Emergency Agricultural Production for Food Security in Madagascar (EAPRO-M)

The program is being implemented in 9 communes, with a total of 7,600 households targeted for assistance. The beneficiaries were selected based on criteria such as female-headed households, high numbers of children, elderly dependents, and persons with disabilities. The program's main activities include beneficiary selection, farmer group formation, seed distribution, and training of lead farmers and farmer groups. All 7,600 farmers were identified and selected, and they were guided to form farmer groups with an average of 15 members per group. A total of 480 farmer groups were formed, with 480 lead farmers. The distribution of seed, which is one of the main activities of the program, was successfully carried out in all 9 communes for all 7,600 beneficiary households. The seeds distributed were sorghum and Niebe seeds, as well as Cassava cuttings. Training sessions on appropriate crop protection procedures were developed and implemented, with the technical support of the Agriculture officer of ADRA International. These sessions included natural input for pest control and sorghum cultural best practices. The objective is to ensure the quality of the intervention, and evaluation activities will be carried out in the coming weeks. The program also includes cooking demonstrations, with 78 cooking demonstrations held during the first round in November and December 2016. The program's indicators include the projected increase in number of months of food self-sufficiency due to distributed seed systems/agricultural input for beneficiary households, the number and percentage of people trained by USAID/OFDA partners practicing appropriate crop protection procedures, and the estimated amount and percentage of post-harvest produce protected against diseases and pests. The program has made significant progress in achieving its objectives, with all 7,600 farmers identified and selected, and the distribution of seed successfully carried out. The program's activities are expected to continue in the coming months, with evaluation activities to be carried out to ensure the quality of the intervention. The program's geographic area of focus is the Bekily district of Androy Region, which is one of the most vulnerable districts in the South-West of Madagascar. The program's target population includes 7,600 households, with a total of 53,200 individuals. The program's activities are expected to benefit the entire community, with a focus on improving food security and reducing poverty. The program's implementation is being carried out in collaboration with the regional office of Nutrition, and the program's activities are expected to continue in the coming months. The program's budget for the reporting period was $1,159,292.74, with the majority of the funds allocated to the Agriculture and Food Security sector. The program's activities are expected to continue in the coming months, with a focus on improving food security and reducing poverty in the target area. The program's progress will be closely monitored, with evaluation activities to be carried out to ensure the quality of the intervention.