FEED THE FUTURE CAMBODIA HARVEST II - United …pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MX5G.pdf · Subsector Selection ... Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II ... Achievements include recruitment

FEED THE FUTURE CAMBODIA HARVEST II

QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT:

FY17 QUARTER 3

JULY 30, 2017

Recommended Citation: Abt Associates. “Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II Quarterly

Performance Report.” Prepared by Abt Associates, Bethesda, Maryland,

July 30, 2017.

Submitted to: Vuthy Theng, Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)

USAID/Cambodia Food Security and Environment Office

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

+855-23-728-362

[email protected]

Abt Associates Inc. 1 4550 Montgomery Avenue 1 Suite 800 North 1 Bethesda,

Maryland 20814 1 T. 301.347.5000 1 F. 301.913.9061 1 www.abtassociates.com

With iDE and EMC

tel:%2B855-23-728-362

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.abtassociates.com/

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.

FEED THE FUTURE CAMBODIA HARVEST II

QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT:

FY17 QUARTER 3

Contract No.: AID-442-C-17-00003

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II: FY17 Quarter 3 Performance Report i

CONTENTS Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................... ii

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1

The Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II Project ................................................................................. 1

Purpose of This Document ........................................................................................................................... 1

2. Mobilization & Start-up ......................................................................................................... 2

Mobilization Plan .............................................................................................................................................. 2

Start-Up Activities ........................................................................................................................................... 3

3. Foundational Activities .......................................................................................................... 5

Subsector Selection......................................................................................................................................... 5

Conduct Buyer Identification........................................................................................................................ 6

4. Activity By Sub-Purpose........................................................................................................ 7

5. Cross-Cutting Issues .............................................................................................................. 8

Gender and Youth .......................................................................................................................................... 8

Environment ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

6. Plans for the Next Quarter ................................................................................................... 9

Start-Up and Operations ............................................................................................................................... 9

Foundational Activities ................................................................................................................................. 10

Sub-Purposes .................................................................................................................................................. 11

Cross-Cutting ................................................................................................................................................. 15

Annex A. Monitoring & Evaluation ............................................................................................ 16

Annex B. Financial Report (Provided separately) .................................................................... 19

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II: FY17 Quarter 3 Performance Report ii

ACRONYMS

AMIS Agricultural Market Information System

COP Chief of Party

COR Contracting Officer’s Representative

EMC Emerging Markets Consulting EMMP Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan

HARVEST Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and Ecosystem Stability

HO Home Office

IEE Initial Environmental Examination KIA Key Intervention Area

MAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MLC Market Linkage Coordinator

MOU Memorandum of Understanding NDC Negative Determination with Conditions

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PF Provincial Facilitator

PMEP Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan PSDS Private Sector Development Specialist

RGC Royal Government of Cambodia

RFQ Request for Quotes

SME Small and Medium Enterprise

TOR Terms of Reference USAID United States Agency for International Development

VAT Value Added Tax

ZOI Zone of Influence

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II: FY17 Quarter 3 Performance Report 1

1. INTRODUCTION

THE FEED THE FUTURE CAMBODIA HARVEST II PROJECT

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II (“Harvest II”) builds upon years of USAID investment, including

the Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and Ecosystem Stability (HARVEST) program, which

demonstrated success in increasing horticultural production and strengthening private input supply

networks. Continuing to work across the Feed the Future zone of influence (ZOI) in the provinces of

Pursat, Battambang, Siem Reap, and Kampong Thom, Harvest II will devote particular attention to

building market linkages. It will use a buyer-led approach and will support expansion of commercial

partnerships that will ultimately allow horticultural producers and buyers to compete more effectively in

domestic and international markets. To increase sustainable economic opportunities within a market-

based and inclusive horticulture sector, Harvest II has three interconnected sub-purposes:

Improve capacities for market participation: Leveraging the success of other USAID

programs, Harvest II will work with buyers, producers, and other actors in the sector to

increase financial and business capacity, as well as to stimulate the use of market and climate

information toward more informed decision making and greater market competitiveness.

Improve market linkages: In Cambodia, relationships between value chain actors – in

particular producers and buyers (usually wholesalers or collectors) – can often be tenuous. In

order to help build trust and mutually profitable commercial relationships in the sector, Harvest

II will first identify buyers interested in expanding their supply of horticultural products from the

ZOI. From there, Harvest will help establish commercial partnerships where buyers and sellers

can gradually work to expand their business with each other over time, partly by improving

their mutual understanding, partly through better planning and coordination, partly through

increased investment.

Improve governance and enabling environment: Harvest II will work with private sector

and producer organizations at the national and provincial levels to strengthen their advocacy

capacity and ability to engage in public-private dialogue. At the same time, Harvest II will also

support the Cambodian government to develop a private-sector friendly horticulture growth

strategy.

PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT

This quarterly report serves to update USAID on Harvest II’s activities from its inception on April 18, 2017 through June 30, 2017. The document will outline the project’s progress against its proposed

mobilization plan, objectives achieved toward the project’s foundational activities, as well as preparation

of strategies and activities toward achieving its three sub-purposes.


2. MOBILIZATION & START-UP

MOBILIZATION PLAN

Per the contract requirements, Harvest II submitted a mobilization plan within 15 days of the effective

award date. The plan listed 28 items for Quarter 3. These are shown below, along with the status of

each. Achievements include recruitment and deployment of staff, the start-up workshop, procurement,

and submission of initial deliverables. We have yet to hire the Private Sector Development Specialist and

Ag Policy Expert – we will submit a request for these individuals in August. We were slightly ahead of

schedule in signing a lease and beginning make-ready work for our permanent office space; this was

scheduled for July, but accomplished in June.

Table 1: Harvest II Mobilization Plan

# Mobilization Plan Date Status

1 COP employment agreement signed April 23 Completed on time

2 Job postings for staff April 25 Completed on time

3 Job offers sent to named staff April 28 Completed on time

4 Abt HO Project Director arrives (until May 24) May 1 Completed on time

5 Consent requests for iDE and Emerging Markets Consulting

(EMC) subcontracts submitted

May 1, May 3 Completed on time

6 Post-award conference May 4 Completed on time

7 Issue RFQ for computers May 8 Completed on time

8 Abt HO Finance & Contracts Manager arrives May 16 Completed on time

9 COP arrives May 17 Completed on time

10 Initial COP meeting with COR et al. May 19 Completed on time

11

Submit request for restricted goods waiver for vehicles and

motorcycles

Week of May

29

In lieu of this, agreed

to accept 2 vehicles

from a closing project

12 iDE’s initial staff begin work (subject to subcontract consent) Week of May

29

Completed on time

13 Foundational activities begin: review existing analyses, current

sit.

Week of May

29

Completed on time

14 Holiday – Children’s Day, office closed June 1 N/A

15 Temporary office space in Phnom Penh becomes available June 2 Completed on time

16 Abt’s initial staff begin work June 2 Completed on time

17 Local elections Sunday, June 4 N/A

18

Foundational activities continue: begin identifying sub-sectors

of greatest promise, begin consultations with key partners

(collaboration)

June 5 Subsector

identification

completed on time;


# Mobilization Plan Date Status

consultations to begin

next quarter

19 Team building/work planning facilitator arrives On/about June

5

Completed on time

20 HO M&E specialist arrives for 3 weeks to work on M&E On/about June

5

Completed on time

21 iDE’s key personnel begins work (subject to subcontract

consent)

June 8 Pending

22 Start-up workshop (internal discussions and a half day with

USAID)

June 12-14 Completed on time

23 Foundational activities continue: meet with potential buyers June 15-June 23 Started on time,

continuing as planned

24

Foundational activities continue: Assess the current and

potential capacity of value chain actors to meet buyer

demands in each sector

Week of June

19

Started on time,

continuing as planned

25 Foundational activities continue: present initial subsectors for

discussion with USAID

Week of June

26

Completed on time

26 Begin Gender Action Plan due October 18 Late June Started on time

27 Submit FY 17 Work Plan (July-September) July 2 Completed on time

28 Submit M&E and Learning Plan (PMEP) July 2 Completed on time

START-UP ACTIVITIES

2.2.1 Work Plan

Harvest II submitted its initial work plan within 75 calendar days of the start date of the contract. This

initial work plan included all activities from the effective start date till the end of the USG fiscal year

(September 30, 2017). In addition to the work plan, Harvest II also submitted its Performance

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (PMEP), Gender Implementation Plan, Communications and Outreach

Plan and Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP).

2.2.2 Operations

Office and Equipment Procurement

Harvest II will establish project offices in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang. During this period,

Harvest II signed a lease for the Phnom Penh office at #11A, Street 370, Boeng Keng Kang 1 and

selected a design firm to make the office ready and outfit it for a late-August move-in. In Siem Reap,

Harvest II has identified an office and will secure a lease and outfit the office in the next quarter. Initial

office scoping is underway for the Battambang office and the space will also be secured in the next

quarter. Equipment and furniture procurement for all offices is on-going. In addition, Harvest II has

verbally agreed to accept two vehicles via disposition by the USAID-funded Cambodia Supporting

Forests and Biodiversity project.


