Project memorandum : New Independent States -- food systems restructuring (110-0006)

The one activity ready for implementation at the time of project authorization is the Armenia Agricultural Extension Collaboration (AAEC) Program, which will be implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the AAEC program, USDA will help Armenia"s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) develop an agricultural extension service appropriate to a market-based agricultural sector. Long-term TA will include a senior extension advisor who will advise primarily on organizational development matters, and a policy program specialist to advise on the legal framework for commercialization and agribusiness development, assist in the development of extension training materials and programs, and act as a liaison between U.S. and Armenian businesspeople. Short-term TA will include: (l) four 2-person teams of technical specialists to address such issues as salinity in the Ararat Valley, dairy farming, and post-harvest loss reduction; (2) eight 2-person regional field teams, each of which will be assigned to one of Armenia"s 38 regions for 6 months to develop extension service capabilities in those areas; (3) four action teams composed of extension specialists, U.S. farmers, and agribusiness executives to identify specific actions to immediately increase production and availability of staple foods (e.g., potatoes, vegetables, milk). Short-term U.S. training may also be provided. Amendment of 5/22/92 authorizes a Grains and Perishables Storage activity. Kansas State University"s Food and Feed Grains Institute (KSU) and the University of Idaho"s Postharvest Institute for Perishables (PIP) will each send a 5-person team to analyze storage constraints in the NIS -- primarily in Russia and the Ukraine -- from the farm level up the food distribution system through regional and urban storage centers to retail outlets, and develop recommendations on how to reduce losses using existing facilities. The teams will explore the need for private low-cost on-farm or nearby storage facilities, and will look for investment and marketing opportunities for U.S. agribusinesses in storage related areas, sharing any findings with the U.S. private sector at a workshop upon their return. (PD-ABE-021) Amendment of 8/7/92 adds activities to help the NIS develop a privatized agricultural input and output distribution system. U.S. agribusinesses will work through local agribusiness associations primarily in priority oblasts in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan to address the following elements of a distribution system: storage and handling, transport and communications, processing, marketing, banking, and government reform. Funding is included for TA and short-term business and technical training. The amendment also funds activities to improve food availability in the winters of 1992/1993 and 1993/1994, with priority given to proposals that build on existing U.S. agribusiness relations. (PD-ABE-616) Amendment of 1/13/93 increases LOP funding to $89 million, extends the PACD to 9/30/97, and refines the project purpose to reflect more accurately what is being implemented. The new purpose is to encourage the development of small- and medium-sized agribusinesses in the NIS by increasing the efficiency of the food system from the farm gate to the consumer and to complete the Armenia extension activity. (PD-ABN-961)