Document Type: Progress Reports

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded development program that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil societies to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil societies and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs—including improved seed varieties—extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agrobusiness education, training, and enterprise services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

USAID FED verified rice surplus available in Lofa County and provided this information, including where these inventories are located, to local processor Fabrar Liberia. FED facilitated the negotiation between Fabrar and the farmers by providing information on costs and the markets, and helping the processor and the farmers to agree on $19 USD price per 50kg bag of paddy rice. Fabrar Liberia made a 25 percent down payment of $5,785.50 USD for 1,200 bags of paddy rice, or 60.9 MT. Fabrar made it clear to rice farmers that they plan to purchase up to 40,000 bags of paddy rice, and as a result, Foya-based farmers reported another 1,500 bags of paddy rice in their inventories.

USAID FED in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) formally inaugurated and officially turned over three community-based Rice Business Hubs in Nimba County (Doumpa, Payee and Boweh) to beneficiary farming groups.

The Rice Business Hubs, which are intended to support the community’s ability to process and store their rice, are equipped with a storage facility, mill, de-stoner, thresher, solar dryer, parboiling machine, water source and latrines. These hubs will also be equipped with power tillers and rice threshers, which are managed by the farmers themselves. The hubs offer mechanized and storage services to rice farmers for a fee, and also serves as platform for rice trading where larger buyers can buy rice in bulk.

USAID FED and CARI inaugurated the CARI Livestock Quarantine Facility in Suakoko, Bong County. US Ambassador to Liberia, Ms. Deborah Malac, cut the ribbon at the inauguration attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Ms. Seklau Wiles, the Head of Livestock Research at CARI, Dr. Arthur Karnuah, Land O’ Lakes Acting Chief of Party, Ms. Allison Williams, and USAID FED staff. Program partner Land O’ Lakes imported 209 goats for its goat restocking program throughout June 2014.

In May, USAID FED supported a goat trading event in Nimba County to pilot a marketing platform that aims to provide a formal and regular venue for traders and goat farmers to carry out buying and selling transactions. Traders expressed positive feedback and look forward to future similar such events. Goat sales generated $965 USD at this inaugural event.

In April, USAID FED supported the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) to hold the National M/SME Conference. This year’s conference highlighted agri-business and youth; USAID FED supported the event by providing human resource, logistical and technical support. USAID FED showcased its activities in the trade fair and produced a rice video documentary which was aired during the USAID FED sponsored policy forum and at the awards dinner.

The President of Liberia signed Executive Order #64, suspending import tariffs on “essential equipment, agricultural seeds, live animals for breeding, and other goods directly related to agricultural development.” USAID FED began to lobby for this in November 2013 and put together the list of agroinputs and corresponding HS codes for MoCI to use to lobby for the measure.

During the quarter, USAID FED and partners launched the Liberia Agriculture Business Enabling Environment Inter-agency Policy Group (LABEE IPG), an executive level policy group that will focus on improving the business enabling environment for agriculture.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is a flagship USAID-funded Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative development program in Liberia that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME), farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the Government of Liberia (GoL) and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society, and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra- and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

In spite of the Ebola virus disease outbreak, USAID FED has seen overwhelming success in program implementation in fiscal year 2015 (FY15). The project has exceeded targets in 19 out of its 25 indicators, and met or almost met targets in five other indicators, with one indicator—installed milling capacity—to be completed in the first quarter of FY16.

The team has been highly motivated by the positive results of programming in FY14, especially the dramatic increase in rice production that resulted in a surplus unprecedented since the war. In addition to achieving the targets, several highly notable milestones were accomplished that set the stage for sustainability of initiatives and continuing development of the food-based value chains.

Rice Value Chain Development

A total of 19,389 farmers engaged in rice production in FY14 harvested in FY15 on average three metric tons of rice per hectare—150 percent higher than the previous average production of 1.2 metric tons per hectare. As a result of their surpluses, farmers sold approximately 65 percent of their produce from the FY14 crop, whereas they used to sell only 15 percent at the beginning of the project. A total of 7,685 metric tons have been reported sold for US$3.15 million. The timely support of USAID FED to the establishment of Liberia’s first industrial rice mill, Fabrar Liberia, the 10 community rice mills housed in rice business hubs (RBH), and the massive procurement by the Ministry of Agriculture made it possible for the surplus produce to be absorbed. Sales went up by 457 percent from US$565,025 in FY14 to US$3,146,171 in FY15; exceeding target for FY15 by 135 percent.

In FY 15, USAID FED opened 3,547 ha of abandoned lowlands. This brings the total lowlands rehabilitated and developed by the project to 5,300 ha. A total of 11,800 ha of lowland and upland were planted with improved varieties of rice by 50,000 farmers with FED support. A total of 51 power tillers have been distributed to demonstrate efficiency, cost reduction, and the ability to reach scale via mechanization. Mechanization together with more efficient use of fertilizer through urea deep placement (UDP) effectively demonstrated that cost can be reduced to $7 per 50 kg bag of paddy rice. This is very important as it addresses the issue of the ability of locally produced rice to compete with imported rice. Harvesting is expected to happen in Q1 and Q2 of FY16 and is anticipated to reach 35,000 metric tons. In anticipation of more surplus production, USAID FED has commenced the construction of nine more rice business hubs equipped with a thresher, solar dryer, rice mill, de-stoner, and warehouse. Total output capacity of rice mills (i.e., Fabrar and the 19 RBHs) established with FED support will reach 29,000 metric tons by November 2015. These rice mills can absorb approximately 45,000 metric tons of paddy rice.

A notable milestone in FY15 is the emergence of entrepreneur-traders who carried out the function of bulking and transporting the paddy rice to processors. In FY 16, more aggregators for paddy rice will be needed. In addition, the distribution channel for locally produced and milled rice has to be established up-country. USAID FED has obtained the commitment of the two largest importers of rice for procurement and distribution of local rice in milled form in Bong and Nimba counties. Meanwhile, paddy rice traders in Lofa are being assisted to also be the distributors of milled rice. The challenge for these small entrepreneurs is financing, especially to cover operating costs in rice-trading, both in paddy and milled form.

