FEED THE FUTURE RURAL AGRIBUSINESS STRENGTHENING PROJECT FY19 Q2 QUARTERLY REPORT APRIL 30, 2019

Submitted to: Mohamed Abo El Wafa Contracting Officer’s Representative USAID/Egypt , Egypt

Submitted by: Abt Associates No. 9, Hayet El Tadrees Street Dokki , Egypt

Cover photo: Abt Associates

FEED THE FUTURE EGYPT RURAL AGRIBUSINESS STRENGTHENING PROJECT

FY19 Q2 QUARTERLY REPORT

Contract No.: 72026318C00004

DISCLAIMER The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Government.

CONTENTS

Executive Summary ...... 3 Introduction ...... 5 1. Activity Progress ...... 6 Foundational Activities ...... 6 IR 1: Strengthen sustainable domestic and international market linkages ...... 14 IR 2: Improved post-harvest handling and storage ...... 16 IR 3: Increased productivity for small farmers and food processors ...... 18 IR 4: Improved nutritional status of women and children ...... 21 Cross-Cutting Activities ...... 23 2. Administration and Management ...... 26 Procurement ...... 26 Human Resources ...... 26 Subcontractors ...... 26 3. Assessment of Progress and Challenges ...... 29 Assessment of Progress ...... 29 Project’s Efforts……………………………………………………………………….……………..…………26 Challenges...... 30 4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning ...... 31 5. Communications ...... 32 6. FY19 Q3 Planned Activities ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Annex A. Quarterly Financial Report…………………………….…………….Submitted separately Annex B. Market Access Action Plan March-September 2019…………….Submitted separately Annex C. A list of Private Sector Engagement (PSE) with the Project ….Submitted separately Annex D. List of Association for Business Linkage ………….……………….Submitted separately Annex E. Contracted Consultants……………………………….……….…….Submitted separately Annex F. Travelers List………………..………………………….……….…….Submitted separately

Annex H. Media Coverage………………………………………….…………….Submitted separately Annex I. Launch Event Pictures…………………………….………………….Submitted separately

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report i ACRONYMS

AMAL Advanced Marketing and Agribusiness Logistics Project ATS Agriculture Technical Schools ASDP Skills Development Program BMFD Business, Market, and Finance Development COE Center of Excellence COP Chief of Party CLA Collaborating, learning and adapting DCOP Deputy Chief of Party DOCs Development Outreach and Communications FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAS Feed the Future Food Security and Agribusiness Support Project FGD Focus Group Discussion FTE Full-time equivalent GAP Good Agricultural Practices GMP Good Manufacturing Practices HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points HEIA Horticulture Export Improvement Association IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IR Intermediate Result LLC Limited Liability Company MALR Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation M&E Monitoring & Evaluation MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MIIC Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation MOU Memorandum of Understanding NFS Nutrition and Food Safety NGO Non-Governmental Organization PAL Pre-award Authorization Letter PO Producer Organization PO Purchase Order PPH Production and Post-Harvest PR Procurement Requisition RFA Request for Application RFQ Request for Quotation SBC Social and Behavior Change SME Small and medium enterprise TOT Training of Trainers USAID United States Agency for International Development VAT Value Added Tax

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report ii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This FY19 Q2 quarterly report covers the period from January 1, 2019 through March 31, 2019. It is the second quarterly report submitted to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Egypt under Contract No. 72026318C00004. The Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project is a USAID-funded activity that aims to develop the horticulture industry’s ability to better respond to domestic and international buyer demand and improve the industry’s competitiveness by applying a market-driven, systems-strengthening approach. Abt Associates is the prime implementing partner, and partners with Egyptian firms CID Consulting and Blue Moon, U.S. small businesses JE Austin Associates and 20/20 DC, and the Global Cold Chain Alliance. The project will strengthen Egypt’s horticulture market system and improve the capacity of smallholder farmers and processors, producer organizations, and horticultural institutions through agricultural knowledge transfer and trainings to familiarize farmers with higher-value production of horticulture crops. Improvements to the value chain will raise employment and incomes for vulnerable Egyptians and enhance food security throughout the country. Ultimately, the project will create a more competitive and inclusive Egyptian economy through horticulture sector growth, with special focus on securing employment and increasing agriculture-related incomes of smallholder farmers in . The Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project is a five-year activity that was awarded on August 1, 2018 and will be completed by July 31, 2023. The project will work in Upper Egypt through main office in Cairo and strategic regional offices in and Minya. The targeted areas include but not are limited to , Minya, , , , Luxor and Aswan. Pending discussions with the Government of Egypt, the project may work in the Delta region and establish an office in Gharbeya. In its second full quarter of implementation, the project achieved numerous milestones. Highlights of the project’s activities in FY19 Q2 include:  Submitted an access to markets action plan (March-September 2019) in February 2019.  Held a launch event at the Horticultural Crop Service Center in City, on March 25th, 2019, which included high-level representation from the USAID Administrator, Luxor Deputy Governor, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation.  Conducted five stakeholder meetings to introduce the Project’s objectives, activities, components, and expected results to different stakeholders in Awan, Luxor, Beni-Suef, Minya and Sohag governorates.  Conducted three field visits to Luxor, Aswan, Qena, and Minya governorates with USAID/Egypt, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR), and Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation (MIIC) representation to visit potential beneficiaries in the horticulture sector.  Held meetings with PepsiCo to explore developing a trilateral partnership between USAID, the Project and PepsiCo that features an integrated model for potato sourcing and supply chain management.  Identified an initial list of forty potential buyers, nineteen of which are already validated, to facilitate business linkages with producer organizations in Upper Egypt.  Developed and submitted a mapping, needs assessment and evaluation of 50 pack houses and cold storage facilities in Beni Suef, Minya, Assuit, Qena and Luxor governorates.  Developed a nutrition curriculum  Developed an initial Gender Integration Strategy for the project’s activities and components.  Conducted a one-day workshop celebrating International Women Day in Luxor.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 3  Developed a potato value chain assessment report in Beni Suef and Minya. Agricultural cooperatives identified by PepsiCo trader: Yasser Arafa are Dallas in Nasser District and Naeem in Beni Suef District, governorate; as well as Daqoof in Samalout district, . Although the productivity in Beni Suef is reported to be 2-3 tons lower than in Minya; yet not all villages deal with PepsiCo representatives especially in Minya. Most farmers in Minya produce, store their own seeds, cultivate white verities rather than the red (PepsiCo variety) and sell it to the local market. As a result, the team recommends to start working with Dallas in Beni Sueif as a pilot phase.

 Developed a primary mapping, needs assessment and evaluation for 32 pack houses and cold storage facilities in Beni Suef, Minya, Assuit, Qena, Sohag and Luxor governorates to assess the current situation of the cold chain and infrastructure in Upper Egypt in order to improve the lives of smallholder farmers. Refrigeration, maintenance, spare parts, transportation and shipping (intermodal and sea shipment), packaging companies and exporters were surveyed. As a result, the initial assessment recommendations included to1) build two solar drying greenhouse dryers for tomatoes, basil and dates and yield all the technical requirements for optimum utilization; and 2) build two CoolBot cold store for vegetables and fruits and yield all the technical requirements for optimum utilization. Provide funding for establishing a hub for onions in both Beni-Suef and Sohag, Pomegranate in Assiut, and Basil in Assiut. Offer technical support for Fruit land company, Al Anwar Company, Sameh Ebeid facility, and six food processors in Upper Egypt. In addition to that, the activity served the scope of work required by the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA).

