Project Year Two Work Plan - United States Agency for ...

s Prepared for review by the United States Agency for International Development under USAID Contract No72011418C00001, The USAID Agriculture Program implemented by CNFA

Project Year Two Work Plan

The USAID Agriculture Program

Project Year Two Work Plan October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020

USAID Contract 72011418C00001 Implemented by CNFA

Submitted to: USAID/Caucasus Mr. Brent Edelman, COR

Submitted on August 30, 2019

Revised versions submitted on September 26, 2019, October 2, 2019, and January 31, 2020

Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Program Description ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Lessons Learned and Key Achievements in PY1 ......................................................................................................................... 7 Activities .................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

1. Cost-Share Grants to MSMEs, Cooperatives, Service/Information/Extension Providers, and Associations ............. 11 In-Kind Grants to MSMEs and Cooperatives .................................................................................................... 12

1.1.1. RFA 004 – Consolidation Centers ................................................................................................................ 13 1.1.2. RFA 005 – Hi-Tech Nurseries ....................................................................................................................... 14 1.1.3. RFA 006 – Grants Tailored to Missing Links of RFAs 001-005 ..................................................................... 14 Capacity Building Grants .................................................................................................................................. 15 Proposed Innovation Grants ............................................................................................................................ 16

2. Technical Assistance to MSMEs, Cooperatives, Service/Information/Extension Providers and Associations ........... 18 Improved Access to New Varieties and Inputs ................................................................................................ 19

2.1.1. Facilitate Nursery Certification ................................................................................................................... 19 2.1.2. Development of Modern Nurseries in Berry and Vegetable/Herb and Stone/Pome Fruits Value Chains .. 20 2.1.3. Resource Materials for New Varieties ........................................................................................................ 20 2.1.4. Short Certificate Courses in Berry and Culinary Herbs................................................................................ 21 2.1.5. Improved Access to Modern Fertilizers and Plant Protection Products ..................................................... 21 2.1.6. Raising Awareness of New Farming Machinery and Equipment among Farmers and Agribusinesses ....... 22 Improved Production Technologies ................................................................................................................. 22

2.2.1. International Consultancy in Berry Production ........................................................................................... 23 2.2.2. International TOT in Raspberry, Strawberry, Blackberry and Blueberry Open Field Production for Local Agronomists .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 2.2.3. International Consultancy in Table Grape Production Technologies .......................................................... 23 2.2.4. International TOT in Culinary Herbs Greenhouse Production for Local Agronomists ................................. 23 2.2.5. Knowledge Plot Education Programs .......................................................................................................... 24 2.2.6. Digital Farms in Selected Value Chains ....................................................................................................... 24 2.2.7. GlobalGAP Certification .............................................................................................................................. 25 2.2.8. Organic Farming Best-Practices .................................................................................................................. 25 2.2.9. Facilitate Organic Certification.................................................................................................................... 25 2.2.10. Promoting Organic Production in Georgia ............................................................................................. 26 2.2.11. Study Tours that Highlight Best-Practices in Production and Technologies ........................................... 26 Improved Postharvest Handling and Processing ............................................................................................. 26

2.3.1. Cold Chain Industry Survey ......................................................................................................................... 27 2.3.2. Consultancies in Postharvest Handling Practices and Cold Store Operations ............................................. 27 2.3.3. International Consultancy in Pre-Cooling Practices .................................................................................... 27 2.3.4. International Consultancy in Freezing Techniques ..................................................................................... 28 2.3.5. International Study Tour for Table Grape Cold Store Operators ................................................................ 28 2.3.6. Modern Processing Techniques .................................................................................................................. 28 2.3.7. Facilitating Access to Modern Processing and Packaging Equipment ......................................................... 28 2.3.8. Georgia Grown Spice Producers (Culinary Value Chain) ............................................................................. 29

2.3.9. Georgian Bay Leaf Producers (Culinary Value Chain) .................................................................................. 29 2.3.10. Modern Food Safety Standards ............................................................................................................. 29 Market Access.................................................................................................................................................. 30

2.4.1. Improved Horizontal Collaboration at the Farmer Level ............................................................................ 30 2.4.2. Improved Vertical Collaboration ................................................................................................................. 31 2.4.3. Building Brand Awareness in Competitive Markets .................................................................................... 31 2.4.4. Brand Image for International Fairs ............................................................................................................ 31 2.4.5. International Trade Fairs ............................................................................................................................. 32 2.4.6. Linking Farmers and Agro-Processors with Tourism and Catering Industries ............................................. 32 2.4.7. Promotional Events to Facilitate Market Access ......................................................................................... 32 Capacity Building Activities .............................................................................................................................. 33

2.5.1. Capacity Building Program for Agricultural Cooperatives ........................................................................... 33 2.5.2. Enhanced Capacity of Sectoral and Cross-cutting Business Associations ................................................... 33 2.5.3. Increased Capacity for Tax and Financial Reporting Among MSMEs .......................................................... 33 2.5.4. Increased Capacity for Integrated Pest Management ................................................................................ 34

3. Cross-Cutting ............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Inclusive Agricultural Value Chain Development (IAVCD)................................................................................ 34 Public Information and Outreach .................................................................................................................... 35 Environmental Compliance .............................................................................................................................. 36 Access to Finance ............................................................................................................................................. 36

4. Donor and Host-Country Coordination ..................................................................................................................... 37 5. Project Management ................................................................................................................................................. 40

Operations, Facilities, and Equipment ............................................................................................................. 40 Staffing ............................................................................................................................................................. 40 International Subcontracting ........................................................................................................................... 42 Monitoring and Reporting ............................................................................................................................... 42

Annex 1: Program Year Two Budget ........................................................................................................................................ 42 Annex 2: Performance Monitoring Plan .................................................................................................................................. 42 Annex 3: Updated Results Table .............................................................................................................................................. 42 Annex 4: Expansion Organizational Chart ................................................................................................................................ 42 Annex 5: Inclusive Agricultural Value Chain Development Action Plan ................................................................................... 43

| PY2 Work Plan Contract 72011418C00001/ The USAID Agriculture Program

Acronyms ACDA Agriculture Cooperatives Development Agency APMA Agriculture Projects Management Agency APS Annual Program Statement AR Autonomous Republic ARDA Agricultural and Rural Development Agency BMSB Brown Marmorated Stink Bug BRC British Retail Consortium CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CNFA Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture COP Chief of Party DAP DCFTA Adaptation Program DCFTA Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area DCOP Deputy Chief of Party EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EMMP Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan ERC Environmental Review Checklist EU European Union F2F Farmer to Farmer FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FSC Farm Service Center FSSC Foundation Food Safety System Certification GAP Good Agricultural Practices GI Geographical Indication GoG Government of Georgia HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point HORECA Hotel/Restaurant/Café ICC Information-Consultation Center IFS Information and Featured Standards IPM Integrated Pest Management IQF Individual Quick Freezing ISO International Standards Organization LOP Life of Project MEPA Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise NFA National Food Agency PMP Performance Monitoring Plan PPP Public-Private Partnership PY1 Project Year One PY2 Project Year Two PY3 Project Year Three REAP Restoring Efficiency to Agriculture Production RFA Request for Applications PERSUAP Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safer Use Action Plan SME Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise SEEDEV The South-East Europe Development Organization SOW Scope of Work SRCA Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture STTA Short Term Technical Assistance TA Technical Assistance TOC Terms of Cooperation TOT Training of Trainers USAID United States Agency for International Development USDA United States Department of Agriculture USG United States Government VC Value Chain VCAP Value Chain Action Plan VET Vocational Education and Training WFLO World Food Logistics Organization


Executive Summary The USAID Agriculture Program saw resounding success in its first operating year, which was designed to gather information, create systems for service delivery, identify beneficiaries, lay the foundation for effective implementation of program activities, and test internal systems, procedures, and policies. The team will pursue Project Year Two (PY2) activities with the same vigor. In Project Year One (PY1), per USAID’s request, the Program developed a proposal for the expansion of the budget by $4,915,697, suggesting additional activities to address the ongoing needs and challenges in the priority value chains (VCs). Apart from increasing the impact in already selected seven VCs, this proposal covered specific interventions for the newly identified Nut (Walnuts, Almonds, and Pistachio) VC and an additional priority crop – Kiwi (within the Berry VC).

By the end of 2023, this assistance in the Republic of Georgia will increase sales by $70 million, generate $10 million in increased purchases of local raw materials, create at least 3,680 new jobs, and reach 170,000 beneficiaries. In PY1, a rigorous investigation of Georgia’s agricultural sector led to the identification of targeted VCs and established a pathway through which to effect change for the life of project. In essence, this investigation provided a Scope of Work (SOW) for identified VCs. Within these focused VCs, the Program relies largely on cost-shared, in-kind investment grants and targeted technical assistance (TA) delivery to reach its goals. These grants are market-based and destined for grant applicants who possess high levels of entrepreneurship and will receive carefully designed technical support in order to ensure long-term success of the grantee.

The USAID Agriculture Program will complete its grant-making component with approximately 120 investment and capacity building grants by the end of Project Year Three (PY3). These grants will be awarded to successful applicants across all regions of Georgia. Grants, providing immediate avenues for specific technical advancement, serve as the core of the Program.

The technical assistance component is an additional and essential Program resource which is valued by grantees equally to grant funding. It is this resource that supports grant implementation and mitigates arising technical and organizational problems that can undermine grant success. It is also the Program component that ensures promising non-grantee beneficiaries support in implementing new and innovative agribusiness initiatives. Further, the technical assistance component offers non-grantees access to long-term consulting and advisory assistance that can address the full range of gaps and problems which may appear in any of the Program VCs.

In addition, the Program team will adjust systems and procedures to the realities of implementation, complete significant procurements, and coordinate with other donors and programs to maximize knowledge exchange and experience sharing to best facilitate sustainable agricultural development at the programmatic level.

PY2 will be characterized by dynamic and comprehensive program implementation. At the end of this programmatic year, the USAID Agriculture Program will have committed significant grant budget and mapped out technical assistance interventions to flow to a wide assortment of beneficiaries, and across all activities there will be innovation, increased impact, and experience-sharing to generate significant learnings for long-term decision-making.


Program Description

The USAID Agriculture Program is a five-year activity that aims to accelerate the growth of agricultural sub-sectors that demonstrate strong potential to create jobs and increase incomes and revenues of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). In particular, the Program supports the development of VCs within the target sub-sectors, by assisting and strengthening relevant enterprises and organizations. These sub-sectors were identified as part of the Sector Selection and Value Chain Analysis conducted in PY1 and include berries, culinary herbs, stone fruits, perishable vegetables, pome fruits (apples), table grapes, and mandarins. Starting from PY2, the Program is also focusing on nuts (walnuts, almonds, and pistachios), as one of its priority VCs and kiwis, as one of its priority crops within the berry VC.

The USAID Agriculture Program is implemented through two integrated, mutually reinforcing components. Under Component 1, the Program provides cost-share grants to MSMEs, cooperatives, service/information/extension providers, and associations, while Component 2 focuses on demand-driven technical assistance, including technical and/or business trainings, and a wide spectrum of customized consultancies aimed at building the capacity of targeted VC actors.

Six implementation requirements underpin all project activities: donor and host-country coordination; private sector-driven and owned; economic participation of women and youth; flexibility in implementation; sustainability and resiliency; and, public information and outreach. These principles are reflected in the specific activities under each component, as well as in cross-cutting activities.

The USAID Agriculture Program’s activities will directly address the Development Objective 2 – Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth, as outlined in the USAID/Caucasus Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for Georgia. In particular, the Program will support Intermediate Result 2.2 – Increased Competitiveness and Employment Generation in targeted sectors, and all four sub-Intermediate Results: 2.2.1 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Development and Growth; 2.2.2 Agricultural production/productivity and market linkages increased; 2.2.3 Access to capital increased; and 2.2.4 Business acumen developed.

Lessons Learned and Key Achievements in PY1 A rapid program start-up, as called for in the USAID Agriculture Program’s contract, followed by full implementation of both major program components, generated significant early experience. This, in turn, gave rise to a number of key lessons learned about the Program content and the implementation environment. As a result, in preparing the PY2 Work Plan, the USAID Agriculture Program evaluated lessons learned from PY1 and offers key points which have informed the development of this Work Plan. It is important to understand the value of accumulating experience, gleaning lessons from them, and applying those lessons immediately. At the end of every year going forward, the Program will collect new insights and observations, note key lessons learned, and use these learnings in designing the following year’s program activities. A list of key facts and lessons learned follows.

In light of implementation in PY1, it is increasingly important to adopt higher standards and increase product quality in order to compete domestically and internationally. Demand for

The USAID Agriculture Program Life of Project (LOP) Targets

$7.42 million in matching grants disbursed to 120 enterprises leveraging at least $9.04 million in matching contribution

3,680 new jobs created $70 million increase in sales by supported enterprises including $23 million in exports and $11.3

million through new local markets New cash markets in a value of $10 million available to producers Consultations/trainings provided to 170,000 individuals by supported enterprises


higher quality products is growing domestically at a notable rate. Consumers are demanding them at the local level for their families. Thus, certification is becoming a more requested and important program component. This reflects a growing level of sophistication in both Georgian producers and consumers, in addition to continued growth at the export market level. Interest in raising product standards is increasing across the entire agriculture sector. This reflects an increase in public demand for quality products and the achievement of a higher level of sector development.

Supporting the production of old varieties of various products only hinders the development of the agriculture sector. New and improved varieties must be emphasized especially in nursery development, but also in all activities that produce crops and products. The USAID Agriculture Program should not support old varieties and should encourage Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA) and other development organizations to adhere to this principle. Getting new/improved varieties affordably into the hands of smallholder farmers represents a significant challenge.

In most market-based grant programs, there will never be enough budget to meet the demand for investment grants. This enables the USAID Agriculture Program to insist that the primary qualification for selecting grant applicants must be the submission of a sound investment proposal. Selecting the best investment proposals is more important in the long-run than ensuring an even distribution of grants among the selected VCs. The private sector market may reveal that the most promising investment proposals concentrate in certain locations or technical disciplines.

As is the trend in advanced markets, organic production is growing in popularity and in demand. The same is true but to a lesser extent domestically. The USAID Agriculture Program’s organic production study revealed that the European Union (EU) has the highest and strongest demand for organic products.

In seeking, evaluating, and selecting investment grant recipients, entrepreneurial skills are equally or more important than technical skills, underlining the fact that success of the USAID Agriculture Program and agriculture sector in general depends on actions taken by the private sector entities. The Program’s Grants team must be attuned to this and build on the dynamism of the private sector and its entrepreneurs.

The shortage of technical knowledge when and where it is needed in Georgia is the second biggest obstacle to agriculture development, the first being small land plot sizes. While the shortage of technical knowledge is not specifically addressed in the USAID Agriculture Program’s SOW, it is so significant that the Program is attempting to address it directly, by launching a program with the Agrarian University to train agronomic specialists initially in berries and herbs, and eventually in all selected sub-sectors in two locations in Georgia. The Program will work in conjunction with other universities on content and venues and with private sector partners who will provide support through well-organized demonstration fields.

A particularly efficient agriculture outreach network is the Farm Service Centers (FSCs) collectively. FSCs have massive farmer outreach potential. The USAID Agriculture Program recognizes this and will utilize this network more fully in PY2. This will be particularly important in demonstrating and promoting new technologies.

Access to finance is a less serious obstacle to agriculture development than in former years. Financing entities for the most part now understand that agriculture is a promising sector for investment. The matching investment grants and technical assistance provided by the USAID Agriculture Program make agriculture financing even more appealing in that they reduce the risk for lenders and increase chances of investment success through focused and rolling technical assistance.

Subcontractors should be substantive partners. They typically are selected because they know the project field. Thus, the USAID Agriculture Program insists that each time a subcontractor is called upon to perform a service, a key deliverable is to draft the SOW for the logical next


assignment. This should be viewed as required and normal for a responsible implementing partner. This increases subcontractor responsibilities but also gives them more opportunity to make substantive development contributions. The Program also will encourage subcontractors to coordinate their activities under its overall guidance.

An important byproduct of investment grants is that they often give rise to unanticipated profit centers and/or new types of agribusinesses. Furthermore, interest in and demand for investment grants remains high. This reflects a concurrent willingness in the private sector of agribusiness owners to invest their own funds in sector-related ventures. Georgian SMEs increasingly view their country as a promising investment environment.

Geopolitical problems are ever-present. Russia is a natural and a traditional market, but events often distort that market. An important program strategy is not to replace that market but to seek alternative markets.

Branding and packaging are gaining in importance. It is increasingly evident that product presentation has a major impact on consumer behavior and decision-making in Georgia. The potential for growth in this activity is significant.

The highest value-addition typically comes from exporting any agricultural product fresh. The USAID Agriculture Program will actively seek opportunities to accomplish fresh product exports.

In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program succeeded in many key achievements. First and foremost was the rapid startup of the Program and mobilization of highly qualified, talented, and engaged staff. This has allowed for the successful rollout of the grants program, part of which, at the end of PY1, has been awarded or is in the final stages of approval.

Activities In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue addressing constraints in selected VCs through firm-level investments and tailored technical assistance to entrepreneurial, market-driven enterprises, production clusters, and supporting associations and service/information/extension providers. When designing interventions, the Program will follow the basic agricultural VC model with four major links to enable access to new varieties and inputs, improve productivity and production capacity, strengthen postharvest handling and processing enterprises, facilitate VC linkages, increase access to markets, and improve overall capacity of relevant enterprises and organizations. As shown in the diagram below, depending on the existing gaps, the Program’s activities will be targeted at strengthening specific VC links within each agricultural sub-sector.

Key Achievements in PY1

Target VCs selected and gap analysis completed Grants program launched and 29 grant projects identified through 2 Request for Applications (RFAs) 2 Capacity Building Grants awarded Individual technical assistance provided to 42 agribusinesses from selected VCs 237 farmers, agribusinesses, and state extension specialists trained Robust technical assistance program established and underway Highly qualified and talented staff engaged Systems, procedures, policies installed and fully tested Five-year program vision developed Significant cooperative relations established with private and public sector partners Extensive intern program launched Numerous lessons learned collected to inform management


USAID has made clear that it expects the USAID Agriculture Program to display flexibility and innovation. In PY1, the Program demonstrated this flexibility by responding to the targeted USAID Mission requests, such as developing information on the effectiveness of hail nets after unexpected hail storms significantly impacted Georgian farms. The Program continues advancing its agenda by remaining attuned to needs and opportunities that might not have been foreseen in program conceptualization and planning. Circumstances in agricultural development are dynamic and constantly changing, creating both unique problems and opportunities. In PY2, to foster flexibility and adaptability in program design and implementation, the USAID Agriculture Program will seek entrepreneurial beneficiaries who continue to learn, adapt, and seek new solutions to their business problems. By definition and nature, entrepreneurs are flexible and adaptive. This is their sustaining quality in their world of change and unpredictability. In addition, the work plan itself will be treated as a living document, adapted and updated to respond to new opportunities and challenges as they arise.

Given USAID’s emphasis on reaching clusters or groups of beneficiaries within the identified VCs, the USAID Agriculture Program’s approach is to develop strategies to apply technical assistance programmatically. This does not diminish individually focused Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA) but would consider broader applications of assistance at every opportunity. This essentially would be an outcome-based approach to technical assistance, where the assistance applied would be designed to produce a specific and immediate result. The USAID Agriculture Program in PY1 began designing programmatic solutions to both development of specific VCs, as well as solutions to the major issues that impact multiple VCs: agronomic expertise, supply chain (including cold chain) management, access to finance, export marketing, and environmental solutions (such as organic production). These key programmatic approaches are outlined and detailed below and will continue in earnest in PY2.