A major challenge faced in FY15 was the competition with the private sector posed by the MoA by buying paddy rice at prices that are prohibitive to the private sector. USAID FED campaigned against this market distortion by the government through policy forums and meetings with GoL officials as well as key stakeholders. The President announced during the inauguration of the Fabrar processing plant that the MoA has to stop buying paddy rice. The new Minister of Agriculture also reaffirmed in September 2015 that the MoA will not be involved in buying rice and will instead support the private sector. USAID FED also insisted on local rice procurement for the rice distribution by the World Food Programme (WFP) under the Ebola Response Program in order to not undermine the efforts of the project. Fabrar Liberia and three of the FED-supported RBHs supplied milled rice to WFP for distribution to Ebola-affected communities.

Cassava Value Chain Development

In FY15, a total of 17,091 farmers harvested approximately 43,000 metric tons of cassava tubers from 2,400 ha. They obtained 18 to 22 metric tons of cassava tubers per hectare, approximately 2.5 times more than what they would traditionally harvest without USAID FED’s intervention. They sold 83 percent of their harvest for US$2.15 million, which is US$1.19 million more – or 125 percent higher – as compared to what they would have earned from their traditional harvest.

Eighty commercial nurseries have been established and are now propagating improved cassava varieties and supplying disease-free cuttings of higher yielding varieties to farmers. Processing capacities of 33 processors have been upgraded from the previous output capacity of 240 metric tons per annum to a current capacity of 480 metric tons.

An additional 13,373 new farmers (bringing the total to 31,016 beneficiaries) were supported with tools, training, and cuttings to grow improved varieties of cassava on 3,565 ha using improved practices. This crop is expected to be harvested starting Q2 of FY16 through Q1 of FY17. Production in FY16 is anticipated to reach 71,000 metric tons. This additional volume of approximately 43,000 metric tons of cassava will further bring prices down, making it more competitive for processors. Investing in large scale processing could now be more attractive to the private sector. To ensure expanded market access for this surplus production, USAID FED has proposed to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) to put in place a 10 percent Cassava Composite Flour policy. This policy would require baked products using flour to incorporate at least 10 percent cassava flour into the wheat flour. Up to 25 percent cassava content does not have a significant impact on the taste of bread. It is attractive to bakers, as it could mean cost-savings of approximately US$4.6 million due to the lower cost of cassava flour. It also means reduction in the importation bill of approximately US$8.6 million. More importantly, it could mean an additional market for approximately 43,000 metric tons of cassava tubers. The Minister of Commerce is supportive of the policy. To support implementation of the policy once passed, there is a need in FY16 to identify and support investment in a large scale cassava flour/starch processing plant, as well as support the downstream markets, such as the bakeshops in adapting their equipment and processes to implement the policy.

Vegetable Value Chain Development

Off-season production of high value and domestic vegetables has been made possible with the introduction of improved varieties of higher value vegetable species, good agricultural practices (GAP), establishment of 40 rain shelters, and provision of 188 pumps and drip irrigation kits to 4,617 vegetable farmers. Improved packaging, such as plastic crates, low-tech, affordable cooling technologies, and refrigerated containers have been introduced as part of the efforts to reduce post-harvest losses and extend the shelf life of vegetables. This comprehensive assistance has resulted in a 35 percent increase in production per ha from 4.6 metric tons in FY14 to 6.2 metric tons in FY15, 72 percent higher than FY13. The higher value of the species and improved quality has resulted in better prices, on average 185 percent higher in FY15 in comparison to FY14. The combined increase in volumes and prices resulted in a 526-percent increase in sales from US$251,107 in FY14 to US$1.57 million in FY15, exceeding the fiscal year target by 145 percent. Gross margin per ha has increased by 544 percent from US$1,125 in FY13 to US$7,245 in FY15, and by 500 percent relative to FY14.

USAID FED was gearing up to support the export of okra to Paris, but found a high unmet demand for this in Monrovia. Supermarkets expressed strong desire to buy the okra and all the other high-value vegetables that USAID FED beneficiaries are producing. The prices locally are twice the price offered by the buyer in Paris, hence it was decided to sell the produce locally.

A major challenge for the vegetable growers is access to good quality chemicals for pest and disease control, and USAID FED will focus on addressing this in FY16.

Goat Value Chain Development

The goat value chain suffered from the Peste de Petite Ruminant (PPR) virus outbreak, especially in Lofa and Nimba counties, in the third quarter of FY15. Despite this, the goat herds of USAID FED-supported farmers exhibited dramatic improvements. From a beginning inventory of 5,419 animals, the herds have grown to 16,665 animals at the end of FY15, 63 percent higher than target. Production has increased 218 percent from 3,700 animals in FY14 to 11,755 in FY15, which is 80 percent higher than target. This success in goat production is attributable to improved technologies, such as the use of shelters, vaccination and deworming, improved feeding and animal husbandry, introduction of fattening before selling, and product standardization. USAID FED’s objective was to improve the weaning rate from 54 percent at project inception to 80 percent. At the end of FY15, the weaning rate was at 98 percent. In the last three fiscal years, 7,479 kids were born and only 94 died. This means 3,346 kids have been saved as a result of the improved practices. This shows that the USAID FED approach at re-stocking is effective. Sales have increased by 185 percent from US$346,214 in FY14 to US$625,583 in FY15. Herd size of the 3,896 farmers directly benefiting from the shelters is expected to grow by 24 percent and reach a total population of 20,678 by end of FY16. Sales are expected to grow by 72 percent from 6,049 in FY15 to 10,426 animals in FY16. In addition to the 3,896 farmers, USAID FED has trained in FY15 2,500 goat farmers from surrounding communities on mineral salt lick and disease prevention.

Improving Human Nutrition

The mainstreaming of nutrition messages in training and extension delivery has reached approximately 60 percent (65,100) of USAID FED beneficiaries based on a study conducted by the project. Additionally, preliminary results of a household diet diversity survey show that approximately 22,355 households supported by the project since FY14 have improved their diet diversity. Further, preliminary analysis on another study done by USAID FED showed that the increase in incomes of farmers in the rice value chain is resulting in improved diet diversification, as evidenced by a 14.6-percent increase in USAID FED-supported rice farming households now buying vegetables.

