to knowledge, productive resources, and leadership opportunities.
The onion value chain in the Postribë administrative unit is a critical sector for both local economic resilience and women’s empowerment. While women are vital to onion farming and perform most of the manual labor, they face persistent structural barriers. These challenges include informality, outdated production methods, lack of post-harvest infrastructure, and weak market linkages. Gender disparities are also reinforced by women’s limited access to decision-making platforms, cooperatives, and financial resources.
The planned intervention will focus on inclusive group formation, capacity building, technical assistance, and market integration tailored to the specific needs of rural women agricultural producers. This includes building women’s capacity in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), improving working conditions through gender-sensitive mechanization and personal protective equipment (PPE), and strengthening post-harvest infrastructure by establishing women-managed storage centers. The project will also support branding and market access for the Drishti Onion, and promote women’s leadership within cooperatives. Additionally, youth engagement will be fostered through vocational training and mentorship programs. The project is expected to be implemented from November 2025 to July 2027.
The funding for this intervention is set with a maximum budget of 9,500,000 ALL for proposals addressing the LOT 2 area – Postribë (Shkoder) for the implementation period scheduled from November 2025 to July 2027.
For more information, visit UN Women.
