Winrock Asia F2F FY14 Annual Report
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Asia Farmer-to-Farmer Program Cooperative Agreement Number: AID-OAA-13-00006 Winrock International Improving Lives and Livelihoods Worldwide Annual Report FY2014 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. Prepared by Winrock International. DISCLAIMER - The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. Asia Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program Winrock International was awarded the five-year Asia F2F Program on September 27, 2013. This five-year program will generate rapid, sustainable, and broad-based food security and economic growth in the agricultural sector. The objectives are to introduce new technologies and innovations, and develop local capacity for more productive, profitable, sustainable, and equitable agricultural systems. A secondary goal is to increase the American public’s understanding of international development issues and programs and international understanding of the U.S. and U.S. development programs. I. Summary of Experience with Program Implementation During the first year of implementation (October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014), Asia F2F exceeded the planned volunteer target, completing 39 volunteer trips (compared to the original target of 37) and directly assisting more than 2,600 participants in Bangladesh, Burma, and Nepal. Volunteers supported 54 hosts, including public and private education institutions (22%), NGOs and private agribusinesses providing AET services or inputs to farmers and youth (22% and 20%, respectively), and farmers’ cooperatives/ associations (20%). As a result of a concerted effort to engage new networks and individuals, 37% of the fielded volunteers were new to the program. F2F staff, volunteers, and hosts initiated numerous public outreach activities, engaging various media in host countries and in the US, and participating on social media networks, thus exposing more than 1.4 million individuals to information on the F2F program. In this first year, F2F also completed start-up tasks, trained staff, and established relationships with new partners and hosts in each core country. F2F staff maintain strong relationships with USAID Missions and other key partners and ensure that planned SOWs align well with Mission priorities. II. Summary of Implementation Experience, Major Impacts, and Accomplishments for Each Country F2F Project A. BANGLADESH With the start of the new Asia F2F program in October 2013, F2F Bangladesh shifted to a focus on two Country F2F Projects: 1) agriculture education and training and 2) youth entrepreneurship. F2F activities in Bangladesh support USAID/Bangladesh’s Development Objective 2 (Food Security Improved) and the Mission’s Feed the Future (FTF) focus on strengthening the country’s food security system (particularly by addressing the lack of skilled labor and introducing innovations in science and technology). F2F Bangladesh primarily supports hosts and activities in the southern region of the country (aligned with FTF geographic priorities), where poverty and malnutrition rates are highest, vulnerability to effects of climate change is extreme, and there is high potential to increase agricultural diversification. In the first year of the program, F2F Bangladesh successfully fielded 15 trips, with volunteers completing 19 scopes of work working with 15 host organizations. AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AND TRAINING (AET) In Year 1, F2F Bangladesh focused predominantly on the Agriculture Education and Training (AET) Country F2F Project, which strengthens the capacity of public and private AET institutions to provide relevant training, applied research, and service learning opportunities. Considering its growing population and high poverty rate, Bangladesh needs new and improved agricultural technologies, innovations, and research to support sustainable and broad-based food security and economic growth. With this in mind, F2F works with formal AET organizations to help develop professionals at universities, colleges, and other educational institutions with skills based on the high priority needs of Bangladesh’s agriculture sector. F2F also works with informal AET organizations (NGOs and private sector organizations) to help build their technical skills and capacity to effectively train and support farmers. FY2014 Semi-Annual Report| March 2014 Page 1 During the reporting period, F2F completed 11 volunteer trips working with 11 hosts in the AET Country F2F Project. Through these efforts, volunteers provided training and assistance to 698 faculty, administrators, trainers, and students. Volunteer assignments primarily addressed high priority needs to improve teaching skills and develop new or revised curriculum in technical topics, particularly in the horticulture, livestock, and aquaculture subsectors, which play a crucial role in the livelihoods, food security, and nutrition of smallholder households. F2F staff communicated with 15 universities and colleges, six USAID implementers, and three farmers’ associations/groups to assess needs and design demand-driven SOWs for F2F volunteer assistance. Specific assignments completed to date include: • Supporting the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT) College of Agricultural Sciences to develop and improve academic curricula (e.g., for Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree programs in fisheries and animal husbandry) and grant writing. • Conducting in-service training of trainers (TOT) for two socially responsible enterprises to improve seed supply and veterinary services provided to thousands of small-scale farmers. • Conducting in-service training for staff of three private sector hosts to develop effective private sector agricultural advisory services business models. • Collaborating with the USDA-funded Rural Enterprise for Alleviating Poverty II (REAP II) project to deliver in-service TOT on water quality management in aquaculture ponds for government and non- government aquaculture extension staff. • Providing in-service training and TOT to public and private laboratories on livestock disease diagnosis, to enable them to better serve farmers and other beneficiaries. Impacts and accomplishments Demonstrating commitment to the F2F Bangladesh AET strategy, hosts have disseminated F2F information to others. For example, IUBAT organized a workshop with senior faculty from other universities to share information about the four-year B.Sc Fisheries Program developed by a F2F volunteer. Likewise, BRAC Seed Enterprise staff conducted workshops for 23 seed dealers and 7,500 farmers using the knowledge gained from F2F training. Other examples of spread effect and initial host accomplishments and impacts are noted below. • After participating in F2F in-service training, 20 government fisheries officers and 27 NGO staff started sharing information and techniques with hundreds of beneficiary farmers. Participants are now using Secchi discs and water test kits (which they received from the REAP II project after the volunteer’s training) and are now advising farmers on the use of these materials. The host plans to conduct additional trainings for 4,500 farmers starting at “This training was really helpful for us. Now we advise the end of October 2014. Mr. M.M. Alamgir Kabir, farmers beyond traditional practices based on our Assistant Upazila Fisheries Officer, states, “After science-based knowledge learned in the training.” we shared the importance of water quality checking, farmers are coming to our office with --Mr. Shah Md. Enamul Hoque, Senior Upazila water samples every day to check the quality of Fisheries Officer their pond water. We check transparency, pH and DO and advise for improvement of water quality, feeding, and fertilization.” • 25 IUBAT faculty participated in training on grant proposal writing. Subsequently, the trainees prepared and submitted four proposals to different donors; one more proposal is under preparation. The University plans to replicate this training for other faculty (using the training manual developed by the volunteer) in the future. FY2014 Semi-Annual Report| March 2014 Page 2 • One volunteer trained 29 Artificial Insemination (AI) staff and workers of BRAC AI Enterprise “To my knowledge, this F2F training is the first time in Bangladesh, and it on cattle, goat, and sheep helped us a lot to address the problems.” hooves care and disease management. With this training, --Mr. A.Q.M. Shafiqur Rouf, Deputy General Manager, BRAC AI Enterprise BRAC has addressed the hoof problem of the animals at its bull station. The volunteer also developed a training module, which the technicians will use to train 2,500 AI workers. The module is in the process of being translated into Bangla, and information has already been shared with four stations under the BRAC Dairy and Food Project; these stations will replicate the training at the field level in the near future. • One volunteer trained five staff at the Department of Livestock Services Central Disease Investigation Lab (CDIL) and four staff of a private poultry disease diagnosis lab to increase their knowledge of sample collection, necropsy, bacteria culture, histopathology, and diagnosis of diseases. Participants are now able to