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 4

INTRODUCTION

The primary goal of the Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project is to improve the competitiveness of horticulture producers and related down-stream businesses and food processors by building their capacities to respond to demand from domestic and international buyers and fully meet their market requirements. Through this, the project will increase average incomes of 120,000 small farmers, double the incomes of 25,000 small farmers, and create 12,000 sustainable Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs in agribusinesses, including among agricultural technical school graduates, landless laborers, women, unemployed youth, and entrepreneurs by building their capacity to integrate into high-value commercial horticulture markets. The project will employ a market-driven approach to increase smallholder incomes by sustainably intensifying their productivity, improving the ability of value chain stakeholders to interpret and respond to market signals, enhancing marketing of products, and facilitating commercially-oriented linkages between value chain actors. Moreover, the project will improve agricultural water-use efficiency over 22,000 hectares and leverage $10 million dollars through partnerships with Egyptian firms and agricultural organizations to install irrigation systems, build post-harvest centers, and/or establish small-to-medium sized food processing facilities in Egypt's food sector. Project activities aim to achieve four intermediate results (IRs): i. Strengthened sustainable domestic and international market linkages. The project will identify and consult with domestic buyers on challenges and requirements to meet market demand for food safety, quality, quantity, and timely delivery. It will build long-term national and international commercial relationships and strengthen sustainable linkages between suppliers and buyers. ii. Improved post-harvest handling and storage. To meet high-end market demand, the project will offer best practices to reduce post-harvest losses through appropriate cold chain facilities and transportation, effective packaging, and harvesting practices. iii. Increased productivity of small farmers and food processors. The project will build and strengthen the capacity of producer organizations and private sector extension services to disseminate information provide technical assistance to smallholder farmers and processors, increase access to finance, collect crops more effectively, and help financial institutions develop appropriate tools and risk-reducing models. iv. Improved nutritional status of women and children. The project will improve the nutritional status of women and children through social and behavior change interventions that reinforce nutrition- sensitive activities. Targeted messages for each segment delivered through multiple channels will increase awareness and promote nutrition through the food production pathway. Throughout, the project emphasizes sustainability by building the capacity of producer organizations to transfer improved practices such as good agriculture practices (GAP) and marketing and negotiation techniques to member farmers. This capacity building will enable producer organizations to engage with buyers in increasingly sophisticated ways. The project also provides grants to producer organizations and private sector entities for agribusiness equipment to increase productivity and ensure the sustainability of activities. Another important part of the project’s sustainability approach is the integration of agricultural technical school graduates into project training programs across all components. The approach not only creates employment opportunities for graduates, but also creates a sustainable knowledge resource base that horticulture value chain actors can draw on for assistance as they access new markets.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 5 1. ACTIVITY PROGRESS

FOUNDATIONAL ACTIVITIES

In the Project’s second quarter, it continued important foundational activities key to building relationships and engaging stakeholders to ensure project success. These included stakeholder meetings in five governorates, orientation meetings, the project launch event, and field visits with USAID/Egypt.

Stakeholder Meetings

In Q2, the project conducted five meetings introduce the Project’s objectives, activities, components, and expected results to different stakeholders in Awan, Luxor, Beni-Suef, Minya and Sohag governorates, and to discuss opportunities for cooperation during the life of the Project. 312 participants (33 female) participated in the five meetings, including representatives from MALR and MIIC, and the Ministry of Social Solidarity; Agriculture Directorates from each governorate; university heads, deans and staff members, cooperatives and agriculture associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and smallholder farmers. A summary of participants at each meeting is provided in Table 1.

Table 1. Stakeholder Meeting Participants Stakeholder Meeting # of Participants # of Male Participants # of Female Participants Aswan 46 40 6 Luxor 48 33 15 Beni-Suef 98 96 2 Minya 58 52 6 Sohag 62 58 4

The opening speech of each meeting provided an overview of the Project’s objectives, components, target audience, expected results, and project partners. It highlighted that by using a buyer-led approach, the Project will first assess market needs, then help farmers meet the production and post-harvest handling requirements to

COP Sallam during his presentation at the stakeholder meeting in Discussions with participants at the stakeholder meeting in Aswan, Aswan, February 2019. February 2019.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 6 meet quality requirements. Each meeting included a presentation of the Project’s focus value chains and highlighted the importance of improving nutritional status. In each workshop, the Project’s team members presented an overview of the Project’s grants, training, and agribusiness internship programs. The grants discussion highlighted criteria of selecting grantees, illegible parties, and timeframe, and the agribusiness internship program presentation stressed its role in providing opportunities for agricultural technical school students and young graduates. The workshops also included discussions on the project’s production, post- harvest handling, cold chain and certification activities, as well as its business linkages, marketing and finance strategies. During open discussions, participants inquired about the definition of a smallholder farmer and the types of support the Project will provide. The Project defines smallholder farmers as those owning less than 10 feddans of land, and Chief of Party (COP) Dr. Walid Sallam clarified for participants that the Project aims to increase the income of smallholder farmers and create more job opportunities in the agribusiness sector.

Ms. Roula El-Saady, the project’s Grants Manager, during her Dr. Ayman Shelaby, the project’s Business, Market and Finance presentation at the stakeholder meeting in Luxor, February 2019. Development Specialist, during his presentation at the stakeholder meeting in Beni Suef, February 2019. Participants also requested more information on the steps and criteria for the grant process. Association heads in Beni-Suef governorate noted that the long approval process from the Ministry of Social Solidary might prevent them from receiving grants from donors. Ms. Amal Hassan, Director of the Department of NGOs at the Ministry of Social Solidary in Beni-Suef, requested official communication with the Ministry and that the Project’s vision is a long term to ensure sustainability. In response, Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) Osama Zaki assured that the project will send a list of all NGOs that the project is willing to work with to the Ministry of Social Solidary at Beni-Suef for approval before proceeding in providing any technical assistance or grant. Businesses also took this opportunity to identify ways to partner with the project. A parliament member and owner of a pack house in Beni-Suef which only works at 25% of its capacity, requested assistance from the Project to fully utilize the pack house to serve other farmers in his governorate.

Parliament member discussing the important role of pack houses at the stakeholder meeting in Beni-Suef, February 2019.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 7 During the workshops, stakeholders confirmed their interest in participating in or supporting the Project’s up- coming activities. For examples, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Minya University highlighted the project’s important role in creating new job opportunities and income generating projects for ATS graduates by enhancing their capacity through training. COP Sallam agreed, and highlighted the Project’s focus on learning by doing by ensuring linkage of ATS graduates with entrepreneurship opportunities through the private sector.

