MALAWI AG DIVERSIFICATION ACTIVITY

Feed the Future Malawi Ag Diversification ActivityY1Q3 Quarterly Report

MALAWI AG DIVERSIFICATIONACTIVITY

Q3Y1 REPORT: APRIL 2017 – JUNE 2017Palladium International


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acronyms and Abbreviations................................................................................................. 3

Executive Summary............................................................................................................... 5

OUTCOME 1: Inclusive Growth of Agricultural Incomes and Employment ............................. 6

Context and Approach ...................................................................................................... 6

IR 1.1: Access to Finance for Agriculture Increased ........................................................... 6

IR 1.2: Access to Markets Increased .................................................................................. 7

IR 1.3: Organizational and Technical Capacity of Agricultural Enterprises Strengthened ... 8

IR 1.4: Production of Target Commodities Increased....................................................... 10

OUTCOME 2: Resilience of Smallholder Farming Systems Strengthened ............................. 17

Context and Approach .................................................................................................... 17

IR. 2.1. Adaptive Capacity of Smallholder Farmers Increased .......................................... 17

IR. 2.2. Risk Mitigation in Smallholder Farming Systems Increased.................................. 20

OUTCOME 3: Nutrition Status of Women and Children Improved ....................................... 23


IR 3.1: Access to and consumption of diverse and quality foods increased...................... 23

OUTCOME 4: Women Empowered...................................................................................... 28


OUTCOME 5: CDCS Priorities for Integration Advanced ....................................................... 30

Monitoring and Evaluation.................................................................................................. 33

Appendix 1: Y1Q3 Indicator Reporting Table ....................................................................... 36


ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ACE Agricultural Commodity Exchange

AFD Agence Française de Développement

ASP Area Stakeholder Panels

BOQ Bills of Quantities

CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme

CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy

CGIAR Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research

CIP International Potato Center

CSA Climate-Smart Agriculture

CTI Compatible Technologies International

DADO District Agriculture Development Offices

DAESS District Agricultural Extension Services System

DARS Department of Agriculture Research Services

DFI Development Finance Institutions

EIB European Investment Bank

EPA Extension Planning Area

FAW Fall Army Worm

FMB First Merchant Bank

FISP Farm Input Subsidy Program

FtC Feed the Children

GIZ German Society for International Cooperation

HC4L Health Communication for Life

ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

INVC BA Feed the Future Integrating Nutrition into Value Chains Bridging Activity

LDF Local Development Fund

MAFAAS Malawi Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services

MAPAC Malawi Program for Aflatoxin Control

MBS Malawi Bureau of Standards

MCSAA Malawi Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance

MISST Feed the Future Malawi Improved Seeds Systems and Technologies

MoAIWD Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development


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MOST Malawi Oil Seeds Sector Transformation Project

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MSME Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

NBM National Bank of Malawi

NGO Non-governmental organization

OFSP Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato

PICS Purdue Improved Crop Storage

RUTF Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food

SAFE Solution for African Food Enterprises

SANE Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension

SAPP Sustainable Agriculture Production Program

SIL Soy Innovation Lab

SOW Scope of Work

STAM Seed Traders Association of Malawi

TOT Training of Trainers

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

VSLA Village Savings and Loan Association

WFP World Food Programme

WOLREC Women's Legal Resources Centre

WRS Warehouse Receipt System

ZOI Zone of Influence


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The past quarter has been a concentrated period for harvest, post- harvest and marketingactivities throughout the AgDiv Zone of Influence (ZOI). Through Outcome 1, AgDiv movedto initiate the upscaling of two technologies: the Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bagsand inoculant. PICS bags are non-chemical, triple-layer, hermetically sealable bags developed byPurdue University as a low cost solution to post-harvest losses caused due to poor storage ofgrains and legumes in West and Central Africa where as inoculant is a bacteria which helpsleguminous crops obtain nitrogen from the air thereby boosting production.

