Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestle Maize Quality Improvement Partnership

Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestle Maize Quality Improvement Partnership

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview:

The $1.3 million Feed the Future Nigeria and Nestlé Maize Quality Improvement Partnership (M-QIP) (2017-2020) enhanced the quality and safety of maize and soybeans available to Nestlé’s food processing factories while supporting USAID’s goals of revitalizing Nigeria’s agriculture sector and improving nutrition along these cereal value chains. The partnership utilized a “whole-of-supply-chain” approach to enhance the quality, safety and transparency of the Nestlé supply chain. 

Approach:

  1. Strengthened the Capacity of Smallholder Farmer Suppliers: To catalyze better conduct and performance in the maize and soybean value chains in Kaduna State,M-QIP’s activities focused on the three main stakeholder groups within the supply chains: smallholder farmers, intermediaries and input retailers.
  2. Strengthened Capacity of Local Organizations: With the support of the Nigeria Youth Service Corps program and local extension agents, M-QIP cataloged and mapped the many associations and cooperatives that played a role in improving the yield and product quality of smallholder farmers in the maize and soybean growing regions and along market routes, specifically near Nestlé’s current sourcing areas and storage networks. Through this process, CNFA kick-started and sustained engagement through the M-QIP program with all stakeholders, including Nestlé corporate employees, farmers’ associations, government extension service providers and community leaders.

Partners:

Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview:

The five-year (2015-2020), USAID Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) program was designed to increase the incomes of vulnerable households by improving the performance and inclusiveness of the cowpea, poultry and small ruminant value chains. Implemented in Niger and Burkina Faso, the $34.3 million program was one of many operating under USAID’s Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative, supported by a consortium of partners and led by CNFA.

Approach:

  1. Strengthened Resilience to Environmental, Security and Economic Shocks: The program aimed to improve community resistance to shocks by sustainably rehabilitating markets, facilitating village-savings programs and improving access to shared and household assets along three value chains: cowpea, poultry and small ruminants.
  2. Facilitated and Catalyzed Market Systems: REGIS-AG used a “facilitation approach” that aimed to improve the function of markets and create sustainable change without becoming embedded in the system. REGIS-AG also aimed to identify opportunities through value chain and end-market analysis and to strengthen relationships across its value chains.
  3. Strengthened Input SUpply and IMproved Smallholder and Agro-Pastoralist Access to Interconnected Markets:CNFA concentrated on improving delivery of and access to veterinary services and feed provision centers for poultry and small ruminants and strengthening the supply of agricultural inputs for cowpeas with a specific emphasis on Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bags for improved storage practices.
  4. Increased Access to Finance, Innovation and Private Sector Investments: REGIS-AG worked with private-sector investments to design and market financial products that will expand access to services, particularly for women. It also aimed to improve the enabling environment for local and regional private-sector investment by building trust between value chain actors and increasing their voice at the policy level.
  5. Focused on Gender and Women’s Empowerment REGIS-AG employed a comprehensive approach to engage both men and women in overcoming structural biases and barriers in the three target value chains through education and integration into the formal market economy.

Partners:

  • Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
  • Association Nigérienne pour la Dynamisation des Initiatives Locales (Karkara)
  • Association for Catalyzing Pastoral Development in Niger (AREN),
  • Association Nodde Nooto (A2N)
  • The Association pour la Gestion de l’Environnement et le Développement (AGED).

USAID Yalwa

Posted On: Filed Under:

Enhancing Markets and Nutrition in Niger

Overview:

The five-year USAID Yalwa activity strengthens the capacities of farmers, producer organizations, agribusinesses and rural households in the Maradi, Tillabéri and Zinder regions of Niger to meet the growing demand for affordable, safe and nutritious food. Yalwa means “fulfillment” or “blossoming” in the Hausa language.

USAID Yalwa supports USAID’s regional Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) program, which works with the Government of Niger to help citizens escape poverty and build resilience to natural, economic, and other shocks. USAID Yalwa includes a ground-breaking component on food market systems and follows five years of progress generated by the USAID-funded Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) program, also implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).

Program Approach:

USAID Yalwa’s market systems facilitation approach is based on collaboration with catalytic local actors and networks. Yalwa will work primarily through unions to provide services to producer groups (access to agro-inputs, finance, skills development, etc.), while building their capacity to provide services without project support. The approach leverages commercial investments to build long-term linkages between buyers and sellers, ensure delivery of inputs and services, and supply nutritious food. It also builds the skills of farmers, traders, and processors so they can earn a profit from their businesses, seek out nutritious foods, and become self-reliant.