Group photo at the stakeholder meeting in Luxor, February 2019.

Orientation Meetings

In February, the project’s COP and DCOP met with potential partners in Qena to provide an orientation on the project and discuss means of future cooperation. They met with the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and the Vice President for Environmental Affairs at South Valley University because the project and university plan to establish a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to train some of the university’s agriculture graduates. The team also met with the Director General of Agriculture in Qena and agreed on means of cooperation between the Directorate of Agriculture, producer organizations, and the project. Finally, the COP and DCOP visited Khuzam Agricultural Secondary School and Khuzam Society Association for Community Development Farm to discuss crops that the association may require training on.

Project Launch Event

In Q2, the project held its launch event on March 25 at the Horticultural Crop Service Center in Esna, Luxor Governorate, a facility established with USAID support under previous agriculture projects. To prepare for the

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 8 event and finalize its logistics, the project team coordinated closely with MALR, MIIC, USAID and the Horticultural Crop Service Center. A USAID delegation headed by Ambassador Mark Green, USAID Administrator, Ms. Sherry F. Carlin, USAID/Egypt Mission Director, Thomas H. Goldberger, Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires of the United States in Egypt and fifteen representatives from USAID attended the event, along with high profile representation from MALR and Luxor governorate. Over 165 participants attended the event, including agriculture association members, pack house staff, teachers, ATS students, university graduates, farmers, and project staff. During the event, Administrator Green toured the center’s outdoor tomato dryer and pack house facility with Mr. Mohamed Abdel Kader, Luxor’s Deputy Governor, and Dr. Mohamed Abou El Wafa, USAID/Egypt Program Manager, Agriculture & Agribusiness. While in the pack house, Administrator Green observed the sorting and grading of fresh and dried tomatoes bound for export to Turkey and Brazil. He learned from the female workers sorting the tomatoes that all had never had formal work before, and were very satisfied with their jobs and working conditions. Following the tour, COP Sallam welcomed the guests and provided an overview of the project’s objectives, activities, and expected results. In his remarks, Administrator Green highlighted that “at USAID, helping our partners to improve agricultural productivity is one of our highest priorities, because advancing food security is an essential path to prosperity and self-reliance.” Luxor’s Deputy Governor then emphasized the importance of the project in increasing smallholder farmer incomes and employment opportunities in Upper Egypt, as well as exports. Dr. Jihan El-Menoufy, Head of the Agricultural Extension Sector in MALR, expressed her sincere appreciation for the project and noted its aim to achieve a qualitative leap in the lives of farmers and facilitate access to equal opportunities for both men women. The event closed with a press statement from Ms. Sherry F. Carlin, USAID/Egypt Mission Director and Mr. Brinton Bohling, Director, Office of Economic Growth. (See Annex 2: Media Coverage and Annex 3: Launch Event Pictures for more details.)

USAID Field Visits

In Q2, the project organized three field visits to Luxor, Aswan, Qena, and Minya governorates to visit potential beneficiaries in the horticultural sector including pack houses, producer organizations and associations, universities, ATSs, and smallholder farmers. Participants included representatives from USAID/Egypt and senior officials from MALR and MIIC. These delegations also met with previous participants in the USAID-funded Advanced Marketing and Agribusiness Logistics (AMAL) project to highlight their achievements and explore possible means of cooperation with the current project. During the field visits, USAID/Egypt and project team members also met with Luxor, Aswan and Minya Governors to orient them on the project’s goal, components, activities, and expected results.

Field Visit to Luxor and Aswan In January, the project organized a field visit to Luxor and Aswan governorates to meet potential participants in the Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project’s activities, and view ongoing activities of the USAID-funded Food Security and Agribusiness Support (FAS) Project. High-level participation from MALR included Dr. Hisham Allam, Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations (FAR), Dr. Abbas El-Shenawy, Head of the Central Administration at the Agricultural Research Center, Ms. Samah Mahran, FAR Coordinator, and Eng. Khaled Abdel Rady, Deputy Minister of Luxor Agriculture Directorate. From MIIC, three senior officials from the Central Department for Cooperation with the US attended, including Dr. Kahled Abdel Rahman AlDery,

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 9 General Director of the Minister’s Technical Office and Head of Central Department for Cooperation with the US, Mrs. Ola Sobby El Shafey, General Manager of the Project Department in the Central Department for Cooperation with the US, and Mr. Mohamed Maged, researcher. From USAID/Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Abo El Wafa, Program Manager, Agriculture and Agribusiness attended. In Luxor, the delegation visited the Horticultural Export Improvement Association’s (HEIA) pack house in Tiba to provide an overview on the achievements of Dr. Hisham Allam, Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations at MALR, at the HEIA the USAID-funded Advanced Marketing and pack house in Tiba, Luxor, January 2019. Agribusiness Logistics (AMAL) project and explore possible means of cooperation under the current project. During discussions, pack house staff members, trainees, graduates of ATS, teachers, and association members highlighted the impact of the AMAL project in advancing their knowledge and skills. The team then visited the Horticultural Crop Service Center in Esna, including its cooling and storage center, and met with staff members from the three associations that manage the facility—Tafnesis El Mataana, Al-Negou Bahry, and Asfoun—to discuss their activities and future plans. In Aswan, the delegation visited the Ryad Al Saleheen Association for Community Development to discuss the needs of association staff and members (including small farmers) and explore crops the association is currently and would like to promote to identify and possible areas of future cooperation with the project. Field Visit to Luxor and Qena In February, USAID/Egypt representatives and project staff conducted a three-day field visit to Luxor and Qena governorates to meet with potential project participants, including an association, tomato processing facility, ATS. The team also met with Councilor Mostafa Alham, Luxor Governor, and Major General Abdel Hamid El- Hagan, Qena Governor, to provide an orientation on the project’s goals, objectives, components, and expected results. Dr. Mohamed Abo El Wafa of USAID/Egypt also announced the expected attendance of the USAID Administrator at the project’s launch event.

Councilor Mostafa Alham, Luxor Governor during his meeting with the A group photo of Major General Abdel Hamid El-Hagan, Qena USAID delegation and project team, February 2019. Governor with the USAID delegation and project team, Feburary 2019.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 10 The team visited South Valley University in Qena and met with the Vice Dean and faculty to discuss future collaboration with the project, including training and internship opportunities for students and graduates. The delegation also met with Kheir Misr Association and Women’s Association for Future Development to discuss the project’s goals and planned activities, and visited a mango farm owned by a member of Kheir Misr Association, and a tomato drying facility in Armant, Luxor.

COP Sallam during his conversation with the owner of a mango farm Kheir Misr Association and Women Association’s for Future Development and member of Kheir Misr Association in Luxor, February 2019. members presenting their small projects including handcrafts using date palm waste during the project’s visit in Luxor, February 2019.

