LIVCD Year 3 Annual Report: Lebanon Industry Value Chain Development Project

The project, sponsored by the USAID/Lebanon- Office of Economic Growth, seeks to expand the number of Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that can compete in selected markets, improve linkages between those firms and other actors throughout the value chain, increase the gross value of products and services in local and export markets, and expand exports. The project targets seven selected value chains, including pome fruit, stone fruit, grapes, olive oil, rural basket, rural basket-honey, and processed foods. The project's overall objective is to develop competitive, functional value chains to increase incomes of the rural population, including MSMEs. The LIVCD Results Framework outlines the project's strategy, which includes increasing access to markets, business linkages, productivity, and reducing constraints to lending. The project's performance indicators track progress towards achieving these objectives, including the number of MSMEs receiving business development services, the value of exports of targeted agricultural commodities, and the value of incremental sales attributed to USG implementation. During Year 3, the project exceeded the annual results set for reported indicators. The project provided business development services to 4,830 MSMEs, exceeding the target of 4,463. The value of exports of targeted agricultural commodities increased to $929,427.30, a 179% increase over the planned target. The value of incremental sales attributed to USG implementation also exceeded the target, increasing to $1,766,796.79, a 422% increase over the planned target. Additionally, the proportion of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources increased to 14%, exceeding the target of 10%. The project's value chain upgrading activities focused on seven value chains, including pome fruit, stone fruit, grapes, olive oil, rural basket, rural basket-honey, and processed foods. The project provided assistance in accessing value chain finance for producers and other value chain actors in the rural economy. The project also implemented cross-cutting components, including marketing, institutional capacity building, and water and environment. The project's financial information indicates that the project has made significant progress towards achieving its objectives. The project's results framework and performance indicators provide a comprehensive overview of the project's progress and achievements. The project's success in exceeding its targets and achieving significant increases in exports and incremental sales demonstrates the project's effectiveness in developing competitive, functional value chains to increase incomes of the rural population, including MSMEs. The project's value chain upgrading strategies focused on increasing competitiveness, leveraging investments, reducing constraints to lending, and facilitating new linkages between producers and buyers/input suppliers. The project's assistance, including grants and technical assistance, helped beneficiaries in the target value chains become more competitive and access new markets or increase sales to existing markets. The project's results demonstrate the effectiveness of these strategies in achieving the project's objectives. The project's geographic focus is on Lebanon, with a specific emphasis on rural areas. The project's timeframes are from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015, with a project duration of three years. The project's recommendations for future implementation include continuing to support the development of competitive, functional value chains, increasing access to markets, business linkages, productivity, and reducing constraints to lending.