Document Type: Progress Reports

To build on previous investments in the forestry and agricultural sectors, particularly the Land Rights and Community Forestry Program (2007-2011) and the Liberia Forestry Support Program (2011-2012), USAID contracted Tetra Tech in May 2012 to implement a new, five-year program (2012-2017) entitled People, Rules and Organizations Supporting the Protection of Ecosystem Resources (PROSPER). The overall goal of the program is to introduce, operationalize, and refine appropriate models for community management of forest resources for local self-governance and enterprise development in targeted areas of the country. The three primary objectives of the program are:

1. Expand educational and institutional capacity to improve environmental awareness, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and environmental compliance;
2. Improve community-based forest management leading to more sustainable practices and reduced threats to biodiversity in target areas;
3. Enhance community-based livelihoods derived from sustainable forest-based and agriculture-based enterprises in target areas.

Tetra Tech, charged by USAID with ensuring a seamless transition with LFSP (ending May 31, 2012), moved swiftly in late May and early June to install its team and launch operations. By June 1, the core technical and administrative team was in place, including 10 host country staff and expatriate Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party/Component 2 Leader, and Component 1 Leader. Tetra Tech took over the lease on the Liberia Forestry Support Program (LFSP) field office in northern Nimba and maintained the staff, allowing support of the three community forestry sites in Nimba to continue without interruption. Preliminary assessments of potential new sites in target counties were initiated in early June. From June 18-20, PROSPER organized an Inception Workshop for project staff, implementing partners, and key government and civil society stakeholders that resulted in the definition of a work plan, approved by USAID, covering the four-month “mobilization period” (June-September 2012).

This first quarterly report presents the activities undertaken and results obtained during the four-month mobilization period. Individual monthly progress reports were also prepared for USAID.

As the report sections that follow reveal, June-September was a period of intense preparation and initiation of activities including several important cross-cutting activities (site selection, gender assessment, performance monitoring plan development and work planning). Throughout the period, PROSPER worked with the community forest management bodies (CFMBs) and partners in its “inherited” sites in Northern Nimba (the Zor, Gba, and Bleih community forests) and the East Nimba Nature Reserve (ENNR) to consolidate and deepen results achieved under Land Rights and Community Forestry Program (LRCFP) and LFSP. Subcontracts signed in June with PROSPER’s three national subcontractors (CJPS, NAEAL, and AGRHA) allowed all three to field staff to Northern Nimba (AGRHA, 3 staff beginning in July; CJPS and NAEAL, 2 staff each, beginning in August. In September, following USAID’s approval of seven new proposed work sites, PROSPER team members took to the field to inform the communities of their selection and to initiate community profiling. In parallel, with the support of subcontractors Fauna and Flora International (FFI), ASNAPP, and Rutgers University, PROSPER also launched biodiversity assessments, ethno-botanical surveys, and value chain analyses in the new sites.

As noted in the Component Work Plans section, the major activities and results assigned to the Education and Outreach, Community Forestry, and Livelihoods components under the mobilization plan were largely completed. A notable exception concerned PROSPER’s planned support to the Forestry Training Institute to conduct a gap analysis of the curriculum (Activity 1.3). Stretched too thin by other demands in August and September, the Component 1 team deferred this task to the first quarter of FY 2013. A planned consultation with the Land Commission, Governance Commission and Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to develop a review process to facilitate the lifting of the moratorium on Community Forest Management Agreements (Activity 2.3) was also deferred due to the crisis that enveloped the FDA concerning private use permits (PUPs).

Throughout the June-September period, the work of PROSPER’s technical team was supported and complemented by the program’s administrative and financial unit which oversaw the recruitment of new staff, the identification and setting up of PROSPER’s permanent office, the contracting of various service providers, the procurement, registration and insuring of vehicles, the purchase and installation of furniture and IT equipment, and numerous other administrative and logistical tasks associated with the start-up of a major program.

PROSPER’s mobilization period coincided with the eruption of a serious crisis in the forestry sector. Revelations concerning the FDA’s issuance of private use permits for timber exploitation on more than 2 million ha of forestland sparked an outcry led by civil society organizations that has been widely reported by the national and international press. That outcry resulted in a temporary moratorium on logging operations under inactive PUPs, Senate hearings on the issue, the suspension of the FDA Managing Director, and the appointment by the President of an independent investigative panel that is currently examining procedural and substantive legal issues related to the issuance and applicability of the PUPs. At the time of this report, however, logging operations under active PUPs have resumed (by Supreme Court order), and no matter what the investigative panel concludes, the FDA’s exploitation of this “back door” alternative to authorize logging and the failure of the Senate and Supreme Court to condemn it, has cast considerable doubt on the Government’s commitment to the reforms enacted since 2007 aimed at improving governance of Liberia’s forest resources and promoting equitable benefits for forest communities. The sustainability of PROSPER’s efforts to broaden and strengthen community forestry in Liberia will be conditioned to a great extent by the way the Government of Liberia (GoL) responds to the present crisis.