Additional major milestones by the end of FY15 are:

1. The introduction of “tuk-tuks,” motorbikes with trailers that can carry up to 1.5 metric tons of cargo, which will help farmers in transporting cassava, rice, goats, and other produce to the markets.
2. Rice value chain integrator model established in Lofa with FED support to entrepreneur John Selma, who provides inputs to 195 farmers and will buy back their produce, mill it, and distribute it to retailers for sale in community markets. This is also a platform to promote adoption of fertilizer use via embedded financing. This will be replicated in other major rice producing areas in FY16.
3. A total of 400 metric tons of “certified” rice seeds was harvested in FY15 from 160 ha by 1,375 FED-supported farmers who were trained on seed production by the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) and Africa Rice in FY14. Regular inspection was performed by 15 seed inspectors on these seed production areas. A total of 3,432 trained seed producers planted foundation seeds on 435 ha in FY15 with FED support. Another 164 ha seed production area was jointly supported by FED and Africa Rice. A total of 2,124 metric tons of certified rice seeds of the Nerica 8 and Nerica 19 varieties are expected to be harvested in Q1 of FY16. Total “certified” seed produced will reach 2,524 metric tons by January 2016, representing 84 percent of the FED LOP target.
4. Storage capacity was increased by 7,676 cubic meters.
5. The database system for the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has been developed; the data collection and reporting tools have been developed and piloted in the Bong County Office of the MoA.
6. Eleven special studies and surveys were carried out, including on diet diversity, women in agriculture empowerment index (WAEI), impact of increased rice production on household economics, technology adoption, and VSLA as a financing platform for agriculture.
7. USAID FED carried out a survey in August and September 2015 on post-harvest losses. Preliminary results of the survey indicate a possible reduction of 8 percent and 7.27 percent, respectively, for rice and vegetables—from 30 percent in 2011 to 22 percent in 2015 for rice, and from 45 percent in 2011 to 37.3 percent in 2015 for vegetables.
8. Extension curricula for goats, rice, cassava, and vegetables have been standardized and training manuals and farming guides have been developed and validated by stakeholders.
9. The ECOWAS seed, pesticide, and fertilizer regulations have been domesticated.
10.  Rice policy that recommends replication of USAID FED’s approach has been submitted to the Rice Policy Technical Working Group (TWG), which was to submit a rice policy recommendation to the President.
11. A total of 358 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have improved their profitability as a result of USAID FED’s assistance, and 314 MSMEs have been registered as businesses, exceeding target by 143 percent.
12. A total of 22,205 MSMEs, including farmers, have been assisted in accessing US$930,362 in financing (124 percent of target) through 573 Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs), microfinance institutions, and embedded financing.
13. Four Centers of Excellence (CoEs) have been established with a National Diploma in Agriculture (NDA) program. Syllabi and lesson plans for 30 courses of the program have been prepared. Modern science laboratories have been constructed and outfitted with equipment, power, and water supply. Textbooks and reference materials for effective delivery of the NDA have been provided, and instructors have been trained to deliver the NDA courses.
14. A total of 52,254 or 59 percent of USAID FED beneficiaries who are implementing improved technologies are youth. This represents 132% of FY15 target. Additionally, 25 peri-urban agriculture (PUA) projects involving 500 youth were assisted and are now growing and selling high value vegetables; 86 youth entrepreneurs generated and 124 youth employed in ancillary businesses supporting the value chains.
15. Women constitute 46 percent (49,836 out of 108,340) of USAID FED beneficiaries who received training in FY15, and 36,312 of the 88,152 (41%) of beneficiaries who actually implemented improved technologies are women.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is a flagship Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative, USAID-funded development program in Liberia that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

USAID FED has met or exceeded its targets in 12 out of 26 indicators by the end of quarter three of fiscal year 2015 (FY15).

USAID FED is on track in nine other indicators and will be achieving or exceeding targets in these indicators by the end of September 2015.

For three indicators: 1) number of households with improved diet diversity as a result of USG assistance, 2) percentage reduction in Post-Harvest Losses (for rice, cassava and vegetables) and 3) gross margins, special surveys will be carried out in quarter four to determine level of accomplishment.

For increased installed milling capacity, USAID FED has achieved 3600MT out of its target of 10,560MT. This represents 34% of target achieved. The target will be achieved with the completion of nine rice business hubs, which will have a total milling capacity of 7,600MT/annum. This is anticipated to be achieved by end of September 2015.

USAID FED planned in FY 15 to advance six policies to the next stage. These policies are: 1) the seed regulation, 2) pesticide regulation, 3) fertilizer regulation, 4) National Standards Laboratory (NSL), 5) National Livestock Policy, and 6) EO#64. EO#64 was implemented briefly, but did not have significant impact because its implementation period coincided with the Ebola outbreak. It expired in April 2015. Effectively, FED’s target has been reduced to five policies as a result of the expiry of EO#64. FED will focus work in advancing to the next stage the seed, pesticide and fertilizer regulations, the National Standards Laboratory, and the National Livestock Policy in quarter four. A seed policy STTA has been hired and commenced work in the last week of June.

Major Events in FY15 Quarter Three

On April 9th, 2015 the President of Liberia, H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and United States Ambassador to Liberia, Deborah Malac, were in Kakata, Margibi County to officially inaugurate Liberia’s first industrial rice processing and warehousing facility, Fabrar Liberia Inc. Fabrar Liberia Inc. (Fabrar) is a fully incorporated, Liberian owned and run agriculture holding firm created in 2009. In 2014, with financial and technical support from the U.S. Government through the USAID Food and Enterprise Development (USAID FED) program and private equity financing from West Africa Venture Fund, Fabrar was able to procure an automated rice processing mill and expand its warehouse facilities. The industrial scale facility, now with double its previous capacity, can mill 30 metric tons (MT) of rice each day and store 1,000-MT with proper ventilation and protection from pests, mold, fungus and mildew. As the country’s largest rice processor, and currently, the only industrial processor, Fabrar Liberia Inc. will provide Liberian farmers with an incentive and motivation to grow quality rice as a business and not just for subsistence.

