Lebanon Investment in Quality (LINQ) Annual Progress Report – Y1, October 2018-September 2019

LINQ is a 39-month, $5,900,000 cooperative agreement funded as an Associate Award under the Middle East and North Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Leader with Associates. The project provides critical technical assistance (TA) through consultants and volunteers to value-added agribusinesses and their farmer and grower partners, sound management of a $1.65 million grants fund, and communication and outreach of learnings to stakeholders. LINQ has developed and started implementing 22 technical assistance and co-investment partnerships with Lebanese agribusinesses. The technical assistance and capacity building activities target any gap—managerial, operational, technical, or farm-production level. Nine businesses and more than 400 farmers and cooperative rural members are being supported through this component. The co-investment grants facilitate and incentivize businesses to upgrade production equipment, develop new products, increase capacity, or improve productivity and reduce costs. Thirteen food and agri-businesses are investing nearly $600,000 in private capital as part of the partnerships agreed with the USAID-funded LINQ project, and 46 percent of these enterprises have potential to begin exporting. The LINQ project is committed to the process of collaboration, learning, and adaptation. The team routinely conducts team feedback discussions to think and learn about how the project works with its business partners and how it reaches and communicates with stakeholders in the food industry. Twice a year, LINQ and the agri-business partners will gather and assess the results achieved and any barriers to success of the TA and co-investment partnerships. The project has now completed the first year of implementation, initiating work in each of the project components: (I.) Technical Assistance to Increase Competitiveness, (II.) Investment Partnerships and Grants, and (III.) Communicate and Share Results. After a competitive request for applications and thorough due diligence process, LINQ negotiated and awarded the co-investment grants, with businesses operating in food processing, dairy, and fresh fruits subsectors. The in-kind grant agreements and TA partnerships issued detailed what each party will contribute and how the business will improve the quality of its products and processes, its production volumes, profitability, and management practices as well as the expected results after concluding each grant. In addition, the project initiated technical assistance and capacity building support for agribusinesses, cooperatives, and training for farmers. A second RFA was also issued, and due diligence and negotiation of the next round of partnerships is underway. Highlights from Year 1 include the following results: LINQ implemented 13 outreach and learning events and communication products, far exceeding the target of 3 for the first year of the project. The value of new private sector investment leveraged in Year 1, $51,883, exceeds the target for the year by 60%. The proportion of females compared to males participating in LINQ is 38% compared to a target rate of 30%. Overall, 488 individuals were impacted and benefited from LINQ in Year 1 (56% compared to target), and 469 farmers received training (87% of the target). The project's technical assistance and capacity building activities have targeted any gap—managerial, operational, technical, or farm-production level. Nine businesses and more than 400 farmers and cooperative rural members are being supported through this component. The co-investment grants have facilitated and incentivized businesses to upgrade production equipment, develop new products, increase capacity, or improve productivity and reduce costs. Thirteen food and agri-businesses are investing nearly $600,000 in private capital as part of the partnerships agreed with the USAID-funded LINQ project, and 46 percent of these enterprises have potential to begin exporting. The project has established partnerships with 22 agribusinesses, and at least 15 more are under consideration. These partnerships will create new economic opportunities for farmer-suppliers and rural communities. The project's technical assistance and capacity building activities have targeted any gap—managerial, operational, technical, or farm-production level. Nine businesses and more than 400 farmers and cooperative rural members are being supported through this component. The co-investment grants have facilitated and incentivized businesses to upgrade production equipment, develop new products, increase capacity, or improve productivity and reduce costs.