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Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a foundation for lasting progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with governments, donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Tanzania, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 834,000 vulnerable Tanzanian women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 430,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
Feed the Future Tanzania also aims to:
To help meet its objectives Feed the Future Tanzania is making core investments in four key areas:
CORE INVESTMENT AREA 1A: SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION THROUGH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING
The first set of core investments contribute to IRs 1-3, 5, 6, 7, and 8. These core investments play a role in systems transformation, with a primary focus on rice and targeted interventions in maize and horticulture as secondary value chains. The main objective is inclusive agriculture sector growth, which will be accomplished through increased agricultural productivity, expanded markets and trade, increased private sector investment in agriculture- and nutrition-related activities, and increased agricultural value chain on- and off-farm jobs. Investment in these value chains will improve availability and access to staple foods and improve nutrition. USG investments will facilitate the competitiveness of smallholders in rice, maize and horticulture.
NAFAKA – Staples Value Chain Development (Rice and Maize)
Description: This program will facilitate the competitiveness of the smallholder-based rice value chain, and balance these impacts on growth with broader efforts to reduce poverty through investments aimed at improving the competitiveness and productivity of the maize value chain. This includes support to the Morogoro and Arusha-based Agricultural Research Station and National Seed Laboratory. Specific activities will:
Market-Based Solutions to Reduce Poverty and Improve Nutrition
The purpose of this project is to strengthen the capabilities of the agro-processors operating in the FTF targeted geographic areas for the staple grains of rice and maize and a range of horticultural products to build sustainable enterprises and expand and diversify the production and marketing of nutritious processed foods. This will include an array of support to processors of different scales of operations, farmers, public sector institutions involved in food technology and safety, agribusinesses, and traders.
Sustainable Horticulture for Income and Food Security in Tanzania (SHIFT)
This sustainable agriculture program aims to increase demand by expanding market opportunities for smallholder horticultural producers and processors in domestic, regional and international markets, and will work with farmers to build supply by introducing sustainable agricultural practices, increasing productivity, and reducing postharvest losses. Activities will include farmer association capacity building, nutrition education, and developing market hubs. The geographic focus is in the southern regions, and falls within the SAGCOT.
Tanzania Agriculture Productivity Program (TAPP)
This program aims to increase smallholder farmer incomes through enhanced productivity and improved domestic and export marketing of agricultural products. This program provides business services to farmers and associations in six target zones in the northern regions (Arusha, Moshi/Hai, Lushoto, Morogoro, Coast and Zanzibar). The activities include management training, marketing tools, business lobbying skills, and technical assistance for developing and marketing policy reforms. In implementing these activities, the program focuses on strengthening producer associations and preparing them to graduate from TAPP support and sustain their activities. The program strengthens market linkages by expanding domestic and export market outgrower schemes.
NAFAKA – Staples Value Chain Development (Rice and Maize)
Market-Based Solutions to Reduce Poverty and Improve Nutrition
Sustainable Horticulture for Income and Food Security in Tanzania (SHIFT)
Tanzania Agriculture Productivity Program (TAPP)
Overview
A participatory approach, which calls for active participation of all stakeholders, will be used to monitor and evaluate (M&E) FTF Tanzania. The design of the M&E system will be based on the usefulness of the data and information which is collected and processed at the different levels and intervals of program implementation and operationalization. M&E for FTF will involve on-going monitoring of program activities in the participating districts, annual evaluations, annual review workshops, beneficiary assessments, mid-term review and terminal evaluation.
Evaluations will be carried out using an independent entity to assess annual program performance. In addition, FTF Tanzania will organize annual review workshops for the duration of the program to enable implementing partners to share information on program implementation performance. FTF will also draw lessons and experiences from these workshops that can be taken into account when planning activities for subsequent years of implementation.
A matrix for the selected FTF indicators is attached as Annex A. FTF Tanzania has received assistance from USAID‘s Bureau for Food Security to provide M&E technical assistance. A preliminary M&E plan has been developed for FTF Tanzania which will be completed in September 2011 once the FTF M&E implementing partner, The Mitchell Group (TMG), has arrived in Tanzania and is fully operational.
Performance Evaluations
Performance evaluations will be carried out for selected FTF Tanzania projects to ascertain the trends in achieving project results of the FTF interventions, to document the overall progress toward objectives, and to assess what is working and what is not and why. One evaluation will be done in project year one (PY 1), another in PY 3 and the last one in PY 5. A mid-term review is planned for the end of PY 2 to assess overall progress and impact of FTF implementation, to provide for corrective actions to enhance performance of FTF, and to provide recommendations for future program designs. These recommendations will be confirmed in the terminal evaluation to be carried out in PY 5.
Qualitative and participatory methods will be utilized for the performance evaluations. Evaluators will utilize methods such as observation, focus groups, key informant interviews, stakeholder interviews and rapid survey techniques to assess progress. These techniques often provide critical insights into beneficiaries‘ perspectives on the value of programs to them, the processes that may have affected outcomes, and a deeper interpretation of results observed. Specific targets for the indicators at the outcome and output levels will be developed once FTF Tanzania has carried out the baseline survey in the FTF target areas along with the preparation of Performance Monitoring Plans.
Impact Evaluation
In addition to performance evaluations, FTF Tanzania will design an impact evaluation to test a selected development hypothesis for FTF. Ideally the impact evaluation will utilize Experimental Methodology to design and conduct the impact evaluation. This methodology will incorporate a rigorously defined counterfactual and will utilize experimental design to test the development hypothesis. At a minimum, quasi-experimental methods will be utilized to test the selected hypothesis and to determine the attribution of FTF project impacts. The Impact Evaluation will be carried out under the guidance of TMG.
Program Monitoring
All programs receiving resources under FTF Tanzania will be expected to use rigorous M&E systems that will feed into the broader FTF and GOT M&E frameworks. To the extent possible, examples of participatory methodologies built into program implementation to engage program beneficiaries in knowledge sharing, learning, and potential behavior change opportunities will be encouraged. In addition to the standard reporting requirements, the M&E program will develop and undertake baseline and other survey/assessment work (e.g. household, facility, market) to contribute to the larger M&E framework under FTF. Selected programs will designate a full-time M&E Specialist to appropriately monitor progress and engage in reporting systems for FTF as they are developed. These M&E Specialists will work to ensure that program results are jointly monitored with the ASDP and contribute to their reporting systems. The M&E Specialists will participate in annual meetings that include all implementing partners for FTF Tanzania, the FTF working group, and GOT representatives from relevant ministries.
Baselines
Baseline surveys will be required for several of the indicators listed in the annex. During 2011, a comprehensive baseline survey will be carried out by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics under the guidance of TMG. This baseline data will assist FTF Tanzania to set targets, monitor progress toward those targets and to initiate mid-course corrections for its programs and activities. The baseline will inform FTF Tanzania with data to determine whether or not selected activities are likely to achieve their targets.
Links to Government Monitoring Systems
The GOT will conduct rigorous M&E of their CAADP plan and supporting strategies such as the ASDP. To the extent possible, the FTF M&E framework is intended to utilize information that GOT already collects, especially at the national level. The M&E program will provide direct support to the GOT‘s National Bureau of Statistics. FTF investments in M&E will also be linked with the GOT monitoring mechanisms to build host country capacity and ability to analyze and report on results. A monitoring conceptual framework will set the stage for ensuring progress against targets, provide opportunities for learning, and employ participatory methods. Monitoring activities will support GOT analytical capacity building.
Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a foundation for lasting progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with governments, donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Tanzania, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 834,000 vulnerable Tanzanian women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 430,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
Feed the Future Tanzania also aims to:
To help meet its objectives Feed the Future Tanzania is making core investments in four key areas:
CORE INVESTMENT AREA 2: IMPROVING NUTRITION
Contributes to IR 4: Increased resilience of vulnerable communities and households, IR 5: Improved access to diverse and quality foods, IR 6: Improved nutrition-related behaviors and IR 7: Improved utilization of maternal and child health and nutrition services.
The second set of core investments will focus on scaling up the delivery of a comprehensive package of nutrition interventions in regions of the country with the highest rates of chronic undernutrition among children under five (also referred to as stunting) and maternal anemia. It will also focus on raising the problem of undernutrition as a key development challenge and policy issue for Tanzania to address in order to meet the objectives set forth in the CAADP and the MKUKUTA II/ MKUZA II.
Another key priority area for nutrition under FTF Tanzania will be to maximize opportunities for ―smart integration‖ with other USG investments under the Global Health Initiative. This will mean strengthening and building nutrition components into new and existing safety net, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and water/sanitation/hygiene programs in order to maximize synergies and leverages additional nutrition results in programs that may or may not have nutrition of children or pregnant women as a main focus of their work.
Flagship Nutrition Program
The USG has developed a new program under FTF and the Global Health Initiative designed to reduce rates of chronic undernutrition (stunting) among children under-five and maternal anemia among women of reproductive age. The program will cover the following:
Overview
A participatory approach, which calls for active participation of all stakeholders, will be used to monitor and evaluate (M&E) FTF Tanzania. The design of the M&E system will be based on the usefulness of the data and information which is collected and processed at the different levels and intervals of program implementation and operationalization. M&E for FTF will involve on-going monitoring of program activities in the participating districts, annual evaluations, annual review workshops, beneficiary assessments, mid-term review and terminal evaluation.
Evaluations will be carried out using an independent entity to assess annual program performance. In addition, FTF Tanzania will organize annual review workshops for the duration of the program to enable implementing partners to share information on program implementation performance. FTF will also draw lessons and experiences from these workshops that can be taken into account when planning activities for subsequent years of implementation.
A matrix for the selected FTF indicators is attached as Annex A. FTF Tanzania has received assistance from USAID‘s Bureau for Food Security to provide M&E technical assistance. A preliminary M&E plan has been developed for FTF Tanzania which will be completed in September 2011 once the FTF M&E implementing partner, The Mitchell Group (TMG), has arrived in Tanzania and is fully operational.
Performance Evaluations
Performance evaluations will be carried out for selected FTF Tanzania projects to ascertain the trends in achieving project results of the FTF interventions, to document the overall progress toward objectives, and to assess what is working and what is not and why. One evaluation will be done in project year one (PY 1), another in PY 3 and the last one in PY 5. A mid-term review is planned for the end of PY 2 to assess overall progress and impact of FTF implementation, to provide for corrective actions to enhance performance of FTF, and to provide recommendations for future program designs. These recommendations will be confirmed in the terminal evaluation to be carried out in PY 5.
Qualitative and participatory methods will be utilized for the performance evaluations. Evaluators will utilize methods such as observation, focus groups, key informant interviews, stakeholder interviews and rapid survey techniques to assess progress. These techniques often provide critical insights into beneficiaries‘ perspectives on the value of programs to them, the processes that may have affected outcomes, and a deeper interpretation of results observed. Specific targets for the indicators at the outcome and output levels will be developed once FTF Tanzania has carried out the baseline survey in the FTF target areas along with the preparation of Performance Monitoring Plans.
Impact Evaluation
In addition to performance evaluations, FTF Tanzania will design an impact evaluation to test a selected development hypothesis for FTF. Ideally the impact evaluation will utilize Experimental Methodology to design and conduct the impact evaluation. This methodology will incorporate a rigorously defined counterfactual and will utilize experimental design to test the development hypothesis. At a minimum, quasi-experimental methods will be utilized to test the selected hypothesis and to determine the attribution of FTF project impacts. The Impact Evaluation will be carried out under the guidance of TMG.
Program Monitoring
All programs receiving resources under FTF Tanzania will be expected to use rigorous M&E systems that will feed into the broader FTF and GOT M&E frameworks. To the extent possible, examples of participatory methodologies built into program implementation to engage program beneficiaries in knowledge sharing, learning, and potential behavior change opportunities will be encouraged. In addition to the standard reporting requirements, the M&E program will develop and undertake baseline and other survey/assessment work (e.g. household, facility, market) to contribute to the larger M&E framework under FTF. Selected programs will designate a full-time M&E Specialist to appropriately monitor progress and engage in reporting systems for FTF as they are developed. These M&E Specialists will work to ensure that program results are jointly monitored with the ASDP and contribute to their reporting systems. The M&E Specialists will participate in annual meetings that include all implementing partners for FTF Tanzania, the FTF working group, and GOT representatives from relevant ministries.
Baselines
Baseline surveys will be required for several of the indicators listed in the annex. During 2011, a comprehensive baseline survey will be carried out by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics under the guidance of TMG. This baseline data will assist FTF Tanzania to set targets, monitor progress toward those targets and to initiate mid-course corrections for its programs and activities. The baseline will inform FTF Tanzania with data to determine whether or not selected activities are likely to achieve their targets.
Links to Government Monitoring Systems
The GOT will conduct rigorous M&E of their CAADP plan and supporting strategies such as the ASDP. To the extent possible, the FTF M&E framework is intended to utilize information that GOT already collects, especially at the national level. The M&E program will provide direct support to the GOT‘s National Bureau of Statistics. FTF investments in M&E will also be linked with the GOT monitoring mechanisms to build host country capacity and ability to analyze and report on results. A monitoring conceptual framework will set the stage for ensuring progress against targets, provide opportunities for learning, and employ participatory methods. Monitoring activities will support GOT analytical capacity building.
Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a foundation for lasting progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with governments, donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Tanzania, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 834,000 vulnerable Tanzanian women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 430,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
Feed the Future Tanzania also aims to:
To help meet its objectives Feed the Future Tanzania is making core investments in four key areas:
Overview
A participatory approach, which calls for active participation of all stakeholders, will be used to monitor and evaluate (M&E) FTF Tanzania. The design of the M&E system will be based on the usefulness of the data and information which is collected and processed at the different levels and intervals of program implementation and operationalization. M&E for FTF will involve on-going monitoring of program activities in the participating districts, annual evaluations, annual review workshops, beneficiary assessments, mid-term review and terminal evaluation.
Evaluations will be carried out using an independent entity to assess annual program performance. In addition, FTF Tanzania will organize annual review workshops for the duration of the program to enable implementing partners to share information on program implementation performance. FTF will also draw lessons and experiences from these workshops that can be taken into account when planning activities for subsequent years of implementation.
A matrix for the selected FTF indicators is attached as Annex A. FTF Tanzania has received assistance from USAID‘s Bureau for Food Security to provide M&E technical assistance. A preliminary M&E plan has been developed for FTF Tanzania which will be completed in September 2011 once the FTF M&E implementing partner, The Mitchell Group (TMG), has arrived in Tanzania and is fully operational.
Performance Evaluations
Performance evaluations will be carried out for selected FTF Tanzania projects to ascertain the trends in achieving project results of the FTF interventions, to document the overall progress toward objectives, and to assess what is working and what is not and why. One evaluation will be done in project year one (PY 1), another in PY 3 and the last one in PY 5. A mid-term review is planned for the end of PY 2 to assess overall progress and impact of FTF implementation, to provide for corrective actions to enhance performance of FTF, and to provide recommendations for future program designs. These recommendations will be confirmed in the terminal evaluation to be carried out in PY 5.
Qualitative and participatory methods will be utilized for the performance evaluations. Evaluators will utilize methods such as observation, focus groups, key informant interviews, stakeholder interviews and rapid survey techniques to assess progress. These techniques often provide critical insights into beneficiaries‘ perspectives on the value of programs to them, the processes that may have affected outcomes, and a deeper interpretation of results observed. Specific targets for the indicators at the outcome and output levels will be developed once FTF Tanzania has carried out the baseline survey in the FTF target areas along with the preparation of Performance Monitoring Plans.
Impact Evaluation
In addition to performance evaluations, FTF Tanzania will design an impact evaluation to test a selected development hypothesis for FTF. Ideally the impact evaluation will utilize Experimental Methodology to design and conduct the impact evaluation. This methodology will incorporate a rigorously defined counterfactual and will utilize experimental design to test the development hypothesis. At a minimum, quasi-experimental methods will be utilized to test the selected hypothesis and to determine the attribution of FTF project impacts. The Impact Evaluation will be carried out under the guidance of TMG.
Program Monitoring
All programs receiving resources under FTF Tanzania will be expected to use rigorous M&E systems that will feed into the broader FTF and GOT M&E frameworks. To the extent possible, examples of participatory methodologies built into program implementation to engage program beneficiaries in knowledge sharing, learning, and potential behavior change opportunities will be encouraged. In addition to the standard reporting requirements, the M&E program will develop and undertake baseline and other survey/assessment work (e.g. household, facility, market) to contribute to the larger M&E framework under FTF. Selected programs will designate a full-time M&E Specialist to appropriately monitor progress and engage in reporting systems for FTF as they are developed. These M&E Specialists will work to ensure that program results are jointly monitored with the ASDP and contribute to their reporting systems. The M&E Specialists will participate in annual meetings that include all implementing partners for FTF Tanzania, the FTF working group, and GOT representatives from relevant ministries.
Baselines
Baseline surveys will be required for several of the indicators listed in the annex. During 2011, a comprehensive baseline survey will be carried out by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics under the guidance of TMG. This baseline data will assist FTF Tanzania to set targets, monitor progress toward those targets and to initiate mid-course corrections for its programs and activities. The baseline will inform FTF Tanzania with data to determine whether or not selected activities are likely to achieve their targets.
Links to Government Monitoring Systems
The GOT will conduct rigorous M&E of their CAADP plan and supporting strategies such as the ASDP. To the extent possible, the FTF M&E framework is intended to utilize information that GOT already collects, especially at the national level. The M&E program will provide direct support to the GOT‘s National Bureau of Statistics. FTF investments in M&E will also be linked with the GOT monitoring mechanisms to build host country capacity and ability to analyze and report on results. A monitoring conceptual framework will set the stage for ensuring progress against targets, provide opportunities for learning, and employ participatory methods. Monitoring activities will support GOT analytical capacity building.
Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a foundation for lasting progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with governments, donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Tanzania, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 834,000 vulnerable Tanzanian women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 430,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
Feed the Future Tanzania also aims to:
To help meet its objectives Feed the Future Tanzania is making core investments in four key areas:
CORE INVESTMENT AREA 3: CAPACITY BUILDING AND SUPPORT SERVICES
Contributes to IR 1: Improved agricultural productivity, IR 2: Expanding markets and trade, IR 3: Increased private investment in agriculture- and nutrition-related activities, IR 4: Increased resilience of vulnerable communities and households, IR 5: Improved access to diverse and quality foods, IR 6: Improved nutrition-related behaviors, IR 7: Improved utilization of maternal and child health and nutrition services, and IR 8: Improved enabling policy environment for both agriculture and nutrition.
Tanzania‘s food security and overall agricultural performance into the medium-term will be predicated upon the CAADP process and the accompanying Country Investment Plan (CIP). FTF investments will help support the drafting of the CAADP investment plan and also assist with its successful implementation in collaboration with all partners. FTF Tanzania will invest in building government capacity for policy-making, analysis, and interpretation and delivering on Tanzania‘s CAADP investment plan.
The investments will support host-country leadership and strategy planning to develop sustainability through a new generation of leadership. The USG will provide short- and long-term high-level policymaking support to GOT to develop and deliver on a robust, comprehensive CAADP investment plan and to build a formal mechanism for public-private sector dialogue. Investments will increase the capacity of Tanzanians to act as change agents for transforming the sector.
In addition, FTF will invest in research and development to build Tanzania‘s capacity to respond to challenges through innovations. FTF supports collaborative research to enhance Tanzania‘s ability to improve productivity, especially in light of climate change impacts and other constraints, both agronomic and economic.
Finally, one of the important parts of strengthening the capacity of Tanzanian agriculture is through supporting market-based financial services, including through a variety of loan programs. FTF Tanzania is utilizing innovative methods to increasing rural financing opportunities, especially through microfinance.
FTF staff and partners involved in this component will ensure that gender equitable policies are included in the TAFSIP and in its implementation, that women participate in leadership and training programs, and that women are involved in program activities with Sokoine University of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Research System.
Sokoine University of Agriculture Capacity Building
This program will expand and improve the quality of training in agricultural fields and research in support of FTF Tanzania. By supporting Sokoine University of Agriculture through a direct mechanism, FTF Tanzania will build the capacity of this Tanzanian institution to respond to agricultural issues.
This program will strengthen the training and research capacities of Sokoine University of Agriculture and the Tanzanian National Agricultural Research System. The program will support collaborative research, foster leadership in training and research through long-term training in agriculture, strengthen the capacity of Sokoine University of Agriculture, and promote tripartite Sokoine University if Agriculture - U.S. University - South-South University Cooperation.
","Overview
A participatory approach, which calls for active participation of all stakeholders, will be used to monitor and evaluate (M&E) FTF Tanzania. The design of the M&E system will be based on the usefulness of the data and information which is collected and processed at the different levels and intervals of program implementation and operationalization. M&E for FTF will involve on-going monitoring of program activities in the participating districts, annual evaluations, annual review workshops, beneficiary assessments, mid-term review and terminal evaluation.
Evaluations will be carried out using an independent entity to assess annual program performance. In addition, FTF Tanzania will organize annual review workshops for the duration of the program to enable implementing partners to share information on program implementation performance. FTF will also draw lessons and experiences from these workshops that can be taken into account when planning activities for subsequent years of implementation.
A matrix for the selected FTF indicators is attached as Annex A. FTF Tanzania has received assistance from USAID‘s Bureau for Food Security to provide M&E technical assistance. A preliminary M&E plan has been developed for FTF Tanzania which will be completed in September 2011 once the FTF M&E implementing partner, The Mitchell Group (TMG), has arrived in Tanzania and is fully operational.
Performance Evaluations
Performance evaluations will be carried out for selected FTF Tanzania projects to ascertain the trends in achieving project results of the FTF interventions, to document the overall progress toward objectives, and to assess what is working and what is not and why. One evaluation will be done in project year one (PY 1), another in PY 3 and the last one in PY 5. A mid-term review is planned for the end of PY 2 to assess overall progress and impact of FTF implementation, to provide for corrective actions to enhance performance of FTF, and to provide recommendations for future program designs. These recommendations will be confirmed in the terminal evaluation to be carried out in PY 5.
Qualitative and participatory methods will be utilized for the performance evaluations. Evaluators will utilize methods such as observation, focus groups, key informant interviews, stakeholder interviews and rapid survey techniques to assess progress. These techniques often provide critical insights into beneficiaries‘ perspectives on the value of programs to them, the processes that may have affected outcomes, and a deeper interpretation of results observed. Specific targets for the indicators at the outcome and output levels will be developed once FTF Tanzania has carried out the baseline survey in the FTF target areas along with the preparation of Performance Monitoring Plans.
Impact Evaluation
In addition to performance evaluations, FTF Tanzania will design an impact evaluation to test a selected development hypothesis for FTF. Ideally the impact evaluation will utilize Experimental Methodology to design and conduct the impact evaluation. This methodology will incorporate a rigorously defined counterfactual and will utilize experimental design to test the development hypothesis. At a minimum, quasi-experimental methods will be utilized to test the selected hypothesis and to determine the attribution of FTF project impacts. The Impact Evaluation will be carried out under the guidance of TMG.
Program Monitoring
All programs receiving resources under FTF Tanzania will be expected to use rigorous M&E systems that will feed into the broader FTF and GOT M&E frameworks. To the extent possible, examples of participatory methodologies built into program implementation to engage program beneficiaries in knowledge sharing, learning, and potential behavior change opportunities will be encouraged. In addition to the standard reporting requirements, the M&E program will develop and undertake baseline and other survey/assessment work (e.g. household, facility, market) to contribute to the larger M&E framework under FTF. Selected programs will designate a full-time M&E Specialist to appropriately monitor progress and engage in reporting systems for FTF as they are developed. These M&E Specialists will work to ensure that program results are jointly monitored with the ASDP and contribute to their reporting systems. The M&E Specialists will participate in annual meetings that include all implementing partners for FTF Tanzania, the FTF working group, and GOT representatives from relevant ministries.
Baselines
Baseline surveys will be required for several of the indicators listed in the annex. During 2011, a comprehensive baseline survey will be carried out by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics under the guidance of TMG. This baseline data will assist FTF Tanzania to set targets, monitor progress toward those targets and to initiate mid-course corrections for its programs and activities. The baseline will inform FTF Tanzania with data to determine whether or not selected activities are likely to achieve their targets.
Links to Government Monitoring Systems
The GOT will conduct rigorous M&E of their CAADP plan and supporting strategies such as the ASDP. To the extent possible, the FTF M&E framework is intended to utilize information that GOT already collects, especially at the national level. The M&E program will provide direct support to the GOT‘s National Bureau of Statistics. FTF investments in M&E will also be linked with the GOT monitoring mechanisms to build host country capacity and ability to analyze and report on results. A monitoring conceptual framework will set the stage for ensuring progress against targets, provide opportunities for learning, and employ participatory methods. Monitoring activities will support GOT analytical capacity building.
Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a foundation for lasting progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with governments, donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Tanzania, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 834,000 vulnerable Tanzanian women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 430,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
Feed the Future Tanzania also aims to:
To help meet its objectives Feed the Future Tanzania is making core investments in four key areas:
CORE INVESTMENT AREA 4: ENABLING POLICY ENVIRONMENT
Contributes to IR 8: Improved enabling policy environment and good governance for both agriculture and nutrition
FTF Tanzania will support policy reform and address major agricultural policy and governance issues by building the capacity of the government and private sector to conduct analyses and take action to identify and address the binding constraints to agricultural development. The USG will promote policies that provide an enabling environment for private sector investment in agriculture, create more certain and consistent trade policies, develop and assist in the implementation of more gender equitable policies and focus on policies that enable the implementation of key nutritional interventions. These will include policies and legal issues related to agricultural inputs, credit, markets, and land and trade policy. In order for any of the investments in food security to have the intended impact, a supportive policy environment is foundational.
Tanzania has overarching policy challenges that can seriously impact its performance with food security and its possible role as a regional provider into the future. The recent AgCLIR assessment for Tanzania identified several key policy issues that currently inhibit transformational agricultural growth, including: policy instability, multiplicity of local taxes, and a weak legal framework to protect property rights.