Recruitment, Hiring, and Training

During this initial period, staff recruitment was initiated to complement staff identified during the

proposal process. Staff hired during this period were trained on Harvest II administrative policies,

programmatic approaches and tools. While Harvest II proposed three satisfactory candidates for key

personnel positions (Chief of Party; Private Sector Development Specialist; and Technical Expert (Ag

Policy and Enabling Environment), neither the PSDS nor the Technical Expert for Policy were available

upon award. In mid-May, it was agreed with USAID to put the policy position on hold until no later than

September 1, pending an assessment of how the project could best achieve impact in the enabling

environment component and what the appropriate staffing would be in order to achieve that impact.

During this reporting period, Harvest II began this assessment and also conducted numerous interviews

for the PSDS. The project intends to submit a candidate for the PSDS position in early August.

Subcontract Management

Abt Associates executed subcontracts with iDE and EMC and staff from all three companies continue to

work together to build a cohesive project team. Following initial meetings with subcontractors on

financial, contractual, and operational requirements, Abt will continue to work with them to ensure

proper compliance with USAID rules and regulations as well as Abt procedures.

Legal and Tax Considerations

With local legal counsel and local registration in place prior to project inception, the project is in the

process of updating the registration address to the new office location. The project submitted a tax

exemption request to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and is working to ensure proper compliance

and tracking of all VAT payments and other taxation requirements.


3. FOUNDATIONAL ACTIVITIES

In order to achieve results during the project’s initial start-up period (till September 30, 2017), Harvest

II defined six key milestones to ensure that the team is working from a sound understanding of the

project context, is fully apprised of the constellation of opportunities for commercial horticulture in the

ZOI, and is systematically selecting the most promising clients to work with in FY18. The milestones

included:

Milestone 1: Select subsectors of greatest promise in each corridor and prepare presentation

for discussion with USAID.

Milestone 2: Identify and meet with potential buyers in key subsectors; create an initial table

showing promising buyers for the project to work with and what the buyers want to buy.

Milestone 3: Assess the current and potential capacity of value chain actors to meet the

demands of promising buyers.

Milestone 4: Taking into account the results of foundational work through the end of July,

develop an initial list of priority commercial partnerships for the project to support in FY18.

Present to USAID for discussion.

Milestone 5: Develop draft MOUs or roadmaps for five commercial partnerships.

Milestone 6: Develop initial policy agenda linked to the needs of the priority commercial

partnerships.

Work toward these milestones is proceeding according to plan. Two of the six milestones were

completed as of June 30, 2017. The following paragraphs present the work under these milestones.

SUBSECTOR SELECTION

As a first step, Harvest II conducted a subsector selection process to identify opportune and high-

potential horticultural sub-sectors where buyers were potentially interested in significantly expanding

their sourcing from producers in the ZOI. This selection will by no means constrain the project to

working only in the identified subsectors; the priority subsectors will ultimately be determined by

demonstrated buyer demand and suppliers who can fulfill that need. The subsector selection will,

however, serve as a guide to potential opportunities.

The team used a methodology based on USAID’s guidelines for value chain selection and considered the

following three high-level criteria consistent with our project indicators:

Sales potential – Potential demand and potential buyers’ interest, i.e., potential for increased

sales, both at the farmgate and at the buyer level Employment potential – Expected contribution to job creation

Investment potential – Potential for investment, at the farmer and buyer level


The preliminary results of the selection were presented at Harvest II’s start-up workshop on June 13,

2017. The selection process identified a number of likely horticultural products for future focus of

project activities:

Common wet market vegetables (e.g.

cucumbers, long beans, tomatoes, onion

family, leafy greens, eggplant, water

convolvulus, chili, cabbage, cauliflower,

various gourds, sweet corn, etc.) Niche market vegetables with emerging

market demand (e.g. sweet peppers,

cherry tomatoes, okra, broccoli,

asparagus, French beans, baby corn)

Sweet melon

Passion fruit

Dragon fruit / pineapple

Slow-maturity fruits (standing crop,

only) Papaya / banana

Cashew (standing crop, only)

Ginger family

Culinary mushrooms

Medicinal and nutraceutical plants

CONDUCT BUYER IDENTIFICATION

Taking into account the results of the subsector selection process, Harvest II identified a pool of

approximately 100 “first cut” potential buyers to further evaluate and engage as clients under the buyer-

led approach. Immediately following the start-up workshop, the Harvest II team used available

information from HARVEST, existing market information, and networks to draft a list of 25 “second

cut” initial buyers. The buyers ranged from large supermarket chains based in Phnom Penh to provincial

level wholesalers or collectors. Buyers were prioritized according to those who demonstrated demand,

expressed willingness to work via a supply agreement and/or to invest in processing or value addition.

The majority of the “second cut” potential buyers were interviewed by the team; discussions focused on

buyers’ problems, potential solutions, and amount and value of (unmet) product demand.


