Grant Completion Report: Improving Financial Governance in Caprivi Conservancies Grant

MARKETS' successes in improving the livelihoods of target beneficiaries by facilitating market linkages with competitive value chains (VCs) were a key factor in this selection. Nigeria is characterized by a large population, high growth rate, and growing poverty, high youth and female unemployment, economic and political insecurity, and similar levels of economic growth to other countries in MENA. The MARKETS II program, which started in 2012 and is scheduled to end in 2017, places a stronger focus on farm and off-farm job creation, measuring the creation of medium-term (more than one month) and short-term (less than one month) employment. Although the agriculture sector jobs created with MARKETS support tend to be shorter in duration, the project has generated impressive results: since project launch in 2012, MARKETS II has helped create more than 57,000 short- and medium-term jobs. The program team has achieved these results in a cost-effective manner, with a cost of $123 per job created. Several elements of the MARKETS II model have been critical to achieving such impressive results. Selecting and supporting strategic value chains has been an important factor of success. MARKETS II selected VCs after applying the following criteria: a low-entry threshold for women, youth, and vulnerable groups; the geographical spread of the commodity; the importance of the commodity in the government of Nigeria's Agricultural Transformation Program; the possibility of deploying new, low-cost technologies; and whether the commodity falls within the MARKETS II mandate of targeting smallholders with farms less than five hectares. The "step down" training approach has also been a key component of MARKETS livelihoods activities. This approach leverages and builds local capacity by training local facilitators, community-based organizations (CBOs), and "master trainers" who then train participants. MARKETS training empowers vulnerable populations with the skills and knowledge needed to participate in competitive VCs and increase their income and employment opportunities. The MARKETS II model has been successful in creating jobs and improving the livelihoods of target beneficiaries. The program's focus on strategic value chains and local capacity building has been critical to achieving these results. By empowering vulnerable populations with the skills and knowledge needed to participate in competitive VCs, MARKETS II has helped to create a more stable and sustainable livelihoods for these individuals and their families.