AgroInvest Quarterly Report January - March 2015

The project is achieving this objective by supporting a stable, market-oriented agricultural policy environment, stimulating access to financial services for small and medium producers, and facilitating a more effective market infrastructure for these producers. The project's scope of work identifies three main components, refined into six tasks. Component 1 focuses on supporting a stable, market-oriented policy environment, with tasks including accelerating market-oriented reforms, strengthening industry associations, and providing public education for land rights. Component 2 aims to stimulate access to finance, with a task focused on providing sustainable access to financial services for small and medium producers. Component 3 facilitates market infrastructure for small and medium producers, with tasks including producer organization development and developing wholesale markets and other market infrastructure. From January to March 2015, the AgroInvest project team marked several key activities and accomplishments. The project team commenced the activities of the Analytical and Coordination Platform for agriculture sector industry associations and selected experts to initiate activities of an analytical team in the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine to build the capacity of the Ministry to analyze policy options and prepare legislation. The project team also initiated a competitive selection of a subcontractor to conduct a study on responsible investments in the agriculture sector and supported the activities of working groups and became increasingly involved in the ongoing development process of the Comprehensive Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for the period 2015 to 2020. Additionally, the project team assisted in organizing and participated in the U.S.-Ukrainian Agrarian Congress on March 24 and 25, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The project team conducted a study tour for representatives of industry associations and government agencies to the Czech Republic and Poland to learn about the experiences of select EU countries in government regulation of agricultural and food markets and the role of self-regulating organizations. The team also finalized a report on government regulation of agricultural and food markets and the role of self-regulating organizations in select EU countries. Furthermore, the project team conducted high-profile capacity building trainings on advocacy activities for national and regional agriculture sector industry associations and presented the USAID AgroInvest Land Rights Public Education and Outreach Campaign at the 2015 World Bank Land and Poverty Conference in Washington, D.C. The team continued to support land reform and training of legal land rights service providers through the Land Rights Resource Center and Web-Portal and continued implementation of the Ten Steps to Combat Corruption in Land Relations Program. The project team also initiated a comprehensive analysis of local administrations' experience in providing regional subsidies for small and medium producers and launched a training program to familiarize farmers with new lending opportunities for potential borrowers of partner credit unions. Additionally, the team supported the two national-level associations of credit unions in Ukraine in advocating policy changes aimed at improving access to credit for small and medium producers, conducting training seminars to share best practices in lending to small and medium producers, and conducting a training of credit union internal auditors and on-site internal audit sessions. The project team conducted four agri-technical trainings, two for financial officers of partner financial institutions to increase their ability to issue and monitor loans to small and medium producers and two for credit union members. The team also advocated for the passage of the draft law of Ukraine #2052 "On Amending the Tax Code of Ukraine (regarding Improving the Value-Added Taxation of Agriculture Produce Produced by Smallholdings and Marketed through Agriculture Service Cooperatives)" and the draft law of Ukraine #1599 "On Amending Selected Laws of Ukraine on Stimulating Establishment and Operations of Family Farms." The project team developed the draft law of Ukraine "On Local Agri-Food Markets" jointly with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and presented it for public discussion. Additionally, the team conducted the first phase of a training program to develop a network of consultants for small and medium-sized enterprises on implementing and ensuring high performance of certification and food safety systems based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Global GAP standards. The team also published two guides on bookkeeping for agriculture service cooperatives to help regulate relationships between cooperatives and their members who supply raw milk for processing and receive proceeds from selling finished products.