FTF will actively work to develop the GOT‘s capacity to analyze and implement policy instruments that address both short and long-term food security needs. Possible interventions include:
To ensure that policies that cause market distortion are avoided, FTF will create a robust monitoring system for policy reforms and will promote mutual accountability based on a consultative process rather than imposing conditionality.
One of the main challenges to promoting good governance in Tanzania is access to information by the public and by pressure groups, which is necessary for holding the government accountable in use of resources for provision of public services such as rural roads or extension. FTF will establish a communications strategy that will enhance access to information on food security and agriculture so as to foster public awareness on the program, and on state and private sector performance in the sector. The program will build upon the existing processes for ―Agricultural Sector Review‖ and ―Public Expenditure Review‖ which are held annually.
The participation of civil society, media and NGOs in shaping an agricultural development program is essential to ensuring that a program articulates the needs of the majority, including vulnerable segments of the population such as women and children. Civil society and NGOs can also assist in holding the government accountable for its performance. FTF Tanzania will support some local NGOs and civil society organizations to champion policy reforms. USG has started, and will continue, to engage civil society in the shaping of FTF, and encourage them to participate in the implementation process. The U.S. Government advocated for more engagement of civil society in the CAADP process, resulting in the engagement of the Agriculture Non-State Actors Forum (ANSAF) in the CAADP Task Force and the Drafting Team for TAFSIP. As the U.S. Government assumes the leadership of the donors‘ group for agriculture in July 2011, it will engage more NGOs and civil society organizations in the Agricultural Sector and Public Expenditure Reviews.
FTF Tanzania will advocate for policies that will address gender disparities in access to resources. For instance, the ―Secured Transactions Reforms‖ would create a legal framework to support the use of movable assets as collateral for accessing credit by small and medium enterprises. Such a system would enhance equitable access to credit, as the current system relies on the use of fixed assets such as land, and thereby often excludes women, who under traditional cultural practices have limited opportunity to land titling.
Enabling Policy Environment for Agricultural Sector Growth
The project‘s primary goal is to advance policy reform efforts in key areas identified as the critical barriers to transformation of the agriculture sector. The purpose of this project is to develop a policy partnership between government, private sector organizations, and research institutions to achieve key policy reforms in the agriculture sector and related business environment that will ensure successful implementation of the GOT‘s agriculture investment plan and FTF. The project will: strengthen the capacities of GOT institutions, the private sector, and other stakeholders for policy research and implementation of policy change that informs the CAADP process and FTF on constraints to growth; promotes dialogue among all stakeholders and partners; identifies and develops consensus on specific policies that need to be analyzed and changed; and monitors the implementation and impact of reforms intended to enable increased private investments in agriculture and trade.
Overview
A participatory approach, which calls for active participation of all stakeholders, will be used to monitor and evaluate (M&E) FTF Tanzania. The design of the M&E system will be based on the usefulness of the data and information which is collected and processed at the different levels and intervals of program implementation and operationalization. M&E for FTF will involve on-going monitoring of program activities in the participating districts, annual evaluations, annual review workshops, beneficiary assessments, mid-term review and terminal evaluation.
Evaluations will be carried out using an independent entity to assess annual program performance. In addition, FTF Tanzania will organize annual review workshops for the duration of the program to enable implementing partners to share information on program implementation performance. FTF will also draw lessons and experiences from these workshops that can be taken into account when planning activities for subsequent years of implementation.
A matrix for the selected FTF indicators is attached as Annex A. FTF Tanzania has received assistance from USAID‘s Bureau for Food Security to provide M&E technical assistance. A preliminary M&E plan has been developed for FTF Tanzania which will be completed in September 2011 once the FTF M&E implementing partner, The Mitchell Group (TMG), has arrived in Tanzania and is fully operational.
Performance Evaluations
Performance evaluations will be carried out for selected FTF Tanzania projects to ascertain the trends in achieving project results of the FTF interventions, to document the overall progress toward objectives, and to assess what is working and what is not and why. One evaluation will be done in project year one (PY 1), another in PY 3 and the last one in PY 5. A mid-term review is planned for the end of PY 2 to assess overall progress and impact of FTF implementation, to provide for corrective actions to enhance performance of FTF, and to provide recommendations for future program designs. These recommendations will be confirmed in the terminal evaluation to be carried out in PY 5.
Qualitative and participatory methods will be utilized for the performance evaluations. Evaluators will utilize methods such as observation, focus groups, key informant interviews, stakeholder interviews and rapid survey techniques to assess progress. These techniques often provide critical insights into beneficiaries‘ perspectives on the value of programs to them, the processes that may have affected outcomes, and a deeper interpretation of results observed. Specific targets for the indicators at the outcome and output levels will be developed once FTF Tanzania has carried out the baseline survey in the FTF target areas along with the preparation of Performance Monitoring Plans.
Impact Evaluation
In addition to performance evaluations, FTF Tanzania will design an impact evaluation to test a selected development hypothesis for FTF. Ideally the impact evaluation will utilize Experimental Methodology to design and conduct the impact evaluation. This methodology will incorporate a rigorously defined counterfactual and will utilize experimental design to test the development hypothesis. At a minimum, quasi-experimental methods will be utilized to test the selected hypothesis and to determine the attribution of FTF project impacts. The Impact Evaluation will be carried out under the guidance of TMG.
Program Monitoring
All programs receiving resources under FTF Tanzania will be expected to use rigorous M&E systems that will feed into the broader FTF and GOT M&E frameworks. To the extent possible, examples of participatory methodologies built into program implementation to engage program beneficiaries in knowledge sharing, learning, and potential behavior change opportunities will be encouraged. In addition to the standard reporting requirements, the M&E program will develop and undertake baseline and other survey/assessment work (e.g. household, facility, market) to contribute to the larger M&E framework under FTF. Selected programs will designate a full-time M&E Specialist to appropriately monitor progress and engage in reporting systems for FTF as they are developed. These M&E Specialists will work to ensure that program results are jointly monitored with the ASDP and contribute to their reporting systems. The M&E Specialists will participate in annual meetings that include all implementing partners for FTF Tanzania, the FTF working group, and GOT representatives from relevant ministries.
Baselines
Baseline surveys will be required for several of the indicators listed in the annex. During 2011, a comprehensive baseline survey will be carried out by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics under the guidance of TMG. This baseline data will assist FTF Tanzania to set targets, monitor progress toward those targets and to initiate mid-course corrections for its programs and activities. The baseline will inform FTF Tanzania with data to determine whether or not selected activities are likely to achieve their targets.
Links to Government Monitoring Systems
The GOT will conduct rigorous M&E of their CAADP plan and supporting strategies such as the ASDP. To the extent possible, the FTF M&E framework is intended to utilize information that GOT already collects, especially at the national level. The M&E program will provide direct support to the GOT‘s National Bureau of Statistics. FTF investments in M&E will also be linked with the GOT monitoring mechanisms to build host country capacity and ability to analyze and report on results. A monitoring conceptual framework will set the stage for ensuring progress against targets, provide opportunities for learning, and employ participatory methods. Monitoring activities will support GOT analytical capacity building.
Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Malawi, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
","The USG will make investments in nutrition across three critical sectors; agriculture, health, and social protection, with nutrition as the lynchpin between these sectors. As such, the USG will implement a comprehensive approach that maximizes all three sectors and strengthens and links the nutrition components of each. These investments will be underpinned by a core set of nutrition indicators that are common across all programs, and will be supported by policy investments that mirror the comprehensive nature of nutrition programming by working with the Office of the President’s Cabinet (OPC) and the Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Health, and Gender.
Building on lessons and experiences from current programs implementing preventive nutrition activities (e.g., the WALA and BASICS projects), USG resources will scale up prevention of undernutrition and resiliency of communities, while maintaining critical investments in treatment and nutrition service delivery. The rationale for this shift is due to the overall high prevalence of chronic undernutrition (47 percent) and the low prevalence of acute undernutrition (4 percent), the latter of which has been achieved by sustained commitment to scaling up CMAM. As a result, the USG will aim to drive a decrease in stunting as the highest level objective in FTF. The USG plans to focus on cost-effective preventive nutrition interventions targeting the 1,000 days window of development (pregnancy through two years), including maternal nutrition; early and exclusive breastfeeding through six months; use of appropriate, diverse foods beginning at six months of age; targeted micronutrient supplementation; and improved hygiene and sanitation. Activities will be integrated into health, HIV, and agriculture platforms, taking full advantage of the resources that these programs have. These investments leverage funding from health (Global Health and Child Survival), agriculture (Development Assistance), and Title II to advance nutrition objectives. The Care Group model encompasses a combined FTF and GHI approach to reduce poverty, hunger, and undernutrition by joining two complementary lines of investment at an operational level:
The objectives of the Care Groups complement value chain development activities by building capacity of:
Community-Level Organizations and Integration with Government of Malawi Systems for Health and Agricultural Extension
The Care Group in the context of this model is notable in that it supports a sustainable and simultaneous approach to agriculture, nutrition, and microfinance. Cross-fertilization of nutrition and agricultural messaging and skill building, as well as the opportunity to create cross-sector targets and results frameworks allows for a uniquely comprehensive approach.
Volunteers are trained and facilitated to conduct community outreach and follow-up in both agricultural- and health-focused nutrition interventions, thus supporting an operational link between nutrition and agriculture programming. Each volunteer takes on responsibility for conducting outreach and follow-up to some 10-12 nearby households. Care Group volunteers also have access to agricultural inputs to start and maintain community gardens, as well as engage in income-diversification through activities such as establishing voluntary savings and loan activities. Access to these inputs provides motivation and support for implementing targeted nutrition-focused interventions focused on behavior change, including:
Linking the agriculture and value chain components of the project with health and nutrition promotion at the community level is especially advantageous in that it provides opportunities to address two key crosscutting areas:
Prevention Linked with Health Service Delivery
The USG’s approach to service delivery covers community level action, improvement of quality at all levels of facilities, and strengthening the central and district level systems of management. This provides a common platform for multi-thematic messages and programs, ensuring that there are ―no missed opportunities‖. It also ensures a focused yet comprehensive basic package accessible to the Malawian population that stretches across the continuum of care from community to facility and from facility to community. At the community level, the Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) and health volunteers will continue to focus on interpersonal counseling, limited preventive and curative care through village clinics and drug boxes, and to create demand for services at the health facilities across family planning, maternal and neonatal health, child health, nutrition, malaria and HIV areas. At the facility level, the USG will support improved quality of care for existing interventions that target integrated and comprehensive primary health care provision and performance based incentives. At the national, zonal and district levels, USG programs will continue to strengthen the financial, management and leadership capabilities of the Ministry of Health staff. Also, programs will work closely with the technical staff to provide technical assistance and work toward meaningful policy changes. At all levels, USG resources will focus on integration of social and behavior change communication efforts through community and facility level entry points.
An important element of the multi-year FTF Strategy is monitoring and evaluation, which is an iterative learning process that will put into place the principle of a sustained and accountable delivery approach. Program activities must be monitored through periodic field visits by Mission staff and ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. Mission staff has a key role to play in monitoring and learning from partners both through oversight and input to design of project level M&E plans and systems and also through follow-up on quarterly reports and other communication with partners.
The integration of agricultural, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Also, the Malawi FTF Strategy will foster linkages among existing programs, which will harmonize key agriculture and nutrition and indicators across relevant areas of focus.
Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Sustainable Economic Growth (SEG) teams at USAID/Malawi will work together to integrate M&E systems and processes in order to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors not captured through the agriculture/nutrition overlap. There is currently significant USG investment on the part of USAID through PEPFAR and GHI in health systems strengthening, family planning, and malaria and tuberculosis reduction among others in the geographic areas targeted through FTF. We believe it is critical to capture at the highest level the combined impact of FTF and GHI/PEPFAR in order to reduce duplication, increase the applicability of data across interventions and most importantly, learn across programs in order to improve and increase efficiency and impact of all USAID investments in Malawi. This integration of M&E function may take the form of harmonized M&E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring visits by SEG and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting and evaluation methods, roles and communication channels result in improved project and program management, promote ongoing learning and testing of development hypotheses and ensure accountability. A fully functioning M&E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission’s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the GoM and other development partners.
USAID/Malawi is currently refining Mission processes in line with the requirements and recommendations of the newly announced USAID Evaluation Policy. To that end, and in preparation for the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), SEG will identify further impact evaluation questions and set aside funds for impact evaluation in 2011. This will serve as solid preparation for FTF-focused evaluation activities in subsequent years.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","Central and southern regions","","Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age; Prevalence of wasted children under five years of age; Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger","Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age; Prevalence of wasted children under five years of age; Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger","Vulnerable groups","","Breastfeeding – exclusive breastfeeding>>>Breastfeeding – exclusive breastfeeding>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/exclusive_breastfeeding","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11605","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MWI","Malawi","Dedza|Mchinji|Lilongwe|Ntcheu|Mangochi|Balaka|Machinga","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","01-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Malawi, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
","Although the main focus will be on preventing childhood undernutrition, USAID/Malawi will continue to support CMAM, building on past investments. Since 2005, USAID has supported the integration of CMAM in existing health care services. Partners are working at both the policy and community levels to ensure this integration. As of December 2009, 24 out of 28 districts are implementing CMAM in over 240 health facilities. The USG will support one additional year of the MoH’s CMAM Advisory Service to finalize the transition of complete CMAM scale-up to the GoM. An evaluation in 2012 will help inform the USG on the areas needing further investment.