AgDiv procured 125,000 PICS bags, 90,697 of which were distributed to 18 partners forpurposes of mounting demonstrations across AgDiv’s ZOI. It is estimated that farmers, tradersor processors will reduce postharvest losses by 25-30% of their grain crop in storage. The cost-effectiveness of PICS bags lies in savings from not buying chemical insecticides and their abilityfor reuse for up to three years or more. That offsets the apparent high initial cost of buying thebags compared to ordinary single layer bags.

In May, AgDiv organized two Training of Trainers sessions for 72 extension agents from all its 8target districts (41 from the central region and 31 from the southern region) on the use of thePurdue Improved Crop storage (PICS) bags. The trainees would in turn sensitize farmers andsubsequently mount demonstrations at village level to increase uptake of the technologythroughout the country. Participants were drawn from NGOs, other USAID-funded projects,private sector organizations and farmer organizations.

In the same quarter AgDiv and the Malawi Oil Seeds Sector Transformation (MOST) jointlyconvened over 250 technocrats and farmers at a National Inoculant Conference. The conferencesought to raise awareness on the use of inoculant in legume crops, particularly soy andgroundnuts. Participants included farmers, the private sector, members of the donorcommunity, seed scientists, researchers and government representatives.

Of three hundred organizations that expressed interest to partner AgDiv as sub-granteesfollowing a Call for Expression of Interest the Activity placed in the local newspapers, 17organizations expressed interest to implement interventions specifically for Outcome 1 while 62expressed interest to implement interventions in that are cutting across Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4.Of these, 13 have been shortlisted to proceed to the proposal writing stage.

As part of collaboration, AgDiv collaborated with Technoserve to conduct an AflatoxinManagement Training for Agro processors. AgDiv also collaborated with SANE in foodprocessing demonstrations in Blantyre rural reaching out to 135 people (63 male; 72 female).

Throughout this quarter, coordination and leveraging, networking and collaboration were thesilver lining of the tremendous achievements highlighted in this report.


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OUTCOME 1: INCLUSIVE GROWTH OFAGRICULTURAL INCOMES AND EMPLOYMENT

Context and Approach

Smallholder agriculture in Malawi faces low productivity challenges resulting from reliance onrain fed production, use of poor quality seed and high postharvest losses. High postharvestlosses translate to nutritional and economic loss to households. Malawian smallholders lose 15-20% of their yields due to inadequate post-harvest handling and storage. Farmers also facedifficulty accessing finance. Banks and other financial service providers consider smallholderagriculture as highly risky, further constraining farmers’ access to production inputs. Access tobetter markets is another setback. Commodity markets are inefficient and disorganized, leadingto volatile and unpredictable prices. Where farmers are not organized into farmer organizations,access to warehousing facilities is problematic and their low production volumes increasetransaction costs for commodity buyers.

Under Outcome 1, AgDiv’s market-driven approach to value chain development centers onforging closer commercial relationships between smallholders and buyers in more lucrative end-markets. The resulting ‘demand pull’ in the target value chains, coupled with capacity buildingsupport and improved access to resources (including finance and technology), will ultimatelystimulate increased smallholder production—resulting in income gains and employmentopportunities. Building on knowledge gained in the previous quarter, AgDiv has focused thisquarter’s efforts on the identification and rollout of key technologies meant to improveproductivity and post-harvest handling, and on continuing efforts to strengthen the warehousereceipts system (WRS) as well as the capacity of agricultural enterprises.IR 1.1: Access to Finance for Agriculture Increased

Commodity exchange platforms (like the Agricultural Commodity Exchange [ACE] and theAuction Holding Commodities Exchange [AHCX]) are providing transparent and competitivemarket alternatives for farmers. AgDiv is collaborating with USAID’s Southern Africa Trade andInvestment Hub (SATIH) on warehouse investments, warehouse receipt financing, and agri-value chain integration initiatives. In addition, once AgDiv has onboarded a local Access toFinance Specialist (who will also be jointly employed by SATIH), AgDiv’s activities to improveaccess to finance will expand to include finance facilitators, digital financial services, andinterfaces with VSLAs and SACCOs.

