NEW YORK-listed consulting firm Accenture has donated $1.5 million to the Irish aid agency Concern to help fund the development of conservation farming programmes in Zambia and Malawi.

This is one of the biggest private-sector donations ever received by Concern for the support of a specific project.

Concern said the grant would be used to educate and assist local farmers and communities in sustainable farming practices in Africa.

The three-year project will train 6,400 farmers in Malawi and Zambia.

The donation is part of Accenture’s corporate citizenship focus, which it calls Skills to Succeed.

Accenture said it would also support Concern with “pro-bono consulting services” which range from advice on developing Concern’s business strategy to its staff volunteering for the agency.

Commenting on the donation, Mark Ryan, managing director of Accenture in Ireland, said: “We are helping Concern bring critical new techniques to farmers, which will help them sustain their families and their communities.”

Tom Arnold, chief executive of Concern, said: “This project is all about encouraging and training farmers to take a radically different approach to crop production.”

Accenture is one of a number of multi-national corporations that have moved their place of incorporation to Ireland following a clampdown in the US on tax havens.

The company employs about 1,500 staff in Ireland, and is the country’s biggest management consulting firm.