FIFES – Quarterly Report FY16 Q2 – January 1, 2016 – March 31, 2016

The program aims to develop key rural forest-based enterprises that provide inclusive, sustainable economic opportunities for rural farmers and forest-dependent communities. FIFES supports the USAID/Liberia's Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and envisions supporting the increased conservation of Liberia's forests by increasing community capacity to sustainably manage forests and entrepreneur capacity to exploit forest-based products more efficiently and sustainably. FIFES has three components: Component 1 focuses on strengthening selected forest value chains and entrepreneurs through a market systems approach, Component 2 supports forest enterprises with an inclusive model that counters historical patterns of conflict, exclusion, and inequitable growth, and Component 3 enhances the knowledge and skills needed for forest enterprises, sustainable biodiversity, and landscape management. The project start-up activities dominated the reporting period, with the FIFES Project Coordinator arriving in Liberia in November 2015 to identify and open the FIFES office, start paperwork to open the project bank account, and launch procurement and local recruitment efforts. The project's expatriate team arrived in Liberia between December and early January, and the FIFES Chief of Party (COP) arrived on December 8, 2015. The team initiated coordination meetings with various stakeholders, including the National Finance Director for ACDI/VOCA Liberia, the ACDI/VOCA Liberian Agricultural Upgrading, Nutrition, and Child Health (LAUNCH) COP, and the Forest Development Authority (FDA). The FIFES team developed and submitted several deliverables to USAID, including the Workplan, Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (EMMP), and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (MELP). The team also received training from ACDI/VOCA headquarters staff in ACDI/VOCA's Value Chain Assessment process and completed the procurement of office furniture and the transfer of vehicles from Family Health International and Global Communities to the project. The project team also completed the recruitment of staff for the Monrovia office and field staff, with Pact officially registering with the Government of Liberia and three of its staff starting work in the FIFES office by the end of March. The FIFES program aims to increase inclusive, sustainable economic opportunities for rural farmers and forest-dependent communities in a way that also combats deforestation and biodiversity loss. The program's goal aligns with the CDCS objective of "sustained market-driven economic growth to reduce poverty." FIFES will assess and select the forest products and sustainable tree crops based on profitability and positive impact to biodiversity conservation, and will follow an inclusive community and market-driven approach to strengthen the enabling environment for forest-based businesses.