FY 23 First Quarter Report (October – December 2023) For ESF Ukraine Supp 2022: Enabling Farmers for Agricultural Transformation (EFAT)

The project, implemented by Winrock International, focuses on boosting agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers and helping them diversify their livelihoods and strengthen resilience in the face of climate change. EFAT consists of three components: catalyzing pilot EAS delivery models, providing technical assistance to USAID missions and supported projects, and strengthening a global community of practice on EAS. The project's first quarter report highlights key activities and progress made between October and December 2022. Meetings were held with USAID Washington officials for orientation on the Accelerated Intervention Delivery Initiative (AID-I), and participation in the AID-I project launch workshop in Lusaka, Zambia, took place virtually. Follow-up conversations were held with CIMMYT and IFDC regarding collaboration opportunities, and introductory meetings were conducted with CORAF and Kansas State University's Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL). EFAT is collaborating with Space to Place (S2P) to address immediate needs following a poor harvest in 2022. The focus is on practices that improve the efficiency of fertilizer use, including agronomic practices and building soil fertility. Links are being established with TerreEauVie (TEV), a RISE II activity implemented by Winrock, to leverage land capability assessments and water security opportunities. Collaboration is also underway with other RISE II activities, including Yalwa, BHA resilience food security activities, and USAID Market Systems Resilience, AGRA, and the African Fertilizer Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP). The AID-I initiatives focus on southern Africa and the Great Lakes region of Africa. CIMMYT is seeking concept notes for partners who can rapidly disseminate agricultural innovations, and Winrock has offered technical assistance to support CIMMYT in reviewing concept notes through an EAS lens. However, the offer was declined, and Winrock will follow up with CIMMYT to find synergies for learning. IFDC has been slow to provide guidance on priority technologies, but conversations with iREACH have oriented EFAT to the innovation tracker tool for narrowing the scope of ready-to-disseminate technologies. In-country dialogue will include innovation generators such as ag researchers, iREACH innovation parks, CORAF, and USAID implementing partners. EFAT is developing the job description for country coordinators for Ghana and Niger and expects to post the position in early Q2. A key challenge in moving the AUSAA buy-in is the competing priorities for setting up EFAT's core activities, but these parallel activities provide opportunities for synergy. The work in Senegal under core funding is mutually reinforcing with the buy-in, and EFAT is consulting the same innovation generators to identify technologies for scaling through AUSAA.