The delegation also visited Agricultural Secondary School, where the school head, teachers, and ATS students and graduates presented the impact of previous USAID interventions and ongoing needs. Later, the delegation visited the model Abdelnasser Donqol Farm and an underutilized Post-Harvest Service Center in Qift, Qena. As a result, the project agreed to conduct a needs assessment for the fennel, herbs and spices hub in a follow-up visit. The team visited to the Post-Harvest Service Center in Qena, USAID/Egypt and project staff met with Sameh Ebeid, owner of the Post-Harvest Service Center, in Cairo. Ebeid discussed his plans to optimize utilization of the facility, including identify suitable crops for production in Qena, progressing from fresh basil production dried basil and then oil extraction processing, ensuring high production quality, and upgrading the pack house. As a result, the project agreed to conduct a needs assessment and feasibility study to identify potential products and markets and how the center could fill gaps in the value chain.

Field Visit to Minya In March, COP Sallam and representatives from USAID/Egypt travelled to Minya to meet with the Governor of Minya, General Qasim Hussein, and the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Service (CEOSS), a potential

Mr. Kenneth Dunn, USAID/Egypt Agriculture Team Lead, inspecting the USAID delegation and the project team during the visit to the Post dried tomotatoes in Armant, Luxor, February 2019. Harvest Service Center in Qena, February 2019.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 11 project partner. In the meeting with CEOSS, the team discussed areas of synergy and cooperation. CEOSS manages agriculture programs to increase the incomes of small farmers by providing high quality services at appropriate prices through partnerships with the private sector, and manages the marketing process for agricultural products. CEOSS-supported farmers produce potatoes on 6,000 feddans of land in Minya, and initiated a model of agricultural cooperatives managed by smallholder farmers. The team and CEOSS’s representatives also visited CEOSS’s pack house and educational models for drip irrigation in clay soil, and greenhouses producing cucumbers and green beans at Matai, Luxor.

The team’s field visit to the CEOSS pack house and irrigation model in Minya, March 2019.

Trilateral Agreements with PepsiCo In Q2, the project held two meetings with PepsiCo and USAID to 1) follow up on previous discussions regarding a trilateral partnership agreement between USAID, PepsiCo and the project, and 2) meet PepsiCo’s main potato traders to explore the possibility of replacing sub-traders with agricultural associations. In January, representatives from USAID/Egypt and the project team met with PepsiCo Egypt’s Director of Seed Production and Supplier Development at its factory in USAID and the project team in discussions with one of PepsiCo’s potato traders at city. During the meeting, one of PepsiCo’s the company’s plant in 6th of October City, January 2019. main potato traders explained his relationship with the company, including that he receives inputs (seedlings) from PepsiCo and delivers potatoes to the company. The USAID delegation and project staff toured the chip facility, including its laboratory and cold stores. The parties agreed to schedule a follow-up meeting with the Agro-Commercial Manager, PepsiCo agreed to propose an integrated supply model that would be beneficial for all parties.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 12 In February, USAID and project staff held another meeting with PepsiCo aiming to reach a common understanding on an integrated and mutually beneficial model to be documented in the trilateral agreement. Attendees also met with one of PepsiCo’s potato farmers to discuss the collaboration and the project’s approach. As a result, the participants agreed that through its traders, PepsiCo Egypt will identify two agricultural associations in Upper Egypt and the project will conduct a needs assessment of these association

USAID and project team members at PepsiCo in 6th of October City, January 2019.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 13

IR 1: STRENGTHEN SUSTAINABLE DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL MARKET LINKAGES

In Q2, JE Austin Associates access to markets and finance team developed and submitted an access to markets action plan covering the period March-September 2019 to the Project. The action plan includes detailed marketing activities and initiatives that align with and build on the First Year Work Plan approved in Q1. (See Annex B: Market Access Action Plan March-September 2019) Also during Q2, the marketing team developed a concept note for local and international experts to introduce international marketing techniques. To ensure sustainability, the international experts will transfer their knowledge to local consultants who will subsequently train buyers and producer organizations.

Sub-IR 1.1: Facilitate farm-to-market linkages between small farmers and buyers

Activity 1.1.1: Validate list of horticultural crops with buyers In Q1, the project team identified onion, green bean, tomato, mango, date palm, grape, pomegranate, basil, mint, and fennel as target value chains. In Q2, the project added potato based on its significant market demand, availability in the project’s target geographies, and need for technical assistance and upgrading. In meetings with potential buyers, project staff are sharing these target value chains and validating domestic and international market demand. Activity 1.1.2: Hold project launch event to spur buyer interest In Q2, marketing staff supported the project’s launch event at the Horticultural Crop Service Center in Esna by inviting potential buyers to participate. The project promoted the selected value chains during the event, explored the buyer’s expectation from producer organizations, and built initial market demand by interviewing stakeholders individually. Activity 1.1.3: Conduct initial buyer selection During this quarter, the project’s Business, Market and Finance Development staff held meetings with several buyers to explore potential areas of partnership. The team met diversified companies to ensure the private sector engagement (PSE) within the Project’s activities and presented the project’s approach, goals, activities, and target groups, and identified buyers’ products, markets, challenges, and current supply mechanisms. The Project have identified an initial list of forty potential buyers, nineteen of which are already validated, to facilitate business linkages with producer organizations in Upper Egypt. During this quarter, nine out of the nineteen validated companies have been visited by the team. As a result, the project identified potential areas of mutual benefit between the project and buyers, and updated its list of committed buyers who are interested in developing sustainable business linkages with producer organizations that represent smallholder farmers in Upper Egypt. (See Annex C: A list of: Private Sector Engagement (PSE) with the Project).

Based on these meetings, the project will support Al-Ahmadia, Seba, and Taibah companies with training, access to market services, and assist them in develop sustainable business linkages with producer organizations that represent smallholder farmers. Moreover, the companies will work with the project’s production team to provide technical assistant to small farmers on agriculture best practices. Some of the companies listed agreed to train ATS student and sign forward contracts with POS In Q2, the project contacted the directorates of agriculture in the governorates of Beni Suef, Minya and Assiut to nominate agricultural cooperatives to serve the largest number of smallholder farmers to be supported by

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 14 the project. The project identified twenty-eight associations in Assuit, Minya, Beni-Suef, Sohag, Qena and Aswan for future cooperation (see Annex D: List of Association for Business Linkage). Activity 1.1.4: Identify qualified suppliers See Activity 1.2.1.

Sub-IR 1.2: Strengthen agricultural producer organizations to meet buyer demand

Activity 1.2.1: Select key producer organizations This activity will take place in Q3 after the PO assessments take place. Activity 1.2.5: Institutionalize market-oriented capacity building within Agricultural Technical Schools The project has begun establishing relationships with Agricultural Technical Schools (see Orientation Meetings, above). Once partnership agreements are established with these schools, the project will begin market-oriented capacity building activities. This is expected to begin in Q3.

Sub-IR 1.3: Support producer organization suppliers to meet certifications and standards

Activity 1.3.1: Develop food safety plans to support commercial partnerships This activity will begin once producer organizations are selected (expected in Q3).

