LIVCD Quarterly Progress Report - Year 3, Quarter 4

The project contributes to USAID/Lebanon Development Objective 2: "Enhance economic opportunity for the poorest segments of Lebanese society, particularly in areas outside metro Beirut." LIVCD provides assistance to micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, including farmers and entrepreneurs in rural areas, to upgrade targeted value chains and support jobs and incomes. The project's initial phase in Year 1 involved conducting in-depth assessments of 10 value chains to select target value chains for upgrading. The selection criteria included competitiveness, development impact, and feasibility. The assessments identified constraints and opportunities for increasing competitiveness and an upgrading strategy with a range of activities to address these constraints. The following value chains were selected and approved by USAID: Pome Fruit (Apples and Pears), Stone Fruit - Avocado, Stone Fruit - Cherry, Grapes, Olive Oil, Processed Foods, Honey, Rural Basket, Rural Tourism and handicrafts, and Floriculture (removed in Year 2). As of September 30th 2015, LIVCD has completed 35 grants, 7 grants are completed and in the close-out process, 78 grants are active, and 4 have been approved by USAID for implementation. Some of the quarterly highlights include a demonstrative training in Jbaa (South Lebanon) on summer pruning for apples, the establishment of a climate-controlled packaging room for farmers in Rachaya Al-Foukhar to sort, pack and store grapes, and a conference on the honey sector in Lebanon. The LIVCD project has implemented various activities to support the selected value chains. For example, in July, LIVCD conducted a training on summer pruning for apples, which focused on improving the quality of the current crop, increasing the quantity of next year's harvest, and increasing the production of Grade A apples. Additionally, LIVCD established a climate-controlled packaging room for farmers in Rachaya Al-Foukhar to sort, pack and store grapes, and bought a refrigerated truck to transport the packaged grapes from the climate-controlled packaging room to the market. The project has also supported the Union of Jezzine Municipalities through a marketing campaign promoting the Jezzine region of the mountainous South Lebanon. The campaign took place in malls in Beirut and Saida and encouraged shoppers to visit the region, as well as promoted products from the region. Furthermore, LIVCD organized a conference on the honey sector in Lebanon, which was attended by H.E. Minister Akram Chehayeb, Minister of Agriculture, and H.E. U.S. Ambassador. The conference was highly successful and received wide media coverage in several newspapers, magazines, web portals, and on televisions. The LIVCD project has made significant progress in upgrading the selected value chains and supporting jobs and incomes in rural areas. The project's activities have improved the competitiveness of the value chains, increased the production of high-quality products, and promoted the region's products to the market. The project's success has also been recognized by the media and the public, with many attendees praising the efforts made by LIVCD.