AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS (AVC) ACTIVITY FY 2015 – QUARTER 4 - REPORT JUNE 2015 – SEPTEMBER 2015 OCTOBER 2015 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by DAI. AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINES (AVC) FY 2015 - QUARTER 4 - REPORT JUNE 2015 – SEPTEMBER 2015 Agricultural Value Chains (AVC) - Uzbekistan #104-A Kichik Beshog’och Street Tashkent, Uzbekistan 100025 For the U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Contract No. AID-176-C-15-00001 30 October 2015 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. ACRONYMS 20/20DC 20/20 Development Company AA Acquisitions and Assistance ALP Agricultural Linkages Project Plus (2011-15) (USAID) AMEP Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan AVC Agricultural Value Chains Activity (2015-18) (USAID) AWE Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Uzbekistan) BAFO Best and Final Offer BI Biodiversity International (part of CGIAR system) CAR Central Asian Republics CCN Cooperating Country National CE Categorical Exclusion CGB Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics CGIAR Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research CO Contracting Officer COP Chief of Party COR Contracting Officer Representative EC European Commission EPF Small Business and Private Entrepreneurship Export Promotion Fund (Uzbekistan) EU European Union FAS Field Accounting System F&V Fruit and Vegetable FY Fiscal Year GAP Good Agricultural Practices GCCA Global Cold Chain Alliance GIS Geographic Information System GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GOU Government of Uzbekistan ha Hectare HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points HPLC High Performance Liquid Chromatograph ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (part of CGIAR system) ICT Information and Communication Technology IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFC International Finance Corporation INIBAP International Network for the Improvement of Bananas and Plantains (part of BI) IPRGI International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (part of BI) IR Intermediate Result ISO International Standards Organization IEE Initial Environmental Examination IT Information Technology JICA Japan International Development Agency KAC Korean Air Cargo KAL Korean Airlines KOICA Korean International Cooperation Agency MAWR Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (Uzbekistan) ME&L Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MEVA Mobile Extension Value Added application MFERIT Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade (Uzbekistan) MOU Memorandum of Understanding mt Metric Ton NEP National Exchange Program ODC Other Direct Costs OH Overhead OSCE Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe PERSUAP Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safe Use Action Plan (USAID) RDCS Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (USAID) REC Regional Economic Cooperation Project (USAID)(Central Asia Region) RO Reverse Osmosis SOW Scope of Work STTA Short-term Technical Assistance TAP Technical Assistance Project TBD To Be Determined TCTC Tashkent City Center for Testing and Certification TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of Trainers TSAU Tashkent State Agrarian University (Uzbekistan) UNDP United Nations Development Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government VRI Vegetable Research Institute (Uzbekistan) WFLO World Food Logistics Organization (research and education arm of GCCA) TABLE OF CONTENTS A. BACKGROUND 1. Project Goals and Objective 2. Project Components 3. Geographic and Commodity Focus B. ADMINISTRATIVE 1. Project Start-up 2. Personnel 3. Local Registration C. PROJECT ACTIVITIES UNDER COMPONENTS 1. Component #1: Improve Quality & Volume of Agricultural Production a. Improve On-Farm Productivity b. Increase the Quality & Availability of Agricultural Inputs 2. Component #2: Improve Post-Harvest Handling & Production a. Facilitate the Advancement of Cold Storage Practices b. Utilize Improved Post-Harvest Production to Reach New Markets 3. Component #3: Facilitate Market Linkages a. Create New Linkages in the Domestic Market b. Create Market Linkages with New Foreign Markets 4. Component #4: Link Educational Institutions with Private Sector Demand 5. Collaboration with Other Donors a. Multilateral b. Bilateral 6. Women in Agriculture D. MONITORING & EVALUATION 1. Monitoring 2. Communications & Public Outreach E. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE 1. Monitoring 2. Mitigation 3. Issues F. FINANCE 1. Disbursements 2. Commitments 3. Obligations 4. Issues A. BACKGROUND 1. Project Goals and Objectives. USAID’s Agricultural Value Chain (AVC) Activity supports Development Objective #1 under the Regional Development Cooperation Strategy (RDCS) – Expanded Diverse and Competitive Trade and Markets. Specifically, the Activity contributes to Intermediate Result (IR) 1.1 – A More Diverse Private Sector, and IR 1.2 – Enhanced Agricultural Competitiveness and Food Security. In support of this Development Objective, the AVC Activity seeks to: (1) create employment opportunities; (2) improve incomes; (3) increase fruit yield and quality; (4) increase packed and processed output; (5) increase targeted fruit and vegetable exports; (6) link USAID”s producers and processors to international markets; (7) strengthen relationships between educational institutions and the private sector. 2. Project Components AVC is organized in four Components, linked by cross-cutting themes, all targeted to economic actors along targeted fruit and vegetable (F&V) value chains. The mandate of each Component is : Component 1: improve the quality and volume of agricultural production; Component 2: improve post-harvest handling and production; Component 3: facilitate market linkages; and Component 4: link educational institutions with private sector demand. 3. Geographic and Commodity Focus AVC will work in 32 districts across all 12 provinces of Uzbekistan with activities in at least one district of each province. Initial technical activities are limited to the 26 districts covered under the predecessor project, AgLinks Plus (ALP), until the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding AVC is finalized and signed between the U.S. Government (USG) and the Government of Uzbekistan (GOU). AVC # Province Districts ALP Total (add) 1 Samarkand Taylok Payarik Samarkand Urgut Bulungur 5 0 2 Namangan Pop Turakurgan Uychi Kosonsoy Chortok Yangikurgan 6 0 3 Ferghana Kuvasoy Ferghana Kuva Altyaryk 4 0 4 Tashkent Ohangaran Bustonlik Zangiata Parkent Kibray 5 0 5 Andijan Andijan Bulokboshi Hujaobad Marhamat Jalakuduk 5 0 6 Bukhara Jondor 1 0 7 Karakalpakstan Nukus 0 1 8 Jizzakh Bakhmal 0 1 9 Kashkadarya Kitab 0 1 City Tashkent plus 10 Navoi Khatirchi 0 1 11 Syrdarya Syrdarya 0 1 12 Khorezm Bogot 0 1 TOTAL 26 6 32 Table 1: AVC Geographic Focus by Province, including Tashkent City The approved AVC crop list includes both fruits and vegetables (F&V). A total of 10 crop types are approved for activities under the project with the majority from the stone fruit family (4) followed by vegetables (2), although tomatoes are biologically classed as fruits. The remaining four crop types include grapes, apples, persimmons and the melon family. Stone Pome Semi-Tropical Vegetables Grape Curcurbit TOTAL Fruits Fruit Fruits Cherry Tomato Apple Persimmon Table Melon Apricot Onion Peach Plum 4 2 1 1 1 1 10 Table 2: AVC Crop Focus 1 B. ADMINISTRATIVE 1. Project Start-up A five-person project start-up team, including DAI Home Office (HO) staff, mobilized in June and worked in- country during the month of July. The start-up team consisted of a Start-up and Project Manager (Kat Cooley), Start-Up Operations and Procurement Manager (Rados Dabetic), End Market Specialist and DAI project Technical Liaison (Misha Voronenko), Acting Chief of Party (David Anderson) and Market Linkages and Exports Specialist (Jim Krigbaum). A project office was identified in early June and both the expatriate start-up team and cooperating country nationals (CCNs) installed in the new premises on 1st July. The address of the AVC office is #104-A Kichik Beshag’och Street, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 100025. The official post-award conference was held at the USAID Tashkent offices on 3rd September. 2. Personnel Immediately upon contract signature the AVC field team began to reach out to key local personnel to confirm their availability and begin to mobilize the in-country team. Table #3 at right summarizes the timing of mobilization of AVC Key Personnel after the contract st Mobilization was signed on 1 June 2015. DAI’s COP candidate Title Name was in the region at contract signature and made Date contact with the Key Personnel included in the project Chief of Party Dr. Charles May 1-Jun-15* proposal. Of the Key Personnel listed in the project Deputy Chief of Party Dr. Asror Nazirov 8-Jun-15 Ms. Jumagal proposal only one was unavailable, the Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, (Elena) 8-Jun-15 Marketing and Export Advisor, who was unwilling to and Learning Director Abdramanova forego his existing employment and compensation Component 2 Team arrangement with another donor. By the end of the first Mr. Sunnat Leader and 8-Jun-15 Djalalov week of the contract the core field office team was Environmental Officer mobilized and began reflection on how best to fill the Senior Marketing and TBD August, 2015 remaining Senior Marketing and Export position as well Export Advisor as contact additional