Sub-IR 1.4: Strengthen industry application of international food safety standards

Activities under this sub-IR are expected to begin in Q4.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 15 IR 2: IMPROVED POST-HARVEST HANDLING AND STORAGE

Sub-IR 2.1: Build the capacity of POs to improve small farmers’ post-harvest handling practices

Activity 2.1.1: Support POs in addressing post-harvest challenges in commercial partnerships In Q2, the project’s production and post-harvest (PPH) team conducted an evaluation and needs assessment of post-harvest challenges for 20 producer organizations specialized in grapes, potatoes, green beans, pomegranate, tomatoes and other target value chains in Upper Egypt. Post-harvest challenges are considered weak points along the value chain and affect both quality and shelf life of fresh produce. One of the sites the PPH team visited was the hub managed by the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) in Mattay district, Minya. The facility includes a pack house, cold store, refrigerated trucks, and other facilities. In Q2, the PPH team developed and submitted a detailed report highlighting challenges related to post-harvest practices and opportunities for future cooperation between the organization and the project. In Q3, the Dr. Atef El Ansary, the project’s Post-Harvest Lead, during an assessment of the PPH team will conduct additional field visits to refrigerated loading area at the CEOSS hub in Minya, March 2019. other identified facilities. The assessment concluded that: 1. Producer organizations will be able to implement quality assurance concepts and standards that fostering excellent product that meets market requirements. 2. It is possible to reduce losses during transportation and distribution to diversified markets. 3. Hubs can be used as a focal point to organize production, packaging and trading activities and provide a high level of value addition to meet market demands. 4. Hubs can maximize efficiency, improve market access, facilitate technical interventions, and help businesses grow.

Activity 2.1.2: Strengthen POs’ technical skills transfer for post-harvest operations In Q2, the PPH team finalized the structure and content of the Training of Trainers (TOT) on best post-harvest handling (PHH) practices for ATS students and university graduates. In Q3 and Q4, the TOT trainees will train 3,000 farmers on proper PHH practices and operations, as well as innovative technologies for the target value chains. The project will particularly target female farmers and partner with other projects to identify marginalized groups such as people with disabilities and vulnerable populations working in post-harvest operations.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 16 Sub-IR 2.2: Introduce innovative technologies to address cold chain gaps

Activity 2.2.1: Introduce an affordable and applicable innovative technology that helps maintain the quality and extends the shelf life of target value chains In Q2, the project mapped available cold chain infrastructure and reviewed existing studies by the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) on Upper Egypt to identify opportunities to increase efficient management and required technical capacity. During the mapping process, the team identified 50 cold stores that primarily target potato; however, most are neither operating at full efficiency nor linked with producer organizations and smallholder farmers. Many of the cold chain facilities are located in the northern governorates of Upper Egypt such as Minya. Following the mapping process, the team conducted assessments for a number of pack houses and cold storage facilities in Beni Suef, Minya, Assuit, Qena and Luxor, followed by an in-depth evaluation of each facility and a consolidated list of achievable recommendations for each facility that would enhance operations and increase efficiency. The PPH team proposed new ideas to extend the utilization periods of these pack house through fresh cut, freezing, drying, powdering, and concentrate for pomegranate, and potentially other crops such as mango and grape. For basil, the team recommend using innovative technologies that can be adapted for other crops, such as a crushing unit, physical properties lab, solar drying, new packaging, oiling setup, and a size reduction unit. For tomato drying, the team proposed a range of new and up-to-date practices.

Sub-IR 2.3: Strengthen pack houses, packaging and other post-harvest services

Activity 2.3.1: Strengthen existing pack house services

In Q2, the PPH team conducted a series of field visits in Upper Egypt to identify existing pack houses. The team developed a detailed report summarizing potential opportunities to use pack house facilities to benefit smallholder farmers from the project’s targeted value chains. The team identified a number of pack houses owned by private sector actors which are in the construction and expansion stage. This is an opportunity for the project, as these facility owners have requested technical support and guidance from the project during the design and construction phase. As a result, the project will link these facilities—such as Alanwar and Fruit Land for pomegranate in Assuit—with producer organizations and The project’s PPH team discussing the pack house expansion plan with the owner of Alanwar in Assuit, April 2019. smallholder farmers in target governorates. As a result of the team’s visits to and assessments of pack houses, new ideas for how to strengthen existing pack house services evolved. The team is considering new low-cost solutions such as establishing plastic tunnels for solar drying horticulture crops. In addition, in its work with pack houses, the project will identify and address gender-specific challenges of both female and male stakeholders, such as lack of training on particular technologies, exposure to dangerous working environments, and bias towards female employees due to assumed innate skills (e.g., that women are better fit for post-harvest work because they are naturally patient, have more attention to detail, and are accurate and sensitive dealing with delicate produce).

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IR 3: INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY FOR SMALL FARMERS AND FOOD PROCESSORS

Sub-IR 3.1: Build PO and private sector extension service capacity to provide technical assistance to small farmers and processors

Activity 3.1.1: Incentivize buyers to invest in building supplier productivity and market responsiveness During Q2, the PPH team continued to identify production challenges of the selected value chains related to specific buyer demands. The team conducted field visits to six producer organizations proposed by PepsiCo that supply potatoes in Beni Suef and Minya, and developed and submitted a detailed report on the gaps, challenges and opportunities for increasing incomes of smallholder farmers producing potatoes. Key issues that the project will address in farmer field school technical trainings include the distribution of true to type seed potatoes and high quality inputs, creating integrated pest management (IPM) programs, and development of fertilization and irrigation schedules.

In Q3 and Q4, the private sector (buyers and Dr. Taher Yehia, the project’s Agronomist, discussing challenges and opportunities food processors) and the project’s technical with potato growers in Dallas, Beni Suef, March 2019. team will provide technical assistance for the selected value chains to increase producers’ productivity. Activity 3.1.2: Strengthen POs to collect crops and disseminate extension information This activity will begin once POs are selected in Q3. Activity 3.1.3: Conduct farmer training via POs, hubs and other channels This activity will begin once POs are selected in Q3. Activity 3.1.5: Conduct processors training via private sector service providers In Q2, the PPH team identified and met with food processors in Upper Egypt such as El Mohandes for juice and jam in Qena and Egypt Italy for sundried tomato in Luxor. For El Mohandes, although mango is grown extensively in Qena, the owner of the company faces transportation challenges both in sourcing raw materials and in transporting to concentrate manufacturers. He also sources raw mangoes from Ismailia, Luxor, and Aswan. The El Mohandes factory is equipped with all required utilities (e.g., water, electricity, vapor, compressed air), and is very active in providing training New products suggested for pomegrante include dried and powder.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 18 to university and ATS graduates. El Mohandes has a huge market in Upper Egypt and a lot of export requests from Arab countries. The project will help link El Mohandes with new smallholder farmer suppliers, and review their current operations for possible improvements.

Dr. Atef El Ansary, Post Harvest Lead, and Eng. Ibrahim Elbana, Quality and Certifications Lead, during their visit to the El Mohandes factory in Qena, March 2019.