On May 14, 2015 USAID FED hosted a high level delegation from USAID Washington, White House National Security Council, and the Congressional Liaison Office. The delegation visited one youth farming group in Margibi County called See Yourself Farming Group. This farming group is currently growing okra for export to the European markets. After visiting the farm, the delegation toured Fabrar Liberia Inc. rice processing facility at Kakata, Margibi County, which was supported by USAID FED. After completing the facility tour, the delegation participated in a round table discussion with USAID FED supported farmers and other beneficiaries representing all four USAID FED value chains. The delegation from Washington DC was headed by Eric Postel, Associate Administrator, USAID and John Mark Winfield, USAID Liberia Mission Director.

On May 20, 2015, USAID FED in collaboration with the Government of Liberia (GoL) inaugurated the Liberia Business Incubator (LBI) Cassava Processing Facility in Virginia, Monsterrado County. The Honorable Speaker of the House, Alex Tyler, US Ambassador Deborah Malac, the Honorable Minister of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Axel Addy, other GoL Officials, cassava farmers and representatives from development organizations officially launched the facility in the outskirts of Monrovia. LBI, a fully incorporated woman owned Liberian business which is also run as an agriculture holding firm, was created in 2010. LBI adds value to cassava by processing it into gari, fufu and cassava flour. USAID FED supported LBI with improved cassava processing equipment worth USD $44,950, which will enable the enterprise to process 5 MT of cassava per day instead of the previous 2 MT daily. LBI employs 6 staff but now with the added capacity will increase its staff to 14 full time employees.

On June 3, 2015 USAID FED conducted a roundtable conference with the media to discuss what the FED project is about, its accomplishments, ongoing and upcoming activities and future plans. A total of 21 media institutions participated in the event. At least five newspapers printed articles and four radio stations aired the roundtable discussion. Three online publications including the Government website, Liberia News Agency (LINA) published electronic articles about FED following the press roundtable event.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded development program that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages over the five year span of the project is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

FED is off to a good start in FY15, with several milestones achieved in the first quarter and several targets met or exceeded. By the end of Q1 FY15, USAID FED exceeded rice farmer recruitment target by 45%. A total of 12,113 (6,869 male, 5,244 female) lowland rice beneficiaries against a target of 7,175 have signed up for the program.

During the reporting period, USAID FED-supported rice processor, FABRAR Liberia, delivered 90 MT of milled rice to the World Food Program (WFP) valued at US$63,000. WFP will distribute the rice to Ebola affected regions in Liberia as part of the organization’s emergency response to the Ebola crisis. Farbar sourced the paddy rice for this delivery to WFP from USAID FED-supported farmers. In December, FABRAR procured an additional 150 MT of paddy rice valued at US$55,500 from FED-supported farmers.

The preliminary results of the scaled up Urea Deep Placement (UDP) field trials in FY14 support the findings of the pilot UDP trials carried out in FY13, showing UDP technology as a superior technology as compared to a broadcast application of urea. Based on partial harvest results, UDP application produces an average yield of 5.36-5.44MT/ha, urea broadcast application yields 4.23MT/ha and zero fertilization results in 3.77MT/ha. This demonstrates that UDP application results in yields that are 26 to 28% higher than urea broadcast application, and 42 to 44% higher than zero fertilization. Meanwhile, urea broadcast application delivers only 12% higher yield in comparison to zero fertilization.

USAID FED-supported cassava processor, FALAMA, procured 52.5 MT of raw tuber from Bong and Montserrado counties. Of this total, 16.5 MT of raw tubers were sourced from USAID FED supported cassava farmers. FALAMA, in turn, produced 6.5 MT of gari, 1 MT of flour and 1.25 MT of cassava chips, which were sold for a total of US$5,980. FALAMA sold 2 MT of gari to the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), and 2 MT of gari to General Services Agency (GSA) for an Ebola holding center, 1 MT of cassava flour to Paynesville Bakery Association and 1.25 MT of cassava chips to 12 supermarkets.

USAID FED-supported farmers from 21 FY14 clusters reported the sale of 70.74 MT of vegetables worth US$32,817. Additionally, the USAID FED-supported Monrovia Traders Association reported earnings of US$14,732.83 during the quarter for the sale of 7.9 MT of vegetables.

USAID FED signed up 3,666 (2,163 male, 1,503 female) vegetable farmers, representing 97.76% of total target number of farmers to work with in FY15 under the horticulture value chain. Verification and identification of the remaining 84 farmers will take place in January 2015.

During the quarter, USAID FED-supported goat farmers sold 973 goats (688 bucks, 275 does and 10 kids) valued at US$ 60,111 from the FY14 goat production sites.

USAID FED attained its target of identifying 154 Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) in Nimba, Grand Bassa, Bong and Lofa counties. USAID FED will train the CAHWs on veterinary drugs handling, usage and treatment of animals to enhance access to animal health care in the 77 goat sites.

USAID FED reached its Q1 FY15 target identifying a total of 25 clusters and 500 youth (271 male, 229 female) between the ages of 18 to 35 years of age in Montserrado and Margibi counties. The youth are expected to cultivate a combination of high value and local vegetables. In FY15, USAID FED plans to support youth farmers in establishing agribusiness pilots that will focus primarily on peri-urban and urban vegetable production, as well as ancillary support services such as aggregation and trading.

For the first time in Lofa’s history, local farming organizations received Micro Finance Institution (MFI) loans totaling $39,930 from the Liberian Entrepreneurial and Asset Development (LEAD) in collaboration with USAID FED. The USAID FED-supported local farming organizations are expected to invest the loans in agriculture related activities. LEAD is a beneficiary of the USADF $ 237,000 grant.

In Q1 FY15, a total of 103 women entrepreneurs graduated from the USAID FED Leadership and Business Incubation for Women Entrepreneurs Training Program. These women were trained on leadership, effective communication, effective negotiation, public speaking, strategic planning, basic record keeping and basic business registration. The Leadership and Business Incubation program for Women Entrepreneurs aims to address two critical constraints facing women: lower human capital (leadership and business skills) and less access to networks and information.

During the month of December, USAID FED-supported Booker Washington Institute (BWI) harvested fresh okra (304 lbs), watermelon (1,390 lbs.) and cucumber (399 lbs.) from the institutions’ USAID FED-supported vegetable farming enterprise.

USAID FED completed and officially turned over the goat shelter which comprises general housing, maternity and quarantine center to Nimba County Community College (NCCC). This goat shelter is part of USAID FED’s farm development activity which supports NCCC’s National Diploma in Agriculture (NDA) practical sessions, and aims at generating income for the NCCC Center of Excellence in Vocational Agricultural Education.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is a flagship Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative, USAID-funded development program in Liberia that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the Government of Liberia (GoL) and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society, and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing, and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava, and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

USAID FED received 49 units of tuk-tuk from the vendor, MASARCO Inc. in August that are going to be distributed to youth entrepreneurs on a cost share basis. The entrepreneurs are going to provide transportation of raw cassava tubers, paddy rice, and goats from the farm gate to the market at a fee. USAID FED will provide training on business management and also help the youth entrepreneurs access loans for the improvement of their tuk-tuk businesses. In addition, the 49 youth will meet the operational and maintenance costs and pay 50% of the cost of tuk-tuk as their cost share. The distribution ceremony will be held on September 18 in Suakoko, Bong County. The three wheel tuk-tuks have a capacity to carry 1,500 kilograms of produce when fully loaded. Each youth was also provided with a tool kit, helmet, and other accessories for the repair and maintenance of the tuk-tuks. This initiative aims to address gaps in logistics to transport produce from the farm to the markets. Youth entrepreneurs were selected as beneficiaries in line with USAID FED’s conscious effort to increase youth participation in agriculture and to
create employment opportunities for youth in Liberia’s agriculture sector.

In August, the three refrigerated containers that USAID FED procured arrived in Liberia. A reefer container can store about 16MT of assorted vegetables. Two private sector partners, ROSNA Services Inc. and Gbomai Farms Inc., are the beneficiaries of the refrigerated containers. Both companies are owned and managed by Liberian women entrepreneurs. Hannah Blackett is the owner and CEO of ROSNA, and Gbomai Bestman owns Gbomai Farms Inc. ROSNA has been sourcing vegetables from USAID FED-supported vegetable growers since 2014 from Grand Bassa and Nimba counties. The companies will expand their businesses and local procurement with this added capacity to store more vegetables to supply workers in the concession areas and ERA Supermarket Chain, of which Ms. Blackett is also the CEO. Gbomai Farms is strategically located close to the Roberts International Airport, and plans to provide fee-based cold storage services to vegetable farmers in the surrounding area.

During August, a total of 1,950MT of cassava tubers were harvested from FY 14 USAID FED supported farmers. In August 512 MT of FY14 cassava tuber were sold for US$39,933. In total, 15,464 MT of FY14 cassava tubers have been sold for US$724,630 year to date.

USAID FED continues to see stable sales of goats by USAID FED supported farmers. During August, a total of 335 goats from USAID FED supported farmers were sold for US$21,318. In total, 5,466 goats have been sold for US$308,954 year to date.

Under USAID FED’s Task 2.0, a complete and final draft of the Liberia Seed Regulation was submitted to the MoA on August 27, 2015. The USAID FED local seed policy expert, Dr. Roland Massaquoi, a former Minister of Agriculture, is working with the MoA to facilitate the passage of the Liberia Seed Policy and Regulation.

In August 2015, an International Pesticides Policy Expert, Dr. Alan Schroeder was hired by USAID FED to provide support to the “domestication” of the ECOWAS Pesticide Regulation. He is going to present the draft Pesticide Policy and Regulations to stakeholders at a workshop to be held on September 2-3, 2015. It is expected that the complete and final draft of the Liberia Pesticide Policy and Regulations will be submitted to the MoA by the end of September 2015.

USAID FED concluded partnership discussions with the West Africa Fertilizer Project (WAFP), resulting in the production of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is expected to be signed on September 3, 2015. This will result in a joint effort between WAFP and USAID FED to support the Ministry of Agriculture in developing a draft of the Liberia Fertilizer Regulation, including its implementing guidelines. These draft regulations will be presented at a two-day stakeholder validation workshop, which will facilitate the domestication of the ECOWAS Fertilizer Regulation in Liberia. Under the leadership of the MoA, USAID FED and WAFP intend to conduct the validation workshop from September 22-23, 2015.

The Business Service Providers (BSPs) sub-contracted by USAID FED trained 3,179 MSMEs on business management. The training program covered topics that include establishing and registering a business, planning for a successful business, marketing, and financial management. The BSPs also facilitated the registration of 124 MSMEs during the month of August. The support provided to the businesses included preparing articles of incorporation; by-laws and constitutions; and actual registration with the Liberia Business Registry (LBR) or with the MoCI’s Department of Small Business Administration.

In August, a USAID FED supported farming group, the United Communities Agriculture Group from Jeremiah Gardee Town in Grand Bassa awarded a US$89,187 grant by the United States African Development Foundation (USADF). USADF selected this group as grantee due to their successful adoption and implementation of technologies and practices learned from USAID FED interventions. Through the support of USAID FED, the United Communities Agriculture Group has become one of the largest cassava producing communities in Grand Bassa, and the group intends to use the grant to expand their commercial cassava production.

During the reporting period, USAID FED facilitated the process for the Monrovia Vegetable Seller Association (MVSA) to receive a US$25,000 loan from Liberia Entrepreneurial and Asset Development (LEAD). The MVSA will use the loan to provide inputs (embedded financing) to 474 USAID FED supported vegetable farmers on credit. The farmers will sell their produce to MVSA and the loan will be deducted from the total value of vegetable sales.

In August, the installation of laboratory equipment began at the newly renovated science laboratories in all four USAID FED supported Centers of Excellence for Agricultural Vocational Education (CoEs). Installation of equipment in all four laboratories will be completed in September.

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 agricultural stakeholders to adopt commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is being 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 work with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the private sector to link communities to agricultural inputs (including improved seeds), extension services, nutritious food, 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 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 six partners including: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), the Cadmus Group, the Center for Development and Population Activities, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University, and Winrock International.

