Semi-Annual Report FY15: Farmer-to-Farmer Special Program Support Project

Agency for International Development (USAID). The program aims to support agricultural development in various countries by providing technical assistance and training to farmers. The program is funded by USAID through a Cooperative Agreement, AID-OAA-A-13-00053. During the reporting period from October 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015, VEGA launched three Farmer-to-Farmer Program Development Projects (PDPs) and awarded six new Farmer-to-Farmer small grants. The PDPs were implemented in Colombia, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Uganda, while the small grants were awarded to organizations in Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Jamaica, Morocco, and Uganda. The volunteers deployed under these programs completed a total of 891 volunteer days, donating an estimated $418,500 worth of professional time. The small grants and PDPs have had a significant impact on the target communities. VEGA has identified several lessons learned from the implementation of the small grants and PDPs. One of the key findings is the importance of clear expectations and requirements for grantees. Many of VEGA's sub-awardees are unfamiliar with the demands of administering a U.S. government grant, and VEGA spends a significant amount of time assisting them with administrative matters. To address this issue, VEGA plans to develop a grantee's manual that explains its administrative, programmatic, and financial requirements and expectations. Another key finding is the need for greater clarity on what constitutes a high-quality grant application. VEGA's F2F RFAs have contained little guidance for Proposal Evaluation Committee members on how to differentiate good F2F small grant concept notes and proposals from poor ones. To address this issue, VEGA plans to consult with its F2F PEC members to develop more thorough guidance on evaluating small grant concept notes and proposals. The program has also faced challenges in introducing new implementers and new approaches to F2F. VEGA has encountered a number of paradoxes in its efforts to introduce new implementers and fresh approaches to F2F through its sub-award program. To address this issue, USAID and VEGA need to think more about how to introduce new implementers and new approaches to F2F. Finally, VEGA has identified the need to better integrate Minority Serving Institutions/Organizations into the F2F program. VEGA proposes to convene an advisory panel to provide a deeper understanding of the challenges and advise on conducting outreach to MSIs and how to adapt the F2F program to include these institutions and organizations as implementers. The PDP programs have started, and over the first six months of FY2015, they have deployed 17 volunteers to Colombia, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Uganda. These volunteers completed 368 volunteer days, donating an estimated $172,690 worth of professional time. The PDP programs have started to show promising results, with improvements in food security and agricultural productivity in the target communities.