Deliverables Summary:

The following contract deliverables were completed during the Mobilization Period:

• Gender assessment identifying challenges and opportunities for improving participation and benefits of women in specific PROSPER activities and outlining proposed strategies (#22)
• Site selection report presenting seven recommended work sites in up to four landscapes (#23)
• Curriculum Development Working Group (CDWG) constituted comprising representatives from the public, NGO, Private sector, and USAID Education programs, to contribute to review and development of formal and non-formal curriculum (#25)

Deliverables to be completed in the first quarter of FY 2013 are:

• Report summarizing findings of review of formal primary school curriculum, adult literacy curriculum, and non-formal education materials, and identifying opportunities to integrate environmental themes (#26)
• Initial assessment prepared of the viability of two Payments For Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes (#30)
• Baseline surveys, gender integration plan, and M&E systems established for each target county (#1)
• Sector surveys and analyses for selected forestry and agricultural value chains (#2)
• Biodiversity assessments completed for new sites (#24)
• First outreach campaign launched to improve public awareness of natural resource and environmental management issues (#28)

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. Through implementing a Liberian strategy which incorporates women and youth, FED is helping the government of Liberia and the country achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches, while ensuring increased availability and utilization among the large number of subsistence producers.

This incentive structure for commercial agribusiness is being built upon:

• Improved technologies for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing activities;
• A range of enterprise services; and
• Agriculturally focused workforce development.

FED’s activities work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to appropriate improvements to their farming systems, new technologies, agricultural inputs (including improved seeds), extension services, nutritious food products, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and enterprise support services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and major increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are targeted as regional development corridors to foster intra- and inter-county commerce, simultaneously improving food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED operates through three main components:

• Component One: Increased Agricultural Productivity: Works on agricultural technologies and techniques, such as improved varieties and seed, fertilizer use, mechanization, improved extension, integrated pest management (IPM), and other improvements to production, postharvest, processing and marketing of the four value chain products to improve food availability at the household level, incomes and nutrition.
• Component Two: Stimulate Private Enterprise: Strengthening agribusinesses, improving their access to inputs, finance, and markets, training and working with individuals and groups of entrepreneurs, improving their skills in business management, marketing, and use of modern technologies to add value and increase profits.
• Component Three: Build Local Human Capacity: Works with the vocational agriculture schools and other related institutions on workforce development, improving the skill sets of all those engaged in agribusiness, including farmers, enterprise employees, businessmen, and women.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and technologies which boost agricultural productivity.

In FY 2012, FED was implemented by seven international partners including: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Samaritan’s Purse, Louisiana State University, The Cadmus Group, and the Center for Development and Population Activities.

Annual Highlights

This annual report for The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) project, part of USAID Liberia’s Feed the Future initiative, covers the period from October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012, and focuses on successes, accomplishments, and highlights under the USAID-approved first year work plan and its activities designed around the targets in the approved Performance Management Plan (PMP).

Some highlights during the Year 1 work plan included:

