Guinea Rural Agro-dealer Network Development Alliance

The project aims to create an alliance of public and private sector actors to accelerate economic recovery following the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea. GRAND leverages the extensive assets that Guinea's natural landscape and its private sector offer and builds upon GDA partners' good development practices and efforts in accelerating inclusive, economic agricultural sector growth. GRAND promotes the expansion and enhancement of rural agro-dealer networks, known as comptoirs agro-ruraux (CARs), and works to improve the standard of living for Guinea's rural population, including entrepreneurial women. The project identifies opportunities that will add value and improve SAREF's input market, and actively seeks additional input supply partners in the country. GRAND works with the Ministry of Agriculture to generate high-yielding rice and maize seed and engage youth in collaboration with the Agence Nationale de la Promotion Rurale et Conseil Agricole (ANPROCA). During FY2018, GRAND held several meetings and completed a series of activities in close collaboration with FtF/Guinea Agriculture Services (GAS) partners, including the USAID Strengthening Market-led, Agricultural Research, Technology, and Education (SMARTE) project and USAID Strengthening Agriculture Value Chains and Youth (SAVY) project. The purpose of these meetings was to discuss the placement of trained AVENIRs as agents agricoles villageois, or village agricultural agents (AAVs), to work with GRAND-related CARs. By supporting the CARs, these AVENIRs will in turn help achieve the project's objectives. The GRAND team continues to identify CARs and recruit AAVs. GRAND is currently working with its alliance partners to support market-led agro-dealer development by achieving two major objectives: (1) increase male and female farmers' access to productive inputs, and (2) strengthen male and female farmers' access to output markets. By achieving these two objectives, GRAND will reach its overall goal of contributing to rapid and robust agricultural sector recovery from Guinea's Ebola outbreak. Objective 1: Increase Access to and Use of High Quality Agricultural Inputs Under Objective I, GRAND extends quality input, equipment, and extension services by expanding and enhancing agro-dealer networks in rural areas. GRAND's implementing partners, ACDI/VOCA and SAREF, are establishing CARs and identifying AAVs that will support each CAR's rural distribution networks and serve as inclusive entry points and village-level extension agents for well-organized producers and farmer groups, or groupements d'intérêt économiques (GIEs). AAVs are responsible for increasing productivity and revenue gains within their communities by demonstrating agricultural best practices and through the sale of inputs in proximity to strong farmer organizations and fertile agricultural areas. During FY2018, ACDI/VOCA and SAREF developed selection criteria for CARs and AAVs and chose the regions across the country where CARs and AAVs are currently established. GRAND has made substantial progress in CAR identification and AAV recruitment this reporting year. GRAND identified 27 CARs (1 female, 26 male), with 8 on a waiting list to determine full eligibility. The program is expanding to the middle and maritime Guinea natural regions as new CARs join the network. Objective 2: Strengthen Access to Markets During the reporting period, the GRAND team continued to identify and engage the principle buyers of fertilizers and pesticides in collaboration with SAREF, and invited the identified agro-dealers (CAR owners), individual producers, and rural community farmer associations to a training on the use of pesticides. In close collaboration with USAID, the team then worked with partners to draft a buyer facilitation strategy for new CARs and scheduled additional training activities, which will commence in FY19 Q1. In collaboration with FtF/GAS implementing partners, GRAND also discussed a memorandum of understanding to install demonstration plots to show best practices on soil fertility management and integrated pest management for farmers, specifically good agricultural practices in Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Crop Management (ICM), and Conservation Agriculture (CA).