Quarterly Report for AID-OAA-A-14-00031: Support for the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD)

Agency for International Development (USAID). BIFAD convened a public meeting on October 13, 2020, to discuss the concept of economic transformation and its implications for USAID programming. The meeting, titled "Agricultural Growth, Economic Transformation, and the Journey to Self-Reliance: Implications for USAID Programming," was held virtually and featured authors of a BIFAD-commissioned study sharing preliminary findings and lessons learned on emerging success stories in agricultural and economic transformation. The study examined the relationship between agricultural growth and economic transformation, including its impact on a country's resilience to shocks such as COVID-19. The authors focused primarily on sub-Saharan Africa but included examples from East and Southeast Asia. The study served as the framework for the 183rd BIFAD public meeting and explored the relationships among agricultural productivity-led growth, economic transformation, and the journey to self-reliance. During the meeting, speakers and panelists discussed the implications of the study's findings for USAID's agricultural and food security development and social safety net priorities and programming. The meeting also provided an opportunity for BIFAD members and stakeholders to engage in a discussion on the concept of economic transformation and its relevance to USAID's self-reliance approach. The BIFAD 183rd Public Meeting was organized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) in collaboration with the BIFAD Secretariat and USAID. APLU staff facilitated the meeting, including planning conference calls, coordinating with speakers and panelists, and preparing official minutes of the meeting. APLU also submitted the final report and brief of the BIFAD-commissioned study to BIFAD and USAID in December 2020. The report provided an analysis of the relationship between agricultural growth and economic transformation, including its impact on a country's resilience to shocks such as COVID-19. In addition to the BIFAD 183rd Public Meeting, APLU staff organized four planning conference calls and two monthly executive calls with BIFAD and the BIFAD Secretariat during the first quarter of FY21. These calls provided updates on BIFAD activities and an opportunity to discuss upcoming plans. APLU also began close-out activities for the cooperative agreement with BIFAD, which ended on December 31, 2020. Due to the contracting mechanism being used to continue BIFAD support, APLU was ineligible to apply as a prime awardee. APLU chose not to partner and apply as a subawardee, and the USAID business forecast indicated that a new contractor would be selected in November 2020. The Feed the Future Monitoring System (FTFMS) reporting was completed, and all FTFMS reporting was prepared and ready for submission at the end of the fiscal year. The FY2021 data reported for the indicators included in Table 1, which provided a summary of the custom indicators for the BIFAD agreement during FY21. The BIFAD Secretariat, led by Clara Cohen, Executive Director and Designated Federal Officer for BIFAD, USAID, worked closely with APLU staff to coordinate the BIFAD 183rd Public Meeting and other activities during the first quarter of FY21. The BIFAD Secretariat also included Susan Johnson, Associate Vice President International Programs, APLU, and Rob Bertram, Chief Scientist, USAID, as key members. The BIFAD Board, led by Mark Keenum, BIFAD Chair, President Mississippi State University, included several members who participated in the 183rd Public Meeting and other activities during the first quarter of FY21. The Board members included Gebisa Ejeta, Professor Purdue University, Pamela Anderson, Director General Emeritus, International Potato Center (CIP), James Ash, Food and Agribusiness Group Head, Husch Blackwell LLP, Brady Deaton, Chancellor Emeritus, Missouri State University, and Richard Lackey, Founder and CEO, World Food Bank.