Overview of Activities Proposed under the Program Expansion In PY2, a comprehensive gap analysis of the Nut Value Chain will be conducted and a Value Chain Action Plan (VCAP) will be developed. Over the course of the first year of implementation, the USAID Agriculture Program has identified additional opportunities for investment and support, both within already selected VCs, and with new, promising niche products and VCs. The expansion funding will allow the USAID Agriculture Program to expand on its most successful activities, add additional promising VCs and niche products within selected VCs to its portfolio, encourage innovation and respond to emerging opportunities through investments in transformative technologies, and enhance performance and sustainability by increased partnership with the private sector. In particular, the expansion funding will:

Include new promising products and VCs – Kiwi will be added to the Berry VC and the Nut (excluding hazelnut) VC will be prioritized;

Fund Innovation Grants – the program will invest in promising new transformative practices and technologies to overcome obstacles or take advantage of emerging opportunities;

Focus on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) – the program will create a dedicated unit and earmark budget for leveraging public-private partnerships and engaging large private sector VC actors; and

Enhance Support to Industry Associations – associations will be developed as a critical, sustainable support mechanism for industry-wide growth.


This expansion allows for a significant increase in procurement of local professional services to provide enhanced technical assistance support to new grantees and non-grantee beneficiaries across current and additional VCs. This will include individual consultations and/or group trainings on growing practices and proper post-harvest handling, and services such as the introduction of HACCP, ISO 22000, British Retail Consortium (BRC), and GlobalGAP standards, company quality certifications, organization of promotional festivals, participation in trade fairs and trade missions, and branding for individual beneficiaries as well as broader awareness campaigns (i.e. for organic products, spices). There is also increased focus on financial support for events such as study tours, promotional festivals, and professional roundtables.

1. Cost-Share Grants to MSMEs, Cooperatives, Service/Information/Extension Providers, and Associations

Through Component 1, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to provide cost-share grants to MSMEs, cooperatives, service/information/extension providers, and associations to facilitate business expansion and agricultural growth in targeted VCs. As part of the agreement on the program expansion with USAID, the grant pool has been increased by $1,423,226 to finance projects in the newly selected VC and additional projects in already selected VCs. In addition to the increase in staffing under Component 1 (see section 5.2), the timeline for Grant Awards has been extended to the end of PY3. As a result, over the Life of Project, at least 120 organizations will receive $7.42 million in cost-share grants, leveraging a minimum estimated $9.04 million in cost-share contributions.

In PY2, Component 1 will focus on building on the achievements in PY1 and fine-tuning the grant award process, to ensure a rigorous and effective grant component. Cost-Share Grants are the centerpiece of the USAID Agriculture Program, which is why the nature and purpose of grants must be understood clearly, both by the recipients and implementers of the Program. Grants awarded to private sector entities are designed to serve as incentives for them to invest in an agricultural enterprise and improve not only their internal capacity, but the overall performance and effectiveness of VCs.

To be as certain as possible that a selected grantee will succeed in the investment, the USAID Agriculture Program will spend significant time and energy on carefully selecting financially sustainable and adaptable VC actors that are open to introducing new technologies and business methodologies. It is particularly important that the candidates demonstrate the ability to contribute to achieving the Program’s indicators, including total and export sales volumes, number of direct and indirect beneficiaries, number of jobs created, etc. The Program highly values experience in the assessment process and does start-up ventures no favors when encouraging them to apply for and win a grant. It is in the Program’s best interest that the beneficiaries’ investments are not lost along with the grant funds. The latter are replaceable, while their personal investments are not.

The USAID Agriculture Program will organize outreach meetings with stakeholders and other implementers, including state institutions and donor-funded programs to source potential applicants and identify areas for leveraging other funding. In addition, the Program will continue to diversify grant funding by actively seeking enterprises that have not previously received grant support from the United States Government (USG), however, this does not exclude the past recipients of USG grant from applying.

The USAID Agriculture Program commits to the success of every grant project and seeks to award grants as early in the program as possible, so that investment can be nurtured over time. Once the


grant is made, significant resources will be allocated to long-term technical assistance to support the investment. The Program will ensure that grant applicants have technical assistance incorporated into their projects from the very beginning. The grant serves as an incentive to provide investment in cash or loaned funds, inducing the applicants to acquire substantial new debt and the Program often facilitates such loans.

Building on the success of PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to award two grant types, In-Kind Grants and Capacity Building Grants. The former will target enterprises and cooperatives within selected VCs, while the latter will support sectoral and cross-cutting associations, as well as service/information/extension providers, to strengthen the operating environment and services for VC actors. The processes for soliciting grant applicants are different for MSMEs/cooperatives, service/information/extension providers, and associations. The solicitations are sequenced and staggered to allow for better VC targeting, incorporation of lessons learned and newly identified opportunities, and efficient use of program resources.

As for market distortion risks, the USAID Agriculture Program believes the market distortions from its activities to be negligible. In theory, if certain conditions are created, the Program activities (grant support and technical assistance) might result in distortions. These conditions are the magnitude and depth of intervention. The first should be defined as a ratio of total volume of funds deployed to individual projects (in both grants and technical assistance) to the volume of funds available to the agriculture and agribusiness in the country. The second condition can be defined as a notional rate, by which the Program activities result in reduction of the equilibrium interest rate available to the borrowers.

In relation to the first condition, the total volume of financing equals to USD 7.42 Million over the Program lifetime, which hardly amounts to mere 3% of total State support measures and less than 1% of formal credit given to the sector. As for the second condition, which is the notional rate by which the individual project costs are reduced, it can be said that the Program activities can hardly result in substantial distortions here. First of all, the projects are being selected through the competitive process and not as a result of arbitrary hand-picking. Secondly, the funds made available to an individual project amount to a maximum of 40% of the total project funds (and in real life this ratio is actually lower, more in vicinity of 30%).

In-Kind Grants to MSMEs and Cooperatives As of the end of PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program announced two RFAs to award In-Kind Grants within the selected VCs, including a focused RFA 001, addressing constraints in availability of planting materials and primary production in berry VC, and cross-cutting RFA 002, aimed at strengthening postharvest handling links in seven VCs selected in PY1. By the date of submission of this work plan, 29 organizations have been selected for In-kind Grant support under RFAs 001–002.

Early in PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to announce RFA 003 to strengthen processing links in seven VCs selected in PY1. The Program expects 15 projects to qualify from this round. In the Second Quarter of PY2, the Program plans to release RFA 003 (B), offering investment opportunities to


processing enterprises within nut VC. In total, six grantees are expected to be selected under this call for applications. The 50 In-Kind Grants issued under RFAs 001-003 and RFA 003 (B) make up a total portfolio of around $3.1 million.

In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to offer In-Kind Grants to MSMEs and cooperatives and will emphasize on those links that were not supported in PY1, namely consolidators of products within the selected VCs, producers of planting materials, and other VC links missing in previous RFAs. Based on the lessons learned from implementation and the first three RFAs, Component 1 staff will develop sequenced RFAs calling for applications from MSMEs and cooperatives in the selected VCs, with guidance from Component 2 staff to ensure that investments and technical assistance are coordinated from the beginning of every project. Successful applicants for these In-Kind Grants will demonstrate commercial viability and ability to benefit their broader VCs. Selected MSMEs will receive grant funding up to 40% of the total project value and will be required to provide a cash match (or new financing) for their 60% contribution. Selected cooperatives, with a registration date prior to the start of this program, will receive grant funding up to 70% of the total project value and may provide a cash match (or new financing) for their 30% contribution. The maximum grant size to each MSME or cooperative will be $75,000. The three In-Kind grant RFAs already envisioned for PY2 will encompass the newly added product and VC.

1.1.1. RFA 004 – Consolidation Centers In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program has found that scarcity of consolidation centers within the selected VCs is an important impediment to the development of agricultural sub-sectors. Well established consolidators are key to streamlining the VC, better linking farmers to the end markets, including export markets, and receiving added value on the produce. Both the first and second RFAs financed projects that included elements of consolidation centers, with different combinations of pre-cooling, postharvest handling, and cold storage operations. To further support this direction, improve competitiveness, enable access to higher-end markets, both locally and internationally, minimize losses, and maximize benefits from seasonal fluctuation of market prices, the USAID Agriculture Program will announce a special RFA for enterprises engaged in pre-cooling, sorting, grading, packaging, and cold storage of agricultural products produced by a large number of Georgian farmers. Under this RFA, the Program will consider investing in one or more of the following activities within the selected VCs: establishment/development of pre-cooling, sorting, grading, quality control, packing, cold-storage, and distribution facilities. The USAID Agriculture Program plans to release RFA 004 in March 2020 and anticipates to finance around 18 projects under this call for proposals. A cold storage mapping exercise conducted by World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO) will be utilized during the evaluation of these proposals to ensure that projects do not create excess cold storage capacity geographically and priority will be given to proposals in areas where there is a greater deficit of capacity.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 1.1 In-Kind Grants to MSMEs and Cooperatives

1.1.1 RFA 004 - Consolidation Centers 1.1.1.1 In-Kind RFA issued

1.1.1.2 Public outreach campaigns to promote grant opportunities in selected VCs

1.1.1.3 Initial evaluation of applications according to general VC-specific eligibility criteria, and application evaluation matrix

1.1.1.4 Conduct site visits to verify application information, evaluate location, conduct environmental assessment, etc.

1.1.1.5 Develop full grant package in cooperation with the applicant and Component 2 staff

1.1.1.6 Finalization and submission of grant packages to USAID for approval

1.1.1.7 Implementation of grant projects with technical oversight by Component 2 staff

1.1.1.8 Monitoring and reporting of grant projects


1.1.2. RFA 005 – Hi-Tech Nurseries The Sector Selection and Value Chain Analysis conducted in PY1 elicited the need to support high-quality nurseries along all target VCs, as Georgia experiences acute shortage of quality, virus free, and high-yield planting and seedling materials, and most of these products are imported in the country. Although numerous nurseries operate countrywide, none of them follow best international practices, making the quality of their products questionable. The USAID Agriculture Program will design and issue an RFA targeted specifically at the expansion and/or creation of modern, technologically advanced nurseries, engaged in open ground and greenhouse facilities for the production of high-quality, productive, and resistant seedlings and planting materials of modern, internationally certified varieties. This RFA will be cross-cutting, applying to all Program supported VCs, as all suffer from a shortage of high quality, certified, virus-free planting materials. The Program plans to open a solicitation in May 2020 and anticipates to finance around 8 projects under this call for proposals. In case USAID approves, the Program may consider increasing the grant ceiling to enable the applicants to introduce higher-level technologies, as they are more capital intensive than standard nurseries and require greater investment levels. The current grant ceiling may not offer sufficient incentive for potential grantees to undertake these activities. USAID approval will be sought prior to the release of the RFA to ensure a level field of competition for applicants.


1.1.2 RFA 005 – Hi-tech Nurseries 1.1.2.1 In-Kind RFA issued


1.1.2.3 Initial evaluation of applications according to general VC-specific eligibility criteria, and application evaluation matrix

1.1.2.4 Conduct site visits to verify application information, evaluate location, conduct environmental assessment, etc.

1.1.2.5 Develop full grant package in cooperation with the applicant and Component 2 staff

1.1.2.6 Finalization and submission of grant packages to USAID for approval

1.1.2.7 Implementation of grant projects with technical oversight by Component 2 staff

1.1.2.8 Monitoring and reporting of grant projects

1.1.3. RFA 006 – Grants Tailored to Missing Links of RFAs 001-005 After announcing six RFAs for In-Kind Grants, and identifying around 76 grantees in PY1 and PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will analyze its activities to identify gaps, whether by VC, concrete link within the VC, geographic attribution, or other factors. Based on the analysis, the Program will identify gaps and missing links in conducted activities. These gaps could be of a geographical nature or a technical nature. Then, Component 1 staff, in consultation with Component 2 experts, will design a special RFA to address the identified gaps and shortcomings in the In-Kind Grant process. This RFA will be targeted at different links within some or all selected VCs and will aim to further increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the projects supported by the Program and streamline activities within the target VCs. By definition, the specifics of this RFA are difficult to identify at this time, as the analysis of gaps will be conducted once grantees for the first five RFAs have been selected, their investment proposals developed, and implementation of their projects began. That being said, areas of focus for this RFA could include any one of the links within the VCs previously covered but narrowed and refined based on Program experience, findings, and current developments. As an illustrative example, if the analysis demonstrates a lack of a processing facility for pome and stone fruits, no nurseries for table grapes, or no cold storage in the area of Kvemo Kartli, and a demonstrated need for such facilities, the Agriculture Program will include requests for processing activities in pome and stone fruits, in production of planting and seeding materials for table grapes, and for cold storage in Kvemo Kartli in RFA 006 to identify and support viable projects in these directions to contribute to the development


of these subsectors. This RFA will be announced later in PY2, in order to enable the Program’s staff to conduct thorough analysis and fully encompass all findings from previous activities. The USAID Agriculture Program anticipates to issue the RFA 006 in September 2020 and finance around 10 projects under this call for proposals.


1.1.3 RFA 006 – Grants Tailored to Missing Links of RFAs 001-005 1.1.3.1 In-Kind RFA issued


Capacity Building Grants Capacity Building Grants have proved to be an effective mechanism for strengthening service providers and business associations, by increasing their core capacities and laying foundations for long-term organizational sustainability to eventually enable them to fulfill their missions efficiently. The USAID Agriculture Program offers Capacity Building Grants to address specific constraints to horticultural VC development and engage beneficiary organizations in implementation of a wide range of programmatic interventions in selected VCs. This, in turn, will ensure access to more beneficiaries and enable them to achieve broader impacts. Capacity Building Grants are issued on a cost-reimbursable basis and require 60% matching cash contribution from for-profit service/information/extension providers and 30% in-kind and/or cash contribution from non-profit organizations.

In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program’s Capacity Building Grants were focused on food safety consultancy and certification services to support Georgian exporters and facilitate their entry into new markets. The Program awarded two grants in this category: ISO Consulting Ltd will obtain International Featured Standards (IFS) and BRC accreditations to provide relevant consultancy services to Georgian enterprises and Caucascert LLC will acquire United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) accreditation and become authorized to conduct organic certifications in Georgia according to the US standards.

In terms of associations, the USAID Agriculture Program will prioritize the following areas for capacity building efforts:

Improved access to modern inputs Modern approaches and mechanisms to facilitate export in horticultural commodities

The Program has already developed RFAs for these priority areas and has submitted them to USAID for approval. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to undertake a more vigorous approach to Capacity Building Grants and support more beneficiaries to further streamline operations within the selected VCs. The Program is expected to issue at least six Capacity Building Grants in PY2. An illustrative list of priority areas is provided below:

Improved quality and harvesting practices in berry VC; Promoting organic horticultural production in Georgia; Introduction of the waste management best practices for agribusinesses; Providing opportunities for women-owned MSMEs in horticultural sector; Facilitating local market linkages for horticultural VCs; Improved agricultural practices in mandarin VC.

The USAID Agriculture Program will continue to identify other priority areas and engage additional associations through outreach activities. The Program will also include sectoral associations covering the new products and VCs in its Capacity Building grants and will add an additional Capacity Building Grant RFA in PY3 to extend opportunities to additional associations as they emerge and develop. One potential example is the Almond and Walnut Producer Association, established in 2018, which unites


80 growers and agribusinesses with almond and walnut orchards covering 4,000 hectares. This association is looking to strengthen its operations and increase member services.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 1.2 Capacity Building Grants

1.2.1 Issue RFA for Capacity Building Grants in response to specific needs in selected VCs

1.2.2 Targeted and individualized outreach inviting applicants to submit proposals and as questions and consult with the Program’s staff

1.2.3 Conduct initial evaluation of applications according to application evaluation matrix

1.2.4 Develop full grant proposal in collaborative process between applicant and Component 2 staff

1.2.5 Finalization and submission of grant proposals to USAID for approval

1.2.6 Implementation of initial grant projects with technical oversight by Component 2 staff

1.2.7 Monitoring and reporting grant projects

Proposed Innovation Grants USAID encourages the USAID Agriculture Program to exhibit flexibility in order to deal with unforeseen program difficulties or move in new directions called for by unfolding events. The Program’s leadership believes that flexibility should not be an attribute to be held in reserve for emerging problems but should be a fundamental tool in program operations. Thus, in PY2, the Program will propose a limited grant category designed to seize unanticipated program opportunities, that will be descriptively termed ‘Innovation Grants.’

The intent of Innovation Grants will be to grasp emerging opportunities to significantly advance the program and enhance Georgian economic development. Enabling a small portion of the program grant component to be utilized in such fashion could spawn transformative activities. This will not impact the Program’s budget and will capitalize on imaginative initiatives originating in the private sector.

Supporting the notion of Innovation Grants is the result of a reality emerging early in the USAID Agriculture Program’s implementation, that the limit of $75,000 on investment grants constrains the acquisition of higher-level technologies. That grant level is adequate for broadening the technological base, but is not sufficient to procure more advanced technologies, that are the basis for agricultural development. The grant ceiling for Innovation Grants remains at $75,000, per the approved Grant Manual. However, the USAID Agriculture Program will seek USAID CO approval for grants higher than $75,000 to support successful proposals. The Program will also seek outside funds, where appropriate and applicable, to spur these innovations. Any qualified entity, including MSMEs that have received donor support in the past, should be eligible to apply. It is the quality and importance of the investment idea itself, the advancement of the agriculture sector, and the growth of private sector agribusinesses which should be the overriding ingredients in this grant category. Additionally, in order to attract the broadest possible range of innovative ideas, unsolicited proposals should be considered and, if selected, may be awarded non-competitively.

Allowing for a limited number of Innovation Grants will enable the USAID Agriculture Program to grasp development opportunities and build on entrepreneurial initiatives that are not possible under the current regulations. This pool would aim to stimulate transformative actions that do not fit fully within the existing procedures and were not foreseen.

The USAID Agriculture Program proposes a pool of grants (up to 10) to be reserved for innovative activities. The recipients of innovation grants will still be required to fulfill basic grant requirements (contribute to the Program’s deliverables, be sustainable and replicable). In addition, they would be required to exhibit the following characteristics:

significantly raise the level of technology, or


significantly improve the environment, contribute to program deliverables, be sustainable, replicable, and, address a current problem capitalize on a new or emerging opportunity

The USAID Agriculture Program plans to award Innovation Grants under two mechanisms, where appropriate:

1) Annual Program Statement: Given the nature of innovation, the USAID Agriculture Program anticipates that it will receive a variety of creative approaches from the market in response to any Notice of Funding Opportunity. For that reason, the Program will release an Annual Program Statement (APS) in PY2, calling for the submission of concept notes for Innovation Grants. The APS will have specific format and evaluation criteria for concept notes, determined in collaboration with USAID, that are sufficiently broad to also encourage applicants to submit transformative innovations on a wide range of programs. Criteria will include: viability, realism, capacity of applicant, and innovativeness. The APS will stay open for about a year, with an open-ended response date and concept notes will be selected for development on a rolling basis. Selected concept notes will be developed into full investment proposals with support from the USAID Agriculture Program and will be submitted to USAID for the approval.

