Semi-Annual Report: Farmer-to-Farmer Agricultural Volunteer Opportunity Program

The program aims to promote agricultural development and food security in various countries through volunteer assignments. In FY21, POA continued to support sub-awardees as they transitioned to virtual and paired remote U.S. volunteer assignments. A virtual M&E training was conducted on February 8, 2021, for sub-awardees to review F2F Standard Indicators, reporting requirements, and highlight tips/tricks to facilitate data collection and reporting. POA also updated and received USAID approval for the third Request for Applications (RFA) of the Small Grants Competition, which incorporated changes to encourage successful applications from new implementers. The Knowledge Management component focused on promoting greater understanding of the F2F program across the U.S. and among prospective volunteers. POA led and facilitated activities for the F2F Community of Practice (CoP) to share best practices and strengthen implementation. POA attended CoP committee meetings and shared meeting notes on the F2F Implementer Resource Center. Communications activities focused on strategic outreach and management of F2F digital media platforms to promote and increase visibility of the program. The Community of Practice played a significant role in the program's implementation. POA held the FY21 Implementing Partners Meeting (IPM) virtually, which allowed over 120 F2F global staff from the eight core implementers and five sub-awardees to attend. The IPM covered various topics, including host organization needs assessments and development strategies, social inclusion and gender equity in F2F activities, access to finance, volunteer recruitment, and USAID Mission engagement. POA collaborated with NCBA CLUSA and Winrock International to plan and host the F2F 35th Anniversary Celebration during the same week as the FY21 IPM. The virtual event featured professionally filmed prominent guest speakers, including an introduction from Maura Barry, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID's Bureau for Resilience and Food Security. The event recording was viewed a further 213 times on YouTube during the reporting period. Outreach and Communications activities focused on promoting the F2F 35th Anniversary Celebration across F2F social media platforms. POA created a social media calendar to promote the event and developed a social media toolkit for implementers to boost awareness of F2F and its 35th Anniversary. POA also created a new webpage on the F2F website that hosts the F2F 35th Anniversary Celebration recording and the F2F 35th Anniversary Success Story Booklet. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, POA was unable to conduct planned in-person audits, risk assessments, and site visits of sub-award projects. Instead, POA conducted remote spot-checks and risk assessments and met virtually with sub-awardee staff to address concerns, provide training, and stay up-to-date on projects. POA supported sub-award staff with their many questions related to remote and paired volunteer assignments. The program's social media platforms experienced significant growth during the reporting period. Facebook gained 207 new followers, 191 new likes, and 31,095 total pageviews. Twitter gained 93 new followers, 2,606 average impressions per month, and 1,123 new views on LinkedIn. The F2F website received 114 volunteer interest forms and resumes, which were distributed on a biweekly basis to all F2F implementers.