At this time, nearly all of AgDiv’s work under finance has been linked to warehousing, led byconsultant Adam Gross. Key updates from Y1Q3 include:Warehouse Investments

The European Investment Bank (EIB)’s initiative with USAID and ACE to enhance access tofinance for private sector companies targeting the development of agricultural storage capacityreached an important milestone. The USD 35M credit line from the EIB to the National Bank ofMalawi (NBM) for commercial warehousing has been closed, all term sheet items (‘conditionsprecedent’) fulfilled, and disbursement has taken place from EIB to NBM of a first tranche offunding, USD 13.5 million, or 40% of the total credit line. Four agribusinesses – CP Feeds, RabProcessors, Pride and Sealand – have received approval by both EIB and NBM fordisbursement.

Despite the setback of the pull-out of the intended wholesale financier, Agence Française deDéveloppement (AFD), the First Merchant Bank (FMB) investment facility for rural warehousinghas continued under Y1Q3. With the recent concept note submitted by Farmers World, there arenow six companies that have expressed interest and submitted documentation around rural


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warehouse investments, each one of these companies envisaging the investments as part ofhighly developmental and broader value chain integration strategies[1]. On the last mission, a jointmeeting was facilitated by AgDiv-SATIH between each of the companies and the bank, with theaim to ensure mutual confidence of the parties to take forward the investment. This isunderstood to have been successful, as FMB have re-asserted excitement for the project despitethe AFD pull-out. Twelve development finance institutions (DFI) were identified as potentialreplacements for AFD so as to streamline the process and decision-making for FMB on how tomove forward. A process of interviews and information gathering was conducted, shortlistingfour DFIs, with indicative information – pricing, tenor, timing, due diligence process – presentedto the bank for its consideration.Warehouse Receipt Financing

AgDiv has continued to strengthen its relationship with ACE, and has begun preliminarydiscussions with AHCX. ACE, which has also been invited to submit a grant application,presented its warehouse receipts system at AgDiv’s pre-proposal grant writing workshop, whereAgDiv encouraged participants to reach out to ACE directly to think creatively aboutincorporating warehouse receipt financing into their applications.

AgDiv’s discussions with ACE in the quarter have developed an organizing framework to shapea suite of interventions to unlock warehouse receipt financing in Malawi. The frameworkexamines the supply chain of warehouse receipt finance – four links in the chain (depositormobilisation; storage infrastructure and operator readiness; financier readiness; and marketliquidity to support disposals), each of which need to be addressed through concreteinterventions undertaken in conjunction with strategic partners, including ACE and AHCX.Previous discussions have focused on the second – storage readiness; while backgrounddiscussions have taken place with the WFP on market liquidity. Going forward, the team willcontinue to explore credit lines, an indemnity fund to mitigate price risk, and a financier capacity-building program.Value Chain Integration Initiatives

AgDiv and SATIH are exploring several dimensions. Firstly, the six anchor companies that forma part of the rural warehouse investment credit line have being engaged on an ongoing basis tofurther integrate their vision with the wider strategic initiatives of AgDiv such as anchor farmformation, drip irrigation, post-harvest loss-reducing PICS bags, seed sector development andinoculant. To date, four of the companies in the pipeline have been introduced to AgDiv –CPFeeds, TransGlobe, Sunseed Oil, Farmers World - and have adapted their value chain integrationstrategies to include focus on AgDiv priorities. Secondly, engagement has taken place with thetwo WRS – ACE and AHCX – on broader frameworks for value chain integration andecosystem development through their respective models – for ACE, the Chithumba model forWRS-enabled seed marketing and pre-harvest financing of smallholder farmers; for AHCX, afocus on WRS-enabled development and financing of irrigation schemes and anchor farms.IR 1.2: Access to Markets Increased

Potential Collaboration with WFP

AgDiv has engaged potential commodity buyers for possible linkages with producers. During thequarter, AgDiv held meetings with Goods for Good, INVC/Bridging Activity and World FoodProgram (WFP) for purposes of brokering sales deals for groundnuts, soybeans and OFSPproducers.