2) Unsolicited Applications and Exclusive or Predominant Capability. In limited cases, the USAID Agriculture Program may use Grant Manual provisions for to recommend Unsolicited Applications or cases of Exclusive or Predominant Capability for grant funding. The Program will provide sufficient justification and the full investment proposal will be submitted to USAID for the approval.

The idea to form this limited category of innovative activities does not at all change the nature of the USAID Agriculture Program, because it arises from an important context: at this stage of implementation, the Program is highly confident that it can and will deliver the full package of deliverables assigned by USAID. Thus, the Program seeks to augment that required contribution to agriculture development through a new and possibly transformative innovative approach.

As a result of the program expansion, innovation grants will be increased in size and scope and innovation grant proposals will also be considered through PY3. Potential examples of innovation grant opportunities include:

Production of postharvest packing boxes through recycling plastic waste; Organic pesticide production from forest plant material for domestic and export markets; Pelletizing animal waste for organic fertilizer production; Minimum/conservation tillage or no-tillage technologies for use in appropriate locations; and Hail net production, for use with multiple high value crops with export market potential.

These ideas are meant to be illustrative; all proposals that demonstrate innovation and transformative potential along or across the targeted value chains are encouraged.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 1.3 Innovation grants

1.3.1 Design Mechanisms to allow for limited unsolicited proposals (APS) for innovation grants

1.3.2 Work with program beneficiaries to identify potential problems and opportunities to address through innovation grant funding

1.3.3 Accept proposals on a rolling basis

1.3.4 Conduct initial evaluation of applications according to application evaluation matrix


Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 1.3 Innovation grants

1.3.5 Develop full grant proposal in collaborative process between applicant and APG staff with integrated TA plan

1.3.6 Finalization and submission of grant proposals to USAID for approval

1.3.7 Implementation of grant projects with technical oversight by component 2 staff

1.3.8 Monitoring and reporting of grant projects

2. Technical Assistance to MSMEs, Cooperatives, Service/Information/Extension Providers and Associations

The Sector Selection and Value Chain Analysis report produced by the USAID Agriculture Program in PY1 prioritized seven VCs, including berries, perishable vegetables, culinary herbs, stone fruits, pome fruits, mandarins, and table grapes for assistance. Starting from PY2, the Program will also focus on Nuts (except hazelnuts) VC and Kiwi fruit (within the berry VC).

The report, developed by the South-East Europe Development Organization (SEEDEV), clearly shows that Georgian agribusinesses across all these VCs demonstrate a lack of knowledge regarding the use of modern production practices, an inability to maintain a competitive advantage, have limited access to modern agricultural inputs, and are otherwise limited in terms of increased productivity, new market penetration, and overall enterprise growth by a number of intervening factors. In recognition of these dynamics, the need for, and benefits associated with, tailored technical assistance is undeniable.

The USAID Agriculture Program will continue its efforts to cover a larger number of companies eligible for technical assistance in PY2 to ensure streamlined and integrated VC operations. To this end, a variety of technical assistance programs will be developed to improve performance - the most critical identified as:

New varieties and inputs Modern production technologies Modern postharvest handling and processing practices Access to markets Capacity building

When it comes to the overall value of technical assistance provided, the goal of the Program will be to create measurable impact, improvement, and growth in terms of:

Increased number of vertical and horizontal linkages and business relationships across all selected VCs;

A larger number of products and services exchanged between farmers, agribusinesses, traders, exporters, processors, and packers;

Statistical evidence from farmers, traders, packers, and exporters showing increased utilization of modern production practices;

Statistical evidence demonstrating improved harvest, handling, and packaging; Increased sales to both established and high-value markets domestically and internationally;

and Statistical evidence of a more competitive workforce and increased number of jobs.


Technical assistance programs will be tailored to suit and focus upon grantees and other such project beneficiaries operating within the priority VCs. The assistance will also be enhanced and expanded through the program’s recent expansion to:

Include new products and VCs; Increase support to sector associations supporting the newly selected and existing VCs; and Expand and enhance the focus on private sector partnerships, especially those private sector

partners who offer access to new inputs, technologies, and markets.

Over the course of PY2, the program expects to implement 29 In-Kind Grants issued in two rounds. All of the companies that accept project grants will be automatically included in all of the technical assistance programs that align with their individual needs and those within their VCs.

The Program will deliver its support in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture (MEPA), ARDA, Enterprise Georgia, USAID’s F2F, MASHAV, and other such agribusiness specific organizations operating throughout Georgia. Further research, surveys, trainings, workshops, and individual consultations will be implemented via contracts with local and international consultants and specialists as well as valued subcontractors (including WFLO and SEEDEV).

Improved Access to New Varieties and Inputs

Based on the Sector Selection and Value Chain Analysis conducted by the USAID Agriculture Program, along with follow-up meetings and private sector roundtables, it is clear that one of the key challenges faced by agribusinesses across all target VCs is limited access to modern, effective pesticides and fertilizers, the latest agricultural equipment and machinery, and the best varieties of seeds and seedlings. Along with the relatively small size of Georgian markets, these factors collectively limit production, product quality, enterprise productivity, and access to markets. To address specific shortcomings across specific VCs in PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to implement the following actions:

2.1.1. Facilitate Nursery Certification The USAID Agriculture Program plans to implement the Nursery Quality Initiative, supporting MEPA's National Food Agency (NFA) and Scientific Research Center of Agriculture (SRCA). This will make a classification and certification scheme available to nurseries eager to align their operations with international best-practices. Additionally, a functional regulatory and business environment will help nurseries produce and distribute high-quality, disease and pest free planting materials; improving the development and yield of the crops through enhanced genetic potential and overall health of individual plant varieties. This initiative will also prove invaluable to the newly selected Nut VC, where access to high quality modern varieties is a critical constraint.

Aligning with a recently launched Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) project addressing policy and legislative aspects of certification, and based on the recommendations outlined in the Nursery


Survey conducted in PY1, the Program will provide training and capacity development activities to the NFA, SRCA, and private nurseries, as follows:

Develop regulations that will categorize and define planting material in terms of pre-basic, basic, certified stock, certified material, and standard material;

Define key requirements for nurseries; Help the SRCA launch an informational campaign that targets nurseries; Help the SRCA and NFA define step-by-step procedures and required documentation for a

certification and implementation program; Help nurseries understand and satisfy program requirements; and Organize trainings and study tours for field inspectors.

2.1.2. Development of Modern Nurseries in Berry and Vegetable/Herb and Stone/Pome Fruits Value Chains Development of modern nurseries is one of the key components of agriculture and an essential milestone towards increased efficiency of primary production in Georgia. As such, support from the USAID Agriculture Program in PY1 included technical consultancies and the development of open ground and greenhouse berry nurseries. In PY2, the Program plans to expand its technical support through international consultants, including linking local seedling producers with internationally licensed nurseries, supplying them with quality inputs and technical expertise, and facilitating industry best-practices for propagation:

Berry Nurseries: The Program plans to conduct a Train-the-Trainer course for FSC agronomists, state extension specialists, and the academic community as well as informational training sessions for ARDA-supported nurseries. Early in November 2019 and March 2020, the Program plans to engage an international nursery development specialist who will visit local nurseries and introduce industry best-practices for propagation. In addition, the specialist will help at least one nursery to sign a license agreement with European nursery to establish propagation of blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry cultivars that have been licensed for European markets.

Vegetable/Herbs Nurseries: Recognizing that a large number of vegetable/herb seedling producers embrace outdated agricultural practices and low-quality inputs, strengthening their understanding of modern production technologies is essential. In addition, facilitating access to licensed varieties of vegetables and herbs will allow local nurseries, especially indoor producers, to better satisfy growing demand for these products. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program, in collaboration with ARDA’s Information-Consultation Centers (ICCs), plans to identify seedling producers in Adjara, Tskaltubo, and Marneuli who are motivated to establish linkages with European and/or American licensed nurseries, increase capacity, and promote the development of a modern nursery network throughout Georgia.

Stone and Pome Fruit Nurseries: Stone and pome fruits demonstrate a good potential in both domestic and export markets and, with this in view, in PY2 the USAID Agriculture Program prioritized stone and pome fruits nurseries for assistance. The Program plans to engage an international consultant to support existing and new nurseries that may be established through the Program’s matching grants to improve capacity and multiply high-quality planting material. The Program will identify the best nurseries throughout Georgia and assist in establishing business contacts with international nurseries as well as educating them on introducing certain quality and production standards within their production areas. It is anticipated that at least one nursery will start the process to get a license agreement with a reputable international nursery to establish propagation of high-quality marketable stone and pome fruit inputs.

2.1.3. Resource Materials for New Varieties In order to improve the competitiveness of selected VCs and the agriculture sector in general, it is vital for operators to have access to disease free, high-quality, and undeniably productive cultivars, and embrace operational practices that meet local and international market standards. In most cases, growers lack relevant technical knowledge to make effective management decisions and implement


new practices. In order to create a better understanding of industry best-practices, and to help farmers make informed decisions that enhance operations, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to develop a series of informational guides that will be widely disseminated through ARDA’s state extension centers, FSCs, and sector associations. Each guide will feature step-by-step production recommendations, from planting through to harvest, as well as descriptions of specific cultivars deemed well-suited to local growing conditions and better aligned to both local and international buyer preferences. The guides that will be developed include:

Berries – Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, and Blueberries Table Grapes Lettuces and Specialty Vegetables Mandarins and Oranges (based on a request from the Ministry of Agriculture of Adjara)

2.1.4. Short Certificate Courses in Berry and Culinary Herbs In order to strengthen selected VC actors and achieve higher sector productivity, the dissemination of knowledge and the development of a more competitive workforce are priorities for the USAID Agriculture Program. In partnership with educational institutions, the Program plans to introduce market-demanded short-term courses to be offered on a regular basis for agronomists and sector specialists with a focus of new varieties and production practices:

Certificate Course in Berry Production: In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program solicited support from local universities and Vocational Education and Training (VET) colleges to develop short certificate courses that would provide regular support to berry VCs. Recognizing limited understanding of berry cultivation among farmers, the courses, developed in cooperation with an internationally recognized university, would emphasize the selection and production of four types of berries: strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry. The Agrarian University replied to this solicitation and outlined how they would introduce certification courses. In early PY2, the Agrarian University, in cooperation with Michigan State University and/or a new international partner, will submit a revised technical proposal to the Program and begin work on four modules within this certificate course.

Certificate Course in Greenhouse Production of Culinary Herbs: Recognizing significant growth potential and steadily increasing demand for fresh herbs and lettuce in both domestic and international markets, the USAID Agriculture Program is developing ways to sustainably increase capacities throughout the culinary herbs VC. With limited understanding of industry best-practices and new varieties of vegetables and culinary herbs with good export potential among primary producers, the Program will engage a local University or VET college offering agricultural program to develop a short certificate course in production of the above fresh produce. It is anticipated that the selected institution will collaborate with an internationally recognized University, extension center, or reputable nursery to develop a course curriculum, focusing on the selection and production of those varieties of culinary herbs, like lettuce, that are in greatest demand.

2.1.5. Improved Access to Modern Fertilizers and Plant Protection Products Collaborative efforts and significant progress made by both private sector and donors working with agricultural inputs has established a well-developed network of FSCs. At these facilities, growers are provided access to information and a wide selection of internationally produced agricultural products. Due to the relatively small size of the Georgian market, access is met with high prices, relatively low-quality pesticides and fertilizers, and limited access to the latest plant protection products and fertilizers. To mitigate these dynamics, the USAID Agriculture Program will facilitate dialogue among local stakeholders, helping them identify ways to improve Georgia’s ability to supply high-quality agricultural inputs. Working with beneficiaries that have received capacity building grants, the Program will conduct a series of roundtable discussions linked to agricultural inputs attended by representatives from the beneficiary enterprises, multinational and local producers, NFA, and other relevant stakeholders. Discussions will consider the current standing of Georgia's agricultural input market as well as needs and opportunities critical to the industry including registration of new


pesticides and fertilizers, regulatory framework for improved utilization of pesticides, responsiveness to the needs of agribusinesses, and barriers to access for modern inputs. These sessions will be monitored to gauge progress and address challenges in a timely manner. Seeking to improve yields, crop quality, and provide access to the latest in industry best-practices, beneficiaries will also receive trainings in soil treatment and fertilization as well as pest and disease control.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has become increasingly important and complicated in a variety of VCs, and the Nut VC, in particular, offers significant opportunities for improvement. The USAID Agriculture Program will work to offer training and technical assistance to producers through the association or local service providers in order to sustainably and effectively manage pests and nutrients while minimizing economic costs and risks to people and the environment.

The USAID Agriculture Program will build on its current relationship with Trécé, a US manufacturer of pheromone-based products, to raise awareness of the necessity of IPM and modern pest monitoring and management systems.

2.1.6. Raising Awareness of New Farming Machinery and Equipment among Farmers and Agribusinesses By adopting modern agricultural practices and agricultural machinery, farmers can significantly improve the efficiency of seed and fertilizer use, reduce labor time, minimize postharvest losses, and increase productivity. Understanding the value of these practices, the USAID Agriculture Program will offer awareness building sessions that highlight the latest in farm equipment and smart farming practices. These sessions, tailored to suit the requirements of small and medium-scale farms, will be made available to farmers, FSC operators, and agricultural machinery dealers in selected VCs. It is expected that, with the information and insights provided, farmers will be positioned to adopt proven, resource-saving machinery and equipment, streamline operations, maximize outputs, and meet productivity targets.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 2.1 Improved Access to New Varieties

2.1.1 Facilitation of Nursery Certification

2.1.2 Development of Modern Nurseries in Berry and Vegetable/Herb and Stone/Pome Fruits Value Chains:

2.1.2.1 Berry Nurseries 2.1.2.2 Vegetable/Herb Nurseries 2.1.2.3 Pome and Stone Fruit Nurseries 2.1.3 Resource Materials for New Varieties

2.1.4 Short Certificate Courses in Berry and Culinary Herbs

2.1.5 Improved Access to Modern Fertilizers and Plant Protection Products

2.1.5.1 Introduction of new IPM methodologies 2.5.1.2 IPM awareness and training with Tréce

2.1.6 Raising Awareness of New Farming Machinery and Equipment among Farmers and Agribusinesses

Improved Production Technologies In early PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program conducted a comprehensive Sector Selection and Value Chain Analysis, including meetings and roundtable discussions with primary producers, to better identify the gaps and constraints that limit yields and crop quality within selected VCs. Finding a lack of understanding, as well as implementation of modern production technologies, to be a primary factor, the Program plans to allocate resources and engage local and international consultants who will introduce farmers and agribusinesses to improved production practices in different technical areas.

Production technologies will also be a priority of the expansion activities, engaging both local and international consultants to introduce improved practices in the Nut VC. The USAID Agriculture


Program will also work to develop the knowledge and skills of agronomists and professionals in the newly added VC, working with universities and associations, as appropriate, to develop training materials and programs. This includes:

Developing a comprehensive database of nut (almond, walnut, pistachio) growers and processors;

Developing almond and walnut production guides; Introducing a training program on tree formation and harvesting best practices; Identifying and introducing modern nut harvesting equipment and processes; and Identifying opportunities for study tours to introduce best practices in production.

In the Berry Value Chain, the USAID Agriculture Program will work closely with large growers such as Nergeta and Gemuani to develop and deliver hands-on training to farmers on kiwi best growing practices.

2.2.1. International Consultancy in Berry Production The use of high tunnels in berry production is a relatively new technology that has not yet been fully embraced by Georgian berry farmers. Understanding that it improves the quality and quantity of yields, facilitates early summer harvests, extends production into the fall, and enables premium pricing, it will be the focus of this consultancy. The USAID Agriculture Program will engage two consultants in April-May of 2020, one for raspberry and blackberry production and another for blueberry production. Targeted for this consultancy are grant recipients SP Berdia Silagadze, SP Aleksandre Sologhashvili, Lurji Veli Ltd, and agricultural cooperatives Shamatia and Spartak, as well as ARDA-supported beneficiaries.

2.2.2. International TOT in Raspberry, Strawberry, Blackberry and Blueberry Open Field Production for Local Agronomists One of the key challenges for smallholder and commercial farmers engaged in berry production is a lack of awareness or access to the latest agricultural technologies, berry cultivars, farm inputs, and operating practices. Recognizing berry VCs as one of the most promising in Georgia, this information is vital to effective farm management. In response, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to organize a theory and practice Training of Trainers (TOT) course for selected local agronomists in April 2020 by engaging three international consultants (for strawberry, raspberry/blackberry, and blueberry). This program will upgrade their knowledge base and technical expertise, allowing them to better serve the community. Targeted for this consultancy are FSCs, state extension specialists from ARDA, and local colleges and Universities.

2.2.3. International Consultancy in Table Grape Production Technologies Although the table grape VC in Georgia is under-developed, there are opportunities to advance productivity within this sector. In order to make locally grown table grapes competitive in both domestic and international markets, it is imperative to increase yields, improve quality, and offer varieties that are in greatest demand. To assist with this agenda, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to engage an international consultant to provide awareness training sessions and onsite consultancies focused on pruning, pest management, fertigation, and related industry best-practices for producers of modern table grapes. Seven producers from Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti regions, including ARDA-supported beneficiaries, have been targeted for these programs.

2.2.4. International TOT in Culinary Herbs Greenhouse Production for Local Agronomists Having identified a broad lack of knowledge related to agricultural best-practices among indoor growers of culinary herbs, the USAID Agriculture Program will design a TOT course for selected local agronomists. This program will equip them with the technical knowledge and expertise to further promote and teach agricultural best-practices throughout the farming community. The course will be delivered in March 2020 to local agronomists, operators of FSCs, state extension specialists from ARDA, and representatives from local colleges and Universities. It will integrate theory and practice associated with soil treatment, pest and disease control, irrigation, and postharvest handling.