1. FED used mobile data collection for its baseline, allowing data to automatically be geo-tagged in real time. FED interviewed approximately 1,000 households using mobile technology, employing both mobile and geospatial technology for the majority of data collection efforts. A ten-day training transitioned management of FED’s mobile data collection to the M&E/GIS coordinator.
2. One-day consultative workshop in Monrovia with the MoA, MoF, and MFIs to develop guidelines for an agro-input supply action plan for Liberia.
3. Building collaborative links with local and regional input suppliers to improve the range, costs and availability of inputs.
4. Testing, local production and introduction of technologies, including rotary rice weeders from Madagascar, treadle pumps, power tillers, impact rice de-hullers, driers and one pass rice mills.
5. Local private soil testing service established and FED extension agents trained on crop planning, input procurement, and testing of soil to determine available nutrients in the soil, with similar training provided to two of the rainy season vegetable groups from Mount Barclay and Cocoa Factory communities which benefited 40 farmers (31 women, 9 men).
6. FED and MoA extension staff trained in rice production techniques, and technologies to reduce production and processing labor bottlenecks and increase rice yields tested and demonstrated.
7. Rice production and processing demonstration training in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, and Grand Bassa counties with 772 participants from June 13-22, 2012.
8. Basic training in lowland rice and upland vegetable farming for a total of 342 farmers (177 women, 165 men) for the Doumpa Community Agriculture Project.
9. FED conducted a groundbreaking ceremony on July 7, 2012, with My Brother’s Keeper orphanage, located in Careysburg, Montserrado County for a demonstration vegetable plot. The orphans continue to grow vegetables, including bitterball, peppers, cucumber, okra, watermelon, cabbage, eggplant, potato, collards, and sweet potato greens.
10. SMEs training in the cassava value chain in collaboration with the National Cassava Sector Coordination Committee in Monrovia with 24 participants (10 women, 14 men).
11. Joint venture agreement signed between Chevron, AEDE, New Generational Women and FED to implement a 75 acre cassava production and processing enterprise and engage in commercial vegetable production and marketing on Coopers Farm in Clay Ashland.
12. Launch of the 2012 National Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) vaccination campaign, in collaboration with the MoA, BRAC, USDA Land O’Lakes, and Samaritan’s Purse. The vaccine was administered to goats and sheep across Liberia in Lofa, Bong, Nimba, Montserrado, Grand Bassa, and Margibi counties during the month of September, reaching over 120,000 sheep and goats, and impacting 226,836 households.
13. Business management skills training workshop and follow up mentoring for selected SMEs and producer groups in Monrovia with a total of 26 participants trained (9 women, 17 men).
14. Business Skills Training Seminars for Liberian Farmer Associations in Grand Bassa and Nimba counties with a total of 62 participants (30 women, 32 men).
15. A three-day teacher’s training workshop for the VES and youth VES for 52 teachers (11 women, 41 men) and a stakeholder’s meeting for 32 teachers (2 women, 17 men) held at BWI and the Nimba County Community College from June 14-20, 2012.
16. The BWI Department of Agriculture HOD, led a workshop on curriculum development, using his own course on compost making, following the ECOWA TVET curriculum model. This will serve as the model for the post-secondary National Agricultural Diploma Curriculum.
17. FED launched its pilot phase of the internship program on July 31, 2012. To date, 58 students, age 20 to 35, have been selected from four universities and technical schools, and placed in 20 public institutions, NGOs, INGOs, and farm enterprises across Liberia.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program in Liberia is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project that aims to work with the Government of Liberia (GOL) to increase agriculture productivity, profitability and access within the rice, cassava, vegetable and goat value chains, improve nutrition and strengthen food security. FED is focused on four priority counties (Grand Bassa, Bong, Nimba and Lofa) and two secondary counties, (Magribi and Montserrado). FED will be working with partners (public and private) throughout these four value chains; improving productivity, strengthening access to inputs and services, and creating market linkages, with a particular focus on women and youth. The objectives of the program are:

• Increase agriculture productivity and profitability and improve human nutrition;
• Stimulate private enterprise growth and investment;
• Build local technical and managerial human resources.

FED’s activities will work with the Ministry of Agriculture and the private sector to link communities to agricultural inputs (including improved seeds), extension services, nutritious food products, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and enterprise services.

Over the life of FED, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and major increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are being targeted in the context of regional development corridors that foster intra- and inter-county commerce, simultaneously improving food availability and access for all Liberians.

A Market Development Fund (MDF) will be available to help build Liberian capacity — partnering across the public sector, private sector, and civil society — to ensure ownership of FED-supported activities prior to the program’s conclusion. MDF funds will be administered through carefully structured local subcontracting arrangements. Every allocation of MDF funding will be underpinned by an exit strategy that extracts the FED program from its interventions without compromising market development.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. Our approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and technologies that boost agricultural productivity.

June 2012 was a busy month for the FED team, with accomplishments made in the areas of training and the implementation of activities in various project components.

Trains during the Month of June 2012 include the following:

• There was a weekly training at 13 lowland rice demonstration sites in Bond County (213 participants from 8 groups), Nimba County (240 participants from 9 groups), Grand Bassa County (106 participants from 4 groups) and Lofa County (213 participants from 8 groups) with field lay out been completed;
• Three days Business Skills Training Seminar for Liberian Farmer Associations was held in Grand Bassa and Nimba Counties. Both counties had the total of 31 participants. Buchanan, Grand Bassa County had the total of 14 females and 17 males while Ganta, Nimba County had 16 females and 15 males;
• There were also Tube Well trainings conducted in Ganta, Nimba County (1 Supervisor, 5 workers) from Standard Garage and Gbarnga, Bong County (1 Supervisor, 6 workers) from SMART Garage.
• Teachers training workshop brought together 10 teachers from the Booker T. Washington Institute (2 females and 8 males), 42 teachers from Nimba County Community College (9 females and 33 males).

There was a one day MDF training on June 25, 2012 for FED staffs. The training provided an overview of MDF operations, TAMIS, and procurement. This training was facilitated by STTAs Gwen Appel, MDF operations specialist and Jessica Stretz, Portfolio Manager.

A soil testing training for FED and MoA staff is scheduled for July 10-14, 2012.

Matt Curtis, a soil specialist, STTA, worked with a private soil lab partner to arrange soil testing training and to monitor chemical procurement; a soil testing training for FED and MoA staff is scheduled for July 10-14, 2012 and there was a day MDF training on June 25, 2012 for FED staff. The training provided an overview of MDF, TAMIS, and procurement. The training was facilitated by STTAs Gwen Appel, MDF Operations Specialist and Jessica Stretz, Portfolio Manager.

