USAID Sustaining Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development (SPREAD) Project Application Submitted by The Texas A&M University System Michigan State University National University of Rwanda Edwin C. Price Associate Vice Chancellor for International Agriculture and Federal Relations Office of International Programs Texas Agricultural Experiment Station The Texas A&M University System 123 Teague Building College Station, TX 77843-2477 Phone: 979-845-4164 Fax: 979-845-5663 Email: [email protected] LIST OF ACRONYMS ACDI-VOCA Agriculture Cooperative Development International Volunteers Overseas Cooperation Assistance ADAR Agribusiness Development Assistance in Rwanda ADF Africa Development Foundation AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome BK Bank of Kigali CAFÉ Starbucks Coffee Certification Program (Coffee And Farmers Equity) CGIS Center for Geographic Information Services CHF CHAMP CHF International’s Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program CoE Cup of Excellence COVEPAR Cooperative for the Valorization and Export of Rwandan Agricultural Products CTO Chief Technical Officer CWS Coffee Washing Station DCA Development Credit Authority DPC Dry Processing Center EAFCA Eastern African Fine Coffees Association FLO Fair Trade Labeling Organization FT Fair Trade GDP Gross Domestic Product GoR Government of Rwanda GIS Geographic Information Systems HAACP Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point HCC Harmonization and Coordination Committee HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ICT Information Communication Technologies IPM Integrated Pest Management ISAR Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda KAP Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices LMI Last Mile Initiative M&E Monitoring & Evaluation MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources MINECOFIN Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning MINICOM Ministry of Commerce MINIDEF Ministry of Defense MISOZI FIDA/TWIN Trading 2nd level coffee company MSU Michigan State University NGO Non-governmental Organization NUFIC Dutch Government International Development Agency NUR National University of Rwanda OCIR-Café Office des Cultures Industrielles du Rwanda/Café ORTPN Rwanda National Office of Tourism OTF OTF Group, a US Non-governmental Organization for strategic planning PEARL Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages PMP Performance Management Plan PMU Performance Monitoring Unit PSTA Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation in Rwanda R&D Research & Development RCA Rwanda Cricket Association RFA Request for Application RFCA Rwanda Fine Coffee Association RIEPA Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency RSSP Rural Sector Support Project RWANDEX Largest Rwandan exporter of semi-washed coffee RWASHOSCCO Rwandan Small Holder Specialty Coffee Company SCAA Specialty Coffee Association of America SCAE Specialty Coffee Association of SCAJ Specialty Coffee Association of Japan SO Strategic Objective SPH School of Public Health SPREAD Sustaining Partnerships to enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development SPS Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards TAES/TAMUS Texas Agricultural Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University System TAMU Texas A&M University UK United Kingdom US United States of America USAID United States Agency for International Development USDA/FAS United States Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service ii 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Texas A&M SPREAD Partners are pleased to offer this comprehensive and innovative strategy for implementing the Sustaining Partnerships to Enhance Rural Enterprise and Agribusiness Development (SPREAD) Project. We conceive of SPREAD as a development alliance among U.S. and Rwandan Universities, U.S. and European Industries, Rwandan enterprises and institutions, and U.S. and Rwandan NGOs. A cornerstone of this alliance is the strong continuity provided to SPREAD by the partnerships among members of this alliance, most of whom cemented their commitment to Rwandan coffee farmers during the 6 years of PEARL and PEARL II with phenomenal results, and who continue their commitment into SPREAD as partners of Texas A&M. Our plan is to target rural cooperatives and enterprises involved in high value commodity chains and provide them with appropriate technical assistance and access to health related services and information that will result in increased and sustained incomes and improved livelihoods. The SPREAD Partnership is led by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station representing the Texas A&M University System, in partnership with Michigan State University and the National University of Rwanda. Our approach for raising incomes and improving the rural economy is based on considerable institutional experience of our partners including six years of proven and documented success operating in rural Rwanda where over 20,000 farm families have doubled incomes as a direct result of the USAID PEARL and PEARL II projects. We intend to “spread” our success through focused quality interventions throughout the entire value chain and to other regions of the country, increasing efficiencies and profits for greater and greater numbers of rural farm families. The TAMU Partners will focus on assisting Rwanda to strengthen and grow the number of cooperatives and private enterprises in coffee and other high value commodities that will lead to the creation of a powerful engine for rural economic growth. Our focus on growth and strengthening will impact directly on the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of rural small holders. We will achieve this through a carefully designed program of value chain development and management. This proposed SPREAD initiative will be market-driven; its targeted value chains will be propelled into high end, high value markets by capitalizing on four key 21st century, global consumer trends. • Quality: Consumers worldwide are demanding higher quality products and are willing to pay more for them • Traceability: Consumers increasingly want to know where their food and beverages are grown and the socially and environmentally beneficial practices used in their production. • Farmer First: More and more consumers are interested in food products that are bought at fair prices to the rural small holders producing them • Africaphillia: Africa is in the hearts and minds of more people today than ever in history. Consumers want to support African products and Rwanda’s special story of crisis and rebuilding is compelling for all. Our approach is simple and is designed to ensure long-term sustainability. We will identify high value product supply chains, perfecting each link in the chain from production, processing, packaging and on to transport to the market selling direct to buyer. We will “professionalize” each chain by first empowering the producer as the core of the critical mass of human resources to establish and maintain the targeted value chains. We will build 1 Rwandan capacity to work the value chains through appropriate long-term support institutions including NUR, MINAGRI, OCIR-Café, RIEPA and SCA. Finally, SPREAD will work with GOR and US partners to advocate, develop, and extend organic farming practices to re-build Rwanda’s slowly degrading and eroding soils. In doing so, organic certifications can be sought (and supported through other components of this proposal) and additional value can be added to the price of Rwanda’s agriculture products. SPREAD will work at all levels and all links of the value chains to build sustained capacity. At the farm level, we will work through a network of extension agronomists, health professionals, and different media programs to empower and professionalize the Rwandan producer. We will use a holistic approach, coupling value chain information with health information and programs to build skills that will enable the decision-making key to continuous improvement of the quality of product as well as quality of life for the producers and their families. At the enterprise level, the TAMU Partners will work to strengthen weaknesses in management, cooperative governance, access to credit and new markets. In all cases, the TAMU SPREAD Partners will continue to depend on equitable participation and benefits to women as an operational principle. As we ramp up Rwanda’s capacity to produce and sustain the production and export of high quality products through the SPREAD partnership, we will also assist and encourage entrepreneurs to start up 2nd level transformation businesses such as roasting, coffee and tea shops, chili sauce manufacturing, and other spin-off enterprises. This SPREAD component will create employment and a new ‘cadre’ of local Rwandan businesses that are progressive, proactive and prosperous showing other Rwandans how enterprise development can be a positive force for both the economic and social growth of the country. We will work with the USAID Last Mile Initiative to promote internet access in rural communities where communications between U.S. and European companies and Rwanda’s rural agribusinesses are necessary to sustain rural economic growth. In addition to improved communication with foreign buyers, communications among cooperatives and other Rwandan businesses and institutions will accelerate growth of the rural economy through better organization, information exchange and reduced transaction time. Texas A&M and its team of SPREAD partners recognize the importance of raising awareness among the rural population on health-related issues in Rwandan communities. The TAMU Partners will incorporate a health component into the majority