Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II: FY20 Quarter 3 Performance Report

The project focuses on four sub-sectors: mango, longan, vegetables, and cashew. Harvest II employs a unique strategy that blends a buyer-led approach with market systems development, taking horticulture buyers as the main entry point to the market system. The project has three interconnected sub-purposes: improving capacities for market participation, improving market linkages, and improving governance and the enabling environment. To achieve these objectives, Harvest II works with buyers, producers, and other actors to increase financial and business capacity, stimulate the use of market information, and expand financial opportunities. The project also engages other market actors, including financial institutions, input supply companies, and private sector firms, to strengthen coordination across value chains and increase investment in the sector. In the current quarter, Harvest II redesigned the report to meet strict page limits, reducing the word count by over 50%. The narrative focuses on the most significant contributions to project objectives during the reporting period, project grants, M&E performance, and other contractual reporting requirements. The report is organized by the three sub-purposes and highlights important themes that illustrate where the project made sustainable progress towards its goals. One of the major achievements during this quarter was the redesign of the report, which was based on feedback from USAID. The project also made significant progress in improving capacities for market participation, particularly in the sub-sector of mango. Harvest II worked with buyers and producers to increase financial and business capacity, stimulate the use of market information, and expand financial opportunities. In terms of improving market linkages, Harvest II made progress in building trust and forming mutually profitable commercial partnerships between buyers and producers. The project also engaged other market actors, including financial institutions and input supply companies, to strengthen coordination across value chains and increase investment in the sector. Regarding improving governance and the enabling environment, Harvest II partnered with government entities, the private sector, and civil society organizations to strengthen opportunities for advocacy and public-private dialogue. The project also helped build government capacity to address stakeholder constraints and foster inclusive horticulture sector growth. The project's performance was monitored and evaluated through various indicators, including the number of commercial partnerships formed, the amount of financial support provided to farmers, and the level of government engagement. The results showed that the project made significant progress towards its objectives, particularly in improving capacities for market participation and improving market linkages. However, the quarter was particularly challenging, with results from several Harvest II sub-sectors being brutal. The project faced significant challenges in implementing its activities, particularly in the sub-sector of cashew. Despite these challenges, the project continued to make progress towards its objectives and remained committed to achieving its goals. In terms of future plans, Harvest II will continue to focus on improving capacities for market participation, improving market linkages, and improving governance and the enabling environment. The project will also continue to engage with other market actors, including financial institutions and input supply companies, to strengthen coordination across value chains and increase investment in the sector. Overall, the project's performance during the current quarter was satisfactory, with significant progress made towards its objectives. However, the project faced significant challenges, particularly in the sub-sector of cashew. Despite these challenges, the project remained committed to achieving its goals and continued to make progress towards its objectives.