Yalwa targets 102,700 farmers in over 387 villages, and 442 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by fulfilling the following purposes:

  1. Enhance performance of market  systems in the cowpea, small ruminant and poultry value chains.
  2. Increase the use of high-quality inputs and services such as seeds, fertilizers, and livestock and poultry feed, improving food production and storage and supporting improved marketing, production and access to finance and climate information.
  3. Increase local consumption of nutritious, safe and affordable foods by promoting demand and helping market actors to supply these foods to targeted populations.
  4. Promote inclusive markets for women and youth by identifying barriers to market participation and working with communities to encourage youth and women’s entrepreneurship and leadership.

Partners: 

USAID Yidgiri

Posted On: Filed Under:

Enhancing Markets and Nutrition in Burkina Faso

Overview:

The five-year Feed the Future-funded USAID Yidgiri Activity (2020-2025) is designed to strengthen market systems for the agriculture sector, sustainably improve household incomes and enhance the nutritional status of women and children in Burkina Faso. By February 2025, USAID Yidgiri will improve the performance and resilience of these market systems by establishing profitable linkages between agriculture producers and buyers and facilitating access to local and regional markets, specifically in the cowpea, poultry and small ruminant value chains.

Aptly named Yidgiri, or “grow” in the Mòoré language, USAID Yidgiri is part of the second phase of the USAID Regional Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative, which supports vulnerable communities in Burkina Faso to effectively prepare for and manage recurrent crises and pursue sustainable pathways out of poverty. The Activity is implemented in the Centre-North, East and Sahel regions of Burkina Faso by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) in consortium with the Association Nodde Nooto (A2N) and the Research and Action for Development Group (GRAD).

Program Approach:

USAID Yidgiri strengthens the resilience of food market systems around cowpea, livestock and poultry value chains by building individual and institutional capacities among producers and agricultural market actors in Burkina Faso through three focus objectives:

  1. Enhanced performance of commodity market systems by establishing profitable market linkages between producers and buyers, improving livestock market system structure and governance and enhancing access to affordable financial products and services for market system actors, including farmers, producer organizations and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs).
  2. Increased utilization of quality inputs and services by supporting business clusters, organizing seasonal commodity fairs, facilitating partnerships between producer organizations and industrial and institutional buyers and facilitating access to financial services. USAID Yidgiri also works at the systems level to improve affordability and access to quality inputs, while educating farmers on the most efficient and effective use of available inputs and services for improved productivity in each of the three target value chains.
  3. Increased local consumption of nutritious, safe and affordable foods by supporting producers, processors and other market actors to increase supply and meet rising consumer demand, respond to consumer needs and preferences and improve safety standards. USAID Yidgiri’s social marketing approach is complimented by social behavior change (SBC) interventions that increase consumer demand and raise nutritional awareness at the community and household levels. Special emphasis is placed on building the technical capacity of processors and traders to supply and market healthy products and increasing the incomes of producers to be able to afford them.

Partners: 

Feed the Future Egypt Food Security and Agribusiness Support

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview:

CNFA implemented the five-year (2015-2020), $22,9 million USAID Feed the Future Egypt Food Security and Agribusiness Support (FAS) project to increase incomes and improve food security for at least 14,000 Upper Egyptian smallholder farmers across seven focal governorates – including Assiut, Aswan, Beni-Suef, Luxor, Minya, Qena and Sohag. Over five years, the project improved health and educational opportunities for women and youth and increased household purchasing power.

Approach:

Egypt FAS used an agricultural value chain approach to improve horticulture productivity, access to markets, value-adding activities and commercial linkages with input and service suppliers.

