Liberia: Technical Assistance Services to the Ministry of Agriculture (TA-MOA) Quarterly Performance Report (January–March 2009)

under the Rural and Agricultural Incomes with a Sustainable Environment Plus (RAISE Plus) Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC). The project aims to establish a well-established foundation for private sector-led agricultural and economic growth and provide expertise to achieve reform in the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA). The project's task order was signed in March 2008, and the program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under contract number EDH-I-00-05-00006-00. The project's scope includes assessing roles and responsibilities of the agriculture sector, strengthening institutional and human resource capacity of the MOA, and capacity building in the area of policy. During the fourth project quarter (January-March 2009), the MOA faced a large caterpillar infestation that tested its capacity. The Chief of Party (COP) provided coordination and prepared an emergency request to the African Development Bank (AfDB) for aid. The project technical assistance (TA) team continued working with the MOA, helping the ministry to own and direct changes. The MOA and project team met with the Governance Commission (GC) to finalize MOA reform, and many new senior executive MOA staff positions were sent to the Civil Service Agency (CSA) for recruitment. The TA team has been reduced to one person since January, but the COP has continued to strengthen MOA staff capacity in crisis management, policy, project preparation, and donor coordination. In addition to the caterpillar crisis, the MOA and TA-MOA responded to various other challenges, including starting up seed banks, responding to a request to develop a strategy for the rice subsector, and keeping the focus on development aid. Several projects are under preparation or have already begun implementation, including the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)-funded 2008 project for Women in Agriculture, the AfDB-International Fund for Agricultural Development (AfDB-IFAD)-funded project in eight counties for rice and cassava, and the IFAD/Italian Trust Fund project delivering inputs to 12,000 vulnerable farmers and funding seed banks. The project also includes the Rice Development Strategy (policy subsector paper) and the emergency request to AfDB managing the caterpillar infestation. The project team will need additional manpower, and USAID has agreed to expand the scope of work (SOW) for the task order. A contract modification was signed in mid-March 2009 to expand the level-of-effort and extend the project until 2010. The project's progress is being monitored and evaluated through regular reports and meetings with stakeholders. The project's outputs and deliverables include assessments, project preparation, policy development, and capacity building. The project team has made significant progress in these areas, including conducting assessments, developing policies, and building capacity in the MOA. The project's implementation is ongoing, and several projects are under preparation or have already begun implementation. The project's geographic focus is Liberia, and the project's context is the country's agricultural sector, which is facing challenges such as a large caterpillar infestation and limited capacity in the MOA. The project's timeframes are January-March 2009, and the project's recommendations include expanding the scope of work and extending the project until 2010.