Summary

Increased Agriculture Productivity

During this quarter, activities in Bong, Nimba Margibi, Montserrado, Grand Bassa, and Lofa counties, included a series of trainings and field visits. The capacity building included: training of vegetable seedling producers at Booker Washington Institute, training of agro-dealers in Bong, an Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) training in a number of locations with a total of 355 cassava producers and extension officers from the MoA, and a training of 50 Peri Urban farmers (33 males and 17 females) from the Yarnquelleh and Air Town demonstration sites where they were taught how and when to harvest carrots and bitter balls. The training also demonstrated the selection of appropriate plants during harvest for seed saving.

The main objectives of the agro-dealer training session in Bong were to develop the capacity of agro-dealers on agro-input knowledge, handling and use, and to promote the establishment of four sales points in a pilot phase in FY-2013 (two in Bong and two in Nimba counties) through capacity building in investment plan development and the management of small input supply shops.

A rice harvest took place on October 23, 2012 at Women’s Organization for Peace and Development (WOFPD) site in Kahie, Kolahum District, Lofa County. During the harvest of the NERICA 2 rice variety, farmers expressed considerable satisfaction with the NERICA 2 rice variety because of its short growing duration. Harvest activities are continuing until the end of January 2013 in all four counties. The data for the rice yield survey was collected, and the results will be reported in the February 2013 monthly report.

Insect damage, iron toxicity, water management, and some nutrient deficiency problems were seen to be the main challenges at the rice demonstration sites. Diopsis, case worm and African rice gall midge were the main insects observed at the demonstration sites in Bong and Nimba.

Fifty one groups have been identified for the 2013 vegetable production in the six counties (Montserrado, Margibi, Bassa, Nimba, Bong and Lofa). Group sites are being cleared and some exotic seeds, such as okra and collards, have been sown both on nurseries and in the field. FED is currently in the process of procuring other local seeds e.g. hot pepper, bitter ball, etc.

An innovative technology for removing the husk from paddy rice was fabricated in a private metal workshop in Monrovia with the support of FED consultant, Mory Thiaw. This rice 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. To further address the post-harvest problems faced by farmers, a low cost parboiling drum was fabricated and demonstrated along with the impact rice dehuller in Neegbien, Nimba County. During the parboiling exercise, farmers were taught the entire process. They expressed satisfaction and interest because of the low cost and high capacity of the technology.

The Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safer Use Action Plan (PERSUAP) has been approved and FED is in the process of drafting its insects and pests control procedure which will help in controlling pest and insect attacks.

Implementation of the Goat Pass-on Schemes began in three (Nimba, Lofa, and Bong) of the four FED focus counties. Responses to a 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 and interviews of short-listed candidates, twelve lead farmer associations have been selected (five each in Nimba and Lofa counties, and two in Bong County) for participation in the goat pass on scheme program.

The goal of the Goat Pass-on Scheme and genetic improvement program is to improve returns to goat farmers by addressing genetic, health, and husbandry constraints. An estimated 15-16,000 sheep and goats are imported annually for sale in Liberia as meat. Currently, average carcass weight of the Liberian West African Dwarf goats is 9kg, while the Gambian WAD goats average is 13-14kg. Goats sell at twice the price of beef in supermarkets, importing 20,000 live Gambian goats’ equals a minimum of 100 ton extra goat meat per year.

Stimulate Private Enterprise

During this quarter, approximately 900–1,000 stakeholders’ surveys across the six FED counties of operation were completed by the Subah Belleh Associates (SBA), a local service provider. The total number of interviews conducted exceeded 500. SBA prepared a draft report of their findings by December 7, 2012. A presentation of their findings will be conducted the week of January 21, 2013.

The evaluation of the process for business plans and applications in response to the Enterprise Development Expression of Interest is still under review. Fourteen of the applications are participants that benefited from the FED six-week long mentorship program. An additional 15 concept notes and applications are being reviewed for possible MDF assistance funding.

Rights & Rice Foundation (R&R), an IQC holder, is currently conducting the first round of Organization Strengthening training for nine groups (267 participants, 189 female & 78 male) in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, and Grand Bassa counties. To date, R&R has completed the training for two groups in Bong County and two groups in Grand Bassa. Training with two groups in Nimba County began December 10, 2012 and training for two groups in Lofa County will begin January 6, 2013.

FED, in collaboration with MoCI, has conducted 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 aired jingles in nine 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 continued in Bong on December 4 with 120 attendees and in Nimba on December 6 with 130 attendees, Montserrado on December 13 with 252 attendees and Margibi on December 15 with 88 attendees and wrapped up in Lofa on December 18 with 79 attendees. The overall attendees for the campaign were 887 which constituted 92% of the targeted number 960 (100%).

Build Local Human Capacity

FED ended Phase One of the Internship Program which ran from August – November 2012 with 57 interns completing their on the job training at various institutions of work. The purpose of FED’s internship program is to create the opportunity for senior students, graduating seniors, and recent graduates with interest in the agriculture and business sectors to translate their classroom learning into field practice. Students also have the opportunity to gain hands-on practical knowledge and experience as well as the required technical skills for the labor market. In addition, the program hopes to sustain employment and self-employment opportunities through mentorship and specific training, combined with the training at various enterprises and non-governmental institutions.

In Phase One, 57 interns, consisting of 38 agriculture and 19 business students were placed with 20 institutions in the private sector. Of the twenty institutions that provided opportunities for the internship, 13 are local businesses, 6 farming enterprises, and 1 an International Partner, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

On November 27, 2012 the Closing ceremony for the FED Internship program was celebrated. In attendance were the 57 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 (YAI) gave a motivational speech highlighting his youthful experiences leading to his success with his current organization, YAI.

Program Management

The review of the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) is near completion and selected site visits were held at FED’s PUA unit in Yanquellie and FED’s MoA demonstration site in Margibi County. The goal of these field visits 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.

The PMP and Workplan have been under intensive review and discussion during this Quarter, with the input of USAID, including Surendra Bhatta, Ken Hasson, Timothy Ntanda and Laura Arneson.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded development program that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

In order to boost rice production, USAID FED has partnered with rice producers in Liberia to help them transform from subsistence farmers to commercial rice producers. During the month of January, USAID FED partner farmers sold 1,132 MT at a value of USD $460,280. Cumulatively, 1,368.92MT of FY14 rice crop has been sold at a value of USD $554,324.21 year-to-date. Both numbers represent a substantial increase compared to previous year’s harvest in the same months.