  1. Improved Market Systems: FAS supported improved on-farm production, more efficient post-harvest processes and improved marketing of agriculture crops and products.
  2. Improved Nutritional Status of Women and Children: FAS integrated nutrition-sensitive agriculture by increasing income opportunities and nutrition education in its target regions.
  3. Incorporated Gender Inclusivity and Sensitivity: Gender was a cross-cutting issue in the FAS project and was considered throughout the program.
  4. Improved Agricultural Inputs and Services: FAS strengthened input suppliers, agriculture processors and support services and leveraged proven ICT capabilities to bring interventions to scale.
  5. Improved Governance and Private Sector Engagement: The project created a policy-enabling environment and instilled an understanding of the role of value chain governance and the importance of inter-firm relationships and stakeholder participation.
  1. Winrock International
  2. Arizona State University
  3. World Food Logistics Organization

Private Sector Activity

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview

The USAID Private Sector Activity (2019-2024) is a five-year, $15 million initiative that utilizes a partnership and co-investment approach to support a more resilient Azerbaijan economy and improve the business enabling environment. Supporting the non-oil sector, by improving the competitiveness of the private sector (with a special emphasis on agriculture and other rural economic activities), reducing the barriers that hinder the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and strengthening women-led and women-focused organizations will help contribute to a more secure and sustainable Azerbaijani economy.

In partnership with the Azerbaijani government and the private sector, the Activity helps address their priorities for modernization and improvement of public and private sector support and service delivery. This encourages the diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy, strengthens private sector member-based organizations, particularly those led by and focused on women, and reduces the barriers that hinder MSME development. It is also crucial to having a private sector that is able to respond to improvements in the business enabling environment.

Approach

  1. Support a more diversified non-oil economy: USAID provides assistance that supports the increased diversification of the non-oil economy in Azerbaijan, specifically but not limited to the agricultural sector. The Activity assists small and medium-sized farmers to become commercially viable farmers competing in local or export markets. It also works with processors, traders and cold storage operators to improve their adherence to international standards. Through Component 1, the Activity will support six agricultural value chains and one rural value chain: berry, hazelnut, orchard crops, persimmon/pomegranate, perishable vegetables, wheat and agritourism/ecotourism. The Activity builds capacity in support of developing the agricultural sector and value chains in which the activity works, as well as in support of USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) initiatives.
  2. Improve the business environment for MSMEs: Because businesses face administrative barriers that stifle competition, dissuade investment and constrain trade, the Activity works with associations and MSMEs to identify these barriers, communicate them to the relevant government agencies and target the elimination of these barriers. These efforts help increase the benefits of economic growth and remove obstacles to competition, investment, trade and integration into the global economy. The USAID Private Sector Activity works closely with the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMB) to engage other stakeholders, such as agencies in the Ministries of Agriculture and Economy, the Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency, the Center for Municipality Affairs and the State Customs Committee, to remove administrative barriers. The Activity also supports improvements to the ‘Middle Corridor’, and increasingly important trade route that connects Asia to Europe through the Caucasus. As a result, businesses will have increased opportunities to produce, trade, export and earn income.
  3. Support Women in Associations: This component will strengthen women-focused, women-led businesses and professional associations, to increase the access of women entrepreneurs and business owners to market information, markets, digital and business development services, finance, networks, mentorship and other resources that will enable them to overcome the obstacles of starting and/or growing firms. The component will enhance locally driven advocacy by women business associations and women entrepreneurs, improve the business and workplace enabling environment for women and improve livelihoods and income generation in target sectors.

Sector Focus:

  1. Agriculture and agribusiness
  2. Agritourism and ecotourism
  3. Business enabling environment
  4. Women’s organizations

Partners:

  1. Agricultural producers, processors, exporters, input and machinery dealers and other private sector actors
  2. Industry associations, chambers of commerce, educational institutions and other business support organizations
  3. GoAJ Ministries, departments, agencies, institutes and services
  4. Formal and informal women-led and women-focused groups

West Africa PRO-Cashew Project

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview

Cashews were introduced to West Africa in the 1960s to fight erosion and desertification. Over the past decade, increased demand, expansion of orchards and government prioritization has caused raw cashew nut (RCN) production to become a critical commercial activity for smallholder farmers, and a major revenue stream for governments. West African production is also growing faster than that of any other region—ten percent over the past decade, generating $1.5 billion in export sales for over 1.1 million farmers. Côte d’Ivoire is the world leader in cashew production, followed by Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

The $47.3 million five-year USDA Food for Progress West Africa PRO-Cashew Project (PRO-Cashew) (2019-2024) will work to boost the competitiveness of West African producers by improving efficiency and quality in production and trade, and by working to develop more coherent regional trade and investment policies. In doing so, the project will strengthen producer capacities as well as develop incentives to renovate and rehabilitate cashew farms, improve production and quality and create a more competitive West African RCN for the international market.