[1] One of these companies – Kamponji – has temporarily suspended its plans due to an acquisition and the need for debtrestructuring, albeit still remains interested in the underlying project


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In discussions with WFP, Purchase for Progress (P4P) and School Feeding Programs emerged aspotential areas of focus. Under P4P, AgDiv beneficiary farmers may access commodity supplyopportunities through the warehouse receipt system at ACE where WFP sources most of itscommodity requirements. Similarly, under the School Feeding Program, OFSP producers mayhave opportunities of accessing markets for their commodity to the various schools participatingin WFP’s activities.Nyanja Farmers’ Association

Through INVC Bridging Activity, AgDiv identified Nyanja Farmers’ Association in ChilekaExtension Planning Area, Lilongwe Rural. This linkage has culminated in a sales deal involving24.25 tons of soybeans valued at US $6,600. The soybeans were sold at MK200/Kg, which is18% higher than the average prevailing price.

Nyanja Association has 1,516 members, (19% female). Although the quantity of soybeansbought under this linkage is on the lower side, considering the membership size of theassociation, this is a relationship that is likely to grow over time and may lead to more businesstransactions. The association is well organized and currently rents a warehouse, which enables itsmembers to engage in collective marketing, hence reducing transaction costs for buyers. TheAssociation may also open up technology upscaling opportunities for AgDiv, like upscaling ofinoculant use for legumes and use of PICS bags for grain storage. Follow-up visits to theAssociation are in the pipeline to gain a better understanding of the organization.Project Peanut Butter

AgDiv held consultations with Project Peanut Butter in Blantyre in May to broker marketlinkages with groundnut farmer organizations. Project Peanut Butter is a not-for-profitorganization that manufactures Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for malnourishedchildren. The major market for RUTF in Malawi is UNICEF, which has very stringent qualitycontrol requirements for its suppliers. The quality control requirements include certification andregular inspection of food processing units, monitoring of aflatoxin levels in both raw materialsand finished products.

At the time this visit was undertaken, production had been suspended due to unavailability ofgroundnuts on the market. The organization does not currently have a reliable supplier ofgroundnuts. AgDiv sees this as an opportunity to link the organization with farmer organizationsin its ZOI, particularly in Lilongwe, Mchinji and Dedza districts where groundnuts are producedin large volumes. Potential farmer organizations for this market linkage include Nkhunguyembeand Mwati Cooperatives in Mchinji district, both of which have warehousing facilities that enablethem to aggregate groundnuts and collectively supply on the market.

The volume of groundnuts bought by Project Peanut Butter is not specified as it depends onUNICEF’s requirements, but over the years it has been in excess of 100 tons of RUTF, whichtranslates to over 150 tons of raw groundnuts. The preferred groundnuts varieties are CG 7 andChalimbana, which are widely produced in Mchinji and Dedza districts.IR 1.3: Organizational and Technical Capacity of Agricultural EnterprisesStrengthened

AgDiv continued its focus on post-harvest handling (PHH) and storage in Y1Q3, providingtraining to farmer organizations on the use of PICS bags and other PHH and storage techniques.This was done in coordination with Purdue University. Additional information about AgDiv’sactivities regarding PICS bags are further described on pages 14-16.PICS Bags Training


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Training of Trainers: In May, AgDiv organized two ToT sessions for 72 extension agents fromits 8 target districts (41 from the central region and 31 from the southern region) on the use ofPICS bags. The ToTs were organized to create awareness about the technology among extensionagents who would, in turn, sensitize farmers and subsequently mount demonstrations at village-level, thereby increasing uptake of the technology throughout the country.

