Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project (ASAP) Implemented by CNFA
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AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT TO AZERBAIJAN PROJECT Fourth Annual Progress Report Year 4. October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018 Prepared for review by the United States Agency for International Development under USAID Contract No. AID- 112-C-14 -00001, Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project (ASAP) implemented by CNFA. Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project Fourth Annual Progress Report October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018 Submitted by: CNFA USAID Contract AID-112-C-14-00001 Submitted to: USAID/Azerbaijan Samir Hamidov, COR Submitted on October 22, 2018 Revised version submitted on November 15, 2018 Table of Contents Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Detailed ASAP Progress by Activity and Component ................................................................... 4 Operations ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Finance (audit, budgets, taxes, etc.) ........................................................................................ 5 Legal Registration .................................................................................................................... 6 Financial and Expenditure Summary ....................................................................................... 7 Project Budget Summary and Spending through September 30, 2018 .................................. 7 Programs .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Result 1: Improved Quality and Quantity of Goods Produced.............................................. 7 Hazelnut Value Chain .............................................................................................................. 7 Orchard Fruit Value Chain ................................................................................................... 12 Pomegranate Value Chain ..................................................................................................... 20 Vegetable Value Chain .......................................................................................................... 27 Berry Value Chain ................................................................................................................. 31 Result 2: Good Agricultural Practices Implemented ............................................................ 34 Cross Cutting Activities ............................................................................................................... 35 Farmer Group Training ......................................................................................................... 35 ASAP Agronomist Support ................................................................................................... 35 Facilitating Linkages with U.S. Agribusiness .......................................................................... 36 Technology Transfer Fund .................................................................................................... 39 Business Support Provider (BSP) Technical Assistance Matching Fund ............................... 40 Access to Finance .................................................................................................................. 41 Quality and Food Safety ........................................................................................................ 42 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) ......................................................................................... 43 Environmental Management and Monitoring ........................................................................ 46 Gender .................................................................................................................................. 49 Youth ..................................................................................................................................... 50 ICT ........................................................................................................................................ 51 Preventing Violent Extremism .............................................................................................. 51 Collaboration with other Assistance Efforts ........................................................................ 52 Key Constraints and Lessons Learned .................................................................................. 54 Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 57 APPENDIX A: Impact Indicator Tables ....................................................................................... 58 APPENDIX B: Short-Term Technical Assistance/International Assignments ............................. 79 APPENDIX C: Technology Transfer Fund (TTF) Status Updates ............................................... 80 i Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project (ASAP) Fourth Annual Progress Report APPENDIX D: Demonstration Plot/Activity Status Updates ...................................................... 83 APPENDIX E: Project Success Stories ......................................................................................... 87 ii Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project (ASAP) Fourth Annual Progress Report Acronyms AFVPEA Azerbaijan Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association APGEA Azerbaijan Persimmon Growers and Exporters Association ASAP Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project ASAU Azerbaijan State Agricultural University AZRIP Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project BDS Business Development Services BMSB Brown Marmorated Stink Bug BSP Business Service Provider CKI Countering Kremlin Influence COM Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan DO Development Objective DPM Deputy Prime Minister EOI Expression of Interest GAP Good Agricultural Practices HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points IR Intermediate Result ISO International Organization for Standardization MEP Monitoring & Evaluation Plan MOA Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan MOU Memorandum of Understanding PERSUAP Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safer Use Action Plan PMP Performance Management Plan PVE Preventing Violent Extremism REG USAID Regional Economic Growth Project RFA Request for Applications RFQ Request for Quotations SABIT Special American Business Internship Training Program SEDA USAID Socio-Economic Development Activity SME Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise STTA Short-Term Technical Assistance TTF Technology Transfer Fund VC Value Chain iii Agricultural Support to Azerbaijan Project (ASAP) Fourth Annual Progress Report Executive Summary During PY4, ASAP continued to provide training and technical assistance to growers and processors in all five value chains, including the introduction of group trainings in improved cultivation practices. As a result of ASAP’s interventions, entrepreneurs are increasingly interested in introducing new activities, such as intensive production in orchard operations, new pomegranate and persimmon orchards in the Aran region, and the construction of new cold storage facilities in many parts of the country. ASAP has also increased demo plots and implementation of good agricultural practices, the impact of which is most visible in the hazelnut value chain, as yields from ASAP’s hazelnut demo plots have more than doubled over the previous two years. ASAP’s productivity-focused technical assistance on hazelnut orchards has featured irrigation projects implemented in several beneficiary orchards. ASAP has already begun the establishment of a new hazelnut nursery project to be completed in PY5, which will be built in Zagatala, Gakh, and Khachmaz. ASAP’s investments in these nurseries will go towards the provision of drip irrigation systems and ongoing technical assistance. Throughout PY4, ASAP continued to facilitate international trade and service linkages while scaling up its focus on U.S. linkages. This was evident in two ASAP-led study tours to the U.S., and multiple distributorship agreements with U.S. vendors and Azeri agribusinesses that were either established or are now underway. In all, ASAP organized three international study tours this past year. In late 2017, 10 kiwi and feijoa growers and two ASAP staff members traveled to western Georgia to visit modern, internationally-certified kiwi and feijoa orchards, as well as nurseries and a fruit-drying facility. As a result of this visit, an ASAP beneficiary engaged in kiwi production established a demo plot using a “t-bar” staking technique. Additionally, as part of its collaboration with the USAID Regional Economic Growth Project (REG), ASAP organized two study tours to the U.S., including one from November 4-11, 2017, where 14 beneficiaries from the hazelnut value chain traveled to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The group visited hazelnut orchards, nurseries, processors, an in-vitro laboratory, research and development laboratory, industry associations, as well as several machinery and equipment producers and vendors. Through this visit, participants learned about hazelnut orchard management practices to improve yields, specifically the densely-planted intensive hazelnut orchards and mono-trunk planting schemes.