Through two GDAs with Project Peanut Butter, a local producer of ready-to use therapeutic food (RUTF), USAID/Malawi’s support has resulted in an annual production capacity of over 1,200 MT of RUTF, which, when combined with production from a second local producer of RUTF, more than meets the total requirements of RUTF for Malawi, with capacity to export to neighboring countries. The USG will take advantage of this existing capacity to explore the development and promotion of ready to use supplementary and complementary foods.
","An important element of the multi-year FTF Strategy is monitoring and evaluation, which is an iterative learning process that will put into place the principle of a sustained and accountable delivery approach. Program activities must be monitored through periodic field visits by Mission staff and ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. Mission staff has a key role to play in monitoring and learning from partners both through oversight and input to design of project level M&E plans and systems and also through follow-up on quarterly reports and other communication with partners.
The integration of agricultural, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Also, the Malawi FTF Strategy will foster linkages among existing programs, which will harmonize key agriculture and nutrition and indicators across relevant areas of focus.
Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Sustainable Economic Growth (SEG) teams at USAID/Malawi will work together to integrate M&E systems and processes in order to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors not captured through the agriculture/nutrition overlap. There is currently significant USG investment on the part of USAID through PEPFAR and GHI in health systems strengthening, family planning, and malaria and tuberculosis reduction among others in the geographic areas targeted through FTF. We believe it is critical to capture at the highest level the combined impact of FTF and GHI/PEPFAR in order to reduce duplication, increase the applicability of data across interventions and most importantly, learn across programs in order to improve and increase efficiency and impact of all USAID investments in Malawi. This integration of M&E function may take the form of harmonized M&E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring visits by SEG and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting and evaluation methods, roles and communication channels result in improved project and program management, promote ongoing learning and testing of development hypotheses and ensure accountability. A fully functioning M&E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission’s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the GoM and other development partners.
USAID/Malawi is currently refining Mission processes in line with the requirements and recommendations of the newly announced USAID Evaluation Policy. To that end, and in preparation for the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), SEG will identify further impact evaluation questions and set aside funds for impact evaluation in 2011. This will serve as solid preparation for FTF-focused evaluation activities in subsequent years.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","Central and southern regions","","Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age; Prevalence of wasted children under five years of age; Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger","Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age; Prevalence of wasted children under five years of age; Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger","Vulnerable groups","","eLENA titles related to prevention or treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in children>>>Supplementary feeding in community settings for promoting child growth>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/child_growth|Food supplementation in children with moderate acute malnutrition>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/food_children_mam","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11605","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MWI","Malawi","Dedza|Mchinji|Lilongwe|Ntcheu|Mangochi|Balaka|Machinga","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","01-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Malawi, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
","The USG will support GoM's efforts towards fortification of prioritized centrally processed foods, namely: sugar, oil, wheat and maize flour, and complementary baby foods. Data from the National Micronutrient Survey shows that the consumption of these foods has increased over the last ten years. USAID health funding will continue to support the universal salt iodization program in order to sustain the gains made with previous investments. Although not sufficient to forestall stunting in children under five, one necessary input is a high quality, low-cost complementary food. The legume and dairy value chains present a unique opportunity for the development of such a product. Malawi will take advantage and work with existing food processors (e.g., Rab processors, Project Peanut Butter and Valid Nutrition) to develop a suitable product.
Prevention and control of micronutrient malnutrition will require a concerted effort by all USAID/Malawi’s health programs, namely, malaria, family planning, maternal, neonatal and child health, HIV/AIDS and nutrition. Possible USG support to SUN for specific activities with deliverables in FY11 include the following:
An important element of the multi-year FTF Strategy is monitoring and evaluation, which is an iterative learning process that will put into place the principle of a sustained and accountable delivery approach. Program activities must be monitored through periodic field visits by Mission staff and ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. Mission staff has a key role to play in monitoring and learning from partners both through oversight and input to design of project level M&E plans and systems and also through follow-up on quarterly reports and other communication with partners.
The integration of agricultural, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Also, the Malawi FTF Strategy will foster linkages among existing programs, which will harmonize key agriculture and nutrition and indicators across relevant areas of focus.
Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Sustainable Economic Growth (SEG) teams at USAID/Malawi will work together to integrate M&E systems and processes in order to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors not captured through the agriculture/nutrition overlap. There is currently significant USG investment on the part of USAID through PEPFAR and GHI in health systems strengthening, family planning, and malaria and tuberculosis reduction among others in the geographic areas targeted through FTF. We believe it is critical to capture at the highest level the combined impact of FTF and GHI/PEPFAR in order to reduce duplication, increase the applicability of data across interventions and most importantly, learn across programs in order to improve and increase efficiency and impact of all USAID investments in Malawi. This integration of M&E function may take the form of harmonized M&E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring visits by SEG and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting and evaluation methods, roles and communication channels result in improved project and program management, promote ongoing learning and testing of development hypotheses and ensure accountability. A fully functioning M&E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission’s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the GoM and other development partners.
USAID/Malawi is currently refining Mission processes in line with the requirements and recommendations of the newly announced USAID Evaluation Policy. To that end, and in preparation for the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), SEG will identify further impact evaluation questions and set aside funds for impact evaluation in 2011. This will serve as solid preparation for FTF-focused evaluation activities in subsequent years.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","Central and southern regions","","Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age; Prevalence of wasted children under five years of age; Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger","Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age; Prevalence of wasted children under five years of age; Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger","Vulnerable groups","","Complementary feeding>>>Complementary feeding>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/complementary_feeding","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11605","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MWI","Malawi","Dedza|Mchinji|Lilongwe|Ntcheu|Mangochi|Balaka|Machinga","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","01-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Malawi, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
","USG investments in legume and dairy value chains are designed to boost competitiveness and promote diversification into higher-return value chains that will also spawn non-farm employment opportunities. While these investments in economic growth will be necessary to reduce poverty and hunger, they will be insufficient by themselves. Beyond growth, poverty reduction will require targeted interventions that address the needs of smallholder farmers (the rural poor) as well as more vulnerable populations. A significant smallholder need is to produce more from a very limited resource base. Conservation farming practices offer promise in this regard, by increasing yields, soil fertility and soil moisture content per unit area. Importantly CF offers a window of opportunity to increase yield from a fixed unit area, freeing up land for diversification of both other cereals and legumes. Improving market and input access and the affordability of business development and financial services tailored to the needs of smallholders is critical in order to ―pull‖ rural households into income-raising activities.
Integrating Nutrition with Value Chains (INVC)
INVC is designed to combine the livelihood benefits of an agricultural value chain approach with the nutrition benefits of increased dietary diversification. This centerpiece of Malawi’s FTF strategy will invest in the competitiveness of food staple value chains in which large numbers of smallholders, over 56 percent of whom are below the poverty line, participate, and link increased household production of nutritious crops to household consumption and improved nutritional status. INVC will link value chain development and increased household income to improved nutrition through diet diversification, and improvements in food storage, preparation, and consumption practices at the household level.
INVC’s value chain approach will focus on legumes (groundnuts and soy) and dairy, and is designed to facilitate change in both the individual value chains and the broader market and household-farming systems, looking for synergies across value chains such as common constraints and/or actors. A strong emphasis will be placed on improving the demand side of the value chain, by working to improve market linkages between input and output dealers through improved and more reliable services, including financial, business development, agronomic and livestock-related services. While most of INVC’s efforts will further develop and strengthen Malawi’s existing input and output markets serving the legumes and dairy value chains, the program will also include strengthening the capacity of processors and agribusinesses to meet export market demands, as well as building the capacity of smallholder suppliers to meet buyer demands. At the same time, INVC will work to mitigate the risks for rural households to diversify their income and food sources beyond maize through an option of conducting a vulnerability assessment for its target population and to access nutritional education that will help them translate a more diverse basket of food into improved nutrition. INVC will place a particular emphasis on women’s economic empowerment across all of its activities, including additional support and guidance to women owned businesses and women producers.
INVC will spur investment and innovation in the legume and dairy value chains through an Innovation and Investment Facility meant to provide INVC a tool to identify and support specific opportunities that can further strengthen the selected value chains and market systems within which they operate. An important use of the facility will be to buy down risk for a firm, farmer, or other value chain actor in order to encourage early adoption of new technologies, such as CF by smallholders, and spur sector-wide innovation. Facility partners may include private firms, GoM agencies, research institutes, NGOs or other local organizations, as well as other donors best placed to identify new solutions to key value chain and systemic43 constraints. This Innovation and Investment Facility will be a key instrument for developing the capacity of the private sector and will also have targets and incentives for the participation of women-owned enterprises or individuals.
A core principle of INVC will also be to build the capacity of the key value chain actors to address the competitiveness of their value chain through their own projects and interventions. As such, INVC will place a strong emphasis on building local capacity to contribute to and invest in agricultural transformation. While Malawi has numerous small businesses, local NGOs and private sector and civil society organizations, few, if any, have both the technical and administrative capacity to implement USAID projects without support. As such, INVC’s approach to capacity building will be to invest resources in local partners while leveraging their local knowledge and capacity to generate results. The project will have a target for graduating local partners to independent status that would allow them to receive USAID funds directly. As partners reach this independent status, they would take on current functions of INVC.
","An important element of the multi-year FTF Strategy is monitoring and evaluation, which is an iterative learning process that will put into place the principle of a sustained and accountable delivery approach. Program activities must be monitored through periodic field visits by Mission staff and ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. Mission staff has a key role to play in monitoring and learning from partners both through oversight and input to design of project level M&E plans and systems and also through follow-up on quarterly reports and other communication with partners.
The integration of agricultural, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Also, the Malawi FTF Strategy will foster linkages among existing programs, which will harmonize key agriculture and nutrition and indicators across relevant areas of focus.
Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Sustainable Economic Growth (SEG) teams at USAID/Malawi will work together to integrate M&E systems and processes in order to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors not captured through the agriculture/nutrition overlap. There is currently significant USG investment on the part of USAID through PEPFAR and GHI in health systems strengthening, family planning, and malaria and tuberculosis reduction among others in the geographic areas targeted through FTF. We believe it is critical to capture at the highest level the combined impact of FTF and GHI/PEPFAR in order to reduce duplication, increase the applicability of data across interventions and most importantly, learn across programs in order to improve and increase efficiency and impact of all USAID investments in Malawi. This integration of M&E function may take the form of harmonized M&E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring visits by SEG and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting and evaluation methods, roles and communication channels result in improved project and program management, promote ongoing learning and testing of development hypotheses and ensure accountability. A fully functioning M&E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission’s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the GoM and other development partners.
USAID/Malawi is currently refining Mission processes in line with the requirements and recommendations of the newly announced USAID Evaluation Policy. To that end, and in preparation for the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), SEG will identify further impact evaluation questions and set aside funds for impact evaluation in 2011. This will serve as solid preparation for FTF-focused evaluation activities in subsequent years.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","Central and southern regions","","Percent change in agricultural GDP (monitor national trend); Per Capita expenditures of rural households (proxy for income) of USG targeted beneficiaries; Gender index; Gross margin per unit of land or animal of selected product; Value of incremental sales (collected at farm- level) attributed to FTF; Percent change in diversity of agricultural commodities produced by households; Number of newly created jobs attributed to FTF Value of new private sector investment in the agriculture sector or food chain leveraged by FTF","Percent change in agricultural GDP (monitor national trend); Per Capita expenditures of rural households (proxy for income) of USG targeted beneficiaries; Gender index; Gross margin per unit of land or animal of selected product; Value of incremental sales (collected at farm- level) attributed to FTF; Percent change in diversity of agricultural commodities produced by households; Number of newly created jobs attributed to FTF Value of new private sector investment in the agriculture sector or food chain leveraged by FTF","Vulnerable groups","","Biofortification of staple crops>>>Biofortification of staple crops>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/biofortification","Supplies","A significant constraint to the development of competitive groundnut and soybean value chains is the inadequate production of breeder seed. Ten years ago, USAID/Malawi established a $250,000 revolving fund to support ICRISAT in contracting out groundnut breeder seed production, but the FISP addition of legume seed packs the significant gross margins of legumes has driven demand far beyond local seed production capacity. Given the importance of reliable input supplies to Malawi’s FTF strategy, USAID and Irish Aid will partner to expand local capacity for production of quality, certified legume seed. USAID will invest in expanding the existing revolving fund and link in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture to enable the expansion of their efforts in soy breeder seed production. Irish AID will expand its assistance to small and medium sized enterprises to develop their capacity of to multiply groundnut seed – currently only one company (Seed Co.) is involved in soybean seed production using privately developed germplasm.","Infrastructure","Malawi also lacks an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certified laboratory for testing and certifying groundnuts and soybeans, which limits access by exporters to broader export markets. Currently, companies that export groundnuts send samples to South Africa for testing, which is costly and limits export capacity. With Irish Aid support, ICRISAT and NASFAM are developing a low cost, rapid testing technology; however, achieving ISO certification will be costly. The EU and UNDP will also begin work next year on a project designed to support the processing and exports side of legume value chains, a major component of which will focus on bringing the Malawi Bureau of Standards up to ISO certification. USG resources will support GoM efforts to establish a national sanitary/phyto-sanitary (SPS) strategy and achieve COMESA SPS compliance, as well as to build the capacity of Bunda College and the MoAFS research stations to conduction aflatoxin mitigation research.","Financial resources","Access to finance remains a major constraint to smallholders investing in productivity enhancing technologies due to weak financial sector infrastructure, inadequate financial services options, and GoM regulatory capacity. USAID will jointly develop a Financial Sector Technical Assistance Project with the World Bank and DfID.","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11605","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MWI","Malawi","Dedza|Mchinji|Lilongwe|Ntcheu|Mangochi|Balaka|Machinga","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Malawi, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
","In view of the capacity challenges that exist, USAID will strengthen the capacity of the GoM to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate nutrition programs. With substantial funding increases anticipated through the FTF, USAID/Malawi will ensure that GoM institutions have adequate capacity to implement the various programs that will be designed under the initiative. This activity is in line with Strategic Objective Three of the NNPSP, which clearly outlines the capacity gaps and needs for the nutrition sector in Malawi. The USG will strengthen capacity of its partners, both government and non- governmental, as well as the private sector. USG support will be at three levels: community, institutional and tertiary. Irish Aid, the World Bank, CIDA, and the EU are all key donors in capacity building.
Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (SAKSS)
Since 2008, USAID/Malawi has supported a SAKSS unit implemented through the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) at the MoAFS. The objectives of this activity are threefold: 1) generate demand-driven diagnostic and strategic research to fill key knowledge gaps, 2) establish an information and knowledge support system, in cooperation with the Southern Africa Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System that has been set up to help promote peer and progress review of the CAADP, and 3) strengthen the capacity of national institutions, such as the MoAFS, in policy and strategy research. The Malawi Mission plans to extend the work of the SAKSS unit as part of capacity building support under FTF.
Malawi Agriculture Policy Strengthening (MAPS)
Strong civil society and private sector networks are critical to implementing the ASWAp in a way that responds to the evolving needs of its stakeholders. In recent decades, weak capacity and declining GoM interest in inclusive policy making is leading Malawi’s CAADP process towards a Government-owned rather than Country-owned process. Grounded in the CAADP principles of increasing stakeholder participation in the policy making process,44 the Malawi Agriculture Policy Strengthening (MAPS) program is designed to increase the participation of private sector and civil society stakeholders in agriculture policy dialogue.
MAPS will increase the profile, capacity and engagement of civil society and private sector stakeholders in agriculture policy development and implementation through a combination of capacity building interventions and establishing linkages between producers and consumers, including state and non-state actors, of high quality policy research. Though not exclusively, MAPS will focus on key stakeholders along the proposed FTF value chains.
MAPS capacity building activities will focus on improving organizational ability to meet its goals and objectives by strengthening administrative and financial management, organizational structure and strategic planning. The second focus of the project will strengthen policy analysis and advocacy capacity through building linkages between Malawian farmers and private sector associations and regional networks and research institutions, such as local and regional universities among civil society groups. MAPS will similarly link GoM counterparts to those research institutions to improve their ability to become informed consumers of stakeholder policy advocacy. These two components will account for the varying levels of development and readiness of organizations and associations in Malawi to take on advocacy activities. MAPS will also focus on elevating the voices of women in policy dialogue by targeting women-led civil-society/public service organizations for organizational capacity building and providing additional women-focused leadership training and gender equity sensitization to facilitate women taking on leadership roles within larger organizations.
","An important element of the multi-year FTF Strategy is monitoring and evaluation, which is an iterative learning process that will put into place the principle of a sustained and accountable delivery approach. Program activities must be monitored through periodic field visits by Mission staff and ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. Mission staff has a key role to play in monitoring and learning from partners both through oversight and input to design of project level M&E plans and systems and also through follow-up on quarterly reports and other communication with partners.
The integration of agricultural, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Also, the Malawi FTF Strategy will foster linkages among existing programs, which will harmonize key agriculture and nutrition and indicators across relevant areas of focus.
Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Sustainable Economic Growth (SEG) teams at USAID/Malawi will work together to integrate M&E systems and processes in order to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors not captured through the agriculture/nutrition overlap. There is currently significant USG investment on the part of USAID through PEPFAR and GHI in health systems strengthening, family planning, and malaria and tuberculosis reduction among others in the geographic areas targeted through FTF. We believe it is critical to capture at the highest level the combined impact of FTF and GHI/PEPFAR in order to reduce duplication, increase the applicability of data across interventions and most importantly, learn across programs in order to improve and increase efficiency and impact of all USAID investments in Malawi. This integration of M&E function may take the form of harmonized M&E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring visits by SEG and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting and evaluation methods, roles and communication channels result in improved project and program management, promote ongoing learning and testing of development hypotheses and ensure accountability. A fully functioning M&E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission’s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the GoM and other development partners.
USAID/Malawi is currently refining Mission processes in line with the requirements and recommendations of the newly announced USAID Evaluation Policy. To that end, and in preparation for the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), SEG will identify further impact evaluation questions and set aside funds for impact evaluation in 2011. This will serve as solid preparation for FTF-focused evaluation activities in subsequent years.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 281,000 vulnerable Malawian women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 293,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","Central and southern regions","","Number of institutions/organizations undergoing capacity /competency assessments as a result of USG assistance; Number of institutions/organizations mature/viable in the competency areas strengthened as a result of USG assistance Frequency of GoM consultation with civil society/private sector on relevant policies; Comparison of programmatic objectives Pre and post FtF funding distribution; Number of new funding mechanisms","Number of institutions/organizations undergoing capacity /competency assessments as a result of USG assistance; Number of institutions/organizations mature/viable in the competency areas strengthened as a result of USG assistance Frequency of GoM consultation with civil society/private sector on relevant policies; Comparison of programmatic objectives Pre and post FtF funding distribution; Number of new funding mechanisms","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Rural","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
The first set of core investments in USG/Mozambique‘s FTF strategy provides smallholders with links to input and output markets in selected value chains. The focus of this set of investments will be on oilseeds (sesame, groundnuts, and soybeans), cashews, and fruit (e.g., pineapple, mango and bananas). The main objective is inclusive agriculture sector growth, which FTF/Mozambique will achieve through increased and sustained agricultural productivity, expanded markets and trade, and increased private sector investment in agriculture and nutrition-related activities. Investment in these value chains will improve income opportunities for smallholders, increase access to nutritious foods, and facilitate competitiveness of small scale farmers in these value chains.
Oilseeds
This program will facilitate the development of long-term linkages between smallholders that produce groundnuts, sesame, and/or soybeans and input and output markets. This will include efforts to bring better farming practices and inputs to the farm level, as well as linking production to markets through aggregation and farmer organizations. Specific activities include:
Technical assistance and grants to farmer associations/ cooperatives and agro-service centers, to enable them to provide
Support to build mentoring business relationships between commercial and emerging farmers, which are farmers that overcame size and productivity constraints and farm sizes between10 and 50 hectares. These commercial farmers provide some or all of the following to the emerging farmers:
Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","Estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty.","Zambesia and Nampula Provinces","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Rural","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
The first set of core investments in USG/Mozambique‘s FTF strategy provides smallholders with links to input and output markets in selected value chains. The focus of this set of investments will be on oilseeds (sesame, groundnuts, and soybeans), cashews, and fruit (e.g., pineapple, mango and bananas). The main objective is inclusive agriculture sector growth, which FTF/Mozambique will achieve through increased and sustained agricultural productivity, expanded markets and trade, and increased private sector investment in agriculture and nutrition-related activities. Investment in these value chains will improve income opportunities for smallholders, increase access to nutritious foods, and facilitate competitiveness of small scale farmers in these value chains.
Cashews
This investment builds on USAID/Mozambique‘s history of successful cashew sector development. This experience includes USAID Title II support to nurseries in seedling production and distribution and DA support to the local cashew processing industry – the latter resulting in one of the most vibrant cashew processing sectors in Africa. Building on this track record, FTF will now invest in a major supply-side constraint: renewing the existing stock of cashew plants. Mozambique has the oldest population of cashew trees in Africa (some trees are more than 80 years old) and overall productivity is decreasing rapidly. Thus, our FTF investment in cashews focuses on the expansion of cashew nurseries to supply new cashew seedlings and to extend pruning and crafting practices for existing trees.
Specific activities include:
Technical assistance and grants to existing nurseries or other investors (e.g., cashew processors, entrepreneurs) to incentivize establishing nurseries and supply seedlings and extension (nurseries to offer a package of seedlings, and training in seedling maintenance, crafting, and pruning; farmers to pay for this service).
Technical assistance and support to farmer and community organizations for them to support smallholders in grafting, pruning, and seedling care monitoring, and pass on processor-financed incentive payments for tree care.
Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","Estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty.",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Rural","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
The first set of core investments in USG/Mozambique‘s FTF strategy provides smallholders with links to input and output markets in selected value chains. The focus of this set of investments will be on oilseeds (sesame, groundnuts, and soybeans), cashews, and fruit (e.g., pineapple, mango and bananas). The main objective is inclusive agriculture sector growth, which FTF/Mozambique will achieve through increased and sustained agricultural productivity, expanded markets and trade, and increased private sector investment in agriculture and nutrition-related activities. Investment in these value chains will improve income opportunities for smallholders, increase access to nutritious foods, and facilitate competitiveness of small scale farmers in these value chains.
Fruit
Fruit is farmed by more than a million households in the focus regions, but currently provides very limited income opportunities. FTF will primarily focus on improving the income potential of domestic fruit, by supporting the development of a domestic processing sector. The underlying hypothesis is that upon successful development of the domestic fruit sector, smallholders can play an increasing role in a viable export market (e.g. through outgrower schemes). Nutrition activities will be co-located to ensure improved consumption of fruits on a household level.
Specific activities include:
Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","Estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty.",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Rural","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
The second set of core investments will focus on scaling up the delivery of key nutrition interventions in the focus regions, acting on both the demand and supply side. On the demand side, FTF will invest in documenting and reinforcing improved nutrition behaviors through district and community based nutrition activities including growth monitoring and promotion (building on USAID Title II support in Zambezia and Nampula) and the promotion of optimal nutrition-related behaviors (building on PEPFAR infrastructure in Sofala and Manica). On the supply side, FTF will encourage the availability of nutritious foods through a Nutrition Challenge Fund.
Community-Based Nutrition Activities
FTF/Mozambique will address Mozambique‘s high undernutrition rates through a comprehensive, standard program of activities at the community level that includes growth monitoring, promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding practices, and dietary diversity and quality for pregnant and lactating women. Specific activities include:
","
Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","Complementary feeding>>>Complementary feeding>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/complementary_feeding","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Rural","on-going","01-2011","12-2012","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
The second set of core investments will focus on scaling up the delivery of key nutrition interventions in the focus regions, acting on both the demand and supply side. On the demand side, FTF will invest in documenting and reinforcing improved nutrition behaviors through district and community based nutrition activities including growth monitoring and promotion (building on USAID Title II support in Zambezia and Nampula) and the promotion of optimal nutrition-related behaviors (building on PEPFAR infrastructure in Sofala and Manica). On the supply side, FTF will encourage the availability of nutritious foods through a Nutrition Challenge Fund.
Nutrition Challenge Fund
FTF Mozambique will also stimulate the supply of nutritious, diverse, and quality foods. FTF/Mozambique will do this through a Nutrition Challenge Fund: a competitive grant scheme that encourages innovations in agro-processing (e.g. fortification, food processing) that reach a large share of the vulnerable population to improve nutrition. The competitive grant will be available to the private sector or community organizations, who will be selected based primarily on impact, innovation, and sustainability of the business model. Other potential criteria for selection include financial leverage, number of suppliers and consumers reached, and synergies with USG programs. FTF/Mozambique plans to leverage at least as much funding as will be contributed, although the aspiration is to leverage double our funding. The grants will provide up-front financing and technical assistance to ensure a successful venture.
","Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality..",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Urban|Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
USG/Mozambique will support FTF objectives and program activities through cross-cutting investments in policy analysis and advocacy, as well as research and technology transfer.
Policy
Policy analysis and advocacy is targeted to support an accelerated CAADP process, business and trade policy reform (particularly in the fruit sector), an integrated policy agenda for agriculture and nutrition, and policy supporting growth monitoring and nutrition. Specific initiatives include:
","
Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Urban|Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
USG/Mozambique will support FTF objectives and program activities through cross-cutting investments in policy analysis and advocacy, as well as research and technology transfer.
Research and Technology Transfer
USG/Mozambique will leverage its comparative advantage in research and technology transfer, focusing support on the introduction and dissemination of new technologies. FTF/Mozambique will achieve this through support to the Mozambique Platform for Agricultural Research and Technology Innovation, which engages International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) and Brazil‘s national agricultural research enterprise (EMBRAPA). Main initiatives include:
Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11612","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","MOZ","Mozambique","Zambezia Province|Nampula Province|Sofala Province|Manica Province","Rural","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is establishing a lasting foundation for progress against global hunger. With a focus on smallholder farmers, particularly women, Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur economic growth that increases incomes and reduces hunger, poverty, and undernutrition. Feed the Future efforts are driven by country-led priorities and rooted in partnership with donor organizations, the private sector, and civil society to enable long-term success. Feed the Future aims to assist millions of vulnerable women, children, and family members to escape hunger and poverty, while also reaching significant numbers of children with highly effective nutrition interventions to prevent stunting and child mortality.
