Through the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program (FTF), CNFA worked in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova to advance the development of smallholder farmers and other small-scale rural entrepreneurs through marketing and business/financial planning development for farmers and farmer cooperatives, improved technical capacity and productivity, expansion of sustainable input supply and increased access to rural finance. Short-term volunteers provided training and technical assistance to farmers, farmer cooperatives small-scale enterprises, as well as financial institutions including credit unions, leasing companies, insurance companies and commercial banks.

Key accomplishments included:

• 434 volunteers were placed in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova for more than 7,794 volunteer days, valued at $4,518,000 over the course of the program.
• 194,555 individuals benefited through increased sales, new products developed and new access to financial services.
• More than 11,000 new products and/or services now being offered by CNFA host institutions.

Technical Trainings: CNFA volunteers trained farmers and associated service providers and agribusinesses in financial management, business planning, marketing, cooperative development, agricultural production, post-harvest and processing technologies, international quality standards and rural finance. CNFA volunteers also provided agronomic and marketing support to producers of high-value horticultural crops and livestock. Many farmers were helped to make the transition from subsistence farming to small-scale commercial agriculture. The volunteers provided valuable training in modern technologies, quality assurance and business management to key enterprises that drive agricultural economies. By updating their capabilities and improving competitiveness, these enterprises generate new jobs, pull through demand for farmer output and enhance the sustainability of commercial agriculture.

• Volunteers trained 7,719 individuals and provided assistance to 20,298 direct beneficiaries.
• With volunteer support, CNFA host organizations increased gross sales by $33.4 million.
• In Belarus, volunteer assistance in 2006 trained an organization to use no-till farming techniques. By 2008, the new technique was being used on 2,500 acres of wheat and oats and a 10-15% higher yield was obtained as compared with conventionally planted fields.

Improved Access to Inputs: FTF organized business trainings in support of newly developed farm input supply stores to increase the stores’ ability to serve thousands of newly land-owning small-scale farmers. Training was provided in salesmanship, retail marketing, financial management and business planning with impressive results.

• In Moldova, 24 FTF-AVP trained agrodealers provided improved products and services to farmer customers.
• 78,812 new farmer customers were reached and sales grew from $5,163,250 to $15,817,079.
• Cumulative input/services sales reached $16,622,628 in 2007, versus $4,995,693 in 2004.
• In Ukraine in 2008, 39,474 farmers experienced better services and access to a wider range of products through agrodealers trained by CNFA volunteers.

Access to Credit and Business Development Training: CNFA volunteers worked on both sides of financial services markets, assisting both credit professionals and agricultural clients to understand and mitigate risk, improve long-term planning and introduce innovation. Hosts included an insurance company, credit unions, commercial banks and leasing companies distributing agricultural equipment.

• In Ukraine, volunteer assistance led to more than a $12 million increase in the value of rural and agricultural loans;
• Over the course of the program, each host institution in Ukraine increased the value of its net equity by an average of $14.3 million.
• More than half of all hosts maintained loan delinquency below 10%.
• Total of all agricultural loans made by CNFA trained host institutions valued at $24,265,328.
• 518 rural credit professionals were trained.

Expanding Access to Markets: Volunteer assistance improved farmer access to markets by training farmers and agribusinesses in business management, marketing and technology transfer to help producers and processors meet market requirements and improve competitiveness. Technical assistance was provided to facilitate the expansion of value-adding enterprises.

• CNFA-Moldova volunteers impacted roughly 13,000 farmers and contributed to the sale of $15.2 million worth of fresh and processed high-value agricultural commodities.
• From January 2004 to June 30, 2008, CNFA volunteer assistance provided to hosts in Ukraine resulted in increases in gross revenue and net income by $34.4 million and $18.4 million respectively through trainings in business planning, marketing training, production training, and quality standards.
• In Ukraine, 29 coops and farmer groups were organized, specializing in fruits, vegetables, dairy and other commodities.
• From January 2004-June 2008, 12,669 farmers were assisted through coops and farmer organizations and jobs were created for 1,608 individuals.