Program Approach

Cashew gains made by West African producers face several serious challenges: reduced yields due to aging cashew tree stocks, farmers’ limited technical and financial capacity to rehabilitate and renovate aging orchards and an undeveloped nursery sector unable to provide timely and consistent high-performance seedlings to offset declines in productivity. This is complicated by the fact that the same trade policies that have boosted exports also pit countries against their neighbors, producing uncoordinated regional policies that weaken public and private-sector support for cashew grower/seller advocacy efforts. To combat this, PRO-Cashew:

  1. Builds Capacity: CNFA builds the capacity of farmers through selected farmer organizations and agro-food suppliers over the life of the project in the areas of business and orchard management and service delivery. In collaboration with the Competitive Cashew Initiative (ComCashew) and the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), CNFA works with local ministries of agriculture to review training curriculums, identify gaps and mentor extension teams in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), renovation and rehabilitation (R&R) and climate-resilience.
  2. Facilitates In-Kind Grants for Equipment & Inputs: CNFA leverages matching contributions of individual grant disbursements from private, public or farmer sources to catalyze private investment, increase stakeholder partners’ and farmers’ profitability and build the capacity of cashew farmers to renovate and rehabilitate their farms.
  3. Develops Agrodealers & Input Suppliers: CNFA supports private sector nurseries (larger than 10,000 cashew trees per year) and potential large processing companies to improve the efficiency and sustainability of seedling production systems by facilitating public-private partnerships, growing cost-effective, high-performance tree seedlings at central nurseries and distributing seedlings close to farms through rural-based seedling retail businesses. CNFA also facilitates agreements between research entities and the central nurseries to ensure long-term public-private partnerships. PRO-Cashew coordinates with existing efforts of the governments, World Bank and research institutes.
  4. Disburses Improved Market Information: CNFA strengthens existing data and fills significant gaps in data coverage and quality. The integrated Cashew-IN platform, a regional database housing information for farmer organizations, policymakers and private sector organizations to understand and monitor the global cashew supply chains, is accessed and used by farmer organizations, policymakers and private sector investors to understand the national, regional and overseas cashew markets in terms of supply and demand. It also monitors the cashew supply chain, supports traceability for quality control and informs evidence-based policies to increase profitability and marketability of cashews in West Africa.
  5. Improves Policy & Regulatory Framework: CNFA engages with national and regional policy makers, private sector stakeholders and development agency partners to facilitate and improve regional trade policy cooperation. With the support of regional research centers, CNFA conducts analyses of trade policies currently deployed by West African cashew-producing countries and produces annual reports on country and regional competitiveness, government policy analysis and foreign direct investment with quantitative and policy analysis.

U.S.-Pakistan Partnership for Agricultural Market Development

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview:

The U.S.-Pakistan Partnership for Agricultural Market Development (AMD) activity in Pakistan was a USAID-funded program (2014-2019) implemented by CNFA with the goal of supporting the development of Pakistan’s commercial agriculture and livestock sectors. AMD aimed to improve Pakistan’s ability to meet both international and domestic demand and efficiency requirements as well as increase competitiveness through private sector engagement.

Approach:

  1. Increased Competitiveness of Targeted Product Lines: Through the adoption of improved production, marketing, and business organization management practices, AMD facilitated increased demand in citrus, mango, high-value off-season vegetables, and livestock product lines;
  2. Improved Market Linkages and Developed Institutional Capacity: AMD worked with processors, traders, retailers, and ancillary service providers that supported the targeted product lines;
  3. Engaged with Private Sector: Through targeted training, matching grants, and technical assistance, AMD leveraged private sector investment and encouraged innovation.

Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity

Posted On: Filed Under:

Overview: 

The five-year USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity aims to strengthen the enabling environment for agribusiness finance and investment. To achieve this goal, the Activity focuses on four interrelated components: improving the enabling environment for agricultural sector growth; broadening access to finance by mitigating the credit risks of agribusinesses; promoting and facilitating investment opportunities for agribusinesses to expand and scale up operations; and sustainably enhancing the performance of agribusiness micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In line with the U.S. and Nigerian governments’ commitment to grow the non-oil-based economy, these efforts will increase the depth, breadth, dynamism and competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.