4. ACTIVITY BY SUB-PURPOSE

Harvest II aims to accelerate growth in Cambodia’s commercial horticulture sector by achieving three

Sub-Purposes: (1) improving the capacities of market actors to participate fully in the value chain, (2)

creating linkages between value chain actors and improving overall market chain coordination, and (3)

improving the economic governance and enabling environment that support the horticulture sector.

Activities will support the development of a private sector-led, demand-driven horticulture sector, with

economic benefits for market participation clearly communicated throughout the value chain. Harvest II

must increase the capacity of value chain actors to link with one another and promote trust within the

horticulture market system.

During the initial reporting period, activity focused on establishing the foundations for success across

the Sub-Purposes and relevant Key Implementation Areas (KIAs):

Sub-Purpose 1: Improved Capacities for Market Participation

KIA 1.1: Financial and Business Skills Improved

KIA 1.2: Access to and Use of Market and Climatic Information Increased

KIA 1.3: Financial Opportunities Increased

Sub-Purpose 2: Improved Market Linkages

KIA 2.1: Create Linkages between Value Chain Actors

KIA 2.2: Develop Market Incentives for Private Sector Engagement and Investment

KIA 2.3: Improve Market Chain Coordination

Sub-Purpose 3: Improved Governance and Enabling Environment

KIA 3.1: Horticulture Sector Advocacy and Coordination Platforms Strengthened

KIA 3.2: RGC Capacity to Address Horticulture Constraints Improved

KIA 3.3: Public-Private Dialogue Encouraged

As described in the initial Harvest II work plan, activity under these sub-purposes will begin in FY17

Quarter 4 and will be reported on in the FY17 annual performance report.


5. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

GENDER AND YOUTH

Consistent with USAID’s gender and women’s empowerment policy, the Harvest II will promote gender

equality, women’s empowerment and youth empowerment in all its activities. To that end, the Harvest II

project engaged a part-time gender specialist to participate in the foundational work and lead the design

of activities that will ensure gender considerations are integrated into all aspects of project

implementation, including the design and implementation of commercial partnerships, monitoring and

evaluation and, communications and outreach under the supervision of Chief of Party (COP). During

this period, the gender specialist completed the Gender Implementation Plan, submitted with the

project’s initial work plan, which includes the buildings blocks for the project’s Gender Action Plan to be

submitted to USAID within six months of the project’s effective date (October 18, 2017).

ENVIRONMENT

As determined in Section V of USAID’s Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for Harvest II, most if

not all of Harvest II’s proposed activities under sub-purposes 1, 2 and 3 are justified under Categorical

Exclusion. However, the IEE has identified potential activities which could receive a negative

determination with conditions (NDC) and therefore need to be examined and potentially included in

Harvest II’s Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (EMMP). The initial EMMP was submitted with

the initial work plan.


6. PLANS FOR THE NEXT QUARTER

START-UP AND OPERATIONS

During this reporting period, the project began its activities. These activities primarily included

identification of office space in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and recruitment and hiring of staff. The table

below provides an overview of the operational start-up timeline for the next quarter.

Table 2. Management and Operations Timeline, July-September 2017

Activity Description July August September

1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Staff hiring

FY18 work planning workshop

Phnom Penh office fit-out

Siem Reap office identification and fit-out

Battambang office identification and fit-out

IT equipment procurement

FY17 Quarter 3 performance report

FY18 work plan submission

Harvest II also plans to hold a launch event on September 27, 2017 to introduce the project goals,

convene potential partners and government officials, and discuss in detail a roadmap for collaboration

among partners working on horticulture and related projects in Cambodia.

In addition, Harvest II will continue to make progress and complete mobilization milestones as

presented in Section 3, Foundational Activities.

Table 3: Mobilization Tasks to be Achieved in the Next Quarter

# Mobilization Plan Date

29 Develop TOR for baseline survey, solicit proposals, and select and hire survey firm July-August

30 Sign lease for permanent office space, begin make ready, begin procuring supplies Late July

31 Establishment of permanent Siem Reap and Battambang offices Late August

32 Work planning workshop (internal discussions, half-day meeting with USAID, and

half day with key players in the horticulture space to discuss how we can cooperate)

Last week of

July

33 Submit first quarterly report July 30

34 Move into permanent office in Phnom Penh Late August

35 Submit FY18 Work Plan September 1

36 Carry out and write up baseline survey September-

October 18


FOUNDATIONAL ACTIVITIES

6.2.1 Assess Capacity of Supply-Side Value Chain Actors

To investigate the other major player in the commercial partnership – the supplier – a team was formed

to: 1) identify producers/suppliers with potential to meet buyer demands, 2) assess the capacity

development needs of producers/suppliers and, 3) test and refine the supply-side assessment

process/tools for future use on Harvest II.