2.2.5. Knowledge Plot Education Programs In order to increase the productivity of crops deemed priorities for both local and export markets, the USAID Agriculture Program has identified farmers and lead agribusinesses in strategic locations who are willing to establish knowledge plots, showcase new varieties and agricultural best-practices, and share their experiences with other farmers in the community. By organizing field days at these locations, a large number of farmers will obtain essential technical and practical information. Trainings will be delivered as a series of one- to two-day field-based education sessions conducted by local and international consultants. During these sessions, both theoretical and practical aspects of crop production will be featured. These are the field days projected for PY2:

No Type of technologies/varieties Value Chain Knowledge Plot at Location Tentative

Timeline

1 High Tunnels Berries SP Mindia Kavtaradze Vani municipality May 2020

2 New Strawberry Varieties (Cabrio & Rociera) harvesting

Berries Agricultural Cooperative Shamatia

Khobi municipality April 2020

3 New Blackberry Variety (Loch Ness) harvesting Berries Kenkra Ltd Gurjaani

municipality July 2020

4 Blueberry growing in pots Berries Agritouch Ltd Ozurgeti

municipality April 2020

5

New Table Grapes Varieties - pruning, fertigation/ green operations & harvesting

Table Grapes Jigaura (SRCA) Mtskheta

municipality

January 2020 May 2020 August 2020

6 Pruning and formation Pome and Stone Fruits

Agrokartli Ltd

Gori municipality,

February 2020 July 2020

7 Green pruning and twisting Stone Fruits Agricultural

Cooperative Saba Kvareli municipality

February 2020 July 2020

8 Harvesting practices with shaker Stone Fruits Agricultural

Cooperative Saba Kvareli municipality June 2020

9

New varieties of vegetables production in greenhouses (cherry tomatoes and bell peppers)

Perishable Vegetables Herbia Ltd Tskaltubo

municipality February 2020

10 Greens production in modern greenhouses

Culinary Herbs

Agricultural Cooperative Kvitiri

Tskaltubo municipality January 2020

11 Lettuce production in modern greenhouses

Culinary Herbs

Agricultural Cooperative Ertoba

Adjara December 2019

2.2.6. Digital Farms in Selected Value Chains In order to support sustainable development of primary production in selected VCs, and to increase productivity of the agriculture sector in Georgia, the USAID Agriculture Program is promoting the introduction of digital farming. Unlike conventional farming practices, where decision making relies upon a farmer’s intuition, digital farming tracks operations and provides quantitative data from which decisions can be based. Specifically, digital farming technologies can reduce the amount of water and inputs used, lower operational costs, and increase return on investments made by small-scale farmers. Based on the recommendations made by international consultants in PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to launch pilot projects with support from UGT, a Georgia-based technology provider, and continued technical assistance from SEEDEV’s consultants. Pilot projects will be implemented at selected farms including Tiriphoni Gardens Ltd (apple orchard), SP Zaza Gvatua (vegetable greenhouse), Blueberry Ltd (blueberry orchard), and SP Berdia Silagadze (strawberry greenhouse) and closely monitored for results. In order to achieve broader impact throughout Georgia's farming


communities, findings from these pilot projects will be promoted and showcased through a variety of special events.

2.2.7. GlobalGAP Certification GlobalGAP is an essential certification for exporters of fresh fruit, berries, and vegetables. In most cases, GlobalGAP certification opens up opportunities for better prices and sales within higher-tiered markets. Accordingly, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to organize a number of training sessions, as requested by ARDA in October and November of 2019, for farmers and agricultural production companies that are engaged or plan to become engaged in export operations. These sessions will emphasize the value of, and facilitate compliance with, marketplace standards. The Program will also continue its cost-share financial support for GlobalGAP certifications to primary producers in selected VCs in addition to these four ongoing certification consultancies:

No. Company Crop Status Expected Certification Date

1 Drill Master Ltd Blueberry ARDA July 2020 2 Agricultural cooperative Agromomavali Raspberry Non-grantee August 2020 3 Agricultural cooperative Chiri Raspberry Grantee August 2020 4 SP Davit Robanishvili Raspberry ARDA August 2020

2.2.8. Organic Farming Best-Practices Issues vital to organic farming such as bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers, mechanical cultivation, cover crops, and weed control are poorly understood and represent a serious challenge to berry operators engaged in organic production. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue its support of organic farming in berry VCs through onsite individual consultancies and training sessions provided by an international consultant scheduled for a second visit in May 2020. During these visits, the consultant will also provide recommendations for modern organic inputs and develop an agricultural calendar for pest management. As part of this project, MNK Ltd, agricultural cooperative Agrostore, Gealogos Ltd, SP Aleksandre Vashakidze, and Partnership Georgian Berry have been targeted for individual consultancies.

2.2.9. Facilitate Organic Certification In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue its pilot program, launched in July 2019 that supports organic, cost-shared certification. As part of this effort, in response to their applications for technical assistance and desire to obtain organic certification, the Program is providing 50% financial assistance to the following agribusinesses:

MNK Ltd operates a 4-ha thorn-less blackberry orchard in the village of Mukhiani, Tskaltubo municipality. The company expects organic certification in 2020.

SP Giorgi Kokozashvili operates a 1.2-ha modern apple orchard. Organic certification is expected in 2020.

Agricultural cooperative Agrostore operates a 3-ha raspberry orchard in Kvareli. Organic certification is expected in 2022.

SP Elizabed Khmiadashvili grows different varieties of lettuce on a 1-ha plantation in Tsnori. The company expects organic certification in 2020.

SP Aleksandre Vashakidze operates a 3-ha blackberry orchard, 7-ha raspberry orchard, and 1-ha blackberry orchard in the village of Shaumiani, Marneuli municipality. Organic certification is expected in 2022.

Shavra Ltd operates a 1.2-ha plum orchard in the village of Agara, Kareli municipality. This company expects organic certification in 2020.

Anticipating a new program from ARDA that will facilitate organic production, and in addition to the support outlined above, the USAID Agriculture Program anticipates cost-shared financial support to other organic farmers in Georgia.


2.2.10. Promoting Organic Production in Georgia The Horticultural Biomarket Survey described ways in which effective dissemination of knowledge and campaigns that raise awareness among consumers, food retailers, restauranteurs, and other related stakeholders can significantly contribute to the growth of organic production in Georgia. Recognizing that ARDA plans to introduce a new program supporting organic production, the USAID Agriculture Program may consider a capacity building grant to coincide with these activities.

2.2.11. Study Tours that Highlight Best-Practices in Production and Technologies The USAID Agriculture Program plans to organize study tours for Georgian primary producers and state extension specialists. These programs will provide hands-on learning experiences, aid understanding and compliance with market standards, improve competitiveness, and increase capacity for engagement with wholesalers and larger retailers in targeted international markets. In PY2, the Program plans to organize study tours to:

Italy for table grape growers (Table Grape VC) Italy for cherry growers (Stone Fruits VC) Cyprus or Turkey for mandarin growers (Mandarin VC) Italy for berry nurseries (Berry VC)

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 2.2 Improved Production Technologies

2.2.1 International Consultancy in Berry Greenhouse Production

2.2.2 International TOT in Raspberry, Strawberry, Blackberry and Blueberry Open Field Production for Local Agronomists

2.2.3 International Consultancy in Table Grape Production Technologies

2.2.4 International TOT in Culinary Herbs Greenhouse Production for Local Agronomists

2.2.5 Knowledge Plot Education Programs 2.2.6 Digital Farms in Selected Value Chains 2.2.7 GlobalGAP Certification 2.2.8 Organic Farming Best-Practices 2.2.9 Facilitation of Organic Certification 2.2.10 Promoting Organic Production in Georgia

2.2.11 Study Tours that Highlight Best-Practices in Production and Technologies

2.2.12 Develop of a database of nut growers and processors

2.2.13 Develop almond and walnut production guides

2.2.14 Introduce training on tree formation and harvesting

2.2.15 Identify and introduce modern nut harvesting equipment and processes

2.2.16 Identify opportunities for study tour to introduce best practices in nut production

2.2.17 Deliver kiwi best growing practices training

Improved Postharvest Handling and Processing In PY2, having identified crucial elements for success in priority VCs, the USAID Agriculture Program will emphasize vital improvements to postharvest handling and processing operations. Recognizing that intensively managed orchards are relatively new to Georgia, ARDA has supported more than 2,000 hectares of orchards producing a variety of perennial crops through its Plant the Future Program, and Georgia will steadily increase its yields of pome, stone, and berry fruits in the years ahead, there is an obvious and increasing need for proper postharvest handling. Additionally, to minimize losses and maintain a steady supply of fresh fruit to both domestic and international markets, there must be a skilled workforce and access to state-of-the-art technologies to properly maintain and manage these resources. Since effective postharvest handling and processing practices


are vital to operators across all VCs, and industry best-practices are poorly understood, the USAID Agriculture Program will help introduce modern postharvest handling and processing technologies to companies across all target VCs. Within the newly approved Nut VC, there is a critical shortage of drying and storage facilities, as well as constraints in grading and packaging. The USAID Agriculture Program proposes to address these challenges through a combination of targeted trainings and consultancies, as well as participation in packaging study tour/trade fairs.

2.3.1. Cold Chain Industry Survey Modern cold storage facilities are essential to the sustainability of the Georgian horticultural sector. In the last four years, new cold storage facilities with a combined capacity of 8,000 tons have been constructed, many with support from state-funded programs and international donors. These tend to be small to medium capacity operations, only a few with capacity exceeding 1,000 tons, most operating for just three to four months per year. They all face shortcomings associated with modern postharvest handling practices, lack of qualified staff, poor logistics, weak organizational structures, minimal compliance with internationally recognized standards of operation, and lack of viable economic development and sustainability strategies. At the end of PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program (through its subcontractor WFLO) launched a nationwide cold chain survey to fully identify industry dynamics and best-practices and define a business model that could be used to further develop the industry throughout Georgia. Activities listed in this section will be updated, based on the findings and recommendations provided by the WFLO consultants, upon completion of the survey.

2.3.2. Consultancies in Postharvest Handling Practices and Cold Store Operations Existence of a properly functioning cold storage network is essential for the smooth operation of VCs and crucial to increased profitability, growth, and sustainability of agricultural sectors. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program, working closely with specialists from WFLO and MASHAV, will provide individual and group consultancies to cold store operators within target VCs. These efforts will identify gaps in their operations and subsequently recommend improvements in key technical areas. The chart below highlights the anticipated schedule of consultancies, including ARDA-supported agribusinesses:

Value Chain Timing Location Targeted Cold Storage Operators

Berries June 2020 Guria, Samegrelo, Kakheti

Agricultural Cooperative Agrostore, Agritouch Ltd, Agricultural Cooperative Agromomavali, Agroplus + Ltd, Agricultural Cooperative Agrolia 2014, Agricultural Cooperative DK-Kolga

Stone & Pome Fruits

June, 2020

September 2020

Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Samegrelo

Agrocomplex Ltd, MKM Ltd, SP Zurab Merebashvili, Redvelox Ltd, Agricultural Cooperative Agro Development, Agricultural Cooperative Persimmon, Agricultural Cooperative Sanchos Bichebi, Agro Kartli Ltd, Fruit Export Company Ltd, SP Natela Turashvili

Mandarins November 2019 Adjara TCF Georgia

Table Grapes August 2020 Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti

Viniphera Ltd, SP Nikoloz Getiashvili, SP Zurab Medulashvili, Geguti 2005, SP Malkhaz Purcheladze, SP Ioseb Gioshvili

Culinary Herbs and Perishable Vegetables

December 2019

February 2020 Imereti

Agricultural Cooperative Kvitiri, Agroexport Ltd, Geguti 2005 Ltd, Agricultural Cooperative Gio

2.3.3. International Consultancy in Pre-Cooling Practices Supplying the market with quality-oriented fresh produce is a multi-stage process in which postharvest management plays a critical role. Pre-cooling, a critical post-harvest operation, takes place prior to storage, reduces crop respiration rate, crop waste, and extends its storage life. It is a new practice, requiring significant technical guidance that is critically missing from Georgian postharvest operations. To assist, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to engage an international consultant to render


assistance over two visits. The first will take place in April 2020, once pre-cooling equipment has been purchased and installed by grant recipients. A second visit in July will facilitate observations and evaluation of pre-cooling operations in action. Agricultural cooperatives Riversons Agro, Chiri, Spartak, Shamatia, Agrostore, Ozaani, as well as Lurji Veli Ltd, MNK Ltd, SP Aleksandre Sologhashvili, SP Berdia Silagadze, Agritouch Ltd, Blueberry Ltd and ARDA-supported agribusinesses from targeted VCs will be included in this consultancy.

2.3.4. International Consultancy in Freezing Techniques The global market for frozen fruits, berries, and vegetables, considered healthy convenience foods, has experienced growing demand over the last few years. In countries where a steady supply of fresh fruits, berries, and vegetables cannot be maintained, pre-packaged frozen fruits and vegetables are preferred, especially when these products are free of unwanted additives and can be stored for long periods of time. The frozen food industry in Georgia is poorly developed. While opportunities in international markets, especially in EU countries, are growing, the development of a frozen food industry in Georgia represents a mid- to long-term opportunity, especially when support from the Plan the Future Program and other donors will be concluded. In July 2020, as part of their efforts in PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to engage an international specialist who will help cold storage operators develop freezing capabilities, including deep-freezing and Individual Quick Freezing (IQF). This will be achieved through individual consultancies and informational workshops. Agrolane Ltd, Mambo Frost Ltd, Gigi Ltd, Agritouch Ltd, representatives from educational institutions, extension specialists, and other agribusinesses have been targeted for this endeavor.

2.3.5. International Study Tour for Table Grape Cold Store Operators In cooperation with DCFTA Adaptation Programme (DAP) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the USAID Agriculture Program plans to support participation by local cold store operators in a study tour to Moldova. Scheduled for mid-October 2019, operators will visit and observe modern practices in table grape storage and packaging. There are three agribusinesses actively engaged in table grape storage, along with two others developing facilities, that have been selected for this study tour.

2.3.6. Modern Processing Techniques Since the implementation of modern processing techniques is pivotal to success, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to provide its grant recipients and beneficiaries (including ARDA-supported processors) group and individual consultancies in:

Juice Production Canning Drying

These activities will be delivered in cooperation with USAID’s F2F project, EU-funded Ready-to-Trade, EBRD’s DCFTA Adaptation Program, MASHAV, and other international donors. The Program has targeted for this consultancy potential grant recipients associated with processing (expected to be announced in September 2019), as well as ARDA-supported companies including Caucasus Organic Fruits Ltd, Achinebuli Ltd, Fruit Paper Ltd, Badagi + Ltd, and Borjomi Product Company Ltd.

2.3.7. Facilitating Access to Modern Processing and Packaging Equipment Working in cooperation (including financial support) with Tuyap Georgia, the USAID Agricultural Program will organize a study tour for processors and packaging companies to attend the Packaging Industry and Food Processing Technologies international fairs held in Istanbul on October 23-26, 2019. These two fairs are the largest, most comprehensive, and effective trade fairs, for packaging and processing technologies in the Eurasian region. Visitors are given access to the state-of-the-art food processing and packaging equipment as well as the latest technologies and materials designed to lower costs, reduce waste, and increase efficiencies. ARDA-supported beneficiaries and members of the Georgian Food Packaging Association have been identified as participants in this program.


2.3.8. Georgia Grown Spice Producers (Culinary Value Chain) The global market for spices is expected to grow by 5.1% between 2017 and 2021. In European countries, 97% of imported volumes comes from developing countries. In order to exploit this dynamic, the USAID Agriculture Program, at a request of Enterprise Georgia and Georgian spice producers, has been conducting a survey of the Georgian spice cluster (representing approximately 20 producers). Once this is completed, the Program will have a better understanding of existing challenges and the improvements will be needed to increase the competitiveness of the cluster and plan appropriately. Assistance programs could include marketing and branding support, establishment of a national business association, facilitating membership in the European Spice Organization and/or World Spice Association, lab tests to monitor microbiological index and toxic elements, facilitating the adoption of quality marks for Georgia grown spices, and participation in spice festivals. At this time, with support from Enterprise Georgia, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to organize a training program in marketing, management, and food safety specifically for spice producers.

2.3.9. Georgian Bay Leaf Producers (Culinary Value Chain) Bay leaves are one of the primary export commodities from the Culinary VC in Georgia, with, on average, exports between 4,000 and 5,000 tons annually. The most important trade partners are Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine, followed by other post-Soviet countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Tajikistan. Smaller volumes are exported to Poland, Baltic countries, South Korea, Vietnam, Nigeria, Philippines, Spain, and Bulgaria. According to the Georgian Bay Leaf Sector Survey conducted by USAID's Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production (REAP) in 2017, there were 49 exporters of bay leaves in Georgia, including large and small-sized processing companies and traders, out of which 10 dominate the market. Having identified undeniable growth potential, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to support and strengthen the Georgian bay leaf cluster through grants and technical assistance that could include the creation of a sector association, compliance with international food safety standards, branding, export promotion, and other promotional events including Geographical Indication (GI) for Georgia-grown bay leaves. The USAID Agriculture Program will facilitate the relationship between ARDA and the association to design the stand-alone program under Plant the Future to support the cultivation of modern Laurus plantations. Growers and processors will be able to benefit from the grants that can be used to support modern drying facilities, as well as packaging and processing equipment, to support Georgian bay leaf producers to enter high-end markets.

2.3.10. Modern Food Safety Standards Improved food safety helps agribusinesses meet regional and export market requirements, attract investment, realize cost savings, and strengthen their brands. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to support cold store operators and food processors in target VCs, helping them comply with internationally recognized food safety and operational standards including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), ISO 22000, Foundation Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000, BRC, and IFS. This support will be offered to approximately 15 agribusinesses including ARDA-supported beneficiaries (Badagi + Ltd, Natvini Ltd, Borjomi Product Company Ltd, Jumiti 2014 Ltd and others), along with cost-share grants for ARDA and private companies. Support for food safety standards and certifications will help these cold storage operators and food processors access new markets (like the EU market which cannot be accessed without the right certifications) and meet the terms of their contracts with buyers (many of whom require these standards as a pre-requisite). The USAID Agriculture Program will closely collaborate with ARDA or other relevant government agencies to support the establishment of a national registration database for certified agri-business and producers, submitting information on current and former program beneficiaries.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 2.3 Improved Postharvest Handling and Processing

2.3.1 Cold Chain Industry Survey

2.3.2 Consultancies in Postharvest Handling Practices and Cold Store Operations


Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 2.3 Improved Postharvest Handling and Processing

2.3.3 International Consultancy in Pre-Cooling Practices

2.3.4 International Consultancy in Freezing Techniques

2.3.5 International Study Tour for Table Grape Cold Store Operators

2.3.6 Modern Processing Techniques

2.3.7 Facilitating Access to Modern Processing and Packaging Equipment

2.3.8 Support to Georgia Grown Spice Producers

2.3.9 Support to Georgian Bay Leaf Producers

2.3.10 Modern Food Safety Standards

2.3.11 Individual consultancies in postharvest processing, storage, packaging, and labeling for nuts VC stakeholders

2.3.12 Training in postharvest handling/drying, processing and storage for nuts VC stakeholders

2.3.13 Participation in packaging study tours/fairs

Market Access The USAID Agriculture Program has recognized market access as one of the key obstacles to enterprise growth within the Georgian agriculture sector. The fragmented nature of primary production and processing industries, dominated primarily by small companies, makes market entry and competitiveness difficult to achieve in demanding domestic retail environments as well as export markets. To address these dynamics, the Program plans to partner with key stakeholders to identify new export markets, organize participation in leading international trade fairs, facilitate B2B meetings with international buyers, support acquisitions, strengthen horizontal and vertical integration, establish pilot market access models within retail and hospitality sectors, and other such systems and services that will formalize and streamline partnerships.

The program expansion funding offers an opportunity to increase market access activities for already selected VCs, as well as include new ones (for example nuts). While activities will be expanded in other selected VCs as well, key activities for market access for the newly selected Nut VC include:

Facilitating export market access for almonds, by participating in key trade shows; Fostering participation in the Dry Fruits and Nuts Congress to be held in Dubai in May 2020;

and Conducting promotional events and awareness campaigns to facilitate increased domestic

sales.

2.4.1. Improved Horizontal Collaboration at the Farmer Level Cooperative marketing and other horizontal collaborations among targeted VC growers are weak. This is due primarily to lack of overall awareness about the benefits and market opportunities that cooperation represents. For growers to better understand and embrace the benefits that horizontal linkages represent, planned activities include:

Support the establishment of sectoral associations, or collaborate with existing associations, for table grape producers, bay leaf producers, and spice producers; provide follow-up support through technical assistance and/or Capacity Building Grants; introduce services that can promote efficiencies, reduce costs, open markets, and motivate beneficial competition.