The PPH team also visited Egypt Italy’s tomato drying facility in Armant, Luxor, which comprises a four feddan open field and produces about 200 tons of dried tomatoes per month during the season. Each 10 kilograms of fresh tomatoes yield one kilogram of dried tomatoes.

Tomato storage at the Egyptian Company Manual drying at the Egyptian Company for Investment and Development in Luxor, March 2019, for Investment and Development in Luxor, versus the proposed tomato solar drying unit. March 2019.

The tomato drying operation uses open sun drying, a well-known food preservation technique. However, tomatoes dried in open air are exposed to dust, rain and high temperatures. The large area required represents significant wasted capital. In these conditions, some issues with the final sundried tomato product might include cracked structure, bleaching, hard texture, loss of flavor and nutritional properties, low rehydration capacity, or non-enzymatic browning, which decreases tomato quality. Hygiene, sanitation and quality of water are other significant concerns.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 19 In response to these challenges, the project identified several potential means of support: 1. Introduce solar drying greenhouses that use the sun as the heat source in order to increase the temperature and air current to speed up the drying cycle, maintain the hygienic conditions, and yield superior quality. For this, a solar tunnel greenhouse dryer can be constructed, which operates on the principle of the greenhouse effect. 2. Support operations to adopt a sanitized washing system for raw tomatoes and mechanical slicing machines. 3. Provide support with simple air drying mechanism to get rid of the remaining washing water 4. Design the lay out and specifications for an optimum covered packing shed, equipped with tables for slicing and a cull collection system. 5. Introduce the concept of CoolBot cold storage units to temporarily hold packed tomatoes until dispatching. 6. A small-scale solar drying system for families to use on the roofs of their houses.

Sub-IR 3.2: Increase access to finance for small farmers and processors

Activity 3.2.1 Increase small farmers’ access to finance In Q2, the project advertised for and identified three short-term trainers focused on access to finance. They will begin training in Q3. Activity 3.2.2 Help financial institutions develop appropriate tools and risk-reducing models In Q2, the project’s access to finance team developed criteria for selecting financial institutions to work with, and mapped active financial institutions in each governorate. As a result, many institutions that are interested in expanding their portfolio of products tailor for small farmers have engaged with the project. For example, the following financial institutions attended the project’s stakeholder meetings in Beni Suef and Sohag: 1. Regional Association for Development Enterprise (RADE, ) 2. Regional Association for Development Enterprise (RADE, ) 3. Association in Upper Egypt for Education and Development (AUEED, Sohag Governorate) 4. Association for Enterprise Development (Sohag Governorate) 5. Association for Women’s Enhancement (Sohag Governorate) 6. Egyptian Development Association (Sohag Governorate) 7. Sohag Businessmen Association 8. Credit Department, Caritas Egypt

In Q3, the project will begin working with financial institutions to offer training and help them develop more smallholder-appropriate products.

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IR 4: IMPROVED NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Sub-IR 4.1 Apply SBC methods to reinforce nutrition-sensitive activities

Activity 4.1.1: Conduct SBC baseline and needs assessment In Q2, the project’s Nutrition Lead finalized the needs assessment questionnaire (see Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, below). Activity 4.1.2: Design SBC interventions At the end of Q2, the project’s Nutrition Lead and Social and Behavior Change Lead held a workshop with four nutrition consultants to develop the project’s nutrition curriculum. The goal of the curriculum is to provide the learner with nutritional knowledge and skills that can be used to improve overall health. The curriculum will meet the needs of people at different ages and physiological stages, introduce patterns of creating a healthy and low-cost meal, and discuss health concerns and diseases that are emerging due to poor nutrition. The curriculum incorporates social and behavior change methods including community-based awareness messages. Using this curriculum, Community Nutrition Educators (see Activity 4.2.1 below) will be able to conduct nutrition The project’s Nutrition Lead, Dr. Ibrahim Ismail, and Social and Behavior Change Lead, Mr. Ashraf Maher, during the Nutrition Curriculum Development Workshop, March 2019. awareness sessions at the field level.

Sub-IR 4.2: Implement nutrition-sensitive activities along agriculture-nutrition pathways

Activity 4.2.1: Promote nutrition through the food production pathway In Q2, the project’s DCOP, Nutrition Lead, and Training Lead discussed the possibility of identifying community nutrition educators from among university graduates who received comprehensive training under the AMAL Project. Community nutrition educators would help implementing field nutrition education activities in the seven governorates. The project’s Nutrition Lead and Training Lead collaborated to finalize the selection of the short-term nutrition consultants. In March, Nutrition and Training Leads met with 34 (23 female) university graduates in Qena, Luxor and Dr. Ibrahim Ismail, Nutrition Lead, providing an orientation on nutrition activities Aswan to introduce the project’s activities— to graduates in Aswan, March 2019.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 21 particularly its nutrition component—and explore the graduates’ interest in these activities and willingness to participate in the nutrition programs as community nutrition educators. As a result, 11 participants (10 female) confirmed their willingness to be trained on the nutrition program and then provide nutrition awareness sessions in their communities. In Q3, the eleven graduates will receive a TOT and, based on performance, the project will nominate selected candidates to join the nutrition program as community nutrition educators. Activity 4.2.3 Promote nutrition through the women’s empowerment pathway TOT for university graduates on women’s empowerment and mainstreaming will take place in Q3.

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CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES

Training and Capacity Building

In Q2, the project’s Training Lead collaborated with the Nutrition Lead finalize the selection of short-term nutrition consultants and conduct an orientation meeting with university graduates in Qena, Luxor and Aswan to eventually select community nutrition educators who will conduct awareness sessions. Also during this quarter, the training component organized two internal trainings for staff on finance and gender, in cooperation with the Finance Director and Gender Integration Lead. The two-day finance training in Luxor and Minya introduced staff to the project’s accounting procedures, monthly cash requirements, and processes for procurement, invoicing, advances, and expenses. On the second day, participants discussed settling advances, per diem, and petty cash.

Grant Procurement and Administration

In Q2, the project’s Grants Manual was approved by USAID. Also during this quarter, the grants team developed an internal Grants Operations Manual that includes all forms and templates that will be used in Ms. Iman Helmy, Finance Director, during the financial training the implementation of grants activities and in in Minya, March 2019. compliance with USAID rules and regulations. The manual includes templates for requests for application (RFA), annual program statements (APS), and technical and financial concept papers, as well as sample proposals and budgets template to assist potential applicants in applying for grants. During this quarter, the Grants Manager presented the project’s grant program at the stakeholder meetings in Aswan, Luxor and Minya, and responded to participants’ inquiries on grant selection criteria and the expected process.