Over the next five years in Mozambique, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 346,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
Supporting women in agriculture and household nutrition is essential to the success of this strategy. Agriculture employs 90 percent of Mozambique‘s female labor force, and a quarter of all farming households are women-headed. Women are also the leaders on nutrition in the household. USG/Mozambique‘s FTF strategy supports women by:
Training women as trainers of other women in nutrition benefits and improved household processing of soybeans, orange fleshed sweet potato and cowpeas.
",".
","Using guidance from the January 2011, USAID Evaluation Policy, USAID/Mozambique will employ monitoring and evaluation (M & E) personnel to gather evidence of how FTF Mozambique projects are sustainably reducing poverty and hunger. USAID/Mozambique‘s Agriculture, Trade and Business Office (ATB) staff will be responsible for supervising M & E work. USG/Mozambique will monitor and evaluate overall FTF investments to ensure that they are achieving objectives and maximizing returns. Program activities must be tracked through periodic field visits by Mission staff and through ongoing monitoring and learning by implementing partners. USG/Mozambique‘s approach to M&E will consist of three components:
The integration of agriculture, nutrition, and health elements into a joint strategic plan provides a unique opportunity to innovate, document, and demonstrate best practices associated with a concurrent multi-sector investment model. Because the Mozambique FTF strategy will be supporting linkages among existing programs, USAID/Mozambique is well positioned to develop a model for harmonizing key agricultural and nutrition indicators relevant across areas of focus. Building on this collaboration, both the Health and Economic Growth teams will work together to integrate M & E systems and processes to track synergies and multiplier effects between the two sectors. The integration of the M & E function may take the form of harmonized M & E plans at the implementer level combined with joint monitoring by Mission, Economic Growth and Health team members.
Reliable and well-defined monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods, roles, and communication channels result in:
A fully functioning M & E team and system further help to illustrate the Mission‘s value added to overall development not only to key stakeholders in the USG, but also to the Government of Mozambique and other development partners.
","estimated 207,000 vulnerable Mozambican women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty",".","","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","FTF/Mozambique will use the following lead indicators to track progress in implementing this strategy.Reduction in the poverty prevalence rate in Zambezia and Nampula, disaggregated by sex; Reduction in the underweight prevalence rate of children under five years of age in Zambezia and Nampula.Further indicators will be chosen as appropriate, but are expected to include:Value of incremental sales (collected at farm-level) attributed to FTF implementation, disaggregated by sex of household; Prevalence of stunted children under five years of age.","Sex","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11627","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","RWA","Rwanda","Rwanda","Urban|Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is a $3.5 billion commitment to support countrydriven approaches to address the root causes of poverty, hunger and undernutrition. A whole-of-government initiative led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future leverages the strengths of multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. Globally we aim to assist 18 million vulnerable women, children, and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – escape hunger and poverty. Together, we will increase agricultural productivity, decrease poverty, drive economic growth, and reduce undernutrition to improve millions of lives.
Over the next five years in Rwanda, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future Rwanda is making core investments in three key areas:
1. Systems Transformation
Sustainable Market Linkages
Infrastructure
Nutrition
2. Innovation. Research Capacity Building Program
3. Policy
Concerted U.S. Government engagement at the policy level through the provision of SPA will ensure the FTF initiative in Rwanda has nation-wide impact. The policy dialogue with the GOR will seek to encourage more robust dialogue between the GOR and private sector and focus on key issues that are critical to raising productivity of staple crops and constitute core elements of the FTF strategy: privatization of the fertilizer market, post-harvest management, and land tenure security. The SPA will thus enhance the effectiveness of the technical support provided under the FTF initiative in these areas, and, similarly, the technical support will enhance the effectiveness of the SPA.
While the SPA will focus specifically on a few key measures to raise agricultural productivity, it can be expected to help strengthen the GOR-donor policy dialogue in the agriculture sector more generally and even to provide a platform for discussing other issues, such as food safety standards and climate change policy.62 According to the FAO, the core elements of a strengthened dialogue include: more detailed annual planning and budgeting, strengthening existing monitoring arrangements such as the JSRs, and a strengthened M&E system so that discussions are grounded in reliable performance information.63 Complementary technical support will therefore be provided to strengthen M&E capacity, including through the (re-)establishment of the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) in Rwanda to strengthen data collection and analytical capacity on a number of issues that affect food security, such as climate change.
Because SPA resources will be channeled through GOR systems, it is important to have a full understanding of the risks the systems present so they can be mitigated. As previously mentioned, the general environment for making use of host-country systems in Rwanda is quite sound, with low levels of corruption and high levels of performance on various measures of the quality of public administration. The recent PEFA assessment found that substantial progress was made in the area of public financial management over the past three years, findings that were confirmed in the first phase application of USAID’s fiduciary risk assessment tool. The second phase application of the tool, performed with the support the internationally recognized accounting firm, Deloitte, involved a detailed analysis of agriculture sector institutions’ financial management systems and found that all identified risks can be mitigated through a targeted public financial management capacity building program within MINAGRI.64 Such a program will complement planned support to strengthen the human and institutional capacity of selected GOR institutions and civil society organizations that have a role in providing oversight of public expenditure and program performance.
",".
","PERFORMANCE MONITORING
USAID’s existing Performance Management Plan (PMP) for its Economic Growth SO already includes several FTF indicators or indicators closely related to them. Efforts to strengthen the PMP’s alignment with the initiative are underway while FTF nutrition indicators will be incorporated into the GHI/BEST PMP. USAID has developed a web-based performance monitoring tool that facilitates reporting from its implementing partners as a key element of its M&E system. This same system will be utilized to collect activity-level data on FTF indicators.
For many of the high-level FTF indicators, baselines will be established through two national surveys currently underway. Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), for which the U.S. Government is providing focused technical support to the National Institute of Statistics (NISR), will be available in late 2011 while results from a household survey, providing data on poverty levels, are scheduled to be released in early 2012. Consideration is being given to the regular application of an adapted version of USAID’s Poverty Assessment Tool in order to obtain some indication of poverty trends between household surveys, which typically only take place every five years, while an interim DHS planned for 2013/14 and a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices survey will document changes in nutritional status and feeding practices. Efforts will also be made to utilize the Ministry of Health database to which community health workers report cases of malnutrition via mobile phone.
As previously noted, given identified gaps in data collection and performance monitoring in MINAGRI, the U.S. Government will seek to strengthen its M&E capacity through the establishment of a FEWS field presence and additional M&E technical support. Other donors, including DFID, the EC, and the World Bank, are helping to strengthen the NISR, including its collection and analysis of agricultural data. Improvement of agricultural statistics is a core element of the GOR’s PSI program with the IMF, as data collection procedures that systematically over-estimated agricultural production were thought to compromise the reliability of the GOR’s national income accounts data.
Given Rwanda’s limited size and population, as well as planned U.S. Government engagement on several key policy issues that will have broad, national impact on agricultural development and nutrition, FTF assistance can be expected to substantively contribute to reductions in Rwanda’s rural poverty and malnutrition rates. Through FTF in Rwanda more than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. An estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty.
IMPACT EVALUATION
Periodic impact evaluations conducted over the course of the strategy period will help identify the contributions of FTF investments to progress observed through regular performance monitoring, as well as programmatic adjustments that may be required. As an example, a recent impact evaluation of the U.S. Government’s investments in the coffee sector over the past decade was used to inform a decision about whether continued support to the sector was warranted under the FTF initiative.66 An evaluation of USAID’s dairy competiveness program, undertaken in early 2011, likewise informed a decision to re-compete the program.
In addition, the Integrated Improved Livelihoods Program was selected for inclusion in USAID’s FY 2012 Evaluation Initiative, requiring a rigorous impact evaluation of the program’s central hypothesis that integrating microfinance with non-financial services, such as health and education, has the potential to address the multiple needs of the poor with greater efficiency and impact. The evaluation’s design will commence with program start-up to ensure the necessary baseline data is collected from treatment and control groups. The evaluation itself is planned to take place during the program’s third year of implementation so that lessons learned can be applied during its remaining two years.
","estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality.",".","","","","Socio-economic status","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11627","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","RWA","Rwanda","Rwanda","Urban","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is a $3.5 billion commitment to support countrydriven approaches to address the root causes of poverty, hunger and undernutrition. A whole-of-government initiative led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future leverages the strengths of multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. Globally we aim to assist 18 million vulnerable women, children, and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – escape hunger and poverty. Together, we will increase agricultural productivity, decrease poverty, drive economic growth, and reduce undernutrition to improve millions of lives.
Over the next five years in Rwanda, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future Rwanda is making core investments in three key areas:
1. Systems Transformation
Sustainable Market Linkages
Infrastructure
Nutrition
2. Innovation. Research Capacity Building Program
3. Policy
It is well known that research generates some of the highest average returns to public investment in agriculture.60 In Rwanda, where research capacity is extremely limited – it is estimated there are only about 30 people actively engaged in agriculture-related research with PhDs61 – the returns are likely to be even higher. As a result, the country is not adequately prepared to meet the demands of producers for improved agricultural inputs and respond to emerging threats to agricultural productivity and food security, such as crop disease and climate change. Developing such capacity is all the more important in light of the GOR’s policy to encourage land use consolidation. FTF assistance will therefore invest in strengthening Rwandan research capacity, with priority given to actionable, demand-driven research in support of priority value chains and nutrition objectives, such as maize and bean varieties that are more resistant to extreme weather events and post-harvest technologies that can be commercialized.
The program will aim to strengthen the capacity of the Rwandan Agriculture Research Institute (ISAR) to produce relevant research and develop systems, in cooperation with Belgian assistance, to ensure research results are disseminated to the field through an improved extension network. Drawing on USAID’s extensive experience with higher education partnerships in Africa, the program will also provide cost-effective, long-term degree training by forging partnerships between U.S. and Rwandan universities so that the country begins to produce a steady stream of qualified agricultural researchers and extension agents. Consistent with the recommendations of the gender strategy for the agriculture sector, special efforts will be made to encourage female enrollment in agricultural universities as a means of ensuring the different needs of women are considered in the country’s agricultural research and extension agendas.
","Improved agricultural productivity
","PERFORMANCE MONITORING
USAID’s existing Performance Management Plan (PMP) for its Economic Growth SO already includes several FTF indicators or indicators closely related to them. Efforts to strengthen the PMP’s alignment with the initiative are underway while FTF nutrition indicators will be incorporated into the GHI/BEST PMP. USAID has developed a web-based performance monitoring tool that facilitates reporting from its implementing partners as a key element of its M&E system. This same system will be utilized to collect activity-level data on FTF indicators.
For many of the high-level FTF indicators, baselines will be established through two national surveys currently underway. Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), for which the U.S. Government is providing focused technical support to the National Institute of Statistics (NISR), will be available in late 2011 while results from a household survey, providing data on poverty levels, are scheduled to be released in early 2012. Consideration is being given to the regular application of an adapted version of USAID’s Poverty Assessment Tool in order to obtain some indication of poverty trends between household surveys, which typically only take place every five years, while an interim DHS planned for 2013/14 and a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices survey will document changes in nutritional status and feeding practices. Efforts will also be made to utilize the Ministry of Health database to which community health workers report cases of malnutrition via mobile phone.
As previously noted, given identified gaps in data collection and performance monitoring in MINAGRI, the U.S. Government will seek to strengthen its M&E capacity through the establishment of a FEWS field presence and additional M&E technical support. Other donors, including DFID, the EC, and the World Bank, are helping to strengthen the NISR, including its collection and analysis of agricultural data. Improvement of agricultural statistics is a core element of the GOR’s PSI program with the IMF, as data collection procedures that systematically over-estimated agricultural production were thought to compromise the reliability of the GOR’s national income accounts data.
Given Rwanda’s limited size and population, as well as planned U.S. Government engagement on several key policy issues that will have broad, national impact on agricultural development and nutrition, FTF assistance can be expected to substantively contribute to reductions in Rwanda’s rural poverty and malnutrition rates. Through FTF in Rwanda more than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. An estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty.
IMPACT EVALUATION
Periodic impact evaluations conducted over the course of the strategy period will help identify the contributions of FTF investments to progress observed through regular performance monitoring, as well as programmatic adjustments that may be required. As an example, a recent impact evaluation of the U.S. Government’s investments in the coffee sector over the past decade was used to inform a decision about whether continued support to the sector was warranted under the FTF initiative.66 An evaluation of USAID’s dairy competiveness program, undertaken in early 2011, likewise informed a decision to re-compete the program.
In addition, the Integrated Improved Livelihoods Program was selected for inclusion in USAID’s FY 2012 Evaluation Initiative, requiring a rigorous impact evaluation of the program’s central hypothesis that integrating microfinance with non-financial services, such as health and education, has the potential to address the multiple needs of the poor with greater efficiency and impact. The evaluation’s design will commence with program start-up to ensure the necessary baseline data is collected from treatment and control groups. The evaluation itself is planned to take place during the program’s third year of implementation so that lessons learned can be applied during its remaining two years.
