PRIVATE SECTOR ACTIVITY (PSA) Annual Progress Report Year 1: September 18, 2019 – September 30, 2020 Jarchi Hagverdiyev’s team received recommendations regarding to the construction of warehouse in accordance to ISO 22000 Prepared for review by the United States Agency for International Development under USAID Contract No. 72011219C00001, Private Sector Activity (PSA) implemented by CNFA. Private Sector Activity Annual Progress Report September 18, 2019 – September 30, 2020 Submitted by: CNFA USAID Contract 72011219C00001 Implemented by CNFA Submitted to: USAID/Azerbaijan Samir Hamidov, COR Originally submitted on October 30, 2020 1st Revision submitted on November 4, 2020 2nd Revision submitted on December 4, 2020 Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Summary of Achievements ................................................................................................................................... 9 Detailed PSA Progress by Activity and Component .................................................................................... 9 Operations .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Office Startup ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Staffing .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Subcontracting ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Legal Registration ................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 Finance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Financial and Expenditure Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Budget and Expenditure Detail ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Document and Deliverables Submission ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Program Activities ............................................................................................................................................. 15 COMPONENT ONE: Developing A More Diversified Non-Oil Economy ................................................ 15 Azerbaijan Fruit and Vegetable Value Chain (VC) Prioritization and Gaps Assessment .............................................. 15 Agritourism Value Chain ................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Berry Value Chain ............................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Hazelnut Value Chain ......................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Orchard Fruit Value Chain ................................................................................................................................................................ 22 Perishable Vegetable Value Chain ................................................................................................................................................... 23 Pomegranate/Persimmon Value Chain ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Cross-Cutting and Collaborative Efforts ....................................................................................................................................... 25 PSA Project Year 1 Work Plan ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Trade Capacity Building................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Facilitating Linkages with U.S. Agribusinesses.......................................................................................................................... 27 Technology Transfer Fund (TTF) ................................................................................................................................................ 30 Access to Finance ........................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Food Quality and Safety ................................................................................................................................................................ 32 Collaboration with Azerbaijani Government Agencies and Donor Projects .................................................................. 33 Agrarian Services Agency and DAIM Centers ................................................................................................................................ 33 AFAQ - Azerbaijani Women in Agriculture ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency (AFSA) ........................................................................................................................................... 34 Youth Engagement .......................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Azerbaijan State Agricultural University (ASAU) ................................................................................................................... 36 Azerbaijan Rural Women’s Association (ARWA) .................................................................................................................. 38 Microenterprise Assistance & Reporting .................................................................................................................................. 40 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment ...................................................................................................................... 40 Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) ......................................................................................................................................... 41 Collaboration with Other Assistance Efforts .......................................................................................................................... 41 COMPONENT TWO: Improving the MSME Business Enabling Environment........................................ 42 Business Enabling Environment Improvement ............................................................................................................................. 42 Public Perception Survey............................................................................................................................................................... 43 Azerbaijan Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMB) ............................................................................... 44 Development of Member-Based Organizations (MBOs) ...................................................................................................... 45 COMPONENT THREE: Supporting Azerbaijan’s Economic Reforms ..................................................... 46 Cross Cutting Activities ................................................................................................................................ 49 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) .................................................................................................................................. 49 Environmental Management and Monitoring ................................................................................................................................ 50 Communications and Outreach ....................................................................................................................................................... 51 Key Constraints and Lessons Learned ........................................................................................................................................... 52 A. PSA Year One Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) ....................................................................................................... 59 B. Short-Term Technical Assistance/International Assignments .......................................................................................