Twenty cassava farmer groups has be selected in Bong, Nimba, Lofa and Grand Bassa county for demonstration of improved planting and improved cassava variety. Twenty-two lead farmers from the farmers associations will attend a training on improved cassava production in Bong Mine, Bong county. These farmers are to return to their associations and train other farmers in close collaboration with the FED extension staff. The training will include Cuttings preparation and handling, nursery preparation for multiplication and mini-setting, nursery management, layout for field planting, soil preparation and field planting.

Doumpa Community Project: Transplanting of lowland rice began on June 21 – 25, 2012; eight of the fifty-six (56) plots have been transplanted with Nerica L19. Transplanting of remaining plots continues. Special mobilization has been launched to speed up the transplanting and by July 11 we hope the entire field will be transplanted.

USAID Liberia’s Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is being implemented to achieve the following component objectives:

• Component-1: Increase agricultural productivity and profitability, and improve human nutrition;
• Component-2: Stimulate private enterprise growth and investment; and
• Component-3: Build local technical and managerial human resources to sustain and expand the accomplishments achieved under objectives one and two.

During this month, the Food and Enterprise Development program for Liberia continues to establish its Field offices in its counties of operations (Margibi, Bong, Grand Basa, Lofa and Nimba). The Urban and Peri-Urban has been successfully established in surrounding communities in Kakata and Monrovia areas. Meanwhile, the treadle pump manufacturing selection process continues as well as treadle pump train-of-train and selection of tainees. There was a three days training held with Welekamah Farmer Base Organization in Gbarnga City at CARI. The training was training these farmers into understanding of doing agriculture as a business not for only feeding family. There have also been filed visits Gbarnga, Kakata and Monrovia to find out the level ICT involvement as it relates to ICT in agribusiness in Liberia. As results from these field visits, the ICT in agribusiness component of the FED has organized an upcoming training package for community base radio stations and students from BWI. These training will be done Liberia Media Centre “LMC” through IREX as a resource points.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. FED is helping the government of Liberia achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches and actively incorporates women and youth.

This incentive structure is being built upon:

• Improved technologies for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing;
• Enterprise Services; and
• Workforce and Human Capacity Development.

FED’s activities work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to extension services, agricultural inputs, improved technologies, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and business development services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are part of expanding development corridors that aim to foster intra- and inter-county commerce, and improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and the modern technologies which will boost agricultural productivity.

FED is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), supported by subcontracts with the Cadmus Group, International Fertilizer Development Center, Louisiana State University and Winrock International.

Summary

In November 2012, FED workedwith four seedling producer training in its peri-urban agriculture (PUA)in Margibi and Montserrado counties. They trained 17 vegetable seedling producers who are currently selling seedlings to vegetable growers in Margibi and Montserrado counties. The PUA team will continue training new seedling producers throughout FY-2013. It has been suggested that some seedling producers could provide both seedlings and inputs recommended for vegetable production.

The first training session took place at BWI campus, Kakata City, in collaboration with the PUA team. Four vegetable seedling producer trainers and five seedling producers who are trying to scale-up production were involved. The training covered how to run small seedling production units, with a special focus on strengthening marketing.

An innovative technology for removing the husk from paddy rice has been produced in a private metal workshop in Monrovia with the support of FED consultant, Mory Thiaw. This processing technology is lower in cost, lighter in weight, and more energy efficient than other intermediate-scale rice dehullers. Unlike other dehullers, it does not remove the bran from the paddy rice, making the consumption of the resulting dehulled rice more nutritious. Dehuller testing has exhibited a high dehulling rate (i.e., percentage of dehulled grains to total grains entering the dehuller) from parboiled rice of 95 percent.

Rice harvesting is ongoing in the four counties while the FED enumerators were doing the yield estimate across the counties. To address the post-harvest problem faced by rice farmers, FED demonstrated rice parboiling and the impact rice dehuller in Neegbien, Nimba County. During the parboiling exercise, farmers were taught the basic procedures for parboiling.

Maintenance work including weeding and soy flour application were carried out at the demonstration sites during the period under review. There were also insects and pest attacks at some of the sites in Nimba, Grand Bassa, and Lofa counties. Grasshopper has been the main insect attacking the young cassava leaves.

In early November, 40 new groups were identified in Montserrado, Margibi, Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties for the 2013 PUA production. Upon the identification of the groups, MOU’s were signed with the groups to ascertain each party’s contribution to the production of vegetables. To date, 17 new groups have signed up MOUs with FED for Peri – Urban Agricultural production and soil samples were collected from 22 sites in Margibi and Montserrado counties for analysis at Boimah’s engineering soil science lab.

FED is working closely with the Liberian Ministry of Agriculture in Kakata, Margibi county to address the problem of soil erosion in the country. It is a serious problem in Liberia because of the high rainfall which causes cultivated soils to be lost to erosion thus reducing long term crop productivity.

