Format for Quarterly and Final Completion Reports for COMPETE Grants

The project focuses on establishing group-based Model Satellite Stores (MoSS) to enhance marketing opportunities for farmers. The project areas are the districts of Trans Mara in Kenya and Kongwa in Tanzania. The project's main objective is to address the challenges of fragmented marketing, high post-harvest losses, inadequate market information, and over-reliance on maize as a staple food. The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of Farmer-Based Organizations (FBOs) through training and provide them with the necessary skills to manage their stores and market their produce effectively. During the quarter, the project achieved several milestones. In Trans Mara, 317 farmers were directly reached, with 134 or 42% being women. In Kongwa, Tanzania, a total of eight grass root level meetings were held, with 104 farmers in attendance, 62 or 59% of whom were women. The farmers were mobilized to be recruited in the project by the Cereal Growers of Kongwa (CGoK), and they were enlightened on the use of the Ware House Receipting Systems (WRS) which is now operational under two certified Warehouse/stores in the project area. The project conducted three Training of Trainers (ToTs) during the quarter, with a total of 81 FBO members trained. The ToTs focused on the use of Aflatoxin testing kits and collapsible drier cases, commercialization and collective marketing, and market information systems. The trainings were conducted in both Trans Mara and Kongwa, with a total of 43 participants attending the last ToT on commercialization and collective marketing. The project also achieved significant progress in terms of grain aggregation, uplift, and selling. During the quarter, the farmers jointly bulked 2173.736 MT and sold 1571.886 MT valued at US$ 600,180 to various buyers. The project's outreach activities covered village level meetings, mobilization of new farmers, on-spot coaching of FBO members, and continued explanation on the modalities of contracts. The project's success is attributed to the strong partnership between the CGA and the Cereal Growers of Kongwa (CGoK), as well as the support from the World Food Programme (WFP) through the Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative. The project's achievements demonstrate its potential to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Kenya and Tanzania.