First Quarterly Report FY2021: Coffee Value Chains Project

The project's development objective is to improve levels of economic growth and social development in the region, with a focus on improving agricultural productivity, expanding access to markets, and improving resilience through climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices. The project is implemented by the Federación de Cooperativas Agrícolas de Productores de Café de Guatemala, Responsabilidad Limitada (FEDECOCAGUA, R.L.), and is supported by a total of $19,000,000 in federal funds from USAID. The project's geographic coverage includes 13 municipalities in Huehuetenango, 3 municipalities in Quiché, and 8 municipalities in San Marcos, with a total of 15,000 participants, including 35% women and 15% youth. The project's main activities during the first quarter of FY21 included the implementation of the Coverage Expansion Strategy, which aims to double the number of households participating in the project's interventions. The project also used the Rapid Response Fund to address the emergency caused by the natural events ETA and IOTA, providing support to 942 coffee-producing families associated with 18 cooperatives assisted by the project. The project's progress in meeting its objectives and goals includes the improvement of agricultural productivity and income generation alternatives, the expansion of access to markets, and the increase of resilience through climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices. The project's management is overseen by a team led by Gerson Morales, AOR, and Glenda Paíz, AOR alternate, with support from USAID's Office for Economic Development. The project's financial report for the first quarter of FY21 shows a total expenditure of $1,223,000, with a balance of $17,777,000 remaining in the project's budget. The project's communication strategy includes the use of social media and other channels to disseminate information about the project's activities and achievements. One of the project's key achievements for the first quarter was the use of the Rapid Response Fund to support 942 coffee-producing families affected by the natural events ETA and IOTA. The project provided 1,884 portable dryers and 47 solar dryers to support the recovery of damaged or lost production systems, as well as 250 quintals of concentrate for poultry. The project's lessons learned from the first quarter include the importance of having a flexible and responsive approach to addressing emergencies and unexpected events. The project also learned the value of building alliances and partnerships with other organizations and stakeholders to support its activities and achieve its goals. The project's main activities for the next quarter include the continuation of the Coverage Expansion Strategy, the implementation of the Environmental Compliance Standard 216, and the strengthening of capacities among project staff and partners. The project also plans to continue its communication and social behavior change communication efforts to promote the adoption of climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices among project participants. The project's financial report for the first quarter of FY21 shows a total expenditure of $1,223,000, with a balance of $17,777,000 remaining in the project's budget. The project's financial management is overseen by a team led by Oscar Hernández-Vela, CoP, and María Eugenia Palencia, M&E Specialist. The project's success stories from the first quarter include the use of the Rapid Response Fund to support 942 coffee-producing families affected by the natural events ETA and IOTA, and the implementation of the Coverage Expansion Strategy, which exceeded the project's goal for the first quarter. The project also reported progress in improving agricultural productivity and income generation alternatives, expanding access to markets, and increasing resilience through climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices.