Quarterly Report #1 FY15 Q4: Feed the Future Egypt, Food-Security and Agribusiness Support Project

The program's overarching goal is to increase incomes and improve food security for 14,000 Upper Egypt smallholder farmers. To meet this goal, the market-driven program will be supported by four interrelated components: 1) Improved on-farm production, 2) More efficient post-harvest processes, 3) Improved marketing of agriculture crops and products, and 4) Improved nutritional status, especially for women and children. The FAS program will be supported by a strong consortium of technical partners, including Winrock International, Arizona State University, World Food Logistics Organization, Blue Moon, and Souktel. CNFA will provide contractual accountability, strategic leadership, financial management, volunteer technical assistance, subcontract and grant management, and technical expertise. Winrock International will assess irrigation-related constraints and opportunities, while Arizona State University will conduct cost benefit analyses and track on-farm net present value indicator. The Global Cold Chain Alliance and its core partner, the World Food Logistics Organization, will identify cold chain gaps and opportunities to improve infrastructure. The program's guiding principles and cross-cutting themes include systems strengthening for input suppliers, agriculture processors, and support services; a focus on end markets and demand; an understanding of the role of value chain governance; a market systems perspective; recognition of the importance of inter-firm relationships and stakeholder participation; policy and enabling environment; gender inclusivity; and leveraging proven ICT capabilities to bring interventions to scale. FAS will directly address the USAID Feed the Future goal to sustainably reduce global poverty and hunger by achieving an overall objective of increased agriculture-related incomes of small farmers in Upper Egypt. In the first 90 days of the program, the team has held a number of meetings with project stakeholders, achieved the majority of start-up related activities, and planned the activities of the inception plan. CNFA deployed its HQ start-up team within the first 10 days of the signing of the agreement, and the team met with USAID for a post-award debrief, worked on the Year 1 activity design, advanced recruitment of project staff, began procurement, and addressed legal and administrative issues. The program has set several life of project targets, including $5.75 million in matching grants disbursed, a 12% annualized increase in incomes in net present value for over 14,000 horticulture-based smallholder farmers, and the introduction of 350 new contracts between horticulture smallholder farmers and market channels. Within this quarter, the program team hired several key positions, including Team Leader – Marketing, Team Leader – Agronomy, Director of Operations & Finance, Finance Manager, and Technical Advisor: Agronomy. These hires will play a crucial role in the program's implementation and will help to achieve the program's overall objective of increasing incomes and improving food security for 14,000 Upper Egypt smallholder farmers. The program's progress and achievements will be closely monitored and evaluated to ensure that the program is on track to meet its life of project targets and overall objective.