Support existing associations in Berry, Culinary Herbs, and Mandarin VCs and increase cooperation and integration to better access domestic and export markets.


Organize training sessions that assist entry into local markets; establish grading standards for product uniformity and visual appeal; and establish labelling practices for larger primary producers planning to enter retail sales in cooperation with Georgian Retailers Association.

Develop a comprehensive database of available agricultural products from targeted VCs, allowing existing logistical centers and retailer networks to easily access daily-updated information.

2.4.2. Improved Vertical Collaboration Vertical collaboration among operators in targeted VCs will enhance domestic market opportunities and provide greater access to new local and export markets. In response, the USAID Agriculture Program has planned the following activities:

Form working groups and information sharing networks within each VC that will consist of primary producers, cold store operators, processors, input suppliers, distributers, and retailers;

Help grant recipients and program beneficiaries develop sustainable business relationships in local markets through a wide range of activities including identification of traders, meetings between farmers and traders, roundtable discussions attended by farmers and potential buyers, connections between farmers and food processors that will secure raw material supply, and technical assistance that will help farmers improve the quality of their produce;

Arrange trainings, in cooperation with the Georgian Distributers Business Association that will improve sales practices and methodologies among larger primary producers and processors;

Arrange promotional events, in cooperation with the Georgian Distributers Business Association that will introduce new products from targeted VCs to local supermarket chains;

Improve linkages between exporters and viable local suppliers through matchmaking meetings, sharing of information in existing supplier networks, and periodic informational tours conducted by local producers for potential exporters;

In order to identify new markets and facilitate increased exports, a series of problem-solving roundtables attended by exporters from selected VCs will be established. These sessions that may be provided through a Capacity Building Grant will give exporters first-hand information regarding market challenges and functional solutions, labelling and packaging guidelines in selected export markets, and coaching for ready-to-export companies.

2.4.3. Building Brand Awareness in Competitive Markets A strong, well-positioned brand is vital to USAID Agriculture Program-supported agribusinesses across all VCs. It provides a competitive advantage that contributes to increased numbers of customers, sales, and sustainability. With this in mind, the Program plans to provide cost-shared branding support for grant recipients and beneficiaries that will help them develop:

Logos, labels, and packaging Promotional materials Informational websites

Priority will be given to agribusinesses engaged in retail sales in both domestic and export markets. Within PY2, assistance will be provided to at least 12 agribusinesses including ARDA-supported food processors operating in priority VCs such as Bio FJ Ltd, Badagi + Ltd, Achinebuli Ltd, Fruit Paper Company Ltd, and Borjomi Product Company Ltd.

2.4.4. Brand Image for International Fairs Based on the request from Enterprise Georgia, the USAID Agriculture Program will engage an international consultant to develop the visual style, branding guidelines, and display structures that will better position Georgia as a point of origin at international trade fairs.


2.4.5. International Trade Fairs In partnership with Enterprise Georgia, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to support participation by grant recipients and beneficiary agribusinesses in the following three international trade fairs. These fairs have been identified by Enterprise Georgia and ARDA as the most relevant and promising markets for the selected VCs:

Gulfood 2020, Dubai, February 16-20, 2020 - the largest fair catering to Middle East markets. Biofach 2020, Nuremberg, February 12-15, 2020 - the world’s leading trade fair for organic

food. Food & Drink Expo 2020, Birmingham, March 30- April 1, 2020 - an international food and

beverage show taking place in the UK, a strategic market for Georgia after Brexit.

All trade fairs will be organized and co-funded by Enterprise Georgia and MEPA on a cost-share basis. Beneficiaries will be jointly selected with the co-funder on the basis of the relevance of their business to the market or Fair, their readiness for export, and whether the beneficiary has any preliminary agreements in that market. Upon return, the USAID Agriculture Program will provide a trip report and the Program will follow up with the organization on an annual basis with a beneficiary questionnaire to collect impact data. Beneficiary preparation prior to the fair will be managed by the funding partner and coaching will be provided by the Program.

2.4.6. Linking Farmers and Agro-Processors with Tourism and Catering Industries The USAID Agriculture Program plans to conduct a survey to identify opportunities for stronger linkages within domestic agricultural supply chains; ways to establish and strengthen market links among local producers, producer groups, multinationals, hotel chains, restaurants, and other HORECA businesses; and issues that require priority interventions. Based on the outcomes of this survey, the Program will develop follow-up actions that will help grant recipients and beneficiaries develop stronger buyer relationships and increase market share within tourism and catering industries. The USAID Agriculture Program will coordinate with the USAID Economic Security Activity in their assistance to hotel chains seeking to improve the structure of their supply chains. The Program will identify beneficiaries, facilitate linkages with HORECA for beneficiaries to better understand required standards, and support them to implement these standards, so that these beneficiaries will become acceptable vendors for international hotel chains.

2.4.7. Promotional Events to Facilitate Market Access Product and/or sector specific events featuring Georgia grown and made products are known to increase visibility and facilitate market linkages for participating companies. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to organize a Berry Fair in West Georgia and a Spice Festival in Tbilisi in cooperation with Enterprise Georgia. The date of the Spice Festival will be set in PY2, as for the Berry Fair, it will be organized in July 2020 and will take place in Guria Region. Since this period coincides with berry harvesting, the participants will have an opportunity to observe postharvest handling procedures, including pre-cooling, sorting, and storage operations.

The Berry Fair will become an annual event, gathering growers from different regions of Georgia. The participants will have an opportunity to share knowledge about growing practices and modern technologies, promote and sell their products, and establish relations with different restaurants, hotels, and supermarket chains.

The USAID Agriculture Program will gradually transfer the responsibility of organizing the annual Berry Fair to the Berry Association. This year, the Berry Association will lead the organization of the fair in close collaboration with local government and value-chains stakeholders. Support will be provided by the Program as needed to ensure the success of this event. The Program will continue to work closely with the Berry Association to build their capacity, including strengthening their membership structure and providing better services to grower members. The size of support will be gradually reduced throughout the Program while ensuring that association capacity is built to carry on the Berry Fair and other promotional activities within the berry VC.


Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 2.4 Market Access

2.4.1 Improved Horizontal Collaboration at the Farmer Level

2.4.2 Improved Vertical Collaboration

2.4.3 Building Brand Awareness in Competitive Markets

2.4.4 Brand Image for International Fairs 2.4.5 International Trade Fairs

2.4.6 Linking Farmers and Agro-processors with Tourism and Catering Industries

2.4.7 Promotional Events to Facilitate Market Access

2.4.8 International buyer visits (nuts VC)

2.4.9 Participation of nut enterprises in Dried Fruits and Nut Congress

2.4.10 Domestic awareness campaigns

Capacity Building Activities In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program held numerous meetings with priority VC actors, conducted assessments of key stakeholders, and identified needs that would facilitate sustainable development and effective integration across all priority VCs. Based on the outcomes, it was apparent that there was a need to better understand and embrace industry best-practices associated with general and financial management, reporting, and marketing.

2.5.1. Capacity Building Program for Agricultural Cooperatives In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program conducted a needs assessment within horticultural cooperatives so that tailored technical assistance programs that would minimize gaps in operations and technical capabilities could be organized. Based on their findings, there is an obvious need for improved general management skills for enterprise leaders, financial management and reporting capabilities, marketing, and agronomic practices.

2.5.2. Enhanced Capacity of Sectoral and Cross-cutting Business Associations The USAID Agriculture Program will continue its support of sectoral and cross-cutting business associations through coaching, training, and other such interventions aimed at strengthening priority VCs. In PY2, the Program plans to offer a tailored, capacity building program that emphasizes four key areas of operation: adopting a strategic approach to organizational development and management; improving services and delivering value to existing and potential members; financial management; and strategic marketing. The Program may engage an international consultant to deliver this training program.

In addition, the Program may support those agribusinesses interested in the development of a new sectoral association that will strengthen their VC and the sub-sectors in which they operate. Initial discussions are underway with representatives of table grape and spice sectors.

The expansion funding will allow the USAID Agriculture Program to include additional associations and expand support to those associations already engaged in Program activities. Tailored capacity building programs for the Almond and Walnut Producer Association will focus on organizational development, member services, financial management, and marketing. The association will seek to obtain membership in the International Nuts and Dried Fruits Council to access the most cutting-edge research and resources.

2.5.3. Increased Capacity for Tax and Financial Reporting Among MSMEs Starting October 1, 2019, Georgian law on accounting, reporting and auditing requires enterprises of the 3rd and 4th categories, primarily micro and small enterprises, to submit and post their financials on reportal.ge - the first public information resource in Georgia containing financial and management records from companies registered in Georgia. In response, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to develop a plain language guide for farmers and agribusinesses with varying legal status, including agricultural cooperatives that will help them understand the taxes they need to pay, benefits they can


enjoy, and financial reports they are required to submit. In developing the guide, the Program will work in close coordination with Governing for Growth in Georgia (G4G), using and adapting their materials as needed. This guide will be widely distributed for use by the Program's grant recipients and beneficiaries and serve as a resource for trainings in financial management. The Program may also provide practical trainings to its grant recipients and beneficiaries on an as needed basis.

2.5.4. Increased Capacity for Integrated Pest Management The USAID Agriculture Program will build on its current relationship with Trécé, a US manufacturer of pheromone-based products, to raise awareness of the necessity of IPM and modern pest monitoring and management systems. Following the success of the recent Scientific Mission, supported by USAID and Trécé, the USAID Agriculture Program will provide support for a Trécé-funded Study Tour in the U.S. for several NFA plant protection specialists and private sector input supply professionals. The Program will contribute observers to the tour, who will assist in the successful execution of the agenda and support the NFA and private sector attendees. The Program will also support the 2020 Integrated Pest Management Scientific Mission, to be held in September 2020. The other avenue for supporting NFA’s capacity building in pest management is the Government-to-Government (G2G) Program, which USAID aims to implement with NFA to put in place a system for phytosanitary risk assessment, monitoring, and IPM. The USAID Agriculture Program is already engaged in supporting the G2G initiative and the Program’s Senior Management and experts will continue to be involved, providing assistance and recommendations to USAID, as necessary, and actively participating in the co-creation workshops organized by USAID.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 2.5 Capacity Building Activities

2.5.1 Capacity Building Program for Agricultural Cooperatives

2.5.2 Enhanced Capacity of Sectoral and Cross-cutting Business Associations

2.5.2.1 Needs assessment of Almond and Walnut Producer Association

2.5.2.2 Training and consulting support to Almond and Walnut Producer Association

2.5.2.3 Membership in international Nuts and Dried Fruits Council

2.5.3 Increased Capacity for Tax and Financial Reporting Among MSMEs

2.5.4 Increased Capacity for Integrated Pest Management

3. Cross-Cutting Inclusive Agricultural Value Chain Development (IAVCD)

Guided by USAID’s documentation and global lessons learned on integration of gender and youth in development, in PY1 the USAID Agriculture Program developed its blueprint for actions aimed at facilitating a holistic approach to inclusive agricultural VC development programming. In PY2, along with activities focused on gender and youth integration, the Program will unfold, step-by-step, specific activities under the framework of its two four-year programs: ‘Gender Lens Agribusiness Investing’ and ‘Youth Lens Agribusiness Investing’, to address gender gaps and constraints along the selected VCs. Considering the design of the USAID Agriculture Program, there are several types of upgrading possible for Georgian agribusinesses, including: process, product, functional, intersectoral, and channel upgrading. However, at each phase of development, there are few opportunities for capable but economically-underprivileged women and youth. Women and youth in agricultural enterprise have a number of challenges that limit their full-scale participation in the Program. ‘Gender Lens Agribusiness Investing’ and ‘Youth Lens Agribusiness Investing’ will focus on unlocking new and existing opportunities for underserved women and youth to fully engage them in agro-entrepreneurial activities. Led by the USAID Agriculture Program Gender Specialist, in PY2 the Program will implement the activities as described in Annex 5 and will maintain flexibility and responsiveness in its implementation.


In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to incorporate the Gender and Youth elements into the activities of Components 1 and 2. Each grant proposal will include an associated Inclusive Agriculture Value Chain Development Plan, which will be focused on the engagement of women (preferably as co-owners, managers, and technical specialists) and youth. After the grants are awarded, the Program will actively monitor the implementation of these plans.

The USAID Agriculture Program will encourage women to engage in the agriculture sector and target VCs, by ensuring that they are present at different events, including trainings and roundtable discussions, and have networking opportunities. In addition, the Program will promote relevant success stories through different channels, including a Facebook campaign on Gender Transformative Agriculture. These campaigns will be launched in March to celebrate Women’s History Month.

To foster youth engagement in the agriculture sector, the USAID Agriculture Program, in cooperation with FAO, Georgia’s Agrarian Movement, and MEPA, will organize a National Agricultural Contest. The contest will include two assignments, a computer test and a written test, which will identify winners in three categories:

Best Farmer Best Student Best Agricultural Professional

The top three candidates in the ‘Best Student’ Category will be offered a paid internship opportunity at the USAID Agriculture Program’s offices.

Led by the USAID Agriculture Program Gender Specialist, in PY2 the Program will implement the activities as described in Annex 5 and will maintain flexibility and responsiveness in its implementation, adopting its IAVCD programming and/or actions if needed.

Public Information and Outreach In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue its robust outreach campaign to attract grantees, promote trainings, and coordinate activities with partner organizations and the Government of Georgia (GoG).

Grant Project One-Pagers: The USAID Agriculture Program will develop one-page overviews of awarded grant projects, incorporating information about the grant recipients, USAID’s assistance, and impact data. One-pagers will serve as handouts distributed to the representatives of USAID, GoG, and other donor-funded projects. The Program will update them on a quarterly basis to reflect new Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) and impact data.

The USAID Agriculture Program’s One-Pager: The Program’s one-pager will be updated annually to summarize key achievements of the year and describe future directions and planned activities. The document will be disseminated among the target VC actors, GoG agencies, and other donor-funded projects.

Outreach Campaign: In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue the adopted practice of organizing outreach sessions after each grant solicitation round. These sessions will take place in different regions of Georgia and will attract beneficiaries within the target VCs. The Program will take advantage of its existing network of FSCs, sectoral associations, ARDA, regional Informational ICCs, Georgian Chamber of Commerce, commercial banks, micro-finance institutions, and other donor-funded projects to reach and mobilize as many potential applicants as possible.

Social Media: In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to actively promote events, communicate success stories, and facilitate dialogue through social media channels. A special emphasis will be placed on announcing individual consultancies and group trainings, as well as summarizing the impact of the Program’s assistance on different players within the VCs, especially smallholders.


Project Site Visits: The USAID Agriculture Program will organize regular site visits to assess the progress of the grant recipients. The representatives of USAID will also be invited to join the visits and meet with the beneficiaries.

Event Calendar: In the beginning of each quarter, the USAID Agriculture Program will develop and share with USAID an event calendar that will include scheduled site visits, roundtable discussions, and other planned activities.

Environmental Compliance Environmental Safeguards: The USAID Agriculture Program will continue to design, implement, and monitor environmental safeguards to ensure that the grant recipients comply with USAID and Georgian environmental regulations. The Program will ensure environmental compliance both before and after awarding grants: Those grant applicants that pass the threshold of 70 points will go through initial

environmental screening during the site visits. When developing grant packages, the Program will complete Environmental Review Checklists

(ERCs) and elaborate Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plans (EMMPs). After the grants are awarded, the Program will monitor each stage of project implementation

in accordance with respective EMMPs. Environmental compliance issues will be reflected Quarterly Progress Reports.

In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program’s Environmental Manager will train Grants Activity Managers and technical staff in environmental requirements to ensure that they contribute to the regular monitoring of grant projects throughout their implementation. In addition, the Program plans to develop guidelines/brochures on safeguard issues. These will be distributed to the grantees to help them fully understand the requirements outlined in ERCs and EMMPs. Labor Safety Measures: In 2019, Georgia adopted the ‘Law on Labor Safety’, according to which all types of businesses are required to train and instruct their staff in labor safety norms, emergency preparedness and safe use of machinery, equipment, and tools. In response to the new regulation, the USAID Agriculture Program will hold training sessions for the designated staff members of the grant recipient enterprises and beneficiary companies to assist them in creating better and safer working environment. Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safer Use Action Plan (PERSUAP): In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will translate the updated PERSUAP and distribute printed versions to relevant beneficiaries (grantee and non-grantee alike). The latter will use this document as a guide to ensure that they comply with the USAID’s environmental regulations on procurement, use, transport, storage, or disposal of pesticides. In addition, in PY2, the Program will train beneficiaries in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and safe use of pesticides to improve their knowledge and ability to safely increase production.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 3.3 Environmental Compliance

3.3.1 Translation, publication, and dissemination of the selected parts of updated PERSUAP

3.3.2 IPM and PERSUAP trainings for the Program's beneficiaries

3.3.3 Design/publication of leaflets, brochures on environmental safeguards

3.3.4 Environmental Assessment, design of ERC /EMMP for Grant Applicants

3.3.5 Environmental Monitoring of Approved Grant Projects

Access to Finance Access to finance remains a major problem in the agriculture sector, despite the increase in the number of institutions offering agricultural loans and numerous donor-funded trainings in business planning. With this in view, the USAID Agriculture Program plans to take a comprehensive and proactive approach to access to finance. On the one hand, the Program will continue working closely


with grant applicants and grantees to identify proper bank products available in Georgia, improve their knowledge of financial resources and their skills of accessing those resources, and help them establish relations with financial institutions to obtain necessary funds for matching investment. In addition, the Program considers providing assistance to grantee and non-grantee beneficiaries in loan application and business planning.

On the other hand, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to cooperate with financial institutions, including TBC Bank, Bank of Georgia, Liberty Bank, FINCA, Alliance Group, Crystal, and Gazelle Finance to promote its activities and RFAs and discuss the opportunities for providing preferential terms for the Program’s beneficiaries.

On a case by case basis, the Program will provide support to grantees to identify and utilize existing commercial financing opportunities to fulfill their cost-share obligations.

The main activities under this direction include, but are not limited to:

1. Meeting with applicants to increase their awareness about the existing financial institutions and bank products available on the market;

2. Actively communicating with financial institutions about the Program’s RFAs in order to reach their clients.

4. Donor and Host-Country Coordination The USAID Agriculture Program is founded on successful relationships established in PY1, and will continue to collaborate with public and private sector partners to leverage financial resources, facilitate low-cost technical assistance, expand linkages, and maximize results of joint interventions.

Public Sector Partners Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia: The USAID Agriculture Program will coordinate activities with MEPA to align with the Ministry’s strategy, support its implementation, and establish sustainable systems.

National Food Agency (NFA) of Georgia: The USAID Agriculture Program will closely collaborate with NFA on upcoming issues, as needed, such as the seedling certification program, and support food safety and certification issues, among others, as they arise. The USAID Agriculture Program will also support USAID’s Government-to-Government development process as required.

Agriculture and Rural Development Agency: The USAID Agriculture Program established strong working relationship with ARDA. The agency was created as a result of the merger of Agricultural Projects Management Agency (APMA), Agricultural Cooperatives Development Agency (ACDA), and MEPA’s ICC unit. In PY1, the Program signed Terms of Cooperation (TOC) with APMA and ACDA and launched joint technical assistance program for their beneficiaries.