During January, a total of 565.16MT of FY13 cassava tubers were sold for USD $40,720.64. Of these, 416.80MT were from the demonstration sites and 148.36MT from individual farmer fields. In total, 3,600.34MT of FY13 crop have been sold for USD $388,996.88.

During the month of January, USAID FED facilitated meetings between cassava processors from Monrovia and producer groups in Lofa County over a five day period. These meetings introduced large buyers from Monrovia and informed the farmers on their requirements. Alternatively, buyers are made aware of where to source cassava tubers that best fit their requirements. Agreements on weight, price per ton, volume to be supplied weekly and payment terms were negotiated. In February, sales agreements will be signed between the clusters and processors along these terms.

Through January 2015, USAID FED has supported the creation of 123 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) for 3,400 farmers, most of which were women. Furthermore, by January 2015, the VSLA groups have generated access to capital for investment in agricultural activities in the amount of USD $150,196. The savings and financing mechanism provides farmers with access to capital as well as experience in financial organization. Program farmers have made loans of over USD $30,460 in January 2015.

Through January 2015, LEAD has disbursed loans to more than 459 farmers (174 male and 285 female). The total LEAD loans through this partnership were for USD $39,900 as part of this partnership with USAID FED. USAID FED is further working with LEAD to identify additional farmers in FY 2015 who will be able to receive loans from LEAD and further business skills training from FED.

Graduation ceremonies were conducted in five of USAID FED operating counties: Bong, Nimba, Lofa, Margibi and Grand Bassa for 103 women between the ages of 18 to 58, who successfully completed the leadership and Business Incubation Training for Women Entrepreneurs. USAID FED designed the Leadership and Business Incubation program for Women Entrepreneurs to address two critical constraints facing women: lower human capital (leadership and business skills) and limited access to networks and information. The project uses a combined capacity development approach through basic leadership and business skills training followed by mentorship and virtual business incubation.

During January, USAID FED completed the compost preparation training workshop at the Booker Washington Institute (BWI), where over 20 participants from the four Centers of Excellence (CoE’s) were in attendance. In January, USAID FED finalized the preparations for an exposure visit to Vocational Education Institutions in Ghana for the four CoE’s. The purpose of the visit is for CoE staff to get insights from more advanced vocational agricultural institutions on how to enhance program delivery and ensure sustainable management of their institutions.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program for Liberia is a USAID-funded development program that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

On February 15, 2015, a USAID FED delegation headed by its Training and Administrative Coordinator along with Sr. Vocational Agriculture Educational Officer traveled on a study tour with representatives from the four supported Centers of Excellence (CoE) to the following institutions in Ghana: Animal Health & Production College (AHPC), Kwadaso Agriculture College and Adidome Farm Institute. Twelve members (11 males and 1 female) from the four CoEs participated in this study tour. The general objectives of the tour included: studying the achievements of the Ghanaian institutions; identifying profitable enterprises for establishment in Liberia; forming partnerships with our Ghanaian counterparts and providing the platform for teaching staff to learn from each other, improve the quality of their curriculum and teaching methods; learning new techniques for the development of farm enterprises and promoting sustainable income generation; and developing action plans, budgets and deliverable timelines for implementation.

In order to boost rice production, USAID FED has partnered with rice producers in Liberia to help them transform from subsistence farmers to commercial rice producers. During February, USAID FED partner farmers sold a total of 694.75MT of FY14 rice crop at a value of USD $297,328.82. A cumulative total of 2,063.67MT of FY14 rice crop has been sold at a value of USD $851,653.03 year to date. Both numbers represent a substantial increase compared to previous year’s harvest in the same months.

During February, a total of 135.30 MT of FY13 cassava tubers were harvested from 6.01 Ha of FY13 FED supported demonstration sites. In total, 117.67 Ha has been harvested yielding 2,210.68 MT of cassava tubers. Also in February, a total of 453.90 MT of FY13 cassava tubers were sold for USD $44,503.58. In total, 4,779.14 MT of FY13 crop has been sold for USD $511,973.74 year to date.

USAID FED convened its first Policy Forum for FY15 to discuss issues around optimal rice pricing, Executive Order #64 (Duty Free Waiver for Agricultural Importation) and the local procurement law. It was concluded during the forum that in order for Executive Order # 64 to be effective, the GoL should draft a law that will: be applicable for more than the current one year time period of the EO, simplify the language in the document, clarify the duty waiver procedure and shorten the amount of time private investors spend following up on the paperwork. LABEE Technical Working Group Members such as USAID Liberia, USAID FED, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Finance and Planning Development (MoFPD), Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), National Investment Commission (NIC), Representatives from the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee, private sector representatives (including Grogreen, Greenfield Liberia, Fabrar Inc.) and many other representatives attended this forum. The Central Bank of Liberia Micro-Finance Unit, through the Loan Extension and Availability Facility (LEAF) program, has provided L$1,250,000 (USD $15,000) loan to five VSLA groups supported by USAID FED, namely: Zeelie VSLA, WOFPD VSLA, Kobeke VSLA, Yeapugimai VSLA and Kukatonon VSLA. Each group received L$250,000 or USD $3,000 to be paid back within a three year period in three installments at a 3% interest rate. To date, out of the total of 50 VSLA groups, five have had the opportunity to receive the loan and this figure will increase in March 2015.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is a flagship Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative USAID-funded development program in Liberia that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

On April 9th, 2015 the President of Liberia, H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and United States Ambassador to Liberia, Deborah Malac, were in Kakata, Margibi County to officially inaugurate Liberia’s first industrial rice processing and warehousing facility, Fabrar Liberia Inc. Fabrar Liberia Inc. (Fabrar) is a fully incorporated, Liberian owned and run agriculture holding firm created in 2009. In 2014, with financial and technical support from the U.S. Government through the USAID Food and Enterprise Development (USAID FED) program and private equity financing from West Africa Venture Fund, Fabrar was able to procure an automated rice processing mill and expand its warehouse facilities. The industrial scale facility, now with double its previous capacity, can mill 30 metric tons (MT) of rice each day and store 1,000-MT with proper ventilation and protection from pests, mold, fungus and mildew. As the country’s largest rice processor, and currently, the only industrial processor, Fabrar Liberia Inc. will provide Liberian farmers with an incentive and motivation to grow quality rice as a business and not just for subsistence.

