Quarterly Report January – March 2009 Inma Agribusiness Program

The program's objective is to provide agricultural and business development services to USAID beneficiaries in strategic locations in Iraq. The program's focus is on fully integrated value chains and improving agricultural quality and production. The program is implemented by a consortium led by The Louis Berger Group, Inc. under Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00. The contract was signed on May 14, 2007, and has a period of performance of three years, with two one-year options to extend through April 30, 2012. The project end date is April 2012. The program's activities are focused on several key areas, including perennial fruits, annual vegetables, greenhouses, open field vegetable production, irrigation, aquaculture and poultry, and beef and lamb. The program also includes support activities such as market price monitoring, household food expenditure and consumption survey, business development, microfinance, and training. In the 7th Quarter (January – March 2009), the program continued to make progress in its planned activities. The program's outputs in the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) were also updated. The report provides an update on the program's activities and outputs, and highlights the progress made in the quarter. The program's geographic focus is on strategic locations in Iraq, with a focus on the growth of the agriculture and agro-food sectors in the provincial, regional, and sub-regional economies. The program's implementation is led by a team of project principals, including Charles Bell, Senior Vice President, The Louis Berger Group Inc., Ross Wherry, Chief of Party, Shehnaz Atcha, Program Manager, Tracy Atwood, Deputy Chief of Party - Technical Program, and Ehab Kotb, Deputy Chief of Party - Operations. The program's activities are designed to improve agricultural quality and production, and to increase the competitiveness of Iraqi agricultural products in the domestic and international markets. The program's focus on fully integrated value chains and improving agricultural quality and production is expected to contribute to the growth of the agriculture and agro-food sectors in Iraq, and to promote economic diversification and job generation in the country. The program's progress in the 7th Quarter (January – March 2009) is a positive development, and highlights the program's commitment to achieving its objectives. The program's continued progress is expected to contribute to the growth of the agriculture and agro-food sectors in Iraq, and to promote economic diversification and job generation in the country. The program's activities in the 7th Quarter (January – March 2009) included the continuation of the perennial fruits, annual vegetables, greenhouses, open field vegetable production, irrigation, aquaculture and poultry, and beef and lamb activities. The program also continued to provide support activities such as market price monitoring, household food expenditure and consumption survey, business development, microfinance, and training.