In close collaboration with ACDA, the USAID Agriculture Program conducted organizational capacity assessment of agricultural cooperatives. The findings of the assessment will inform the Program’s capacity building activities aimed at strengthening the network of agriculture cooperatives and supporting their sustainability. In the PY2, the USAID Agriculture program will collaborate with ARDA in the following technical directions:

Cost-shared technical assistance in implementation of international food safety standards; Cost-shared technical assistance in branding activity; Trainings in berry production and postharvest handling targeted at the Program’s

beneficiaries; and Capacity building trainings to agricultural cooperatives.

Scientific-Research Center of Agriculture: The USAID Agriculture Program will continue to actively cooperate with SRCA in the area of certification of planting materials. The program will provide technical assistance to SRCA’s designated staff members to promote and raise awareness about the


certification process of nurseries and suppliers and growers of planting materials (see more details in section 2.1.1).

Enterprise Georgia: In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will solidify relations with Enterprise Georgia and expand the areas for cooperation. A fair share of joint activities will be focused on export promotion. The partners will provide branding support to the participants of food and beverage fairs and assist the Program’s beneficiaries in expanding linkages, exploring new markets, and participating in relevant trade fairs (see more details in section 2.4.5).

Ministry of Agriculture of Adjara Autonomous Republic (AR): Under the TOC, the USAID Agriculture Program will collaborate with the Ministry to provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries based in Adjara Region, with a special focus on mandarin and greens and perishable vegetables VCs. The Program will discuss planned activities with the Ministry to align with the organization’s strategy and complement its programs. The mandarin VC remains one of the most important sectors in Adjara region and involves significant number of smallholder producers. Georgian farmers mainly produce ‘Satsuma’ mandarins. This is a perishable variety with short harvest period and shelf-life making it hard to market fruits, especially to the main target market – Russia. In cooperation with the Ministry, the Program will identify potential grant applicants in Adjara region, and encourage them to apply for RFA 003, targeted at processing enterprises. The Program will work with consolidators and exporters to strengthen market linkages and support them in diversification of their markets. The Ministry also will encourage qualified candidates to apply for the Program’s In-Kind Grants and targeted technical assistance.

Private Sector Partners McDonald’s Georgia: The USAID Agriculture Program continuously seeks to establish partnerships with private companies to initiate joint activities that serve mutual interest and benefit local farmers. In PY1, the Program held several meetings with the management of McDonald’s Georgia to learn about their needs in supply of local products, as well as their requirements regarding the quality and quantity of products. Based on this information, the Program identified lettuce producers that have the potential to become suppliers of McDonald’s, once they receive rigorous technical assistance and implement required Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to collaborate with McDonald’s Georgia and support identified farmers in improving growing practices and producing high-quality lettuces, in case McDonald’s is committed to including them in the suppliers’ network.

UGT: In recent years, digital innovation to advance efficiencies throughout the agriculture sector have rapidly changed the world industry. With this in view, the USAID Agriculture Program in cooperation with UGT plans to introduce digital technologies to the local agriculture to make farm and agribusiness operations more insight driven and efficient. The Program and UGT identified two areas for this partnership – digital sensors and digital traceability application. In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to cooperate with UGT and include its sub SEEDEV to develop these digital tools based on the best practices and offer them to farmers and agribusinesses.

Trécé Technologies: With the impact of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) pest on a number of VCs in Georgia, the historical success of Trécé’s partnership with NFA and USAID, and the opportunities that Trécé and the Georgian market present to each other, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to seek areas where the Program can collaborate with, support, and augment Trécé’s efforts in Georgia to increase the adoption of effective integrated pest management methodologies. One of the highlights of joint efforts with Trécé was a scientific mission conducted in PY1, in cooperation with USAID G-HIP project, aimed at addressing BMSB threat in Georgia.

Public-Private Partnerships The USAID Agriculture Program has built a wide range of successful relationships, both public and private, in PY1, and will continue to build and develop this network to leverage financial resources, jointly deliver services, and expand horizontal and vertical linkages in the targeted VCs. As part of the


program expansion, the USAID Agriculture Program will dedicate significant resources to the development of Public-Private Partnerships, seeking to develop relationships that will continue long after the program has ended. The project will engage a local Public-Private Partnership Manager, augmented by high level short-term technical assistance, and has allocated a dedicated PPP Fund to finance activities to foster Public-Private Partnerships in targeted VCs. Specific opportunities already identified include:

Organizing a special initiative with MEPA to address logistics gaps through consolidation centers;

Developing a new program in partnership with MEPA/ARDA to make new, improved varieties available affordably to small-holder farmers;

Developing a programmatic, replicable approach to identifying and attracting private sector actors for joint investment opportunities;

Developing relationships with domestic retailers, i.e. Carrefour and Spar, to enhance local producers’ participation in the retail market chain; and

Exploring partnering opportunities with Olam, McDonald’s, Trécé, and other multinational actors in the sector.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Donor and Host Country Coordination Public-Private Partnerships Consolidation Center initiative with MEPA MEPA-ARDA partnership on new varieties Development of institutional PPP model Development of retail chain programming Exploring partnerships with multinationals

Other Donor-Funded Projects MASHAV: In PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program initiated dialogue with MASHAV to discuss the possibility of deploying qualified MASHAV consultants to support perishable vegetables growers in Georgia. The Program shared this information with MASHAV’s Center for Cooperation and Advancement to build on successful collaboration established under the previous project and identify ways for providing low-cost technical assistance in the postharvest handling and cold storage

Developing Partnerships with Local and Multinational Actors

As an example of developing long-lasting partnerships with local and multinational private sector partners, the USAID Agriculture Program will build on its current work with Trécé and continue to expand and improve joint activities. This includes:

Developing a study tour, supported by Trécé, to enhance knowledge of modern pest management systems by visiting leading researchers at the Trécé facility as well as different universities (participants will include several NFA plant protection specialists and several private sector input supply professionals).

Organize trainings for farmers and input supply professionals on IPM by leading US scientists on a variety of major diseases affecting pome and stone fruits as well as grapes.

Support the NFA to develop a crop-disease surveillance and control system by developing, with Trécé support, protocols for different pests to be detected and managed.

While Trécé is a good example of a partner on the production side, on the market access side of the VC, the Program has met with McDonald’s to discuss needs, and has identified lettuce producers that have the potential to become suppliers of McDonald’s, once they receive rigorous technical assistance and implement required Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards. Building on this foundation, the USAID Agriculture Program will collaborate with McDonald’s Georgia and support identified farmers in improving growing practices and producing high quality lettuces, with the aim of integrating them into McDonald’s supply chain.


management areas. The Partners will develop and refine detailed plans over the course of implementation in the PY2 and will present them to USAID for review and approval.

USAID Economic Security Activity: The USAID Agriculture Program will coordinate closely with the newly awarded Economic Security Activity and cooperate in different areas that technically do not belong to agriculture, but are essential for developing agricultural VCs. Food packaging is one of such areas. It is a cross-cutting issue that affects all selected VCs equally. The USAID Agriculture Program will have an ongoing dialogue the Economic Security Activity to complement their activities in the areas of certification and packaging in order to maximize the impact on the economy.

USAID/Farmer to Farmer: The USAID Agriculture Program considers utilization of F2F experts’ resources as one of the most effective ways of accessing low-cost, but high-quality technical assistance. The USAID Agriculture Program intends to cooperate with F2F consultants specialized in berry growing and immediate postharvest handling practices and fruits and vegetables processing technologies. The Program will develop specific scopes for 7 assignments focused on the above-mentioned areas. These will be shared with F2F that will, in turn, recruit relevant experts. The partners will organize joint group trainings and on-site visits to selected beneficiaries.

USAID/ZRDA Activity: The USAID Agriculture Program will continue to coordinate with ZRDA Activity to include their berry growers and nursery operators in the Program’s activities. In addition, the Program intends to support small size packing houses and cold stores established by ZRDA, by engaging them in the postharvest handling networks, linking them with bigger cold storages, and integrating them in VC activities.

EBRD/DCFTA Adoption Program: The USAID Agriculture Program will coordinate its activities in soft fruits and table grapes VCs with EBRD/DAP. In addition, the Program plans to utilize their experts and engage its beneficiaries in the study tours organized by the EBRD/DAP (see more details in section 2.3.5). This in turn, will create synergies and maximize the positive impact on these sectors.

United States Department of Agriculture: The USAID Agriculture Program will seek USDA’s assistance to reach their extended network of highly qualified researchers and experts to help Georgian berry growers gain critical knowledge. The Program also intends to link Georgian educational institutions with the US Universities and research centers to help them establish contacts and develop courses based on international curricula. The Program is especially interested in facilitating such linkages between the Agrarian University and the Michigan State University.

Food and Agriculture Organization: Introduction of requirements regarding the certification of planting materials fosters the development of the horticulture sector in Georgia. Recently, FAO started its initiative aimed at strengthening the legislative framework of the certification process. The USAID Agriculture Program will coordinate and cooperate with FAO’s program. On the one hand, the Program is willing to assist SRCA and NFA to enable them to effectively implement certification schemes (see more details in section 2.1.1). On other hand, the Program will support and encourage private nurseries to undergo volunteer certifications.

5. Project Management Operations, Facilities, and Equipment

The USAID Agriculture Program’s head office in Tbilisi and regional offices in Kutaisi and Telavi will remain fully functional in PY2. With the grantees selected and technical assistance activities launched, the Program will increasingly utilize its regional offices to fulfill critical functions, including monitoring and evaluation, as well as trainings targeted at grantee and non-grantee enterprises.

Staffing The USAID Agriculture Program will start functioning with 32 full time staff members, comprised of one expatriate Chief of Party (COP) and 31 local professional staff. In PY2, the Program will transition its local Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) into the COP position. The local DCOP has extensive experience


of working as COP at the USAID/REAP Project and is fully equipped to transition smoothly into this role. The program expansion allows for the extension of the tenure of the expatriate COP by a further three months, to the end of the fourth month of PY2. Doing so increases management support and strategic guidance to the expansion activities and addition of new VCs.

In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will consider engaging current expatriate COP in STTA assignments, including work planning and consultancy in strategic management. CNFA Home Office will continue to support the Program to seamlessly transition personnel and provide oversight to ensure smooth and efficient processes.

To successfully continue implementation of the USAID Agriculture Program, the new COP will be supported by a local DCOP. In PY2, the Program will submit for approval the Program’s Agribusiness Investment Director to serve as the new DCOP. The Agribusiness Investment Director is an experienced manager and an agricultural professional. In order to remain responsive to the emerging needs, the Program will reallocate staff resources, without changing the scopes and areas of performance of the majority of personnel (the Program’s new organizational chart is presented in Annex 4).

New staff positions created as a result of the program expansion: To accommodate the 25% expansion of grant funding, Component 1 personnel is increased to include an additional Grant Analyst, while the Grants and Procurement Manager will be supported by a new Grant Procurement Assistant.

An additional Value Chain Specialist with a background in the production, processing, and marketing of nuts is added to the Component 2 team under the leadership of the Technical Assistance Director to foster the inclusion of another value chain in program activities.

A new position, Public-Private Partnership Manager is added to the organizational chart (see Annex 4), and this will be a senior-level hire to develop a programmatic approach to PPP development. This manager will develop the PPP program, and develop and pitch PPP opportunities within and across value chains:

The Public Private Partnership Manager will have expertise in building and managing public-private partnerships to promote and enhance development impact. The manager will expand the USAID Agriculture Program’s capacity to engage in and manage partnerships by bringing an understanding of the various USAID and USG programs focused on partnership development, agricultural private sector priorities, and CSR units’ approaches to public-private engagement. The manager will develop the Program’s strategic approach to building alliances and will identify and develop specific opportunities for the Program and its clients to participate in alliances and partnerships. Demonstrated experience in development of public-private partnerships is required, and strong linkages with the private sector are preferred. Strong business, finance, and communications skills are essential.

To manage the additional level of grants and program activities, the expansion proposal calls for increased LOE for the home office Program Director and Senior Program Officer to provide technical support and managerial oversight to the program.

A significant increase in both international and local STTA will be required to support the newly added products and VCs, as well as the increase focus on Public Private Partnerships. Short- to medium- term technical assistance will be provided in developing a portfolio of PPP opportunities. Expanded STTA will comprise an estimated 225 person-days of international STTA and 450 person-days of local STTA.

Internship Program: In PY1 the USAID Agriculture Program launched successful six-months paid internship program and engaged 24 students from different Georgian universities. This internship program enables the students to gain practical experience in different technical areas, including: access to finance, grants investment, environmental protection, monitoring and evaluation,


procurement, office administration, finance, communication and public relations, gender, and technical assistance.

In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program will continue to seek young professionals and anticipates to engage 24 interns in head office and 8 students in regional offices. The Program aims to provide interns with as much development opportunities, as possible. In each internship round, the Program will launch a competitive research grant project, named after Mariam Kutelia, USAID/REAP’s intern, who tragically passed away during Tbilisi flood in June 2015. As part of this project, interested interns will come up with research ideas addressing the constraints in selected VCs and develop proposals. The author of the winning proposal will be awarded a grant in amount of $1,000 to carry out research. The grant funds will be fully provided by CNFA.

In PY2, the USAID Agriculture Program intends to actively link its grantee and non-grantee beneficiaries with students of different Georgian universities. The goal is to enable young professionals gain practical experience in successful enterprises. The Program plans to closely cooperate with Kutaisi State University, Batumi State University, Telavi State University, and Agricultural University of Georgia, and organize several job fairs in different regions.

International Subcontracting The USAID Agriculture Program’s two sub-contractors, SEEDEV and WFLO, are both excellent in their fields and possess significant local and international experience. Both are ideally suited for the USAID Agriculture Program. To maximize the impact of both entities, the Program will ensure that they are not relegated only to seeking specialists for technical assignments. Early in PY2 the USAID Agriculture Program will arrange that the principals meet and interact with a view to how they can complement each other in serving the needs of the Program. Thereafter, they will be required to participate in activity and consultancy planning and design. A reporting component of their field assignments will be a scope of work for the next needed intervention based on experience obtained from the current one.

Monitoring and Reporting The USAID Agriculture Program will continue to collect data from grantee and non-grantee enterprises and report on 24 selected indicators. The details of data collection methodologies from different types of beneficiaries are described in Annex 2.

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

5.4 Monitoring and Reporting

5.4.1 Data collection from grantee and non-grantee beneficiaries for Quarterly Reports

5.4.3 Quarterly Reports' submission to USAID (January 15, April 15, July 15)

5.4.4 PY1 annual data collection and verification 5.4.5 PY1 Annual Report submission to USAID 5.4.6 PY3 Work Plan submission to USAID

Annex 1: Program Year Two Budget Submitted as a separate document in PDF format.

Annex 2: Performance Monitoring Plan Submitted as a separate document in PDF format.

Annex 3: Updated Results Table Submitted as a separate document in PDF format.

Annex 4: Expansion Organizational Chart Submitted as a separate document in PDF format.


Annex 5: Inclusive Agricultural Value Chain Development Action Plan Submitted as a separate document in PDF format.

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Annex 2: Performance Monitoring Plan Project Year Two (PY2) work plan sets forth the accomplishments of concrete activities and their respective outputs and outcomes for the first program year. On the other hand, it demonstrates anticipated activities and the methodologies of measuring results for PY2.

By the end of the first program year the USAID Agriculture Program has the systems, tools, and staff in place in order to implement all necessary activities for achieving contractual goals of creating 3,680 new full-time equivalent jobs, leveraging $9.04 million in private sector investment and increasing the sales of assisted enterprises by $70 million.

In Project Year One (PY1), The USAID Agriculture Program started a series of activities to achieve ambitious targets captured in the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Plan, which was developed by the USAID Agriculture Program’s M&E Manager, with support from CNFA’s Home Office Monitoring and Evaluation Director, and was approved by USAID in early Quarter Two of PY1.

MEL Plan included the final list of indicators with detailed descriptions, clearly defined targets, baseline information, data quality assessment plans, performance indicator reference sheets, and a learning plan. In addition, the final MEL Plan also included an activity-level log frame that demonstrates the USAID Agriculture Program’s connection to Development Objective 2 of the Country Development Cooperation Strategy and a brief description of the linkages between outputs and expected results.

It stipulates that the USAID Agriculture Program measures progress against standard Foreign Assistance (F) indicators, appropriate Feed the Future (FTF) indicators, and those that contribute to the USAID/Georgia Performance Planning Report (PPR) and Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP). In addition, the USAID Agriculture Program tracks a series of custom indicators designed to inform senior management of the program’s performance and contribution towards the sector’s development.

This Project Year Two Work Plan contains detailed Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) that includes updated life of project targets, outputs and outcomes. Actual progress against targets will be reported on a quarterly basis and submitted to USAID within the annual report.

Year 1 Accomplishments

MEL Plan Approved and Operationalized

The MEL Team is responsible for the overall M&E system and performance indicator data collection including: setting the data collection protocols, providing training to the team to ensure understanding of the indicators and protocols, maintaining the master version of all data collection Forms and ensuring everyone has the latest versions, receiving collected data and managing data entry and storage to the USAID Agriculture Program’s database which includes the MEL modules to track Program participants, processing and reporting results. In addition to the regular reporting of results to USAID, the MEL Team also ensures that the COP and project staff are regularly aware of the performance indicator results and progress towards achieving targets, and that they use the performance indicator results for adaptive management exercises.

The MEL Team maintains continuous communication with the technical team to ensure that the project team understands well the relation between their technical fieldwork and the USAID Agriculture Program Results Framework, the selected performance indicators to be reported to donors, and how to collect and report data to the MEL Team following the data collection protocols. When the Program and Technical team develops activities under the Work Plan components, they refer to the MEL Team to make sure that every activity implemented contributes to the Results Framework and can be measured through one or more of the project’s indicators. For each activity, the relevant Technical/Program Team Lead or

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Component Manager assigns a staff member as Monitoring Point of Contact, to be responsible for the activity-level monitoring with the support of the MEL Team.

Figure 1. Collaboration of the USAID Agriculture Program Technical/Field Teams and the MEL team:

The USAID Agriculture Program uses a specific set of 9 performance indicators to measure the intended results of the USAID Agriculture Program as shown in Program Results Framework. These indicators have been selected from the set of standard Feed the Future (FTF), Performance Plan and Report (PPR) and custom indicators that are aligned with the USAID/Georgia Mission Performance Monitoring Plan. The Program is required to follow the precise definition and guidance for data collection provided by USAID/Georgia. These definitions can be found in the USAID Agriculture Program MEL Plan, which is available to all staff in the share folder in SharePoint i.e. the Implementation Database. Questions about indicator definitions are being directed to the USAID Agriculture Program MEL Manager.

# Indicator Reporting Indicator type

FTF

1 Number of individuals participating in USG food security programs Semi annually

output EG.3-2

2 Value of new USG commitments and private sector investment leveraged by the USG to support food security and nutrition

Annually output EG.3.1-14

3 Value of annual sales of farms and firms receiving USG assistance Quarterly outcome EG.3.2-26

PPR

4 USD sales of firms receiving USG-funded assistance Quarterly outcome EG.5-1

5 Full-time equivalent employment of firms receiving USG assistance

Annually outcome EG.5-2

Other / Custom

6 Value of targeted agricultural commodities exported with USG assistance

Quarterly Outcome EG.3.2-23/FTF

7 New sales to new domestic markets/buyers Quarterly Outcome Custom

8 Number of recipient organizations that receive cost-share grants Quarterly Output Custom

9 Number of recipient organizations that receive technical assistance

Quarterly Output Custom

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The MEL plan contains a reporting schedule; a methodology for collecting data; and an approach for analyzing data for use in improving program performance. All indicators are designed to meet USAID data quality standards for validity, integrity, precision, reliability and timeliness. Progress against indicators will be disaggregated, when appropriate, by geographic location and gender. Indicator Descriptions (IDs) for each indicator provide a clear definition of the indicator, rationale for inclusion and disaggregation, plans for data collection (timing/frequency and responsible individual/organization), proposed data analysis activities, data quality assessment plans and reporting schedule. IDs provide the operational guide for data collection and will be reviewed regularly to ensure on-going use and appropriateness.

