GUINEA SIGUIRI AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY (SADA) Q3 FY2020 REPORT FY20 QUARTERLY REPORT: APRIL - JUNE, 2020 DATE GUINEA SIGUIRI AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY (SADA) Q3 FY2020 REPORT APRIL - JUNE 2020 AGREEMENT NUMBER: 72067520CA00001 AOR USAID: Mamy KEITA CHIEF OF PARTY: Ibrahima CAMARA DISCLAIMER: This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Société Anglo-Gold Ashanti Guinee (SAG). The contents are the responsibility of ACDI/VOCA and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or SAG. Guinea Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity (SADA) Q3 FY2020 Report July 2020 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... 1 ACTIVITY 1: BUILD AND STRENGTHEN CASHEW PRODUCER ORGANIZATIONS (POS) ................ 3 ACTIVITY 2: ESTABLISH RURAL AGRO-DEALERS (CARS) FOR SIGUIRI-BASED CASHEW FARMERS ............................................................................................................................................. 7 CROSS CUTTING ..................................................................................................................... 8 GENDER AND YOUTH ......................................................................................................................... 8 GRANTS .......................................................................................................................................... 9 MONITORING, EVALUATING, AND LEARNING (MEL) ............................................................................. 10 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE ......................................................................................................... 10 CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES ...................................................... 11 FINANCIAL REPORT (FY2020 Q3) .......................................................................................... 12 NEXT QUARTER PRIORITIES .................................................................................................. 13 MAJOR ACTIVITIES .......................................................................................................................... 13 ANNEX 1: SUCCESS STORIES ................................................................................................. 13 ANNEX 2: PERFORMANCE MONITORING PLAN ..................................................................... 14 ANNEX 3: ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION AND MONITORING REPORT (EMMR) . 15 i Guinea Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity (SADA) Q3 FY2020 Report July 2020 ACRONYMS AAV Agents Agricoles Villageois (village agents) AES Agronomist & Extension Specialist ANPROCA Agence Nationale de la Promotion Rurale et du Conseil Agricole CAR Comptoirs agri-ruraux (agrodealers) CBS Capacity Building Specialist CNOP-G Confédération Nationale des Organisations Paysannes de Guinée COP Chief of Party DMR Direction des Microprojets et Réalisation. DPA Direction Préfectorale de l’Agriculture FFS Farmer Field Schools FI Financial Institution FINADEV Finance Development GAP Good Agricultural Practices GDA Global Development Alliance GRAND Guinea Rural Agrodealer Network Development Activity HQ Headquarters MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MFI Micro-Finance Institution MOU Memorandum of Understanding NGO Non-Governmental Organization OM Operations Manager PO Producer Organization RAFOC Réseau d’Assistance Financière des Organisations Communautaires SADA Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity SAG Société AngloGold Ashanti Guinee USAID United States Agency for International Development VSLAs Village savings and loans associations ii Guinea Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity (SADA) Q3 FY2020 Report July 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Siguiri Agriculture Development Activity (SADA) is a private sector Global Development Alliance between USAID Guinea and Société AngloGold Ashanti de Guinée (SAG). The Activity is implemented by ACDI/VOCA, using a private sector-led approach to increase opportunities for individuals and communities affected by mining activities in the Siguiri prefecture. SADA will achieve this through investments, capacity building, and stakeholder coordination in the cashew value chain, including a medium-scale processing facility, cashew nurseries, as well as CASHEW PRODUCER HOLDING INFECTED FRUITS bundling of extension, inputs, and market access services for smallholder farmers. The Activity has two objectives: (1) improved rural commercial input and service supply system capacity for cashew farmers; and (2) increased cooperation and strengthened linkages between cashew market system actors. This reporting period built on the work completed under the beginning of ACDI/VOCA’s award with SAG from December 2019-April 2020, during which the team established its presence in Siguiri including establishing a project office, completing several key procurements, onboarding all eight staff members, and holding introductory meetings with community leaders, local government authorities, and SAG. In this same period, the SADA project team completed data collection for a rapid qualitative gender and youth analysis as a part of technical start-up and to inform the design and implementation of SADA activities and strategy. Additionally, the SADA team laid the groundwork for the baseline study including developing a data management manual, began drafting the AMELP, and established the Activity’s relational databases. On May 1, 2020, the award for the SADA activity was signed and in the following two months the team held an initial kick-off meeting with USAID, submitted the AMELP, FY2020 Workplan, and EMMP, and finalized the baseline questionnaire and data collection tools. In addition, during this quarter, SADA staff held meetings with representatives of several decentralized structures of the Government of Guinea technical services and with elected authorities at the prefecture level and the community leaders in Kintinian rural commune to brief them on the status of SADA activities. USAID/GUINEA/SIGUIRI AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY 1 Guinea Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity (SADA) Q3 FY2020 Report July 2020 To launch work with cashew producers, SADA was able to conduct a Producer Organization (PO) identification survey, as well as to develop a PO assessment questionnaire and collect initial data on the POs’ strengths and weaknesses. In collaboration with the technical services of Agriculture including ANPROCA, the administrative and municipal authorities of the Kintinian region and surrounding villages, SADA organized meetings to plan the PO identification and assessment process. The PO and cashew producer identification was completed in April and identified 21 POs with 529 members. Initial findings from the PO assessment show that POs generally have poor organizational structure and governance practices, lack of services for members and therefore weak resource mobilization, and few efforts to attract new members. To improve the supply of quality inputs to Siguiri’s cashew farmers, the Activity provided grants for the establishment of cashew nurseries to four local entrepreneurs. The Activity supported grantees with technical assistance for the preliminary selection of improved cashew varieties and seedling production by sharing information on improved planting practices and use of appropriate materials and equipment. The nurseries will provide improved varieties of cashew tree seedlings to cashew farmers on a commercially sustainable basis. In addition, the Activity held an initial meeting with the two operational agrodealers (CARs) in Siguiri. The purpose of the meeting was to make sure the CAR’s place of business is appropriate and that CAR operators are complying with safety measures prior to developing an MOU for SADA support in establishing a network of village agents (AAVs) that can help distribute inputs and provide extension information to producers. COVID-19 impact: The global COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on implementation of activities in Siguiri. The Government of Guinea has indefinitely imposed the following restrictions: avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, reduce travel to Conakry and the other highly-infected areas of the country, limit contact with other people, and regularly use sanitary kits and wash hands. In addition, to reduce any possible infection risk, SADA is following additional safety protocols, including limiting people visiting the office and limiting the number of people on each trip, respecting a distance of two meters between people during the meeting, distribution and use of protective masks for staff and visitors, and regularly take temperatures of staff and visitors at the office entrance. Activities to date, including the baseline and PO assessment, have been delayed and/or modified to accommodate these new procedures in an effort to conduct our activities safely. The activities planned for the remainder of 2020, especially where they involve group gatherings and field travel, have been modified and in some cases delayed in accordance with these restrictions, and will be subject to any further limitations that may be imposed by the government. USAID/GUINEA/SIGUIRI AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY 2 Guinea Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity (SADA) Q3 FY2020 Report July 2020 ACTIVITY 1: BUILD AND STRENGTHEN CASHEW PRODUCER ORGANIZATIONS