Agribusiness Development Project

Overview:

The five-year (2004-2009) USAID-funded Agribusiness Development Project (ADP) in Moldova, implemented by CNFA, improved the international competitiveness and trade performance of the country’s high-value agriculture sector, ultimately increasing rural incomes and employment. The $19.2 million project was successful in preparing Moldovan enterprises to meet the challenges of the international market. ADP strengthened the capacity of all participants in the value chain in Moldova, including producers, processors, aggregators and exporters. The approach emphasized the identification of markets for individual products, the use of value-chain drivers, production of marketable products, financing for replication and the dissemination of market information.

Approach:

1. Developed High-Value Agriculture Sector: ADP focused on developing the high-value agriculture sector by increasing the quality of crops through new technologies, including cold storage, better pre- and post-harvest handling techniques and improved seeds. By the end of the project, participating firms had exported over $105 million in processed agricultural products, an increase of more than 23 percent.
2. Promoted International Quality Assurance & Certifications: To boost exports to higher-value international markets, ADP facilitated largescale gains in crop quality assurance and certification in food safety and quality standards.
3. Expanded Access to Markets: Due to Russia’s 2005 embargo on Moldovan fresh fruits and vegetables, ADP began identifying and cataloging new markets for Moldovan produce. Target market conformation studies were conducted in the Baltics, Belarus, Germany, Poland, Romania and Ukraine to assess the demand and market qualifications for 12 products, including apples, sweet peppers, tomatoes, table grapes and other fresh fruits and vegetables. ADP conducted detailed rapid market appraisals in Romania, Russia and Ukraine to give greater market detail and identify specific buyers. Domestic and international study tours followed to allow more than 1,500 people to make important international buying contacts.
4. Leveraged Private Investment Through Matching Grants: ADP employed matching grants to increase local buy-in and promote investment in new technologies, awarding 23 producers and processors with grants worth $1.3 million to implement modern technologies including cold storage and new drying facilities. With a matching ratio of two-to-one, the grants leveraged an additional $2.9 million from local enterprises. Producers were able to increase their annual sales from $500,000 to over $4.2 million, almost $2 million in high-value products. Similarly, processors increased their sales of high-value products from $1.3 million to $6.1 million.
5. Promoted Market Information: To ensure producers and processors had access to the latest market information and training material, CNFA worked with the National Extension Network, a local Moldovan non-profit development agency, to create Export Moldova. Export Moldova provided market surveys and training materials on international safety certifications, modern agricultural practices and planning and management.

Overview:

The one-year (2008-2009), $19.5 million USAID-funded Georgia Agricultural Risk Reduction Program (GARRP) impacted the needs of roughly 40,000 farm families in their recovery from the economic impact of the Georgian-Russian conflict. The project addressed crucial food security and income generation issues in the affected communities of the Gori, Kareli and Kaspi districts.

Through GARRP, CNFA provided livelihood assistance to local farmers, as well as resettled internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had been issued agricultural land, to ensure successful spring crop planting and orchard assistance. In addition, CNFA operated a three-track voucher system for corn, orchards and winter wheat.

Approach

1. Improved Yields: Vouchers for seed, fertilizer and machinery were distributed to more than 10,000 farm families, including 2,300 IDP families. CNFA mobilized local machinery service providers and organized the provision of plowing, cultivation, planting and fertilizer application services.
2. Provided Electronic Voucher Cards: More than 17,900 farm families received electronic voucher cards for orchard inputs to be used in eight retail locations, modernizing orchard production.
3. Supported Farmers in Harvesting Winter Wheat: The third prong of the voucher program targeted families either late in receiving land or whose land had been recently decontaminated from unexploded ordinances. This component distributed vouchers for seed and machinery services for 700 IDP families and 2,670 farm families.

By winter, 2009, the wheat planted at the beginning of GARRP was fully harvested, adding up to more than 41,000 metric tons and worth $10.1 million for program beneficiaries. Not only did this represent a vital return to self-sufficiency for the 7,862 wheat beneficiaries, but due to the failure of the wheat harvest in the east of the country, the total yield amounted to two-thirds of the total Georgian wheat harvest for the year, making it critical for the food security of the country.

In the last phase of the program, 32,000 farm families received vouchers to plant 2,750 hectares of winter wheat and 12,650 hectares of wheat fertilizer. Over 95,000 individuals benefited from the final phase, representing the completion of delivery of critical livelihood support to every farm and IDP family affected by the conflict

Overview:

CNFA implemented the two-year, $250,000 USAID-funded Agricultural Input MArkets Strengthening Project (AIMS) to fill identified market gaps in Mozambique from 2006 to 2008. AIMS developed the capability of private sector agrodealers to respond to increased demand for productive inputs and opportunities for market-oriented agricultural production. Overall. AIMS opened up and established more competitive markets and agrodealer networks as primary channels through which farmers could access improved agricultural technologies, which led to better crop quality and increased incomes.

Approach:

1. Increased Availability of Agricultural Inputs: AIMS strengthened farmers’ access to inputs, including fertilizer and improved seed and crop protection products in the Beira and Nacala corridors where prospects for commercial agriculture production are improving.
2. Encouraged Adoption of New Technology: The project boosted the adoption of best input technology packages for key commodities in the Beira and Nacala corridors, based on profitability and potential for adoption by smallholders.
3. Improved Agricultural Input Affordability: AIMS reduced fertilizer and seed costs to smallholder farmers and increased input quality and diversity in the market, increasing crop productivity of selected commodities in target areas.
4. Strengthened Farmer Market Access: Through linkages with new input and output markets, AIMS enhanced commercialization of smallholder agriculture.

Partners:

• International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)