Beginning in December 2018 and closing in December 2023, the $15.7 million Agribusiness Investment Activity, with Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) as the prime implementing partner, aims to viably and sustainably link thousands of MSMEs and producer organizations with high-performing commercial actors in the rice, maize, soybean, aquaculture and cowpea value chains. As a result of streamlined regulations, more effective policies, improved production and processing practices, and significantly increased finance and investment flows, the Activity increases the competitiveness and returns of large, medium and small-scale agricultural enterprises. The overall objective of the Activity is to measurably improve the agribusiness investment climate in Nigeria, which plays a pivotal role in attracting foreign direct and domestic investment, leading to food security and improved nutrition.

Click the link here to learn more about improving the agriculture enabling environment from our Policy and Learning Brief developed during our state summits.

Methodology

The Agribusiness Investment Activity’s four main components are:

  1. Improving the Agribusiness Enabling Environment: The policy, legal and regulatory burdens faced by agribusinesses – whether farmers, processors or traders – constrain their productivity and growth. This initiative seeks to implement reforms to improve Nigeria’s agricultural and agribusiness enabling environment. This component focuses on making relevant policies, laws and regulations less cumbersome, to lower the cost of compliance; reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers to promote more exports and import substitution; addressing infrastructure, land ownership and logistical constraints; minimizing the time it takes to perform statutory business functions; and limiting the scope for bureaucratic discretion.
  2. Broadening Access to Finance: The infrastructure and market reach of both formal and informal banking services remain inadequate in many regions, presenting a significant barrier for rural agricultural smallholder farmers and MSMEs. The Activity works to expand access to financial services across the value chains through informal, community-based savings plans; formal and informal credit; guarantee programs; insurance offerings and more. Working with both lenders and borrowers, this component also supports initiatives that facilitate new and innovative funding approaches that expand access to capital and facilitate greater lending to the agriculture sector.
  3. Facilitating Investment: To catalyze new agribusiness investments, the Activity works with both investors and investees to create commercially viable linkages. This includes building investors’ understanding and appetite to invest in the agribusiness sector, improving the investment readiness of agribusinesses and supporting enterprises desiring to scale-up operations. Through a demand-driven, private sector-led value chain approach, this component directly supports agribusinesses with technical assistance in areas such as identifying investment opportunities and helping firms meet investors’ selection criteria. By providing business development services and supporting strategic partnerships, the Activity strengthens market linkages and the competitiveness of smallholder farmers and agribusiness MSMEs to take advantage of emerging investment opportunities.
  4. Enhancing Agribusiness MSME Performance: Improving the performance of agribusinesses is a process that requires behavioral change. Most agribusinesses need direct technical assistance to adopt best practices and meet the minimum assessment criteria of financial institutions and investment groups. This component works directly with agribusinesses to improve financial, managerial and operational efficiency to enable them to become more competitive and able to access finance and investment opportunities.

Program Approach:

The Agribusiness Investment Activity employs a unique strategy by focusing on larger agribusinesses (called “Lead Firms”) as the central engine of its work. Through supporting the Lead Firms’ growth and expansion objectives, the Activity assists out-growers, financiers, investors, input suppliers, agrodealers and service providers within their value chains. While the primary focus is on facilitating finance and investment, the Activity does not directly offer finance, investment, grants or any other cash-based incentives. Rather, it identifies the best sources of financial and non-financial resources and supports it partners in accessing them. This includes identifying and advocating for the reform of the most pivotal legal and regulatory constraints.

The Activity strictly focuses on the following five value chains: rice, maize, soybean, cowpea and aquaculture. Furthermore, it has a geographic concentration on the following seven states: Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger.

The Activity’s strategy includes but is not limited to the following key pillars:

  1. Establishes Public-Private Partnerships: The Activity works with public and private sector partners, including agribusinesses, financial institutions, investment groups and business development service providers to facilitate greater engagement with MSMEs and potential agro-entrepreneurs in their value chains.
  2. Elevating Business Development Services: The Activity connects agribusiness MSMEs to business development services (e.g., business plans and loan applications) that support them from inception to the formation of profitable, sustainable enterprises. Special emphasis is given to MSMEs that are women- and youth-owned or have the potential to hire significant numbers of women and youth.
  3. Facilitating Innovation: The Activity supports the development of new financial products suitable for agribusiness MSMEs and building public awareness as to where and how to access existing financial facilities.
  4. Enhancing Business-to-Business Linkages: The Activity links MSMEs with larger firms in the selected value chains to facilitate viable and sustainable business linkages.
  5. Supporting Policy Enabling Environment: The Activity addresses policies that restrict or constrain the ease of doing business, including registration, licensing, obtaining land, collateral restrictions and access to finance and investment.