Quarter 1 Year 3 (Oct.1-Dec.31) Report: RIFA Program

The program held strategic meetings with the University of California President's office in Oakland, resulting in a proposal for programmatic continuation to the Global Food Initiative. RIFA also responded to a USAID request for information and applied for targeted funds to work in Honduras over a five-year period. RIFA's program director traveled to Washington D.C. to speak at two events, resulting in an institutional partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and an independently financed project opportunity. The program also saw the completion of 12 fellow projects, with 9 fellows finishing their projects before the end of the quarter. Additionally, the first RIFA-funded manuscript was accepted for publication, and a proposal for continued funding was submitted to the Global Development Lab. The RIFA program collaborated with CRS to design a framework for a long-term collaboration, with a focus on a project titled "Farmer to Farmer Project Management & Field Assessments in Sierra Leone." The program also partnered with the International Executive Service Corps to work on a USDA Food for Progress proposal in Honduras, with a focus on recruiting, selecting, training, and mentoring graduate students in agriculture.