MEL training for staff

In the USAID Agriculture Program Learning component is emphasized throughout the Program Cycle.

Information gleaned from monitoring (performance indicator data) and periodic assessment and evaluation (including any external evaluation) will be used to review project implementation plans and approaches.

Regular internal management meetings, conducted at least quarterly with the involvement of the COP and technical leads, will be conducted to provide feedback on implementation progress of planned activities, effectiveness of implementation approach and identify areas where corrective measures are needed. These internal reviews / meetings will be held as in Tbilisi office as well in regional field offices with the active participation of program regional coordinators and interns.

As a result, program M&E manager identify and share lessons learned and successful approaches for replication within the project and with external audiences.

When an activity is not meeting expectations, MEL staff will help technical teams identify causes and propose changes to improve performance (e.g., changing staffing, approaches, timing and geographic focus). The COP will proactively inform USAID of potential problems and successful approaches for replication and propose course modifications.

Preliminary DQA completed

One of the integrated parts of the USAID Agriculture Program’s MEL plan is annual Data Quality Assessment (DQA), which has to utilize a modified version of USAID DQA Worksheet for Outcome and Output Indicators. It should be conducted to understand and document the extent that data meet or do not meet the five data quality standards documented in ADS 201.3.5.8. During PY1, the USAID Agriculture Program M&E Manager followed the given requirement to provide this information and conducted a “pre-DQA”, which was based on a review of the project’s “planned” data collection/management/analysis/reporting procedures, documented in the MEL Plan. For that purpose, 14 PPR indicators were selected and agreed with the USAID mission.

By doing so, the Program assessed “potential” data quality issues that could arise from the planned protocols. Once beneficiary companies are operational, indicator performance data will be collected according the methodology stipulated in given DQA guideline.

Data Quality Assessment Checklist and Recommended Procedures

This Data Quality Assessment (DQA) Checklist was provided as a recommended tool that the USAID Agriculture Program’s MEL team uses to conduct both preliminary and regular DQAs.

The checklist below is intended to assist in assessing each of the five aspects of data quality and provide

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a convenient manner in which to document the OU’s DQA findings.

Identification indicator for review 14 PPR indicators have been selected

Identification of DQA team and other required resources

The USAID Agriculture Program M&E Manger

Develop the approach and schedule Desk study and preliminary DQA forms, PY1

Review Indicator definition from the relevant PIRS Done

Collect relevant documentation and conduct interviews with relevant team members, using standard DQA Form

Interviews with relevant team members using standard DQA Forms have been conducted

Prepare DQA documentation and provide a summary of significant limitations found.

To be conducted once actual data collection is accomplished

List of indicators selected for the DQA:

1. EG.5-1 - USD sales of firms receiving USG-funded assistance (Ag Program)

2. EG.5-2 - Full-time equivalent employment of firms receiving USG assistance (Ag Program)

3. EG.5-3 - Number of microenterprises supported by USG assistance (Ag program)

4. EG.5.2-1 - Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance for improving business performance (Ag Program)

5. EG.5.2-2 - Number of private sector firms that have improved management practices or technologies as a result of USG assistance (Ag Program)

6. GNDR-2 - Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment) (Ag Program)

7. EG 2.2-1 Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance to export (Ag Program)

8. EG.2.2-2 Number of firms receiving USG assistance that have obtained certification with (an) international quality control institution(s) in meeting minimum product standards (Ag Program)

9. YOUTH-3 Percentage of participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources who are youth - (Ag Program)

10. EG.3-2: Number of individuals participating in USG food security programs (AG Program)

11. EG.3-10, -11, -12: Yield of targeted agricultural commodities among program participants with USG assistance (AG Program)

12. EG.3.2-24: Number of individuals in the agriculture system who have applied improved management practices or technologies with USG assistance (Ag Program)

13. EG.3.2-25: Number of hectares under improved management practices or technologies with USG assistance (Ag Program)

14. EG.3.2-29: Number of organizations with increased performance improvement with USG assistance (Ag program)

Baseline study completed

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Data collection for Indicators #10 (custom) and 3 16 (EG.3.1-14) commenced

To date M&E team has organized workshops and short trainings in monitoring procedures and data summations obligations with 14 grant company owners. They were introduced with relevant data collection forms, timelines and data quality issues. As a result, we obtained baseline data and future 3-year performance projections from the following enterprises:

This table shows that currently the USAID Agriculture Program also can demonstrate the following achievements in 2 key indicators for the end of PY1

Indicator 10: Number of recipient organizations that receive cost-share grants – 14 Grant recipient companies (12 value chain grant recipient and 2 Technical Assistance grant recipients)

Indicator 16: Value of new USG commitments and private sector investment leveraged by the USG to support food security and nutrition: $1,740,536

Other performance data will be collected at the end of Q4-PY1 and included in annual reported for the submission to USAID.

Farmers’ Appreciation and Rewards Management (FARM) Database

In order to meet LOP contractual obligations of reaching 170,00 beneficiaries in PY1 the USAID Agriculture Program’s M&E unit is going to initiate intervention in 10-15 most active Farm Service Centers (FSCs) across the country, which were strengthened or established under previous USAID’s program (REAP). This initiative foresees to further develop and replicate the Farmers’ Appreciation and Rewards Management (FARM) Database already successfully piloted in 2 previous CNFA programs: Ethiopia Feed the Future Farm Service Center Project in 2016 and USAID/REAP Georgia in 2018.

The FARM database is a system in which FSCs can develop customer profiles and track customer relationships by recording individual transactions. This system supports an incentive program for loyal customers related to the number and volume of transactions with the FSC. Customers qualifying for an award will receive a discount coupon or credit voucher to use for purchasing inputs or procuring services from the FSC, further enhancing the relationships between farmers and FSCs. The database can also be

6

used to manage these awards and monitor inventory. The model utilizes technologies that are already in use by farmers, application of mobile phone and SMS service.

By leveraging the growing network of FSCs in Georgia, the program will quickly and innovatively expand smallholders’ access to information and new technology through the provision of incentive-based market using a sustainable database model. The database offers new opportunities to efficiently identify and qualify farmers to receive rewards needed to acquire inputs and service by tracking their performance and business relationship with FSCs. Furthermore, the FARM database incorporates a system in which key information about FSC products and services can be regularly disseminated to FSC customers via SMS messages and mobile apps.

1. The FARM database will be the source of data for the following performance indicators: Number of individuals participating in USG food security programs

2. Number of individuals in the agriculture system who have applied improved management practices or technologies with USG assistance

3. Number of individuals who have received USG supported short-term agricultural sector productivity or food security training

4. Number of hectares under improved management practices or technologies with USG assistance

5. Yield of targeted agricultural commodities among program participants with USG assistance

Initially, the USAID Agriculture Program expects to serve approximately 50,000 smallholder farmers through the selected 10 FSCs. Building upon the successes and lessons learned of this work, the Program may expand the number of FSCs applying the business model with an expectation that total beneficiary group of more than 170,000 FSC smallholder farmers will be served.

The FARM Business model schematic:

Program Year 2 Plan

Data Quality Assessment

As it is stipulated in ADS 201.3.5.8 the internal Data Quality Assessments (DQA) will be undertaken once during PY3, in addition to periodic external DQA conducted by USAID. The internal DQA will be performed by M&E Manager or by the CNFA home office MEL Director.

7

The DQ will include a summary of significant limitations found. A plan of action, including timelines and responsibilities, for addressing the limitations should be developed.

Field Guide Manual development

During PY2 when the program M&E team will begin the actual data collection, the M&E Manager will also develop the Field Guide and data flow matrices. It will provide a detailed explanation of the MEL System including roles and responsibilities, and documentation of standardized procedures for data collection for each performance indicator. This guide is intended to reflect the actual processes and procedures used by the USAID Agriculture Program M&E Team, and therefore is updated regularly. The primary audience for this Field Guide Manual is the Program Staff and Partners, as an educational tool to understand the USAID Agriculture Program MEL System, and as a reference guide for those individuals participating in data collection. A secondary audience includes users of the USAID Agriculture Program performance data, including USAID, to provide them with a comprehensive view of the MEL System from which performance data is produced.

Indicators PY1 Target PY1 Result PY2 Target PY3 Target PY4Target PY5TargetLife of Project

Target (New)

1 Number of individuals participating in USG food security programs [IM-level] 1,190 1,310 15,800 34,890 49,030 72,925 173,955

2 Number of public-private partnerships formed as a result of USG assistance - - 1 1 2 4

3 Value of annual sales of farms and firms receiving USG assistance [IM-level] $ 1,250,000 $ 488,140 $ 5,540,465 13,440,465 20,540,465 29,990,465 70,000,000

4 USD sales of firms receiving USG-funded assistance $ 1,250,000 $ 488,140 $ 5,540,465 13,440,465 20,540,465 29,990,465 70,000,000

5 Full-time equivalent employment of firms receiving USG assistance 100 363 165.00 1,085 1,435 632 3,680

6 Number of jobs created with USG assistance 100 363 130.00 662 345 200 1,700

7 Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance to export 5 6 22.00 31 42 49 150

8 Value of targeted agricultural commodities exported with USG assistance $ 350,000 $ 1,345 $ 1,327,164 3,637,164 7,737,164 10,297,164 23,000,000

9 Increase in sales to new domestic markets/buyers $ 65,000 $ 391,795 $ 465,000 1,240,000 3,387,000 5,816,205 11,300,000

10 Number of recipient organizations that receive cost-share grants 35 15 55 45 5 - 120

11Number of hectares under improved management practices or technologies with USG assistance [IM-level]

562 840 8,625 19,350 27,267 42,169 98,250

12Yield of targeted agricultural commodities among program participants with USG assistance [IM-level]

10,134 5,290 13,455 3,100 3,500 4,500 -

13Number of individuals in the agriculture system who have applied improved

management practices or technologies with USG assistance [IM-level] 235 61 4,076 10,100 16,500 28,535 59,272

14Number of private sector firms that have improved management practices or technologies as a result of USG assistance

20 61 135 171 163 185 715

15Number of firms receiving USG assistance that have obtained certification with (an) international quality control institution(s) in meeting minimum product standards

3 2 7 11 14 17 51

16Value of new USG commitments and private sector investment leveraged by the USG to support food security and nutrition [IM-level]

$ 1,758,660 $ 1,390,308 $ 4,747,667 6,054,420 3,435,725 1,111,880 16,740,000

17Value of agriculture-related financing accessed as a result of USG assistance [IM-level]

$ 1,582,789 $ 190,000 $ 2,650,147 3,101,241 1,839,969 200,000 7,981,357

18Value of new private sector investment in the agriculture sector or food chain leveraged by USG Assistance implementation

$733,660 $ 540,293 $ 2,155,715 2,948,376 2,309,681 1,085,936 9,040,000

19Number of organizations with increased performance improvement with USG

assistance [IM-level]20 61 135 171 163 185 715

20Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance for improving business

performance50 46 98 124 148 184 600

21 Number of microenterprises supported by USG assistance 68 52 129 146 136 158 620

22 Number of recipient organizations that receive technical assistance 50 46 98 124 148 184 600

23Number of individuals who have received USG supported short-term agricultural

sector productivity or food security training1,000 1,310 15,300 33,190 47,700 72,500 170,000

24Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed to increase

access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment)

[IM Level]

30% N/A 35% 40% 40% 42% 42%

25Percentage of participants in USG-assisted program designed to increase access to

productive economic resources who are youth (15-29) [IM Level]5% N/A 7% 10% 10% 12% 12%

Annex 3: Updated Results Table

Cross-cutting

DO 2 Inclusive and sustainable economic growthProgram Objective:

Accelerate growth of agricultural subsectors that show strong potential to create jobs, increase incomes, and increase micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) revenues.Intermediate Result 2.2 :Increased competitiveness and employment generation in targeted sectors

Sub-IR 2.2.1: SME development and growth

Program Result 1: Increased capacity of farmer organizations and MSME service providers

Sub-IR 2.2.2: Agricultural production/productivity and market linkages increasedProgram Result 2: Increased productivity and productive capacity

Sub-IR 2.2.3: Access to capital increased

Program Result 3: Increased capacity for value addition (processing, storage, standards)

Sub-IR 2.2.4: Business acumen developed

Program Result 4: Strengthened market linkages

Annex 4: Expansion Organizational Chart

Ilia KvitaishviliIlia Kvitaishvili

Investment Director

Louisa NamicheishviliLouisa Namicheishvili

Chief of Party

Nino Inasaridze

Environmental Manager

Manana KakuchaiaManana Kakuchaia

Director of Finance and

Administration

David ShervashidzeDavid Shervashidze

Technical Assistance

Director

Maia Baghashvili

Grants and Procurement

Manager

Maka Noselidze

Communications Officer

Giorgi Niparishvili

Stone/Pome Fruits Value

Chain Specialist

Giorgi Javakhishvili

Herbs, Vegetables and

Mandarin Value Chain

Specialist

Shota Tsukoshvili

Berry and Table Grapes

Value Chain Specialist

Irine Salukvadze

Organizational Capacity

Development Manager

Maka Tevdoradze

Marketing and Export

Promotion Manager

Vladimir Kirvalidze

Supply Chain Manager

Teona Zedelashvili

Contracting Specialist

Alexander Charkviani

Office Manager/

Accountant

Mikheil Basishvili

Driver

Paata Zakarashvili

Access to Finance

Specialist

Veriko Khomeriki

Grants Analyst

Mariam Zaldastanishvili

Program Analyst

Nikoloz Guntsadze

Grants Activity Manager in

Shida Kartli/Kvemo Kartli/

Tbilisi

Shorena Dzotsenidze

Gender Specialist

Valeri Gulbani

Monitoring and Evaluation

Manager

Shorena Ghvachliani

Monitoring and Evaluation

Coordinator

Archil Kverghelidze


Guria/Adjara

Ioseb Khomizurashvili


Kakheti

Nugzar Jinjikhadze


Imereti/Samegrelo-Zemo

Svaneti/Racha-Lechkhumi

Tamaz Zaridze

Driver

Zviad Kobakhidze

Driver

USAID/ Georgia MissionUSAID/ Georgia Mission

CNFA HQCNFA HQ

International

Subcontractors

WFLO and SEEDEV

Technical Unit

Value Chain Unit

Investment Grants Component

Technical Assistance Component

Finance and Administration

Unit

Cross Cutting Unit

Grants Procurement

Assistant (New Position)

Grants Procurement

Assistant (New Position)

Nuts (Walnuts/Almonds/

Pistachios) Value Chain

Specialist (New Position)

Nuts (Walnuts/Almonds/

Pistachios) Value Chain

Specialist (New Position)

Grants Analyst (New

Position)

Grants Analyst (New

Position)

Shalva PipiaShalva Pipia

Deputy Chief of Party

Public-Private Partnership

Manager (New Position)

Public-Private Partnership

Manager (New Position)

1

Annex 5: Inclusive Agricultural Value Chain Development Action Plan Action Plan Program Year (PY) 2

Overall Gender and Youth Integration Activities

OBJECTIVE ACTIONS

“Identify constraints to

economic participation

for women and youth”

Perform continuous qualitative analysis employing multiple lenses (gender, youth, disability, and ethno-religious minorities) to identify needs, constraints, and gaps for those populations, analyze the data, and adapt actions if needed.

“Measure women’s

empowerment and

inclusion in the

agricultural sector”

Gather information on updates to the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI),1 following Cultural Practice’s recommendation on the improvement of M&E systems in regards to gender responsiveness, and in cooperation with WEAI team, adapt, launch, and manage the adapted WEAI tool for the USAID Agriculture Program.

“Invest in in-depth

capacity building” of

staff2

Invest in in-depth capacity building of all technical staff, following Cultural Practice’s recommendation, so that the entire project team understands the value of gender integration and women’s economic empowerment. This will create an environment that is mutually supportive of the goal of strengthening women agri-entrepreneurs.

Sensitizing partners in

the areas of inclusive

economic growth and

inclusive agricultural

value chain

development

programming

Build the capacity of Partners (interested stakeholders, service providers, educational institutions [universities and Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVETs)], grantee and non-grantee agribusinesses, MOEs, and business associations, including women, youth, disability, and ethno‐religious minority related groups) on inclusive economic growth and assist in converting awareness into actions.

For grantee and non-grantee partners, IAVCD plans will be developed, to be focused on the engagement of women3 and youth in for-profit and non-profit4 actions. IAVCDPs will be part of an inclusive M&E system and a source of data for analysis and lessons learned.

Promoting Provision of

Inclusive & Equitable

BDSs and RASs

Conduct the Partner BSP Capacity Building Program: Inclusive & Equitable Business Development Services (BDS) and Rural Advisory Services (RAS) Sensitizing Program partner BSPs through capacity building on provision of inclusive and equitable business development services and rural advisory services. This will allow BSPs to more effectively understand how to target and mobilize both female and male applicants.

Identify and reach out

to qualified women and

young agri-

entrepreneurs,

agribusiness managers

and professionals, as

Identify and reach out to high-potential women and youth5 in order to ensure the inclusion of women and youth, including those with disabilities or those from ethno‐religious minority groups, to encourage and support their participation in the USAID Agriculture Program’s activities, including the grant program, technical assistance program, Gender Lens Agribusiness Investing and Youth Lens Agribusiness Investing (including Agri-Industry Internship/ Apprenticeship Program (AIAP), AgriBuzz Corp, etc.) Programs, and other available funding and /or credit opportunities. The activity will

1 Launched by IFPRI, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), and USAID's Feed the Future in February 2012, is the first comprehensive and standardized measure to directly measure women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agricultural sector, www.ifpri.org/project/weai 2 “Gender inclusion in development initiatives and understanding gender does not come naturally to all development professionals, whether male or female” - Sullivan et al. 2012. Climate Smart Agriculture: More Than Technologies Are Needed to Move Smallholder Farmers Toward Resilient and Sustainable Livelihoods. FANRPAN Policy Brief 2, XIII. Pretoria, South Africa: FANRPAN 3 Ideally, economically-underprivileged local women 4 e.g. sectoral associations 5 Young people of 18-42 make the main focus of Program’s youth activities, hence some activities will be focused on young adults of 18-35 and/or middle adolescents – 15-18 (please refer to the USAID Agriculture Program’s IAVCD Blueprint for Action for more details)

http://www.ifpri.org/project/weai

2

well as ‘near qualifiers’

with high-potential

include the creation and update of a database of interested individuals and women- or youth-owned agribusinesses.

