Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement Project (ADVANCE) FY16 Quarterly Report – Q2

The project is funded by USAID's Cooperative Agreement No. AID-641-A-14-00001 and is implemented by ACDI/VOCA in partnership with the Association of Church Development Projects (ACDEP), PAB Consult, and TechnoServe. The project's main purpose is to enhance the agricultural sector in Ghana by increasing productivity, improving market access, and strengthening capacity for advocacy. The project focuses on three sub-purposes: increased agricultural productivity in targeted commodities, increased market access and trade of targeted commodities, and strengthened capacity for advocacy. The project's geographic focus is on Ghana, with a specific emphasis on the northern and southern regions. The project's implementation details include the establishment of demonstration sites and good agricultural practice (GAP) trainings, farm clinics, ICT outreach for production technologies dissemination, improved access to inputs/equipment, outgrower business management, and business development services. The project also focuses on increasing market access and trade through southern Ghana pre-harvest events, market linkage development, outgrower business capacity building, lead firm competitiveness, trade association support, north Ghana processing upgrade, regional/cross-border trade and transport, and community-based market systems strengthened. The project's progress with technical delivery is evident in the establishment of 15 demonstration sites and the training of over 11,965 individuals in good agronomic practices, numeracy, Farming as a Business, and outgrower business management. The project also reports a 27% increase in household income among program participants compared to the control group, with food security indicators improving across all target communities. The project's gender program focuses on outgrower business management and women's leadership and entrepreneurship, women's access to land, women's access to financial services, women's access to improved technologies, and international women's day celebrations. The project's environment support includes general compliance, improving agrochemicals management, and climate smart agriculture. The project's grants program provides funding for small-scale farmers and producer organizations, while the monitoring and evaluation system tracks progress and identifies areas for improvement. The project's public relations and communications efforts aim to raise awareness about the project's activities and achievements, while the annexes provide additional information on indicator tables, success stories, and case studies. The project's quarterly report provides a comprehensive overview of its activities and achievements during the second quarter of FY2016.