The 25 opportunities resulting from the buyer analysis were prioritized

based on size of unmet demand, high value, potential to add value

through processing, and off season production potential. Over the course of three weeks (beginning in early July), two Harvest II teams

will test the supply-side assessment tools, as follows:

Week One: Wet market vegetables in Siem Reap; pineapple in Battambang

Week Two: Cashew in Kampong Thom; long maturity fruit in Pursat

Week Three: Reconvene, consolidate information, discuss lessons learned/course corrections, set work plan for remainder of FY17

The field assessment will start from wholesalers and work towards producers via collectors to identify

value-chain connections for the specific buyer-identified commodities. Where possible, existing

information sources and networks will be used, e.g., Provincial Departments of Agriculture, NGOs and

ongoing donor projects, and businesses such as input sellers.

6.2.2 Prioritize Commercial Partnerships

After having identified promising buyers, the Harvest II team will dig deeper with relevant producer

groups to ascertain whether or not producer groups are able to meet the buyer’s requirements (with or

without technical assistance from the project) and then perform a

matchmaking function. At the same time, the Harvest II team will

analyze each potential partnership for key results such as expected

sales, employment opportunities, and private sector investment

potential, as well as amount of project resources required and

likelihood of success. Having done this, the project will rank the

prospective partnerships in order to identify the top 16 most

promising cases for formal consideration. These cases will be

presented to USAID after, Harvest II’s FY18 work planning workshop.

6.2.3 Formalize Commercial Partnerships

Having identified the most promising commercial partnerships per the criteria stated above, Harvest II

staff will formalize five of these relationships into formal arrangements, most likely through Memoranda

of Understanding. The MOUs will set forth the perceived problems, solutions, roles/responsibilities,

expected results, and actions that the parties will take. The agreement

will also include information on the project’s role beyond facilitation

(in the case of technical or business assistance, for example) as well as

all parties’ roles in monitoring and reporting.

Milestone 3: Assess the

current and potential capacity

of value chain actors to meet the demands of promising

buyers.

Milestone 4: Taking into

account the results of

foundational work through

the end of July, develop an

initial list of priority commercial partnerships for

the project to support in

FY18. Present to USAID for

discussion.

Milestone 5: Develop draft

MOUs or roadmaps for five

commercial partnerships.


6.2.4 Develop Initial Policy Agenda

During the next reporting period, a consultant engaged by Harvest II will finalize an approach to the

enabling environment as pertains specifically to the horticulture sector in Cambodia. This will result in a

policy agenda and approach to the enabling environment that is

linked to the needs of the priority commercial partnerships, as well

as broader sector-wide issues that are constraining commercial

horticulture sector growth in Cambodia. Activities under the policy

agenda will align with Sub-Purpose 3 and its three key intervention

areas.

Findings will be presented for discussion at the FY18 work planning workshop planned for July 26-28.

The consultant will also help Harvest II consider the most effective staffing structure according to the

policy agenda and approach, as the key personnel position of Technical Expert, Ag Policy and Enabling

Environment is currently vacant pending further definition of this component.

SUB-PURPOSES

Sub-Purpose 1: Improved Capacities for Market Participation

Harvest II will build the capacity of buyers and sellers within commercial partnership to do what’s

needed to meet the goals of the partnership (i.e., to expand sales, employment, and/or investment). The

most in-depth capacity building work will be directed to these commercial partners. Harvest II will also

provide some broad assistance to other value chain actors, such as private, public, and civil society

actors, to facilitate capacity building while building on existing programming and best practices in

Cambodia.

KIA. 1.1: Financial and Business Skills Improved To coordinate effectively with others to increase sales, commercial partners must be able to understand

their costs and current and potential revenue, as well as the costs and risks that others in the

partnership are taking on. In addition to basic financial literacy and agribusiness training, targeted

capacity building on negotiation, marketing, and financial management will prepare commercial partners

and other value chain actors to increase their engagement in the market. With these improved

capacities, all parties will form a better understanding of others’ incentives and motivations to build trust

and negotiate with others within the sector.

During the next quarter, Harvest II will begin planning activities under this KIA, and undertake the

following tasks:

Hire Financial and Marketing Skills Specialist.

Plan trainings in the buyer-led approach, problem solving using Human Centered Design, and

sales (through Whitten & Roy) for Harvest II staff and commercial partners (as appropriate), as

well as other topics. Develop an initial landscape analysis of service providers for finance and business development

services.

Assess priority commercial partnerships for bottlenecks related to finance and marketing.

Milestone 6: Develop initial

policy agenda linked to the needs of the priority

commercial partnerships.


KIA 1.2: Access to and Use of Market and Climatic Information Increased Better access to market and climate information and knowledge about how to use that information will

increase producers’ resilience to price fluctuations and extreme weather events. Many Cambodian

producers choose which crops to grow and when based on their neighbors’ planting decisions.

