Annual Work Plan – Year 3 for AgroInvest Project in Ukraine

The project aims to increase the country's contribution to global food security efforts. AgroInvest is designed around three separate but interrelated component objectives, each supported by specific expected results. Component 1 activities involve both a supply- and demand-side approach to supporting a stable, market-oriented policy environment. From the supply side, AgroInvest will promote the implementation of less volatile, more market-oriented policies that stimulate increased production and investments in the agricultural sector. On the demand side, Component 1 activities will strengthen the capacity of industry associations to shape agricultural policies and provide public education on land rights among rural landowners. Component 2 activities will stimulate access to finance by strengthening partnerships between financial service providers and value chain actors, including input suppliers and buyers, to facilitate sustainable access to financial services for small and medium producers (SMPs). Component 3 activities will create a more effective market infrastructure for SMPs and increase the profitability of farming through better access to markets, the development of wholesale and regional markets, and capacity building for producer organizations (POs). The project's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system is designed to measure and report on progress against these objectives and expected results using 37 indicators. These indicators and their associated annual and life-of-project targets are listed in the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) chart (Annex A). The principal objective of Component 1 activities is to promote agricultural policies that are less volatile and more market-oriented, leading to increased investments and sustainable development and growth of the agricultural sector. Project activities under this Component are also aimed at strengthening the capacity of industry associations for policy analysis and advocacy and raising their sustainability for promoting market-oriented reforms in the sector. Agricultural policy activities of the Project during Year 3 will focus on issues which have been identified as priorities through consultations with key partners and stakeholders and work planning held in September 2012. The Project used the following criteria to prioritize the issues and activities: the issue/activity plays an important role in Ukraine's agricultural sector and has the potential to achieve measurable and strategically important impact on the development of the sector; it has a reasonable likelihood of implementation; the issue/activity contributes to AgroInvest goals in supporting the development of small and medium-size producers (SMPs) or other key Project clients or partners; it addresses AgroInvest's comparative advantage, including the level of effort or budget; and the activity is appropriate for AgroInvest to address as there are no other donors or projects focusing significantly on the issue or where it makes sense to merge efforts and resources with other partners to complement each other. The following issues will merit priority attention for the policy work of the Project in the agricultural sector: land market reform; policies and legislation dealing with development of producer organizations and market infrastructure; and legislation and implementation of mechanisms for the development of agricultural markets.