Regional Agricultural Development Program in Northern Afghanistan (RADP-North) Contract No. AID-306-C-14-00002

The program will be implemented over a five-year period from May 2014 through May 2019, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). RADP-North will work in three agricultural value chains: wheat, grapes/raisins and fruits/nuts, and livestock. The program's objectives include training and mentoring farmers and agribusinesses in the use of appropriate technologies and agricultural practices, improving post-harvest techniques and value-added processing, and strengthening agribusiness management and market linkages to domestic and international markets. The program will be implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) in conjunction with several partners, including Joint Development Associates (JDA), Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA), Dutch Committee for Afghanistan (DCA), Development and Training Services, Inc. (dTS), Rahman Safi Impact Consultancy (RSI), Alcis, and Pace Group. RADP-North will coordinate field activities with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL), Directorates of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (DAILs), other USAID-funded programs, and sectoral firms, such as agro processors, local traders, exporters, and service providers to the selected value chains. During the third quarter of FY2014, the main activity was mobilization of the Start-Up Team to the field to implement rapid operational efforts in support of technical programming. The project initiated the operational start-up of the program and began the technical planning of program-specific activities for implementation over the life of the project. The project mobilized key expatriate personnel, recruited local staff, established operational systems, and identified working and living space for staff. The project also signed a subcontract with PAX Mondial (PAX), the risk management company for the project, and a letter of authorization with ACDI/VOCA to facilitate mobilization of its Value Chain Advisor, a key personnel position. The project is receiving operational support from the DAI Afghanistan Operations Office (AOO) as well as lodging and workspace from SIKA-North, another USAID/DAI program based in Mazar-e-Sharif. As of June 30, the staffing plan shows the following achievements: the Start-Up Manager and Start-Up Operations Specialist proposed the former RAMP UP-North guesthouse as the RADP-North guesthouse, and DAI's Country Risk Manager approved the site and determined that only minimal security upgrades were required for the property. The project has identified office space and both properties have been submitted to the USAID vetting office. The project also established a formal electronic approval procedure to facilitate the efficient processing of project requests and began identifying necessary modules in its Technical and Administrative Management Information System (TAMIS). Additional support staff from the home office will arrive in the next reporting period to advance system development. However, the project continues to experience delays in receiving its AISA license renewal, which restricts the ability of Third-Country Nationals (TCNs) to obtain entry visas and creates problems in renewing visas for both expatriate and TCN staff. The delayed renewal has also impacted the project's ability to open bank accounts at the Afghanistan International Bank (AIB). The project is currently identifying candidates to fill the key personnel position of Compliance Officer and expects to have the candidate identified, hired, and mobilized in the next reporting period. In the next reporting period, the RADP-North team will continue staff recruitment and start-up implementation to position technical staff and partners for service provision to the target areas and populations. Key projected activities include ongoing recruitment and mobilization of expatriate staff, finalization of guesthouse accommodations and relocation of all expatriate staff into the guesthouse, establishment of the main office in Mazar-e-Sharif, pending vetting approval, and initial establishment of regional offices in Kunduz and Faizabad and provincial offices in Balkh, Kunduz, and Badakhshan provinces.