USAID ADVANCE FY18 Q3 Report

During the third quarter of fiscal year 2018 (FY18 Q3), the project achieved significant milestones in its implementation. A total of 26,344 smallholder farmers, including 14,028 women, benefited from project interventions during the reporting quarter. This brings the total number of project beneficiaries in FY18 to 71,897 smallholders, exceeding the project target of 96%. Since its inception in 2014, the project has reached 131,134 smallholder farmers, with 63,144 of them being women. The project trained 26,458 individuals, including 14,023 women, in good agronomic practices, produce quality standards, farming as a business, and other relevant skills. This training has contributed to the project's overall goal of improving agricultural productivity and market access. The total number of project beneficiaries trained in FY18 reached 60,436 smallholders, which is 80% of the FY18 project target of 75,000. In addition to training, the project supported 538 producer-based and private enterprises during the quarter. These enterprises received support on organizational management capacity building, linkages to financial institutions, trade missions, and other business development services. Furthermore, 22,714 medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs), including 11,762 women-owned or led enterprises, received business development services from the project during the quarter. The project also facilitated access to loans for four beneficiary lead actors, with a total value of loans worth $1.5 million. Six actors invested in capital equipment during the reporting period. The project's efforts to improve land-based technologies have been successful, with 73,873 hectares of land area cultivated by 91,223 farmers under improved land-based technologies. The total number of beneficiaries who applied improved land-based and non-land-based technologies and management practices is 93,784, exceeding the FY18 target by 130%. The project's survey data from 2017 shows that gross margins per hectare were significantly higher for female farmers compared to their male counterparts. Female farmers achieved gross margins of $1,500 per hectare, compared to $1,200 for male farmers. This indicates that the project's interventions have been effective in improving the economic empowerment of female farmers. Overall, the USAID ADVANCE project has made significant progress in improving agricultural productivity and market access for smallholder farmers in Ghana. The project's efforts to train farmers, support enterprises, and facilitate access to loans and other business development services have contributed to its success. The project's focus on improving land-based technologies and promoting the use of improved technologies among farmers has also been successful, with 93,784 beneficiaries applying improved technologies and management practices.