Bitter Cassava for a Sweet Milk: Annual Implementation Plan FY2021

The Alliance seeks to improve the competitiveness of the dairy and agricultural sector, with a focus on reducing the production cost per liter of milk by incorporating industrial cassava as a raw material for cattle feed. This will be achieved through two main components: increasing the supply of industrial cassava as an input in the production of cattle feed, and reducing the cost of milk production and increasing quality standards. The cassava component has made significant progress, with 465 hectares established in the departments of Antioquia, Cesar, Córdoba, and Sucre. A total of 678 households have been benefited by the Bitter cassava for a sweet milk in this component, exceeding the goal established for the activity. To date, 465.6 hectares of cassava have been planted, with 123 hectares located in priority 1 municipalities for the Alliance. The team has completed 815 technical assistance visits, providing comprehensive support to cassava farmers in the production processes. Additionally, 1,038 people were trained in the different production processes and environmental management. In the milk component, the pasture renewal service has intervened 411 hectares, improving the productivity and cost of dairy production in the department of Antioquia. A total of 4,811 households were benefited, reaching 68% of the goal established for the five years of the Alliance. The team completed 19,911 technical assistance visits and installed 432 production infrastructure units that improve the facilities of dairy farmers linked to the Alliance. Given the restrictions imposed at the national level in response to COVID-19, trainings migrated to virtual platforms thanks to the launch of the digital learning platform "Colanta Educa". By June 30, 2020, 9,772 people had received training on productive and environmental management for dairy production. The Alliance has also made progress in reducing the cost of milk production and increasing quality standards. The fulfillment of the UFC indicators and the approximation of the RCS to the goal agreed in FY 2020 is a result of the comprehensive technical advice of field professionals and transfer programs of technology that include cooling tanks and milking equipment, which directly impact the management of this indicator. The Annual Implementation Plan for Year 3 includes the preparation of activities for the period between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. Activities for Year 3 will build on the results achieved in the second year of implementation of Bitter Cassava for a Sweet Milk, and will allow the project to meet its objectives while contributing to the development of the living conditions of the beneficiaries in Year 3. The plan provides details of the key activities that will be developed in both components, as well as the various cross-cutting activities that will be implemented in this period. The Alliance aims to achieve the following goals and results in Year 3: * Increase the productivity of cassava to 21 tons per hectare * Increase the dry cassava for process to 1,680 tons * Conduct 500 technical assistance visits * Train 1,000 people in the different production processes and environmental management The expected results for the end of the Alliance include: * Increased productivity of cassava to 22 tons per hectare * Increased dry cassava for process to 9,000 tons * Conducted 500 technical assistance visits * Trained 1,000 people in the different production processes and environmental management