Lebanon Investment in Quality (LINQ) Quarterly Progress Report – Y1Q3, April-June 2019

LINQ is a 38-month, $5,900,000 cooperative agreement funded as an Associate Award under the Middle East and North Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F4F) Leader with Associates. The project will provide critical technical assistance (TA) to value-added agribusinesses and their farmer and grower partners, sound management of a $1.65 million grant fund, and communication and outreach of learnings to stakeholders. LINQ will work with actors along the supply chain, with an "entry point being agribusiness partners. Through grant investments, the project will help partners improve their production, foster investments that might not have been made otherwise, and establish linkages upstream (to farmers/growers) and downstream to destination markets. The project will benefit supplying farmers and their clients (packers, processors, buyers, and others) with a common objective of food quality, safety, and competitiveness. The project's technical assistance component has provided training to a total of 196 beneficiaries through continued support to apple growers in the Barre and North Lebanon region, cherry farmers in Arsal, Bekaa region, and a woman cooperative in the Fnaydek village of Akkar. These interventions aim to assist small producers and processors in improving the quality of their products and facing the challenges impeding them from accessing higher-end markets. Supporting apple farmers has been a key focus, with LINQ organizing farmer-focused training sessions on Irrigation and Fertilization for apple farmers in Hasroun and Bcharre, North Lebanon. A total of 70 farmers from the Bcharre region attended the training, which aimed to inform growers on best agricultural practices that will improve the quality of their apples and increase their value on the marketplace. Supporting cherry farmers has also been a priority, with LINQ organizing 16 training sessions on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and improved Cultural Practices for farmers in Arsal, Bekaa region. A total of 157 farmers attended the sessions, which aimed to enhance the quality of cherries in the area and address the challenges faced by farmers due to the war in neighboring Syria. Empowering women has also been a key focus, with LINQ launching a series of training sessions focused on Food Safety and Food Processing targeting rural women. These trainings aim to increase the knowledge and skills of women and ultimately increase their income through selling their products locally. The project has also facilitated technology upgrading through investment partnerships and grants. A request for applications was released during quarter 1, and 48 applications were received by the submission deadline. The project has also delivered equipment to apple juice producer Les Vergers des Cèdres (LVDC) in Bcharre, North Lebanon, as part of the co-investment grant "Applesauce production line". The project has also participated in a major hospitality exhibition, HORECA Lebanon 2019, to promote LINQ's technical assistance and grants to potential agribusinesses and stakeholders. The project has also organized a two-day training on Food Safety and Food Processing techniques for women in Fnaydek-Akkar, North Lebanon, in coordination with Fnaydek Cooperative. The project's progress has been marked by the delivery of equipment to LVDC, the participation in HORECA Lebanon 2019, and the organization of training sessions on Food Safety and Food Processing techniques for women in Fnaydek-Akkar. The project has also provided technical assistance to a total of 196 beneficiaries through continued support to apple growers, cherry farmers, and a woman cooperative. The project's indicators performance tracking table shows a total of 186 apple farmers from the Bcharre region attending the trainings on IPM and Irrigation, and a total of 157 farmers attending the trainings on IPM and improved Cultural Practices in Arsal, Bekaa region. The project has also facilitated the delivery of equipment to LVDC and the organization of training sessions on Food Safety and Food Processing techniques for women in Fnaydek-Akkar. The project's overall objective is to increase the competitiveness of value-added agribusinesses in Lebanon through access to new markets, productivity, and quality improvement, and product innovation. The project's progress has been marked by the delivery of equipment to LVDC, the participation in HORECA Lebanon 2019, and the organization of training sessions on Food Safety and Food Processing techniques for women in Fnaydek-Akkar.