Gender

In Q2, the project’s Gender Integration Lead updated the focus group discussion (FDGs) questions developed for the baseline survey in Q1 to integrate questions to measure target groups’ behavioral change. Also in this quarter, the Gender Integration Lead developed an initial strategy for gender integration in project activities and components. The strategy is comprised of five tools: a gender analysis tool, a gender integration in planned objectives and results tool, a gender integration in activities and implementation strategy tool, a gender integration in monitoring and indicators tool, and an outputs and impact tool. During this quarter, the annual Gender Integration Plan was revised to amend and postpone the schedule of some activities due the delays in collaborative technical activities.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 23 Also in Q2, project staff attended a Gender and Development training in Cairo conducted by Gender Integration Lead Ghada Hammam and Gender Advisor at Abt Associates, Katie Baczewski. The aim of the training was to introduce gender-related concepts and come to an agreement on the perspective to be adopted by the project. 14 staff members (6 females) attended, and the training covered the concept of gender; gender roles including reproductive, productive, social, and political; and the difference between gender equality and women’s empowerment. It also included an overview of the project’s Gender Action Plan. Participants gained knowledge on the influence of gender concepts on public life, and learned the importance of analyzing gender gaps and considering gender differences to achieve better project Participants presenting their small group discussion topics during the Gender and outcomes. Development training in Cairo, February 2019.

On March 7, the project conducted a stakeholder meeting in Luxor on project activities focused on women in honor of International Women’s Day. The aim of the workshop was to introduce the project’s objectives, activities, and expected results to different stakeholders, emphasizing gender activities. 32 participants (23 females) attended the workshop, including representatives from four agriculture associations, NGOs, and the National Council of Women in Luxor. Discussions highlighted changing roles and attitudes of men and women over the past three generations, and the difference between gender equality and women’s empowerment. International Women’s Day on March 8 is a recognition of the importance of women’s roles in social, economic, and political life, as is Egypt’s Women’s Day on March 16. In working groups, participants identified challenges facing rural women in their communities and recommend ideas and suggestions that can be implemented by the project. Ms. Nevin Wadiy, representative of the National Council of Women in Luxor governorate, spoke about the role of the Council in economic, social and legal development, and its efforts Ms. Ghada Hammam, the project’s Gender Integration Lead, and participants sharing their and services in building the capacity of workshop presentations during the stakeholder meeting in Luxor, March 2019. women.

At the end of the stakeholder meeting in Luxor, participants had the opportunity to tour an exhibition featuring four associations: Ahl Balady Association, Al Ghad El-Moshrek Association, Kheir Misr Association, and El Nesassaya Association. They featured products they’d produced, including Turkish coffee (50% coffee and 50% data kernel), date palm cupcakes, handcrafts from palm wicker, compost from data kernel, pickles, jams, creams, and accessories. Participants wrote gender messages sharing the transformation of their roles and the effectiveness of women’s participation in development.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 24 Association exhibition and media messages during the stakeholder meeting in Luxor highlighting women’s activities, March 2019.

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2. ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

PROCUREMENT

In Q2 the operations team identified service providers for a range of project needs, including a travel agency for air tickets, transportation services, window blinds for the Dokki office, and an event planner for the project’s launch event. A table of government property for which payments were made during Q2 is below. Procurements in progress during the quarter include AC units for the Dokki office, measuring and monitoring devices for post-harvest technical activities, printers and copiers, carpet for the Dokki office, and a firm to conduct quantitative data collection for the baseline survey. The operations team also conducted training for new staff hired during Q2 on USG procurement regulations and Abt Associates policies and procedures.

Government Property Procurement

January – March 2019 (Quarter 2)

IT Equipment – 50% down payment on computers  5 desktops, 49 laptops and related computer accessories and software for all project staff  4 projectors  5 UPS devices  4 scanners  Switches  QNAP  Server components Android Tablets for data collection – 60

HUMAN RESOURCES

In Q2, Abt recruited and hired the following positions that will facilitate programmatic implementation and administration of the project: Cairo Office:  Finance Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Operations Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Technical Team Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Training Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Janitor, hired March 3, 2019

Luxor Office:  Administrative Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019  Training Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 26  Senior Field Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019  Field Training Coordinator – Sohag, hired March 3, 2019  Field Training Coordinator – Aswan, hired March 3, 2019  Agribusiness Linkages Manager, hired March 3, 2019  Janitor, hired March 3, 2019

Minya Office:  Administrative Assistant, hired March 3, 2019  Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019  Training Supervisor, hired March 3, 2019  Senior Field Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019  Field Training Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019  Field Training Coordinator, hired March 3, 2019  Janitor, hired March 3, 2019

In addition, subcontractor JE Austin Associates recruited and hired the following positions:  Marketing Lead, hired February, 1 2019  Senior Access to Finance Specialist, hired February 1, 2019

SUBCONTRACTORS:

JE Austin

 In Q2, JE Austin developed the access to market work plan and access to finance work plan covering the period March to September 2019 (See Annex B: : Market Access Action Plan March-September 2019).  The plans developed by JE Austin staff during the visit of Kevin Murphy, President, JE Austin Associates Inc.

CID Consulting

 In Q2, CID Consulting met required deliverables and activates requested. CID subcontractor is responsible about: - Nutrition Component IR4 - Gender (cross cutting activities) - Social behavior Change Communication (cross cutting activities) - Communication activities (cross cutting activities)

During the second quarter, CID Leads achieve the following: IR 4 – Nutrition Component: During Q2, the nutrition lead together with other staff, select the nutrition consultants, 4 consultants were selected. Five days’ workshop was conducted in CID office to develop the training materials and the curriculums for the nutrition training activities. TOT training (5 days training) for the community nutrition educators was conducted in to prepare them for nutrition awareness activities. Nutrition awareness activities were implemented in collaboration with associates in Aswan, Luxor & Qena governorates by the nutrition consultants together with the community nutrition educators. Gender activities: The achievements and tasks linked to gender accomplished during the second quarter of 2019 include, conducting a desk review and analytical reading for the reports and learnt lessons from other

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 27 agricultural projects in relation to women empowerment activities; designing the gender integration training material; Providing training on gender and its applications for 14 of Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening project staff and Providing training on gender concepts and how to be taken into consideration for 4 associations in Luxor on the 7th of March 2019. Gender lead facilitate the celebration of the International Women's Day inside the projects offices (3 offices), also, she lead the celebration of the International Women's Day with 4 associations in Luxor governorate. The celebration also included an exhibition for rural women products served by the 4 associations; a discussion on the importance of small agricultural projects in empowering rural women economically; and receiving women recommendations on the type of small projects suitable for their communities and proposed solutions for the challenges that might hinder women’s economic empowerment. Social behavior activities: SBC lead collaborate with all component leads to promote the social behavior change communication in all project activities. He develop the PPT that include concepts, methods and tools for implementing the behavior change. SBC lead participate in the training activities that conducted in marketing, production and nutrition component. Also he share with gender lead in gender activities in Luxor and Aswan governorates. Communications activities: Communications coordinator worked intensively with the communications lead to prepare for the project’s launch event in collaboration with the project’s technical team and follow-up with the designers and USAID/DOC team. Also in Q2, the communications lead continued to review, write and submit meeting minutes and reports for technical meetings, and USAID. An internal weekly agriculture news update that is distributed to all project staff.