",".",".","","","","Sex","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11627","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","RWA","Rwanda","Rwanda","Urban|Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","01-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is a $3.5 billion commitment to support countrydriven approaches to address the root causes of poverty, hunger and undernutrition. A whole-of-government initiative led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future leverages the strengths of multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. Globally we aim to assist 18 million vulnerable women, children, and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – escape hunger and poverty. Together, we will increase agricultural productivity, decrease poverty, drive economic growth, and reduce undernutrition to improve millions of lives.
Over the next five years in Rwanda, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future Rwanda is making core investments in three key areas:
1. Systems Transformation
Sustainable Market Linkages
Infrastructure
Nutrition
2. Innovation. Research Capacity Building Program
3. Policy
While nutritional value was a key criteria in selecting priority value chains, planned value chain investments will be designed to ensure their nutritional benefits are maximized. Increasing the focus of post-harvest investments on the household level, as noted above, and targeting women with the Integrated Improved Livelihoods Program are expected to contribute to the FTF nutrition objective and are part of the NSEM’s plan to strengthen and scale-up CBNP.
Interestingly, recent evaluative evidence suggests access to microfinance may contribute more to maintaining basic food security and nutrition than raising incomes due to its consumption-smoothing effects and the flexibility it offers in dealing with unexpected health emergencies.58 Research also suggests that integrating microfinance with nonfinancial services, such as education on improved feeding and consumption practices, as is planned in the Integrated Improved Livelihoods Program, offers great potential to address the multiple needs of the poor in a more efficient manner.
It is important to note that achieving the FTF nutrition objective in Rwanda will require investments beyond those which can be integrated into investments in priority value chains. Illustrative activities and expected results in each of these areas are as follows:
FTF assistance will support improvements in the quality of routine reporting to monitor mild, moderate, and acute malnutrition among young children and pregnant and lactating women. For example, the Ministry of Health has introduced a system for providing community health workers with health and nutrition information and promptly reporting cases of malnutrition via mobile phone.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING
USAID’s existing Performance Management Plan (PMP) for its Economic Growth SO already includes several FTF indicators or indicators closely related to them. Efforts to strengthen the PMP’s alignment with the initiative are underway while FTF nutrition indicators will be incorporated into the GHI/BEST PMP. USAID has developed a web-based performance monitoring tool that facilitates reporting from its implementing partners as a key element of its M&E system. This same system will be utilized to collect activity-level data on FTF indicators.
For many of the high-level FTF indicators, baselines will be established through two national surveys currently underway. Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), for which the U.S. Government is providing focused technical support to the National Institute of Statistics (NISR), will be available in late 2011 while results from a household survey, providing data on poverty levels, are scheduled to be released in early 2012. Consideration is being given to the regular application of an adapted version of USAID’s Poverty Assessment Tool in order to obtain some indication of poverty trends between household surveys, which typically only take place every five years, while an interim DHS planned for 2013/14 and a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices survey will document changes in nutritional status and feeding practices. Efforts will also be made to utilize the Ministry of Health database to which community health workers report cases of malnutrition via mobile phone.
As previously noted, given identified gaps in data collection and performance monitoring in MINAGRI, the U.S. Government will seek to strengthen its M&E capacity through the establishment of a FEWS field presence and additional M&E technical support. Other donors, including DFID, the EC, and the World Bank, are helping to strengthen the NISR, including its collection and analysis of agricultural data. Improvement of agricultural statistics is a core element of the GOR’s PSI program with the IMF, as data collection procedures that systematically over-estimated agricultural production were thought to compromise the reliability of the GOR’s national income accounts data.
Given Rwanda’s limited size and population, as well as planned U.S. Government engagement on several key policy issues that will have broad, national impact on agricultural development and nutrition, FTF assistance can be expected to substantively contribute to reductions in Rwanda’s rural poverty and malnutrition rates. Through FTF in Rwanda more than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. An estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty.
IMPACT EVALUATION
Periodic impact evaluations conducted over the course of the strategy period will help identify the contributions of FTF investments to progress observed through regular performance monitoring, as well as programmatic adjustments that may be required. As an example, a recent impact evaluation of the U.S. Government’s investments in the coffee sector over the past decade was used to inform a decision about whether continued support to the sector was warranted under the FTF initiative.66 An evaluation of USAID’s dairy competiveness program, undertaken in early 2011, likewise informed a decision to re-compete the program.
In addition, the Integrated Improved Livelihoods Program was selected for inclusion in USAID’s FY 2012 Evaluation Initiative, requiring a rigorous impact evaluation of the program’s central hypothesis that integrating microfinance with non-financial services, such as health and education, has the potential to address the multiple needs of the poor with greater efficiency and impact. The evaluation’s design will commence with program start-up to ensure the necessary baseline data is collected from treatment and control groups. The evaluation itself is planned to take place during the program’s third year of implementation so that lessons learned can be applied during its remaining two years.
","estimated 713,000 vulnerable Rwandan women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 174,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality.",".","","","","Vulnerable groups","","Multiple micronutrient powders for home fortification of foods consumed by children 6–23 months of age>>>Multiple micronutrient powders for home fortification of foods consumed by children 6–23 months of age>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/micronutrientpowder_infants","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11629","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","UGA","Uganda","Northern Uganda |central “Maize Belt|Southwest Uganda","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","12-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is a $3.5 billion commitment to support country-driven approaches to address the root causes of poverty, hunger and undernutrition. A whole-of-government initiative led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future leverages the strengths of multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. Globally we aim to assist 18 million vulnerable women, hildren, and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – escape hunger and poverty. Together, we will increase agricultural productivity, decrease poverty, drive economic growth, and reduce undernutrition to improve millions of lives.
Over the next five years in Uganda, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children and family members—mostly mallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future Uganda is making core investments in three key areas:
1. Nutrition
2. Agriculture. The maize, coffee and bean belt are in Southwest and Central Uganda. The choice to focus on these value chains represents considerations regarding Ugandan government priorities, division of donor labor, and the highest impact interventions for the expected scale of Feed the Future resources.
3. Connecting Nutrition to Agriculture
USAID will build on previous strategic investments in nutrition and take them to scale in the areas and populations of greatest need to support the GOU and private sector to reduce chronic undernutrition in the country with a primary focus on prevention. Through these interventions an estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. The core investments in nutrition will focus on community and facility based prevention and treatment, targeted nutrition service delivery, the enabling environment for nutrition and capacity building.
Community and Facility-Base Prevention and Treatment
By emphasizing prevention, FTF programs will help to reduce not only chronic undernutrition, but should also reduce the number of severely/acutely malnourished children as well, resulting in fewer children outside HIV and emergency situations needing treatment for severe acute malnutrition. For the treatment of acute malnutrition, Uganda has adopted a national protocol for the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM). Through a ommunity and facility based approach to treating under nutrition, therapeutic and/or supplementary food is provided to severe or moderately malnourished children, with medical support, nutrition education, and at-home follow up through community based volunteers. FTF and PEPFAR’s partnership on the production, distribution, and management of RUTF support the larger national IMAM protocols.
Capacity Building
Capacity building at the national and district level is critical. Nutrition has only recently become a priority in the health sector, and without strong nutrition champions and policies centrally, nutrition priorities will not be realized. USAID will continue to train health workers in new IMAM guidelines for use in health facilities and will expand technical assistance and capacity building at the national level beyond the health sector to include Agriculture and other ministries who can contribute to a national action plan on nutrition.
","Some key outputs of nutrition activities are: nutrition officers placed in a majority of districts; active Food and Nutrition Councils organized in districts; mandatory fortification of major manufactured foods; therapeutic food reconstituted from locally available foods developed and distributed to district and regional hospitals; and community behavior changes to prevent undernutrition.
","PERFORMANCE MONITORING
Through an interactive approach across Mission teams and in collaboration with other donors and the GOU, the USG FTF effort will go beyond the status quo of performance monitoring. At the basic level, data will be collected by implementing partners and reported to USAID/Uganda through quarterly reports while quality will be assessed via Data Quality Assessment visits to the field.
IMPACT EVALUATION
To build an evidence base to adjust ongoing projects and inform future programs, we will design rigorous impact evaluations for select FTF programs. We have already identified such an opportunity with our Community Connector program, which fully integrates agriculture and nutrition activities at the household level. Discussions have been held with partners within the MIT Poverty Action Lab consortium on the use of Randomized Control Trial (RCT) experiments. We will use the results of these impact evaluations to test the hypotheses of our FTF strategy and make mid-stream adjustments to programs if necessary, or scale up programs that are working well. Using the earning component of FTF programs like Community Connector is in line with the Mission’s continuing CLA component. We will also partner with other donors to disseminate and promote lessons learned. USAID/Uganda, through unbiased and independent impact evaluations, will identify interventions that work; we will be an active contributor to the greater discourse in testable development hypotheses and our programs will benefit from our increased understanding
CAPACITY BUILDING/SUPPORT TO DATA COLLECTION
A key component of our Feed the Future program will be capacity building of the Government of Uganda in the collection, analysis, and use of agriculture and nutrition data for planning, monitoring, and evaluation. We will work with all relevant government agencies and ministries including the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Health. We will work in partnership with the National Planning authority as they attempt to convene the multisectoral Food and Nutrition Council as a cohesive and functional unit. We will seek to build local academic institutions’ capacity in nutrition through improved pre-service and in-service training, and enhanced research capacity. In addition to training in data collection and assistance in improving data systems, we will build analytical capacity in the Ministry of Agriculture by establishing a Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (SAKSS) node.
NUTRITION COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND SUPPORT PROGRAM (CRSP)
We will use the Nutrition CRSP to assist us with specific research questions that tell us about the impact of our nutrition-related FTF programs. We have already had preliminary discussions with a Nutrition CRSP team. The Nutrition CRSP is intended to investigate effective ways of translating research results into widespread development practice. The CRSP anticipates the development of a well-balanced research strategy that is both innovative and problem solving, responds to the food and nutrition scientific needs, and to the capacity development requirements of Uganda. USAID/Uganda, through the CRSP, will be better positioned to build more effective strategies and programs, while establishing a research capacity within the Mission and the country as a whole. As programs continue to be developed and procured in the coming months, the CRSP will assist in collecting the relevant local and international knowledge base needed to better implement, evaluate, and learn from our programs. Within individual programs, the CRSP will be an active participant in identifying and rigorously measure testable hypotheses related to food security.
","estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","This component will reach children in 47 districts in the Southwest and North of Uganda","","","Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger;Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Number of health facilities with established capacity to manage acute under nutrition; Prevalence of anemia among children 6-59 months; Prevalence of Poverty: Percent of people living on less than $1.25/day; Expenditures of rural households;Prevalence of stunted children under five; Change in average score on Household Hunger index; Percent of children 6-23 months who received a Minimum Acceptable Diet.","Vulnerable groups","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11629","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","UGA","Uganda","Northern Uganda |central “Maize Belt|Southwest Uganda","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","01-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is a $3.5 billion commitment to support country-driven approaches to address the root causes of poverty, hunger and undernutrition. A whole-of-government initiative led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future leverages the strengths of multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. Globally we aim to assist 18 million vulnerable women, hildren, and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – escape hunger and poverty. Together, we will increase agricultural productivity, decrease poverty, drive economic growth, and reduce undernutrition to improve millions of lives.
Over the next five years in Uganda, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children and family members—mostly mallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future Uganda is making core investments in three key areas:
1. Nutrition
2. Agriculture. The maize, coffee and bean belt are in Southwest and Central Uganda. The choice to focus on these value chains represents considerations regarding Ugandan government priorities, division of donor labor, and the highest impact interventions for the expected scale of Feed the Future resources.
3. Connecting Nutrition to Agriculture
USAID will build on previous strategic investments in nutrition and take them to scale in the areas and populations of greatest need to support the GOU and private sector to reduce chronic undernutrition in the country with a primary focus on prevention. Through these interventions an estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. The core investments in nutrition will focus on community and facility based prevention and treatment, targeted nutrition service delivery, the enabling environment for nutrition and capacity building.
Targeted Nutrition Service Delivery – Fortification and Supplementation
Targeted nutrition service delivery is focused primarily on approaches to reduce specific micronutrient
deficiencies in Uganda. FTF will continue to support vitamin A supplementation and de-worming for
children and iron folic acid supplementation and de-worming for pregnant women at the facility level,
through district-level health programs in target geographical areas. In addition, food fortification
activities will be supported to improve the necessary vitamin and mineral content of staple foods that
will reach a larger target audience, primarily in urban and peri-urban areas where fortified foods are
more accessible. This will build on previous work supported by the USG that has resulted in cooking
oil fortification with vitamin A that now covers more than 85 percent of the country’s market and the
fortification of maize and wheat flour with vitamin A, iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 and. New food fortification vehicles will be added that include sugar fortification with vitamin A.
The agriculture team is also looking at improved seed varieties to increase micronutrient content such as the orange-fleshed sweet potato, which has increased levels of beta-carotene (Vitamin A). The introduction of fortification of foods will be combined with educational activities that promote dietary diversity through the community and facility based programs.