A two- day Business Plan Mentorship workshop was held in the conference room of the Food and Enterprise Development (FED) project from November 27 – 28, bringing together 10 Liberian SMEs for the development of their business plans. The workshop was the final follow-up of the Six-Week Business Plan Mentorship program.

As part of the New Generational Women project, AEDE conducted a base line survey with 99 households in the Cooper Town community. The base line information will be used to measure the impact of a year-long cassava and vegetable project that FED is supporting in collaboration with Chevron. The baseline report will be finished by mid-December.

FED, in collaboration with MoCI, is conducting a joint outreach activity to communicate policy reform and fee standardization of the business formulization process and to introduce authorized agents in each of FED’s six counties for SMEs and agriculture producer groups. The campaign will air radio jingles in 9 dialects on 15 local county radio stations followed by six town hall meetings and the distribution of flyers detailing the formulization process and fees. The first town hall meeting was conducted in Grand Bassa County on November 28, 2012 with the participation of 180 attendees, MoCI representatives, and FED staff. The campaign will continue in Bong and Margibi counties the week of December 3, in Lofa and Nimba counties the week of December 10, and will wrap up in Montserrado on December 13.

MoCI, in collaboration with the Liberian Better Business Forum (LBBF), will host a three-day conference and trade fair to support 150-200 SMEs in February 2013. The purpose of the conference is to promote activities in the four pillars of the Micros/Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) division of MoCI: Legal and Regulatory Reforms, Access to Markets, Access to Finance, and Building Skills and Knowledge.

On November 27, 2012 the Closing ceremony for the FED Internship program was celebrated. In attendance were 58 internship students, the FED Chief of Party, Jonathan Greenham, Dr. Walter Wiles of the University of Liberia, Morris Gray of Booker Washington Institute, the president of the United Methodist University and the Internship partner from EHELD, James Mulbah. Interns were competitively selected from students attending the University of Liberia, the United Methodist University, Booker Washington Institute and the Nimba County Community College. Dr. Kimmie Weeks, Executive Director of Youth Action International gave a motivational speech highlighting his experiences leading to his success with his current organization. Certificates were issued, T-shirts given, and a celebratory lunch followed.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. Through implementing a Liberian strategy which incorporates women and youth, FED will help the government of Liberia and the country achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches.

This incentive structure will be built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing;
• Enterprise Services; and
• Workforce Development.

FED’s activities will work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to agricultural inputs (including improved seeds), extension services, nutritious food products, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and enterprise services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and major increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are being targeted in the context of regional development corridors that foster intra- and inter-county commerce, simultaneously improving food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and technologies which boost agricultural productivity.

FED is implemented by seven partners including: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Samaritan’s Purse, Louisiana State University, The Cadmus Group, and the Center for Development and Population Activities.

Summary

In October 2012, Diosis and African rice gall midge damage were observed in Bong and Nimba counties. At the NCCC demonstration site, FED observed that insects, nutrient deficiency, and water management were the main problems. Diosis, case worm, and African rice gall midge was responsible for some of the damage done to the rice. At a few of the sites, iron toxicity and water management problems were also observed.

In Bong County, the damage of NERICA L19 at the Totota demonstration site was also caused by insects. At the Zeansue site considerable damage was done by uncontrolled weed growth. In Grand Bassa County, weed growth was a problem at the Yarmah Town site.

The updating of the input supplies interventions action plan from September to December 2012 was finalized and IFDC regional director for the Northern and West Africa Division paid a weeklong visit to the FED project. During his visit, he met with selected partners, including MoA, CARI, agro-input dealers, and rice seed producers and assured them that IFDC through FED will continue to support the integration of input supply interventions into lowland and upland rice, cassava, and vegetable value chains activities. Integration of the FED action plan into regional input supply strategies will also receive attention.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) training was conducted in the four main FED counties of operation (Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa, and Nimba) and encompassed classroom sessions and visits to FED-led cassava demonstration plots. The main objectives of the classroom sessions were to interact with cassava producers and county extension workers, share knowledge, and determine knowledge gaps. About 355 cassava producers and extension officers from the MoA and FED participated in the trainings.

In Montserrado and Margibi counties, harvest continued at the FED peri-urban sites. Fifty members from the Yarnquelleh and Air town demonstration sites were instructed in the harvesting of carrots and bitter ball. During the harvest demonstration session the 50 farmers (33 men, 17 women) were taught how and when to harvest carrots and bitter ball. The training also demonstrated selection of appropriate cultivars during harvest for seed extraction.

Implementation of the Goat Pass-on Schemes began in three (Nimba, Lofa, and Bong) of the FED focus counties. Responses to public solicitation for farmers willing and able to serve as lead farmers in Goat Pass-on Schemes were evaluated, and based on extensive field site visits of short-listed candidates, twelve lead farmer associations have been selected (five in Nimba and Lofa counties, and two in Bong County) for participation in the program.