During April, 3,482MT of cassava tubers from FY13 FED beneficiaries were sold for USD $186,529.10. A total of 8,995.83MT of cassava has been harvested of which 7,717MT has been sold for USD $606,823.62 year to date. Also, during April, a total of 13 micro-processors procured 149.76MT of cassava tubers valued at USD $17,960.50 from FY13 and FY14 USAID FED supported cassava farmers. The micro-processors further sold 185.84MT of processed cassava at a cumulative value of USD $70,826.25 during the same period.

In April, from the FY14 and FY15 goat production sites, a total of 486 goats were sold for USD $32,055.00. In total, 3,862 goats from the FY14 and FY15 production intensification sites have been sold for USD $206,449.78 year to date.

In April Zeelie Farmers Association purchased and sold 3,000 50kg bags to MoA with a sales value of USD $60,000. 60% of the rice was purchased from USAID FED supported farmers while 40% was purchased from non-USAID FED farmers in Lofa. USAID FED will continue to support Zeelie Farmers Association with technical assistance to further procure additional paddy rice for the local market.

In April, the multi-purpose science laboratory renovation works commenced at the four Centers of Excellence Institutions (CoE). During the month, the firms commenced the construction of the water towers and generator rooms. The CoE’s Administration is working closely with the construction firms and Global Construction Mechanical Company (GCMC) supervisors to ensure that work is progressing according to the plan. Once completed these science labs will be able to generate revenue for the CoEs through services such as soils and seed testing.

The USAID Food and Enterprise Development (FED) Program is a flagship Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative, USAID-funded development program in Liberia that was launched in September 2011. USAID FED uses an all-inclusive strategy incorporating MSME farmers, processors, suppliers, women, and youth while partnering with the government of Liberia and local civil society to achieve food security.

The goal of USAID FED is to increase food availability, utilization, and accessibility by building an indigenous incentive structure that assists agricultural stakeholders in adopting commercial approaches.

This incentive structure is built upon:

• Improved technology for productivity and profitability
• Expanded and modernized input supply and extension systems
• Commercial production, marketing, and processing
• Enterprise services
• Workforce development

USAID FED works with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), civil society and the private sector in providing communities access to agricultural inputs, extension services, nutrition messages, processing services, market information, transportation, credit, agro-business education, training, and business development services.

In five years, USAID FED’s thrust to expand market linkages is expected to lead to substantial increases in income and job opportunities. USAID FED aims to significantly boost the production, processing, marketing and nutritional utilization of rice, cassava and vegetables, and to enhance the productivity of goat farming in the counties covered by the program.

These initiatives are being carried out in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, and Margibi counties. USAID FED focuses on these counties because they are situated along regional development corridors that are crucial in promoting intra and inter-county commerce. These growth corridors are expected to improve food availability and access for all Liberians.

USAID FED’s methodology is market-led and value chain-driven; it is committed to developing indigenous capacity building, with a specific focus on Liberia’s women and youth.

USAID FED is implemented by five partners: Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), Winrock International, International Fertilizer Developmental Center (IFDC), Louisiana State University (LSU), and The Cadmus Group.

Executive Summary

On May 14, 2015 USAID FED hosted a high level delegation from USAID Washington, White House National Security Council, and the Congressional Liaison Office. The delegation visited one youth farming group in Margibi County called See Yourself Farming Group. This farming group is currently growing okra for export to the European markets. After visiting the farm, the delegation toured Fabrar Liberia Inc. rice processing facility at Kakata, Margibi County, which was supported by USAID FED. After completing the facility tour, the delegation participated in a round table discussion with USAID FED supported farmers and other beneficiaries representing all four USAID FED value chains. The delegation from Washington DC was headed by Eric Postel, Associate Administrator, USAID and John Mark Winfield, USAID Liberia Mission Director.

During May, a total of 419.35 MT of FY14 rice crop was sold at a value of USD $206,781. A cumulative total of 3,110.89 MT of FY14 rice crops have been sold at a value of USD $1,410,844.53 year to date.

On May 20, 2015, USAID FED in collaboration with the Government of Liberia (GoL) inaugurated the Liberia Business Incubator (LBI) Cassava Processing Facility in Virginia, Monsterrado County. The Honorable Speaker of the House, Alex Tyler, US Ambassador Deborah Malac, the Honorable Minister of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Axel Addy, other GoL Officials, cassava farmers and representatives from development organizations officially launched the facility in the outskirts of Monrovia. LBI, a fully incorporated woman owned Liberian business which is also run as an agriculture holding firm, was created in 2010. LBI adds value to cassava by processing it into gari, fufu and cassava flour. USAID FED supported LBI with improved cassava processing equipment worth USD $44,950, which will enable the enterprise to process 5 MT of cassava per day instead of the previous 2 MT daily. LBI employs 6 staff but now with the added capacity will increase its staff to 14 full time employees.

USAID FED has a partnership with LEAD that links farmers with access to financing from LEAD so that they can receive loans to improve their farms. In May, LEAD increased the Zeelie Farmers Association loan from USD $10,000 to USD $24,000. John Selma, the head of the group and a USAID FED supported beneficiary of Zeelie, is the recipient of the loan. USAID FED is helping John Selma to acquire a truck to facilitate and grow his rice trading business.

USAID FED Component Three organized a power tiller operations and maintenance Training of Trainers (ToT) for agro technicians and instructors at three CoE’s during the reporting period. The objective of this training is to train the CoE students and staff on the use of power tillers to improve the production and efficiency of farming on their demonstration farms. In addition, the power tiller operators will provide their services to the surrounding community farmers for the promotion of income generation and for the maintenance of the equipment. The five-day training commenced on May 12, 2015, at Nimba County Community College (NBCC) and was followed by Lofa County Community College (LCCC) and the Booker Washington Institute (BWI). GBCC training will follow upon receipt of a power tiller from USAID FED.