As previously mentioned, a key component to treatment of undernutrition in Uganda is the production of therapeutic and complementary foods. USG’s Feed the Future will expand on previous investments in local ready-to-use therapeutic food production to increase availability and distribution in health facilities across the country to treat acute undernutrition.
Enabling Environment
Our program will work to leverage other sectors (e.g., agriculture, water, public/private, etc) to create demand for fortified foods, adopt good nutrition behaviors, and activities like exclusive breastfeeding and integrated nutrition/WASH/food hygiene. Advocacy efforts will continue to emphasize the importance of nutrition among key stakeholders. Uganda is one of the countries that is taking on the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) initiative spear headed globally by the Irish Government, U.S. Government and the UN. SUN focuses on integration of relevant sectors with a view to addressing the window of opportunity within the 1,000 days (from minus 9 months to 24 months). We will work to harmonize FTF and SUN activities to maximize efficiency and national coverage in close consultation with MOH, MAAIF and other stakeholders. Through the existing micronutrient fortification program that has successfully enriched common staples such as oil and flour, FTF will continue to advocate for mandatory fortification of manufactured foods.
","Some key outputs of nutrition activities are: nutrition officers placed in a majority of districts; active Food and Nutrition Councils organized in districts; mandatory fortification of major manufactured foods; therapeutic food reconstituted from locally available foods developed and distributed to district and regional hospitals; and community behavior changes to prevent undernutrition.
","PERFORMANCE MONITORING
Through an interactive approach across Mission teams and in collaboration with other donors and the GOU, the USG FTF effort will go beyond the status quo of performance monitoring. At the basic level, data will be collected by implementing partners and reported to USAID/Uganda through quarterly reports while quality will be assessed via Data Quality Assessment visits to the field.
IMPACT EVALUATION
To build an evidence base to adjust ongoing projects and inform future programs, we will design rigorous impact evaluations for select FTF programs. We have already identified such an opportunity with our Community Connector program, which fully integrates agriculture and nutrition activities at the household level. Discussions have been held with partners within the MIT Poverty Action Lab consortium on the use of Randomized Control Trial (RCT) experiments. We will use the results of these impact evaluations to test the hypotheses of our FTF strategy and make mid-stream adjustments to programs if necessary, or scale up programs that are working well. Using the earning component of FTF programs like Community Connector is in line with the Mission’s continuing CLA component. We will also partner with other donors to disseminate and promote lessons learned. USAID/Uganda, through unbiased and independent impact evaluations, will identify interventions that work; we will be an active contributor to the greater discourse in testable development hypotheses and our programs will benefit from our increased understanding
CAPACITY BUILDING/SUPPORT TO DATA COLLECTION
A key component of our Feed the Future program will be capacity building of the Government of Uganda in the collection, analysis, and use of agriculture and nutrition data for planning, monitoring, and evaluation. We will work with all relevant government agencies and ministries including the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Health. We will work in partnership with the National Planning authority as they attempt to convene the multisectoral Food and Nutrition Council as a cohesive and functional unit. We will seek to build local academic institutions’ capacity in nutrition through improved pre-service and in-service training, and enhanced research capacity. In addition to training in data collection and assistance in improving data systems, we will build analytical capacity in the Ministry of Agriculture by establishing a Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (SAKSS) node.
NUTRITION COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND SUPPORT PROGRAM (CRSP)
We will use the Nutrition CRSP to assist us with specific research questions that tell us about the impact of our nutrition-related FTF programs. We have already had preliminary discussions with a Nutrition CRSP team. The Nutrition CRSP is intended to investigate effective ways of translating research results into widespread development practice. The CRSP anticipates the development of a well-balanced research strategy that is both innovative and problem solving, responds to the food and nutrition scientific needs, and to the capacity development requirements of Uganda. USAID/Uganda, through the CRSP, will be better positioned to build more effective strategies and programs, while establishing a research capacity within the Mission and the country as a whole. As programs continue to be developed and procured in the coming months, the CRSP will assist in collecting the relevant local and international knowledge base needed to better implement, evaluate, and learn from our programs. Within individual programs, the CRSP will be an active participant in identifying and rigorously measure testable hypotheses related to food security.
","estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children, and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—will receive targeted assistance to escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition","This component will reach children in 47 districts in the Southwest and North of Uganda.","","","Prevalence of households with moderate or severe hunger;Prevalence of children 6-23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of children under 6 months; Number of health facilities with established capacity to manage acute under nutrition; Prevalence of anemia among children 6-59 months; Prevalence of Poverty: Percent of people living on less than $1.25/day; Expenditures of rural households;Prevalence of stunted children under five; Change in average score on Household Hunger index; Percent of children 6-23 months who received a Minimum Acceptable Diet.","Vulnerable groups","","Multiple micronutrient powders for home fortification of foods consumed by pregnant women>>>Multiple micronutrient powders for home fortification of foods consumed by pregnant women>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/micronutrients_pregnancy","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English" "11629","Feed the Future: The U.S. Government’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative","English","Multi-national","","UGA","Uganda","Northern Uganda |central “Maize Belt|Southwest Uganda","Rural|Peri-urban","on-going","01-2011","01-2015","Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, is a $3.5 billion commitment to support country-driven approaches to address the root causes of poverty, hunger and undernutrition. A whole-of-government initiative led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future leverages the strengths of multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector. Globally we aim to assist 18 million vulnerable women, hildren, and family members – mostly smallholder farmers – escape hunger and poverty. Together, we will increase agricultural productivity, decrease poverty, drive economic growth, and reduce undernutrition to improve millions of lives.
Over the next five years in Uganda, Feed the Future aims to help an estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children and family members—mostly mallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. More than 450,000 children will be reached with services to improve their nutrition and prevent stunting and child mortality. Significant numbers of additional rural populations will achieve improved income and nutritional status from strategic policy engagement and institutional investments.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future Uganda is making core investments in three key areas:
1. Nutrition
2. Agriculture. The maize, coffee and bean belt are in Southwest and Central Uganda. The choice to focus on these value chains represents considerations regarding Ugandan government priorities, division of donor labor, and the highest impact interventions for the expected scale of Feed the Future resources.
3. Connecting Nutrition to Agriculture
Priority Value Chains
Our investments will focus on value chains with the greatest market potential, the highest number of farmers, and the greatest income potential for farmers. Impact on nutrition and role of gender were also critical considerations in our value chain focus, as was the potential for sector-wide impact and maximum return on investment. Many of the value chain components have integrated nutrition and agriculture dimensions. The starting point for this strategy is the Government of Uganda’s Agriculture Sector Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP) where ten priority value chains were selected. In looking at each commodity, maize and coffee stood out as key drivers for conomic growth in terms of number of farmers, market demand, and income potential. Most of the Ugandan staple diet is built around other staples like beans, cassava, and banana – leaving maize to function more as a cash crop that responds to regional food security and trade demands, rather than as a household staple. Fish, dairy and livestock were also considered. However all three present a number of challenges that would require substantially higher levels of investment to address and would deliver a much lower rate of return for dollar invested.
Value-chain Investments
Policy - The USG FTF strategy will support a five-year policy reform initiative in agriculture, trade, health and gender equity. Some examples of policy priorities include the passage of Uganda’s Biotechnology and Bio-safely bill, effective implementation of the Agricultural Chemicals Control Act (1989, amended in 2006) which establishes a licensing regime for insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers, and controls and regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, trade, import, and export of agricultural chemicals, effective implementation of the Agriculture Seeds and Plant Act (1994) which regulates seed companies operating or importing plant material into Uganda, and passage of the Food and Nutrition Bill and related Health, Nutrition and Sanitation policies for a proposed National Food and Drug Authority. Review of Uganda’s marriage and family act lays out the ownership and control of assets for women. It is critical to address key gender components of legislation.
Capacity Building - Support to strengthen key public and private sector institutions at the national and district levels is essential to the overall success of our Feed the Future activities. This five-year set of activities will focus on building capacity within the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, and Ministries of Health and Agriculture to collect and analyze data, and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their programs. There will also be a short, medium, and long-term training and education component to develop the next generation of Uganda decision makers.
Agriculture Research – Feed the Future will support continued research in three areas:Biotechnology to protect food security crops from serious disease threat – specifically cassava (Cassava MOSAIC) and banana (Banana Wilt (BXW) and Black Sigatoka Disease); breeding to increase stress tolerance and disease resistance for Feed the Future focus crops (maize, coffee and beans); and partnership with Harvest Plus to scale-up the production and mainstream marketing of bio-fortified/nutritionally enhanced crop varieties - specifically Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato and high zinc/iron beans.
Increased Quality and Production – USG will contribute to a $50 million partnership with DANIDA, the EU, Belgium, and Sweden to address farm-level constraints to quality and production in maize, beans and coffee. The program will also focus on increasing farmer access to financial services and supporting trade-related sanitary and phytosanitary standards and quality management systems. Agro-Input Supply - A five-year program to increase the quality, availability, and use of inputs. This program will build the capacity of the Uganda National Agriculture Input Dealers Association (UNADA) and private sector retailers.
Farm-level Aggregation and Market Linkages - This program will work to build the capacity of farmer organizations to enter into agreements with major buyers, access finance, purchase inputs, bulk, clean, and process their commodities. The program will work in conjunction with the Abi-Trust Partnership (DANIDA) and emphasize linkages to the WFP's Purchase for Progress efforts and the Uganda Commodity Exchange.
Market-Information System - This program will work with local partners to utilize the latest in information and communications technology to address market information gaps for smallholder farmers.
","Some key outputs include:
PERFORMANCE MONITORING
Through an interactive approach across Mission teams and in collaboration with other donors and the GOU, the USG FTF effort will go beyond the status quo of performance monitoring. At the basic level, data will be collected by implementing partners and reported to USAID/Uganda through quarterly reports while quality will be assessed via Data Quality Assessment visits to the field.
IMPACT EVALUATION
To build an evidence base to adjust ongoing projects and inform future programs, we will design rigorous impact evaluations for select FTF programs. We have already identified such an opportunity with our Community Connector program, which fully integrates agriculture and nutrition activities at the household level. Discussions have been held with partners within the MIT Poverty Action Lab consortium on the use of Randomized Control Trial (RCT) experiments. We will use the results of these impact evaluations to test the hypotheses of our FTF strategy and make mid-stream adjustments to programs if necessary, or scale up programs that are working well. Using the earning component of FTF programs like Community Connector is in line with the Mission’s continuing CLA component. We will also partner with other donors to disseminate and promote lessons learned. USAID/Uganda, through unbiased and independent impact evaluations, will identify interventions that work; we will be an active contributor to the greater discourse in testable development hypotheses and our programs will benefit from our increased understanding
CAPACITY BUILDING/SUPPORT TO DATA COLLECTION
A key component of our Feed the Future program will be capacity building of the Government of Uganda in the collection, analysis, and use of agriculture and nutrition data for planning, monitoring, and evaluation. We will work with all relevant government agencies and ministries including the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Health. We will work in partnership with the National Planning authority as they attempt to convene the multisectoral Food and Nutrition Council as a cohesive and functional unit. We will seek to build local academic institutions’ capacity in nutrition through improved pre-service and in-service training, and enhanced research capacity. In addition to training in data collection and assistance in improving data systems, we will build analytical capacity in the Ministry of Agriculture by establishing a Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (SAKSS) node.
NUTRITION COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND SUPPORT PROGRAM (CRSP)
We will use the Nutrition CRSP to assist us with specific research questions that tell us about the impact of our nutrition-related FTF programs. We have already had preliminary discussions with a Nutrition CRSP team. The Nutrition CRSP is intended to investigate effective ways of translating research results into widespread development practice. The CRSP anticipates the development of a well-balanced research strategy that is both innovative and problem solving, responds to the food and nutrition scientific needs, and to the capacity development requirements of Uganda. USAID/Uganda, through the CRSP, will be better positioned to build more effective strategies and programs, while establishing a research capacity within the Mission and the country as a whole. As programs continue to be developed and procured in the coming months, the CRSP will assist in collecting the relevant local and international knowledge base needed to better implement, evaluate, and learn from our programs. Within individual programs, the CRSP will be an active participant in identifying and rigorously measure testable hypotheses related to food security.
","estimated 709,000 vulnerable Ugandan women, children and family members—mostly smallholder farmers—escape hunger and poverty. ","This component will reach farmers in 62 districts in the maize, coffee, and beans belt in Southwest and Central Uganda.","","Uganda National Household Survey, 2009/2010; Demographic Health Survey, 2006; The 2008 Uganda Food Consumption Survey; 2007 Uganda Service Provision Survey; The Uganda National Household Survey 2008/2009","Percent growth in agricultural GDP of maize and coffee; Percent change in value of intra-regional exports of targeted agricultural commodities as a result of USG assistance; Post-harvest losses as a percentage of overall harvest, for selected commodities; Value of new private sector investment in the agriculture sector or food chain leveraged by FTF.implementationCapacity of relevant national statistical office to collect high-quality agricultural data","Socio-economic status","","Biofortification of staple crops>>>Biofortification of staple crops>>http://www.who.int/elena/titles/biofortification","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","","English"