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3. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS

In Q2, the Project met all of its contractual deliverable requirements and completed many key technical activities described in the First Year Work Plan. The project conducted five stakeholder meetings to introduce activities, components and expected results to anticipated partners, participants, and other stakeholders. Also in Q2, the project received the security clearance from the Ministry of Agriculture, conducted the Projects’ launch event on March 25, and immediately began activity implementation. The project identified an initial list of forty potential buyers, nineteen of which are already validated and visited for business linkage with suppliers’ producer organizations. The project also conducted a mapping, needs assessment and evaluation for 30-40 pack houses and cold stores facilities in Beni Suef, Minya, Assuit, Qena, Sohag and Luxor governorates. The Project developed a nutrition curriculum and met with 34 University graduates in Qena, Luxor and Aswan governorate to be trained on the TOT nutrition program to become community nutrition educators. The Project conducted a one day workshop in celebrating the International Women Day in Luxor and organized an exhibition for agriculture products by four associations. As of the end of Q2, all field staff at the two regional offices in Luxor and Minya have been hired, as well as longer-term staff from JE Austin Associates based in Cairo. PROJECT EFFORTS

The agricultural sector has been identified as one of the areas that has a good potential to diversify the economy and create employment, especially in Upper Egypt. In Q2, the Project’s technical team sustained a clear vision to reduce the gap between the current state and desired project’s goal through identifying the problematic statement and possible interventions listed as follows: Horticulture Hubs Sustainable agriculture is driven by significant postharvest infrastructure, including warehouses and cold storage facilities. Poor planning, wrong location, poor design and high costs of operation can hinder smallholder farmers in effectively marketing their crops and increasing their incomes. The project considered a set of guidelines for wise investments in postharvest infrastructure hub as follows: 1. Searching for the optimum area with the infrastructure needed (consider location, access, costs, etc.). 2. Matching the facility design (cost, size, scope) to local needs and management capabilities in different area. 3. Avoiding over-building since large facilities are very difficult for smallholders to manage and can be too costly to be profitable. 4. Developing or enhancing the agricultural value chains by assisting buyers to meet and interact with farmers (market linkages). 5. Training involves facility management, staff and laborers to ensure that hub will be wisely utilized, managed and maintained properly.

Feed the Future Egypt Rural Agribusiness Strengthening Project I FY19 Q2 Quarterly Report 29 6. Offering technical support to ensure an effective transfer of appropriate technologies to the operators of the infrastructure.

Based on the above our vision for the hub is as follow: 1. A site for extension workers and local postharvest trainers to meet with growers and others working along the value chains to provide training to improve local capacity and knowledge on improved produce handling, harvesting, sorting/grading, packing, cooling, storage, food safety, processing, and marketing practices 2. A training venue with permanent demonstrations for observing improved, cost-effective small-scale postharvest handling practices, facilities, and equipment 3. A site where local private companies can demonstrate and explain the benefits of their goods and services related to improved postharvest handling, processing, or storage 4. A retail shop with postharvest tools and supplies, packages, plastic crates, and other goods that can be purchased locally at reasonable prices 5. A place where people can come to ask questions or get advice on how to use improved postharvest practices, learn about costs and benefits and marketing options 6. A place where growers or traders can pay a small fee for services such as having their produce packed in improved containers, cooled and/or stored for a few days before marketing, leasing of a small insulated transport vehicle, using a solar dryer to produce dried fruits or vegetable snack products.

Food Processing The project’s technical team visited several companies as per the cold chain assessment report where a set of approaches were detected for the technical support and innovated ideas for fostering their business such as Onion processing, Tomato powder, Potatoes processing, and Solar drying of vegetables and fruits. Currently, the project is working with these companies to test the feasibility to adapt any of these opportunities, and preparing a wide scope of capacity building that will include the following topics: 1. Warehousing best operation practices 2. Boiler engineering and energy saving 3. Industrial refrigeration design, operation and maintenance 4. IQF design and maintenance 5. Design, technical specifications and the layout of new cold store extension. 6. Food safety trainings 7. GMP Good Manufacture practices. 8. GHP Good Hygienic Practices. 9. HACCP Hazard analysis and critical control points. 10. Advanced training on food safety standards like ISO 22000 and BRC CHALLENGES

Issuing the project’s security clearance from MALR and MIIC by late February 2019 drove the project team to defer the implementing of some activities to next quarter. Due to this, teams plan to revisit and revise their work plans in the beginning of Q3 to amend and/or postpone activities.

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4. MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING

In Q2, the monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) team finalized data collection tools, began developing the project’s web-based monitoring database, and prepared for the baseline survey. The MEL team developed a detailed mapping of the project’s 18 indicators and their required data sources, frequency of reporting, and methods of calculation. Based on this, the MEL team developed key data collection tools that will be used for routine monitoring, including training and other event attendance sheets, field visit reports, and quarterly data collection tools to gather information from businesses and producer organizations/associations with which the project works. The project’s IT and Business Systems Advisor used the data flow diagram, matrix of indicators, and data collection tools to begin developing the project’s cloud-based monitoring database and system. This system will be presented to staff and used for data collection beginning in early Q3. In addition to work on the project’s routine monitoring system, Abt Associates’ home office Baseline Specialist worked closely with all technical staff to review the project’s baseline survey instruments and develop and RFP for a baseline survey firm. The baseline survey will include the producer organization/association assessment, as well as a survey of farmers from producer organizations with which the project will work. The MEL team also prepared and reviewed all required consent documents for participation in the survey. Three new MEL staff were hired in Q2, including an M&E Assistant in Cairo and M&E Coordinators in Luxor and Minya. In Q3, all project staff will receive training on use of the project’s monitoring system so that it is fully operational by the end of Q3.

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5. COMMUNICATIONS

In Q2, the communications team worked intensively to prepare for the project’s launch event in collaboration with the project’s technical team and USAID/Egypt’s Development Outreach and Communications office. This included:  Developing and submitting a briefing memorandum on the project’s launch event.  Developing and printing communications materials (invitations, banners, roll-ups, brochures, fact sheets, folders, block notes, pens and name tags) and 600 competition flyers including goals, objectives, and eligibility and evaluation criteria for six competitions: 1. Best Farmer (including crop, quality, profit, and irrigation system elements) 2. Best Entrepreneur (for an agricultural technical idea) 3. Best Student (within the Project’s internship program) 4. Best Association (including resource mobilization, membership, and supplier relations) 5. Best Exporter (with commitment to contract with smallholder farmers) 6. Best Woman Initiative—Wayah—for a women who show commitment to their family’s nutrition and develop an income generating project

 Corresponding with the Luxor governors’ media unit and journalists to organize media coverage for and a press conference during the launch event. Also in Q2, the communications team continued to write and submit weekly highlights (8), field visits reports (3), meeting minutes to USAID, and an internal weekly agriculture news update that is distributed to all project staff. The communications team also corresponded with governors’ offices to organize project meetings in Luxor, Aswan, Qena, and Minya governors. On March 7, the communications team—in collaboration with the Gender Integration Lead—produced communications material (including bags and pins) for a one-day workshop in celebration of International Women’s Day in Luxor.

Communications products developed for the International Women’s Day workshop in Luxor, March 2019.

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