Numerators from Subah Belleh Associates underwent a three-day data collection training. Currently, the Subah Belleh Associates is conducting a stakeholder survey within the four FED major counties of operations, Bong, Nimba, Lofa, and Grand Bassa.

Three interns, including two women, also completed the training to build their skill set in project management and technology in agriculture. Participants presented on their training and created a sample electronic survey on agriculture. The training was conducted by the FED ICT specialist MTTA, and included presentations by Grameen Foundation, Episurveyor, and USAID LAUNCH.

A rapid ICT assessment was conducted on MoA’s extension system (Activity 2.3 d. MoA Extension Service Assessment and Implementation). Primary findings included 1) MoA extension forms are not standardized among counties, 2) Computer literacy is a barrier for CACs using computers to send data to MoA and 3) the newly implemented free calling/texting program has increased communication within the extension system, but not all members are aware of conference calls. Further recommendations and findings will be provided in a separate report.

A two-day capacity building training workshop for FED’s interns was held in Montserrado and Bong counties with 58 interns in attendance. The purpose of the workshop was to review progress and assess the skills and knowledge the interns have gained from their various placements. During the workshop, the following topics were covered: leadership, goal-setting, interviewing, resume and cover letter writing, agribusiness, FED value chains, project management, and service learning.

In celebration of World Food Day, held every year on October 16, FED collaborated with Child Art Liberia, a local nongovernmental organization, in a competition called “Agricultural Cooperatives—Key to Feeding the World.” Catering to 8-to 18-year-old artists from middle schools in each of FED’s six areas of operation, the competition portrayed scenes of kids and families growing food together. The contest has been held in concert with other World Food Day events and activities organized by the MoA and Liberia-based FAO chapter.

The review of the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) is near completion and selected site visits were conducted at FED’s PUA unit in Yanquellie and FED’s MoA demonstration site in Margibi County. The aim was to reinforce FED’s position on best management practices for agriculture productivity. Farmers were assessed in their knowledge acquired in managing the impact of agricultural activities from ongoing trainings. From observation, while trainings in soil management techniques have been developed, they should be complemented with efforts from IFDC, and inclusive of integrated soil fertility management, which is in line with integrated pest management issues.

During the month of October, FED received the draft DQA report from L-MEP outlining the findings and recommendations on FED’s data management and reporting system. FED reviewed the findings and responded to L-MEP, copying USAID, with planned lines of action to address any areas identified as needing improvement and strengthening. FED also completed data entry into the USAID’s PIDS system covering the first year of the program. This data was matched to the Indicator Progress Table data which was included in the annual report to USAID. This process required review, verification, and cleanup of data collected earlier in the year to ensure accuracy for both PIDS and the annual report.

In preparation for year two of the program, FED revised the PMP and indicator table based on the revised year two work plan, and continued to work on revisions to the work plan, incorporating initial USAID feedback into their plans for year two.

May was a busy month for the FED team. Progress was made with training, implementation of activities in the project components, and continuing FED’s operational set-up in the counties and Monrovia.

A variety of trainings occurred throughout the month. Two hundred and seventy peri-urban Farmers (146 male and 124 female) were trained in establishing nurseries and sowing seed in nurseries. A three days Business Management Skills training workshop for SMEs and Producer groups was held in Monrovia from May 24 – 26, 2012. A total of 26 participants (9 female and 17 male) was trained. Moreover, 342 farmers (165 males and 177) from the Doumpa Community Agriculture Project also received training in lowland rice and upland vegetable farming.

AFED consultant, Matthew Curtis, conducted a soil study and analysis in the counties FED works in and developed management plans that would maintain soil organic matter content. These include the use of alley cropping, cover crops, and biochar. Swamp rice sites were evaluated for clay type and depth. An assessment was completed by STTA, Dr. Steven Lawry, DAI Manager for Land Tenure and Property Rights, on how Liberia’s land tenure arrangements might affect adoption by FED partner farmers of new agricultural practices and technologies. Of particular interest was whether or not farmers had sufficient security of tenure to merit investments that generate benefits over the longer-term.

The Market Development Fund and training activities continue to develop and expand. New partners continue to be identified across the value chains and many potential activities are currently being discussed across Components.

The FED IT Department successfully setup two field office in Nimba County. Also, at the Monrovia office, the grounding of a generator and server equipment was successfully completed.

USAID Liberia’s Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is being implemented to achieve the following component objectives:

• Component-1: Increase agricultural productivity and profitability, and improve human nutrition;
• Component-2: Stimulate private enterprise growth and investment; and
• Component-3: Build local technical and managerial human resources to sustain and expand the accomplishments achieved under objectives one and two.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. Through implementing a Liberian strategy which incorporates women and youth, FED will help the government of Liberia and the country achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches.

This incentive structure will be built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing;
• Enterprise Services; and
• Workforce Development.