Collectors are more familiar than producers with market demand because of their frequent interaction

with wholesalers and buyers at district- and province-level markets. With more accurate and timely

access to market information, including seasonal demand and price fluctuations, producers will be able

to plan their cropping cycles based on actual market demand. Collectors will be able to offer producers

higher prices for growing more competitive crops.

During the quarter, Harvest II will begin planning activities under this KIA, and undertake the following

tasks:

Hire Market and Climate Information Specialist.

Develop a status update for AMIS and identify other public and private market and climate information systems.

Assess priority commercial partnerships for bottlenecks related to market and climate

information.

KIA 1.3: Financial Opportunities Increased Cambodian businesses throughout the horticulture sector are constrained by limited financial

opportunities and products. For producers, loan terms are often prohibitive (either because of interest

rates, payback periods, or requirement of collateral) and for larger actors, it is often difficult to find

working capital or purchase order financing. These are critical needs to growing a business and

becoming more competitive in any sector. Experience shows that training financial institutions on

working with and supporting value chain actors is effective in increasing access to tailored financial

products. In addition, many SMEs need support completing loan applications to give them a greater

chance of receiving financing support.

During the next reporting period, Harvest II will begin planning for implementation of activities under

this KIA:

Identify and engage partner financial institutions (both micro and traditional) to identify

opportunities for and to begin to developing specialized financial products such as purchase-

order finance and factoring.

Assess priority commercial partnerships for bottlenecks related to finance and identify plausible products and approaches for linkages.

Sub-Purpose 2: Improved Market Linkages

Cambodia’s domestic agricultural markets have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years;

however horticultural competitiveness has lagged due to weak vertical and horizontal linkages in the

value chain, a lack of incentives for investment and innovation, and low levels of coordination.

Accelerating growth of Cambodia’s horticulture sector will require increased organization, investment,

and cooperation between and among value chain actors. Efforts under this Sub-Purpose will be centered

on the commercial partnerships. The main work during the rest of FY17 will be to select the most

promising partnerships to work with in FY18 and map out the support that each one will need in FY18.


KIA 2.1: Linkages between Value Chain Actors Created Weak linkages at all points along the value chain prevent large market actors from purchasing local

produce; retail outlets or large institutional buyers favor working with import wholesalers because they

can aggregate large quantities. With stronger linkages throughout the market chain in Cambodia, large

market actors will be better able to access Cambodian produce. This KIA is the starting point for the

buyer-led approach, and where Harvest II will focus a large amount of effort in terms of linking

commercial horticulture clients with adequate and appropriate supply. Harvest II will work to develop

commercial partnerships between buyers, suppliers, and supporting actors and foster trust.

During the next quarter, Harvest II will undertake the following milestones and tasks:

Hire and orient the Private Sector Development Specialist (PSDS), the final Market Linkage

Coordinator (MLC), and at least three (of six, one for each office) Provincial Facilitators (PF).

Organize workshop for staff to discuss application of the buyer-led approach. Complete Milestone 3: Supplier identification. Conduct field-based analysis and verification to

ensure a complete understanding of HARVEST beneficiaries and producers of horticulture in the

ZOI, particularly in terms of land availability, production quantities and qualities, and willingness

to grow.

Complete Milestone 4: Prioritize commercial partnerships based on agreed-upon criteria such as sales to project cost ratio.

Complete Milestone 5: Formalize at least five commercial partnerships through the execution of

MOUs that outline the business case, objectives, constraints, and solutions to be implemented

by the project and client.

KIA 2.2: Market Incentives for Private Sector Engagement and Investment Developed Private sector investment by value chain actors and external entities generally leads to increased sales

and jobs. In Cambodia’s horticulture sector, however, value chain actors are slow to invest in upgrading.

Similarly, external investors are interested in Cambodia’s horticulture sector but need to be convinced

that the opportunities and benefits outweigh the risks and costs.

During the next reporting period, Harvest II will undertake the following task:

Identify an initial set of new investment opportunities and discuss with potential investors.

Harvest II has identified groups interested in opportunities to facilitate social impact investment in Cambodia’s horticulture sector. The Finance and Investment Specialist will follow up on these

and other leads and work with EMC, Private Sector Development Specialist, and Market Linkage

Coordinators to develop new commercial partnerships around investments.

KIA 2.3: Market Chain Coordination Improved Coordination in the horticulture sector is sorely lacking, with producers sometimes selling to their local

producer groups as well as to collectors, wholesalers, and even retail customers. This approach is

economically rational under the circumstances, as buyer demand can shift, and prices vary depending on

where produce is sold. Harvest II must work with value chain actors to improve communication,

understanding of costs and value addition along the value chain, and encourage new approaches to

collaboration and coordination. Aligning incentives within the value chain and bringing together

stakeholders to discuss overarching challenges will improve market chain coordination.

