The Tanzania SERA Policy Project (SERA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative is focused on improving the policy environment for agriculture, and developing individual and institutional capacity to undertake policy analysis and advocate effectively for policy reforms. SERA began in April 2011, and completed the fourth full year of operation on September 30, 2015. This Quarterly Report, Quarter 3 (Q3) of Project Year 5 (Y5), covers the period from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. The SERA Project’s period of performance was originally set to end on April 6, 2016, however, a request for a no‐cost extension was approved by USAID that extended the period of performance through August 30, 2016.
The following tasks were completed in Q3:
- Presentation of the Close‐Out Plan to USAID on April 18.
- Presentation of the Business Environment Study to stakeholders on April 20, and completion of the Policy Brief (Annex 1).
- Completion of a Policy Brief on Policy Options for Food Security, Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation (Annex 2).
- Completion of the Rice Market Efficiency Study (Annex 3).
- Completion of a report on the impact of the Global Food Crisis, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), that was accepted for publication in a forthcoming book on Food Security (Annex 4).
- Presentation of the draft Maize Gender Study, undertaken in collaboration with the World Bank (WB)/International Finance Corporation (IFC), at a workshop on May 23, and finalization of the report (Annex 5).
- Completion of the report on the Transparent Rules‐Based System for Emergency Food Imports (Annex 6).
- Completion of a training on a Healthy Food Basket to the staff of the Department of Food Security and Nutrition in Zanzibar (Annex 7). The training was conducted by Nancy Cochrane of the Economic Research Service (ERS) in collaboration with SERA staff and a nutrition expert.
- SERA project worked with the USAID ASPIRE Project to deliver training to over 40 participants from the Government of Tanzania (GOT) and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (RGOZ) on the use of STATA statistical software.
- SERA concluded its support to the Tanzania Seed Trade Association (TASTA) by hosting a one‐day stakeholder workshop on June 3, 2016 in Arusha. 68 participants from the public and private sectors attended the workshop to discuss issues related to access to public bred varieties and the impact of the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (Annex 8).
- Completed a training on website design, development, and maintenance for key SERA beneficiaries (Annex 9).
Delays were encountered in these activities:
- The SERA Project had planned to support the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) to reform the Secured Transactions Laws and implement a Collateral Registry, but that activity was postponed by the BOT because of internal delays. No further SERA support is planned.
- The data for the Maize Gender Study was found to be incomplete and returned to Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) consultants on May 6 for revision and data checking. Revised data was received on June 24.