Investment in Gender Lens Agribusiness and Youth Lens Agribusiness Specific Women’s & Youth Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Activities: Addressing identified and appropriate needs, constraints, and gaps through designing adequate and effective interventions and special programs/initiatives that advance and promote the roles of women and youth, including those with disabilities or members of ethno‐religious minorities, in agriculture and agribusiness including economic empowerment and engagement of all these groups

OBJECTIVE ACTIONS

Develop initiatives

supporting the

professional

development of young

professionals and

facilitating the

development of

inclusive and equitable

agribusinesses

Establishment and Implementation of AgriBuzz Corp Program

Taking inspiration from Peace Corp and Atlas Corp, the purpose of establishing the AgriBuzz Corp Program is to raise the value of agriculture and agribusiness among youth. The main objectives are to:

a) strengthen the impact of the Agri-Industry Internship/Apprenticeship Program (AIAP) by establishing a capacity building, leadership development, and professional networking sub-platform;

b) attract youth in building their careers in agribusiness; and

c) create a local business network of young BDS & RAS experts, providing inclusive and equitable business development services / rural advisory services.

By the end of PY2 and beginning of PY3, an agribusiness diagnostic and scale-up program will be developed targeting women and young agri-entrepreneurs in which AgriBuzz Corp Trailblazers will serve in a capacity similar to that of junior consultants in the area of RAS / BDS under the guidance of Agrarian Movement of Georgia (AMG) (to cover RAS) and other selected business development services provider(s). This serves two objectives, as we will increase access to BDS/RAS for women and agricultural entrepreneurs while also building the capacity of young professionals in BDS/RAS.

Targeting:

- young agribusiness professionals (i.e. not only agronomists, food technologists, but agribusiness marketing professionals as well), and

- young agribusiness professionals interested in agribusiness entrepreneurship. It is envisaged that the AMG and Women and Youth in Agribusiness Association (W&YiA) will take over after the completion of the USAID Agriculture Program. During implementation, the Program’s Gender Specialist will work with both entities to build their capacity in this area.

AgriBuzz Corp Program will be based on a multi-layered approach that will include Agri-Industry Internship/Apprenticeship Program (AIAP) and Work-Based Learning Program (WBLP)6.

Implementation Steps: Outreach will be performed mostly at universities and ATVETs, followed by the recruitment of the first cohort of AgriBuzz Corp Trailblazers, the launch of AgriBuzz Corp, and the adjustment of the capacity program in consultation with employers (under the framework of Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Group, Strategic Platform for Inclusive Agricultural Value-Chain Development).

WBLP: The Program will conduct BSP selection, followed by program development, launch, implementation, and the adjustment of the capacity program in consultation

6 a pre-internship/apprenticeship short program to prepare for the Agri-Industry Internship/Apprenticeship Program (AIAP)

3

with employers (under the framework of Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Group, Strategic Platform for Inclusive Agricultural Value-Chain Development).

AIAP: Pre-launch activities will be conducted in cooperation with AgriBuzz Corp Trailblazers, Agribusiness employers, educational institutions (universities and ATVETs), BSPs, AMG, and women’s and youth groups (under the framework of Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Group, Strategic Platform for Inclusive Agricultural Value-Chain Development), followed by launch and business matchmaking between AgriBuzz Corp Trailblazers and employers and program implementation. Review of the AIAP and capturing of lessons learned will occur by the end of Q4 and the AIAP will be adjusted if needed.

Develop initiatives

supporting the

professional


professionals and

facilitating the

development of


agribusinesses

Establishment of Future Agribusiness Leaders Program (Tentative Sectoral Selection for PY2: Fruit Drying, Small Berries, Salads)

The assessment illustrated that the USAID/REAP (and now USAID/GHIP) Future Leaders in Hazelnut Program is an initiative in high demand for young agricultural professionals.7 Participants advocated for the development of similar programs covering other fields of agriculture. While that program benefitted from the participation of Ferrero specialists, the launch of a new Future Agribusiness Leaders Program will provide an outstanding growth opportunity for students and graduates and for partner agribusinesses as well.

It is envisaged some women and young agri-entrepreneurs might take a part in the Future Agribusiness Leaders Program, based on previous experience.

This Future Agribusiness Leaders Program will seek to launch in cooperation with one of the regional ATVETs – for example, establish a pilot small berry cultivation demo plot / incubation model at ATVET, and another with Herbia, Ltd.

Develop initiatives

supporting the

professional


professionals and

facilitating the

emergence of

innovative

agribusiness-led

initiatives by young

agricultural

entrepreneurs

Establish Ksenia Bakhtadze8 Scholarship Program for Research & Innovation in Ag and Related Fields

A scholarship program similar to the Mariam Kutelia Research Grant will be launched with the aim of developing agribusiness-targeted solutions through:

- conducting agritech/biotech/agriculture 4.0, agriculture engineering, and agribusiness related research, and

- developing prototypes of agritech/biotech/agriculture 4.0 and/or agriculture engineering products with a potential to apply to Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) or other donors’ innovation-based grants.

During discussions with GITA, an agritech hackathon was suggested, targeting young IT developers and agricultural engineering students to design prototypes to meet the needs of agricultural entrepreneurs. It is envisaged that this activity might run under the auspices of this scholarship program.

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

emergence of

innovative

agribusiness-led


Launching AgriTech Boot Camp Initiative

The AgriTech Boot Camp Initiative is a start-up program for young agritech professionals, and programs, similar to a pre-acceleration startup program, will target:

a) young agricultural professionals9,

b) young agricultural entrepreneurs, and

c) young business professionals.

The initiative will support capacity building, executive leadership development, and networking for young professionals and agri-entrepreneurs. It will facilitate the

7 Even those who did not participate, but heard about it mentioned the program. 8 Through naming this program after Ksenia Bakhtadze, a Georgian academician, subtropical crops geneticist and selectionist, the

USAID Agriculture Program aims to acknowledge contribution by woman agricultural professional to the development of agriculture in Georgia. 9 Not only students and graduates of agricultural universities will be targeted, but students and graduates of ATVETs as well.

4

agricultural

entrepreneurs

emergence of innovative agribusiness-led initiatives by young entrepreneurs able to work in teams.

The activity will include teamwork exercises (developing prototypes of agritech/biotech/agriculture 4.0 and/or agriculture engineering products with a potential to apply to GITA’s or other donors’ innovation-based grants) and agritech business pitch exercise. It is envisaged that the AgriTech Boot Camp Initiative will cooperate with GITA on the follow-up AgriTech Grant Program.10

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

emergence of

innovative

agribusiness-led


agricultural

entrepreneurs

Launching AgriTech Grant Program

In cooperation with GITA, the USAID Agriculture Program will support an initiative to facilitate the establishment and development of youth-owned agritech companies. This program will seek the participation of previous, current, or potential GITA agritech grantee companies, students, young professionals, young agribusiness entrepreneurs, and alumni of the agritech hackathon and agritech boot camp. Because of the 60% cost-share, no more than five grantees are expected out of this activity, however it represents a good start for facilitating the emergence of innovative agribusiness-led initiatives by young entrepreneurs.

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

establishment and

development of youth-

owned and women-

owned agribusiness

enterprises

Initiative to Facilitate the Establishment and Development of Youth- and Women-owned Agribuisness Enterprises

The experiences of USAID/REAP and the USAID Agriculture Program have highlighted a number of barriers to women and youth entrepreneurs in agriculture, blocking their full participation in inclusive economic growth programs. These barriers include:

- limited access to capital, land, and other resources that make it difficult to launch agribusiness initiatives with 60-70% of cost share, unless applicants participate in other agribusiness grant programs;

- lack of quality human resources in agribusiness field;

- lack of agribusiness literacy, particularly financial and investment literacy;

- lack of prior access to quality business development services and rural advisory services and thorough understanding of business practices and modern agriculture technologies.

Lack of agribusiness literacy and prior access to quality BDSs and RASs makes it exceedingly difficult for these aspiring entrepreneurs to fill out high quality grant applications to submit to the USAID Agriculture Program. While it is not possible for the Program to lower the financial matching requirements without prior approval from USAID Georgia, the USAID Agriculture Program has developed an initiative, which will provide a needs-based capacity program and the development of a special round of grants predominately targeting alumni of other inclusive initiatives from the Program, in order to ensure participation of de facto women- and youth-owned enterprises11).

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

emergence of

agribusiness-led

initiatives by women

and young agricultural

entrepreneurs

Building Inclusive Agri-Entrepreneurship through Learning-by-Doing Agribusiness Incubation Co-op Model

The USAID Agriculture Program will assist W&YiA (Association ‘Women and Youth in Agribusiness’ – a former USAID/REAP platform) in establishing a fruit and vegetables drying agriculture co-op to serve as an innovative pro-agribusiness model aimed at reducing the lack of agribusiness literacy among women and young agricultural entrepreneurs, increasing the quality of human resources in the agribusiness field, and

10 GITA runs a startup program and there is a great opportunity to cooperate: one of its grantees is Enkeni, a young women- and youth-owned agribusiness enterprise, which produces apple chips and is ready to scale up further. 11 De facto women-owned agribusinesses are those agribusinesses where women are not included as token/pro forma women, but do have the real authority and power as described in the definition of ‘woman-owned agribusiness.

5

increasing the inclusion of vulnerable groups (women and youth, including ethnic and religious minorities and those with disabilities). This will also provide an opportunity to develop a co-op, which will help its members with marketing and distribution.12

If the Program only decreases the matching contribution for economically-underprivileged women and youth entrepreneurs, they will most likely fail at the next stage. Employing a holistic approach is critical to overcoming the lack of agribusiness literacy, such as developing a learning-by-doing agribusiness incubation co-op model for fruit & vegetables drying. After assisting W&YiA to establish an agriculture co-op, the Program will continue to partner with the Agrarian Movement of Georgia (AMG) and qualified BDSs providers to ensure sound liquidity and operational sustainability of the co-op. A similar approach could be employed with establishing a pilot small berry cultivation demo plot / incubation model at an ATVET center.

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

emergence of

agribusiness-led



entrepreneurs and

professionals

Capacity Building of Association ‘Women and Youth in Agribusiness’

The USAID Agriculture Program’s Gender Specialist will serve as a facilitator and technical specialist on organizational development to the W&YiA and will provide on-time coaching, as needed.

Developing W&YiA’s and AMG’s Members’ Oriented Opportunities

All women and youth focused capacity building will be directed through W&YiA and AMG to allow both organizations to grow step-by-step. These include:

thematic group meetings (e.g. Fruit Drying),

study tours and internships, like the Dried Fruit Internship for Food Technologists in Armenia 2019 and an Industrial Dried Fruit Study Tour to Turkey/Netherlands 2020,

networking (annual forum, regional meetings), and

executive leadership activities (e.g. capacity building in Public Speaking). Several interns will be hired throughout Georgia to ensure the quality of assistance is maintained at the regional level, including provision of social media and SMS-based information services.

Capacity Building of Agrarian Movement of Georgia (AMG)

The USAID Agriculture Program’s Gender Specialist will serve as a facilitator and technical specialist on organizational development for AMG and will provide coaching as needed.

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

emergence of

agribusiness-led



Value Chain Upgrading Via Lead Agribusiness Partnership

Upgrading Via Lead Agribusiness Partnership is a pilot initiative that will focus on upgrading subsistence farming-based agricultural households by developing cooperation with a ‘Lead Firm’13 as described in USAID’s Tools & Methodologies for Collaborating with Lead Firms: A Practitioner’s Manual (2014).

Building Alternative Market Outlet B2B Platform: Hospitality and HORECA Industry

12 As expressed by former members of USAID/REAP strategic platform throughout 2017-2018.

13 Lead Firm—Small, medium, or large firms that have forward or backward commercial linkages with a significant number of

MSMEs (including farmers). Also known as an “Inclusive Businesses,” they include processors, exporters, traders, input companies, service providers, etc. that play a critical role in moving their industry, and other value chain participants forward. Tools & Methodologies for Collaborating with Lead Firms: A Practitioner’s Manual, USAID (Action for Enterprise (AFE) under the USAID-funded FIELD-Support LWA), 2014. “Lead Firms have strong economic incentives to support and upgrade MSMEs that they source from or sell to, and it is in their self-interest. By harnessing these incentives, development programs can support Lead Firms to improve and expand the products, services, and market access they provide to MSMEs. This process also promotes sustainable impact as Lead Firms remain in relationships with MSMEs long after development programs have ended.” – Ibid.

6

entrepreneurs, and

development of youth-

owned and women-

owned agribusiness

enterprises

Lack of access to market linkages and opportunities are acute barriers to youth and women’s participation. Therefore, as stipulated in the USAID Agriculture Program’s IAVCD Blueprint for Action, a number of actions were developed to increase women and young agri-entrepreneurs’ access to market opportunities.

There was an attempt in Summer 2016 to create an alternative market outlet B2B platform for HORECA industry to respond to supermarket buyer power phenomena but the survey of members of the USAID/REAP strategic platform illustrated that women and young agri-entrepreneurs were not ready for such action due to problems with quantity, continuous supply, and quality. As 2018-2019 have offered a more promising situation, with more women and youth interested in cooperating, the USAID Agriculture Program will launch a pilot initiative with Gastronaut. Gastronaut is a new and innovative consulting agency specializing in hospitality and HORECA industry. It works mainly with restaurants and other HORECA industry entities, providing scale-up focused management services. The preliminary discussion with Gastronaut in January 2019 illustrated that there is a possibility to cooperate with Hospitality and HORECA Industry representatives as they are interested in building linkages with reliable Georgian food industry representatives. At the first stage, a short capacity building by Gastronaut is needed to make agri-entrepreneurs understand the peculiarities of the industry, including the requirements.

Developing Linkages with Suppliers

Women and young agricultural entrepreneurs often struggle to obtain quality information on technical equipment and relevant providers, including quality low investment and low cost technical equipment. This leads to buying equipment, which either does not suit them or there is a problem with running and maintaining the equipment. To respond to this challenge, the Program will develop and continuously update a database of reliable suppliers of technical equipment in PY2.

Access to Alternative Financial Resources

Explore the opportunities of cooperating with actors involved in provision of access to no interest loans (like Charity Humanitarian Centre "Abkhazeti" [CHCA]), and investment funds and other innovative alternative financial instruments.

Improve access to BDS

and RAS for women

and youth

Establishment and Management of Women and Youth Corners via Agropaedia Kiosks

In PY2, three pilot farm services centers14 will be selected to accommodate Women and Youth Corners. AMG will provide maintenance services and will coordinate provision of rural advisory services through involving local AgriBuzz Corp Trailblazers.

Strengthen Social

Capital for Women and

Youth

Establish a Strategic Platform for Inclusive Agricultural Value-Chain Development

The establishment of a strategic platform ‘Gender-Equitable Agricultural Development’ under the framework of USAID/REAP Project contributed greatly to the formation of social capital for women and youth in Georgia. It has united women and young agricultural entrepreneurs and aspiring agri-entrepreneurs and provided an opportunity to expand their business linkages.

The USAID Agriculture Program will build on that experience and will re-establish a strategic platform aimed to serve as an effective instrument for dialogue, networking and interventions on making agricultural value chain development and Georgian agribusiness more inclusive as well as the promotion of the roles of women and youth as executive leaders, owners, managers, and agribusiness professionals, and of men as change agents in engendering agribusiness. The structure of the platform will be changed to establish a space for multi-stakeholder partnership dialogue, networking, and interventions. Hence, the format of running thematic/sectoral working groups will

14 In some areas there might be selected other entities to run Women and Youth Corners (e.g. ATVET)

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be maintained. The main partners through which the actions will unfold will be W&YiA and AMG, hence other representatives of women’s and youth groups in agribusiness will be invited to participate.

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

development of


agribusinesses

Promote the Importance of Men’s Engagement and Inclusivity & Equitability of Men-Owned Agribusinesses

Capacity building, campaigns, storytelling events, and mentors will be used to promote the importance of men’s engagement and to increase the inclusivity & equitability of men-owned agribusinesses.

Develop initiatives

facilitating the

emergence of

agribusiness-led



entrepreneurs and

professionals

Increasing Women’s and Young People’s Visibility

Develop a TV and Social Media Cycle of Friends Initiative and - in cooperation with the Association of Georgian Agricultural Journalists (AGAJ), Agrarian Georgia, and other relevant stakeholders - organize targeted TV and blog discussions, contests, and campaigns, storytelling events (USAID/REAP: HerStories, HerVideoStories, HerPhotoStories). The activity might include strengthening the capacity of partners as well. The Program will maintain social media channels and prepare pilot initiatives targeting women and youth with disabilities or those from minority ethno‐religious groups in agriculture and agribusiness.

Cooperation with External Stakeholders Exploring potential linkages with other stakeholders and participation in related platforms in order to share experience, lessons learned and develop joint inclusive economic growth-related initiatives

OBJECTIVE ACTIONS

Share experiences, lessons learned and develop joint inclusive economic growth-related initiatives

Establish a Multi-stakeholder Partnership Group, under the Framework of the Strategic Platform for Inclusive Agricultural Value-Chain Development

A separate space will be established for multi-stakeholder partnership dialogue, networking, and interventions under the auspices of the Program’s strategic platform, aimed at making agricultural value chain development and Georgian agribusiness more inclusive. For example, this can facilitate discussions regarding the Agri-Industry Internship/Apprenticeship Program (AIAP) among stakeholders, like educational institutions (Agricultural universities and ATVETs), BSPs, grantee enterprises, and women and youth groups.

Develop joint initiatives

with other stakeholders

or cooperate within the

frameworks of

established projects

aimed at emerging

agribusiness-led


and youth

Linkages with Governmental Agencies (GA)

Develop linkages with governmental agencies such as ARDA, Enterprise Georgia, and GITA, including regional units and municipal Information-Consultation Centers (ICCs)

Three areas were identified for cooperation in PY2:

1. With Enterprise Georgia - Develop a Concept for Georgian Business Hubs

Enterprise Georgia is considering whether to develop a network of business hubs in Georgia. Enterprise Georgia learned about several networks - Growth Hub (38 regional hubs in the UK), Spark, Tokyo SME Support Center, and would like to adapt this to Georgian reality. Business hubs are similar to small business development centers, which provide free regional trainings and consulting. Considering that this initiative will tackle a number of challenges women and young agricultural entrepreneurs experience – access to quality and affordable business development services, time and mobility constrains – it directly corresponds with the idea of unlocking opportunities for underserved women and youth.

2. With ARDA - Develop a Concept for Piloting UPA Approach

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ARDA is considering the development of a supply chain under the framework of urban and peri-urban development of agriculture and has requested assistance to develop a concept for this initiative aimed to adapt this to Georgian reality.

3. With ARDA - Provision of TA to local farmers

ARDA is starting to implement the ENPARD-funded “Supporting Economic Diversification and Sustainable Development in Rural Areas” Project in cooperation with UNDP. Aimed at creating local supply chains through employing a holistic approach, ARDA anticipates local farmers will need technical assistance in order to provide agricultural products for guesthouses.

Develop joint inclusive economic growth-related initiatives

Peace Corps: Leadership Development and Capacity Building of W&YiA

The USAID Agricultute Program will leverage Peace Corps programming, developing two projects for W&YiA: 1) institutional strengthening and 2) English language classes.

Share experiences, lessons learned and develop joint inclusive economic growth-related initiatives

Georgian-Jewish Cooperation on Economic Empowerment of Women and Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs & Professionals

The USAID Agriculture Program will seek to collaborate with the International Foundation LEA, Shalom Club Georgia on the economic empowerment of women and young agricultural entrepreneurs and professionals.

Project Year Two Work Plan - United States Agency for ...

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Transcript of Project Year Two Work Plan - United States Agency for ...