FED’s activities will work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to agricultural inputs (including improved seeds), extension services, nutritious food products, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and enterprise services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and major increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are being targeted in the context of regional development corridors that foster intra- and inter-county commerce, simultaneously improving food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and technologies which boost agricultural productivity.

FED is implemented by seven partners including: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Samaritan’s Purse, Louisiana University, The Cadmus Group, and the Center for Development and Population Activities.

Summary

In September, FED kicked off its annual workplanning process. A number of meetings with FED’s county offices, MoA, USAID, the private sector, and other FED partners were held to solicit feedback and begin to develop a programmatic road map for year 2. A meeting with over 60 FED partners took place on September 11, 2012 at the Corina Hotel in Mornvia. Presentations on all of FED’s components were made and break out groups focusing on each of the 4 value chains convened. Feedback from the all-day workplanning session was incorporated into FED’s draft year 2 workplan which was submitted to USAID. FED plans to finalize the year 2 workplan in the next week.

Activities are underway in Bong, Nimba, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Lofa counties. This includes the monitoring of vegetables production demonstration sites at 13 locations in Margibi and Montserrado counties. Harvesting of selected crops also began in Montserrado and Margibi Counties at Kpor, Whorn, Air Town, and Yarnquelleh demonstration sites. Crops harvested include collard greens, onions, peppers, and okra. In addition, 200kg of corn seed was distributed to the 13 groups for direct planting after the current rainy season vegetable harvest.

In Nimba County, Doumpa Agriculture Project continues the weekly harvest of vegetables (bitter balls, eggplants, and cabbage) and received US$ 210.21 for September sales. Monitoring and field maintenance continue at the rice and cassava demonstration sites. Field monitoring, trainings and supervision continue at the rice and cassava demonstration sites in Lofa, Bong, and Grand Bassa Counties.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Land O’Lakes, and FED hosted a one-day National Livestock Consultative workshop on September 6, 2012, at the Corina Hotel, Sinkor, Monrovia. International partners at the event included USAID, European Union, BRAC Liberia, Samaritan Purse, FAO, CARE-Liberia, Vets without Border, German Agro Action, and IFAD among others. The objective of the technical meeting was to identify donor-funded interventions currently under implementation in the livestock sector and facilitate relationship building among participating organizations.

Treadle pump manufacturing training was conducted by FED’s Metalwork Technician in Voinjama, with two enterprises – Mdama Garage and the Sesay Metalwork Shop and manufacturing of forced-air vegetable dryers was also conducted at the Old Folk Workshop in Monrovia. These enterprises/metalwork shops will serve as producers of the new equipment and technologies that have been introduced by FED on the Liberian market for interested farmers.

Under the guidance of Peri-Urban Agriculture Specialist, Dermot Cassidy, work began in establishing a demonstration plot at the MoA training site in Kakata. This involved using a portion of land that is severely degraded and has severe soil losses due to sheet erosion.

A six-week follow-up mentorship on the Business Plan Development Workshop was completed with participants in collaboration with FED Consultant, Agatha Johnson. Fourteen SMEs from the mentorship workshop have now submitted their business plan to FED. The 14 submitted business plans are currently under review by the ED team for possible assistance utilizing the MDF. The business plan was submitted by a group head by a female, and 13 male headed groups.

A local service provider Subah Belleh has been hired to complete the profiling of approximately 900 – 1,000 stakeholders surveyed across six FED counties. The survey will start the second week in October. FED launched ten-day training to transition management of FED’s internal mobile data collection to the M&E/GIS coordinator. Three interns, including two women, have been included in the training to build their skill sets in project management and technology in agriculture. Training components include project management, budget development, training of enumerators, electronic form design, data monitoring, technology platforms, and global resources. The training is being conducted by the FED ICT specialist MTTA, and includes presentations by Grameen Foundation, Episurveyor, and USAID LAUNCH.

The Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded initiative that began in September 2011. Through implementing a Liberian strategy which incorporates women and youth, FED will help the government of Liberia and the country achieve food security — in terms of food availability, utilization, and accessibility — by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists a range of agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches.

This incentive structure will be built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability;
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems;
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing;
• Enterprise Services; and
• Workforce Development.

FED’s activities will work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to agricultural inputs (including improved seeds), extension services, nutritious food products, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, and appropriate education, training, and enterprise services.

Over the life of the five-year FED program, expanded market linkages will lead to substantial income and job growth and major increases in the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, vegetables, and goats in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. These counties are being targeted in the context of regional development corridors that foster intra- and inter-county commerce, simultaneously improving food availability and access for all Liberians.

FED’s methodology is market-led, value chain-driven, continuously dedicated to indigenous capacity building, and specifically focused on benefiting Liberia’s women and youth. FED’s approach aims to be collaborative, catalytic, and driven by the goals and objectives of our partner clients. It will lead to increases in incomes for rural households, new employment opportunities for Liberians, increased access to food and improved household dietary diversity scores for food-insecure Liberians, and the adoption of improved inputs, farming practices, and technologies which boost agricultural productivity.