During the next reporting period, Harvest II will undertake the following task:


In the context of commercial partnerships and the supplier identification process, MLCs and PFs

will start identifying opportunities to form Market Coordination Groups among producers that

will be able to respond to buyer demands.

Sub-Purpose 3: Improved Governance and Enabling Environment

Robust, effective and efficient regulatory systems are essential components of well-functioning

agriculture and food markets. To that end, Harvest II aims to work on policy and enabling environment

through Sub-Purpose 3 in order to strengthen advocacy and coordination platforms for horticulture

sector; improve capacity of relevant RGC counterparts to address horticulture constraints; and

encourage public and private dialogue.

KIA 3.1: Horticulture Sector Advocacy and Coordination Platforms Strengthened Coordination is key for the stakeholders and market participants (buyers, retailers, traders, collectors,

transporters, input suppliers, etc.) in the horticulture sector to actively engage and push reform agendas.

Proper and reliable mechanisms and platforms help stakeholders and market participants coordinate

their concerns and feedback and advocate for reform effectively. The project will seek to strengthen

existing platform to address the constraints, as well as encourage its partners to play an active role in

platforms that are relevant to them. The proposed activities for the next three months are as follows:

Consult with potential public and private sector partners (and other relevant sector actors) to identify and compile a prioritized list of existing coordination mechanisms and platforms.

Consult with partners to propose the priorities for the project engagement and develop

implementation plan. The timeframe, resources, and expected impacts will be taken into

consideration.

KIA 3.2: RGC Capacity to Address Horticulture Constraints Improved Many government agencies have limited technical skills to address the various policy constraints

particularly around areas for either policy analysis, development, implementation and/or evaluation.

Improved policy capacity within these offices/agencies will enable RGC officials to effectively understand

private sector and civil society concerns, and develop a coherent policy and regulatory framework that

responds to stakeholders' needs. At the same time, the private sector players need to understand the

related policies and regulations and be able to comply or provide feedback. The proposed activities for

the next three months are:

Review and consult with potential public and private sector partners to identify relevant

policies/regulations, and immediate capacity needs.

Prioritize key policy constraints, the capacity needs for both the RGC and private sector, and

develop action plan for engagement.

KIA 3.3: Public-Private Dialogue Encouraged Effective policy reform takes into account the unique needs of all stakeholders. Many horticulture value

chain actors feel that Cambodia’s public sector does not understand, or try to understand, their

constraints and opportunities for growth, and effectively implementing existing policies that could

support the sector. In addition, although there are policy and enabling environment constraints unique

to the horticulture sector, many of the relevant policy implementation issues are common to all

agriculture sector actors. The strategy of the project is to support private sector actors, civil society,

and public sector stakeholders to discuss and understand one another’s needs through organizing


forums for public-private dialogue at the national and sub-national levels to create space for these

discussions.

In the next quarter, the project will:

Facilitate private sector participation in sector specific working groups or other platforms

including the on-line forums. Harvest II will then prioritize key interests, issues/constraints,

strategies, and create action plans.

CROSS-CUTTING

6.4.1 Gender and Youth

In the next reporting period, the Harvest II gender specialist will continue her desk and field research

toward the preparation of the Gender Action Plan for submission to USAID in October 2017. She will

work with Harvest staff to apply a gender lens to the completion of foundational activities as well as help

identify buyers, analyze current and potential of value chain actors to meet their needs, and develop

gender-sensitive strategies for commercial partnerships. In addition, the gender specialist will work with

the Harvest II M&E team to review indicators and ensure inclusion of sex-disaggregation as appropriate.

The gender specialist will develop and conduct gender training for the Harvest II staff to better identify

gender constraints among value chain actors.

6.4.2 Environment

In the next three months, Harvest II will not conduct any activities that would create negative

environmental impact in these areas, since work will focus on analysis and planning. However, as

Harvest II identifies particular commercial partnerships for project support, the team will have more

information about potential negative impacts and needs for mitigation or management. For that reason,

Harvest II will update its EMMP for submission with its next work plan, due September 1, 2017. Harvest

II will examine its full range of planned activities (over the life of project) and assess them in terms of

environmental impact. The revised EMMP will lay out mitigation and monitoring measures in the form of

specific actions that will be carried out by Harvest II staff to ensure environmental compliance.

6.4.3 Coordination

In a concerted effort to identify areas for cooperation with other USAID-funded projects, initiatives

under other donors, and RGC activities, Harvest II staff will embark on a set of meetings to better

understand ongoing opportunities and constraints in the horticulture sector in Cambodia – with a focus

on those in the ZOI – and spearhead a “mapping” exercise designed to identify the best areas for

collaboration and how to leverage existing resources.