FED is implemented by seven partners including: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Samaritan’s Purse, Louisiana University, The Cadmus Group, and the Center for Development and Population Activities.

Summary

Activities are underway in Bong, Nimba, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Montserrado and Lofa counties. Activities in the counties mentioned above for this month began with the planning of activities for UDP, ISFM and voucher programs took place with input supply chain actors in Monrovia, Lofa, Bong, and Nimba Counties with 4 IFDC STTAs. Additionally, weekly vegetable demonstration training continues for the 13sites in Montserrado and Margibi counties, wherein seedling replacement is being carried out due to the damages caused by excessive rain after transplanting. Training was conducted by FED STTA, Matthew Curtis, for the Peri-urban team on the collection of soil samples. GPS training was also conducted by the GPS unit for the extension agents to enable them to accurately measure plot sizes and way points.

Rice demonstrations are currently ongoing in Nimba, Grand Bassa, Bong and Lofa Counties. In Nimba County, the power tiller has completed plowing 5 of the 7 lowland sites while the other 2 sites will be done manually. Transplanting is ongoing at the same time; the farmer groups have completed planting of local rice variety provided by them along with NERICA 2,and are waiting for the last variety to be planted. In Grand Bassa, transplanting has begun at one of the five lowland sites while others are clearing and plowing at the same time.

The farmers groups in Bong are plowing manually awaiting the seedlings from nursery to get ready for transplanting at all of the 5 lowland sites. In Lofa transplanting has begun at one of the 6 lowland sites while the hired power tiller is plowing. The 2 upland sites have been planted with NERICA 2 and a local variety. The second variety is to be provided by FED before planting.

A day participatory training on improved cassava varieties and planting methods was held in Bong Mine, Bong County on July 2 2012.Twenty five (25) participants from Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand, Bassa and Montserrado Counties participated in the training. Cassava demonstration is ongoing in a total of 22 communities (5  communities in Bong, 5 in Grand Bassa-5, 5 in Lofa and 7 in Nimba). The demonstration is carried out on a 2.0 hectare plot at each community. The project is working with 22 farming groups of 25 members each. The cassava varieties demonstrated at the sites include CARICA 1, 2, & 3, II-25, Bassa Girl and O-57.

Initial consultations have been completed for the development of a National Livestock Policy. FED Livestock Policy Specialist, David Land, arrived and spent ten days with initial discussion regarding planning for future in-depth consultancy and development of a National Livestock Policy draft for review. Ministry of Agriculture and MOA Livestock counterparts were identified and programmed for the work to begin in September and negotiations completed for finalization of purchase order to engage BRAC/NGO to begin execution of the National PPR Sheep and Goat vaccination campaign in early August 2012.

During this month, the following business management and skills trainings were conducted:

• Enterprise Development Plan Pilot training workshop for SMEs and Producer groups was held in Nimba with a total of 42 participants from 15 groups from July 5 – 6, 2012.
• Developing a Business Plan for a New Venture for SMEs in Bong County with a total of 20 participants from 17 groups from July 18-20, 2012.
• Market Research Methodology seminar was held Monrovia for SMEs on July 25, 2012 with a total of 10 participants from 10 groups.
• Trainings on improve cassava and planting methods were held in Bong, Nimba, Lofa and Grand Bassa Counties from July 2 – 23, 2012 with a total 290 participants from 30 groups.
• Training on rice was also held in Bong, Nimba, Lofa, and Grand Bassa Counties with a total of 433 participants from 19 groups.
• A Tube Well Training was conducted in Nimba with seven (7) participants from one (1) group.
• Doumpa Community Agriculture Project received a Computer Training with a total seven (7) participants from one (1) group.
• Vegetable Production training was held in Margibi County with eleven (11) participants from one (1) group.

Requests of interest of Lead Farmer Goat producers in each county were executed by radio in the counties in various dialects. Responses will serve to identify partner goat producers for the Community Goat Pass-on Scheme to begin.

On July 31, 2012, phase one of the Internship Program was launched and this activity will be carried out in phases for the duration of the FED program. For the first phase, 61 students were selected from four universities and technical schools (University of Liberia, United Methodist University, Nimba County Community College and Booker Washington Institute) from across the country. The purpose of the internship program is to create the space for senior students and recent graduates interested in agriculture to put their classroom learning into practice. Students will gain practical knowledge and experience, as well as required technical skills for marketable fields. In addition, the program will hope to provide employment and self-employment opportunities through mentorship and training at various enterprises and public institutions.

During the month of July, activities at the Doumpa Agriculture Project reached its highest peak, with the completion of transplanting of lowland rice from nurseries to the 56 plots on 2.232 ha of lowland. Currently, rice has started tailoring and the first harvest of vegetables is expected to start the first week in August 2012 and continues for the next six month.