ANNEX A. MONITORING & EVALUATION

Harvest II proposed the following six milestones to allow USAID to judge its performance during FY17

Quarter 3 and 4 (the first five and a half months of implementation):

Milestone 1: Select subsectors of greatest promise in each corridor and prepare presentation

for discussion with USAID.

Milestone 2: Identify and meet with potential buyers in key subsectors; create an initial table

showing promising buyers for the project to work with and what the buyers want to buy.

Milestone 3: Assess the current and potential capacity of value chain actors to meet the

demands of promising buyers.

Milestone 4: Taking into account the results of foundational work through the end of July,

develop an initial list of priority commercial partnerships for the project to support in FY18.

Present to USAID for discussion.

Milestone 5: Develop draft MOUs or roadmaps for five commercial partnerships.

Milestone 6: Develop initial policy agenda linked to the needs of the priority commercial

partnerships.

In Quarter 3, as discussed in Section 3, the team completed Milestones 1 and 2 and made progress

toward the others.

Harvest II’s Project Year indicators and targets are shown in Table 4, below. Harvest II anticipates

reporting results toward these performance indicator targets by FY18, Quarter 1.


Table 4. Cambodia Harvest II Performance Indicator Tracking Table (PITT)

# Indicator Description Disaggregatio

n

Baselin

e

Annual Targets Life of

Project Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

1

Value of annual sales of farms and

firms receiving USG assistance

(EG.3.2-19)

Sub-Sector TBD $1,426,613 $3,567,358 $6,497,010 $10,645,504 $15,137,477 $37,273,961

2

Number of for-profit private

enterprises, producers organizations,

water users associations, women’s

groups, trade and business

associations and community-based

organizations (CBOs) that applied

improved organization-level

technologies or management

practices with USG assistance

(EG.3.2-20)

Type of

Organization;

Type of

Management

Practice

0 165 298 455 544 572 2,034

3

Number of people using climate

information or implementing risk-

reducing actions to improve resilience

to climate change as supported by

USG assistance (EG.11-6)

Sex 0 1,092 2,671 4,788 6,136 6,872 10,134

4

Number of firms (excluding farms) or

civil society organizations (CSOs)

engaged in agricultural and food

security-related manufacturing and

services that have increased profits or

become financially self- sufficient with

USG assistance (EG.3.2-21)

Type of Entity

(Firm, CSO) 0 90 157 233 274 285 835

5

Number of full-time equivalent (FTE)

jobs created with USG assistance

(EG.3-9)

Location,

Duration, Sex of

Job-Holder

0 94 229 499 634 365 1,819

6

Value of new private sector

investment leveraged by the USG to

support food security and nutrition

(EG.3.2-22)

0 $624,000 $1,524,000 $3,324,000 $4,224,000 $2,430,000 $12,126,000


# Indicator Description Disaggregatio

n

Baselin

e

Annual Targets Life of

Project Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

7

Number of agricultural and nutritional

enabling environment policies

analyzed, consulted on, drafted or

revised, approved and implemented

with USG assistance (EG.3.1-12)

Policy Area;

Process/Step 0 1 3 4 5 4 17

8

Number of individuals in the

agriculture system who have applied

improved management practices or

technologies with USG assistance

Value Chain

Actor Type;

Technology

Type; Sector

0 300 800 1,400 1,850 650 2,500

9

Number of public-private

partnerships formed as a result of

USG assistance

Partnership

Focus 0 9 13 17 18 16 73

10 Value of agricultural and rural loans as

a result of USG assistance

Type of Loan

Recipient; Sex of

Recipient

0 $60,000 $150,000 $250,000 $250,000 $290,000 $1,000,000

11

Number of micro, small, and medium

enterprises (MSMEs), including

farmers, receiving agricultural-related

credit as a result of USG assistance

Size of Firm;

MSME Type; Sex

of Owner/

Producer

0 21 51 88 100 115 375

12

Percentage of female participants in

USG-assisted programs designed to

increase access to productive

economic resources (GNDR-2)

0 15% 17% 20% 22% 25% 25%

13

Percentage of participants in USG-

assisted programs designed to

increase access to productive

economic resources who are youth

(15-29) (GFSS-24)

0 10% 12% 15% 17% 20% 20%

14 Number of individuals participating in

USG food security programs (EG.3-1)

Rural, Urban/Peri-

urban; New,

Continuing

0 400 1,100 2,000 2,600 900 3,500


ANNEX B. FINANCIAL REPORT (PROVIDED

SEPARATELY)

Documents

FEED THE FUTURE CAMBODIA HARVEST II - United …pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00MX5G.pdf · Subsector Selection ... Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II ... Achievements include recruitment