Participants were drawn from NGOs, other USAID-funded projects, private sectororganizations and farmer organizations. Involvement of private sector organizations, likeFarmers World, is expected to improve the supply chain of PICS bags—an integral part ofimproving access and therefore adoption of the technology.

Lead Farmer Training in Lilongwe: AgDiv conducted training for lead farmers fromMgwirizano Cooperative of Chileka EPA, Lilongwe rural on the use of PICS Bags for GrainStorage. The cooperative has 1,502 members (83% of its members are female). This is anongoing partnership between AgDiv and GreenRoot Financial Services to introduce PICS bagsto two GreenRoot-supported farmers’ organizations. These two groups were identified after theToT on PICS bags that Purdue University had conducted. However, only Mgwirizano benefittedfrom the training. AgDiv has since disbursed 4,000 PICS bags to two cooperatives in Lilongweand Mchinji Districts.

Figure 1: Facilitators from Purdue University explain how to testfor grain moisture.

Fig. 2: Lynn Shneider from USAID’sSEG office making a point.

Figure 3: Participants posing for a group photo with trainers and invited guests soon after a Ministry of Agriculturerepresentative, Mr. Mccullum Sibande, officially opened the ToT.

Figure 5: ACE certified warehouse for MgwirizanoCooperativeFigure 4: Member of Mgwirizano displaying their PICS bags.


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Post-harvest field days

AgDiv collaborated with INVC Bridging Activity to co-host 10 postharvest field days with atotal attendance of 1,298 (624 female & 674 male) smallholder farmers. The field days were heldin Lilongwe at Chileka, Chitsime and Mlomba EPAs; Dedza at Kanyama, Chafumbwa andLithipe EPAs, Ntcheu at Bilira and Njolomole EPAs, and Mchinji at Mikundi and ChiosyaEPAs. The purpose was to promote post-harvest handling technologies of soya and groundnuts,in collaboration with the Government of Malawi’s agricultural extension system, to enablefarmers to secure competitive market prices for higher quality commodities.

The main methodologies showcased during the field days included: Mandela cork method ofdrying groundnuts to mitigate aflatoxin, and harvesting soya by mowing and not uprooting(leaving behind the nitrogen fixing roots to improve soil quality).

After the training, the AgDiv and INVC Bridging Activity teams met to review the field days anddraw lessons for future programing. Key lessons and success factors included:

Need for thorough planning to target/attract the right audience and stakeholders; Need for appropriate timing of field days – in some cases the farmers had already

harvested, and therefore could not immediately apply the technologies; and Importance of developing a standardized demonstration package – the approaches

and messages during the field day activities differed from one place to the other.

Going forward, AgDiv and INVC Bridging Activity will work together on joint planning,especially with regards to demonstrations to include nutrition, storage and other relevantsubjects. Next steps include sharing, planning and co-facilitation on events that were of relevanceto the two projects; participation of INVC Bridging Activity in ToT facilitated by PurdueUniversity on PICS bags; and ToT on food safety.IR 1.4: Production of Target Commodities Increased

AgDiv’s approach to scale up production is to utilize strong markets and family consumptionneeds to motivate and sustain increased smallholder supply.

Figure 6: Participants to one of the field days visit one of the fields.

Figure7: Participants listen to a presentation (left), and a demonstration plot (right).


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Activity field trainers and service providers (primarily through future sub-grantees) willencourage farmer adoption of promoted seed varieties, PICS bag, drip irrigation, inoculants andother technologies, and practices targeted to specific agro-ecologies, cultures, and landcharacteristics. Adoption of new practices will be encouraged through business forums, marketdays, radio dialogues, and small group engagement. Specific IR 1.4 initiatives undertaken duringY1Q3 include:Malawi Seed Industry Assessment

Malawi has a robust seed variety development and breeding program in the Department ofAgricultural Research Services, which is supported by international research centers such as theInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Crops ResearchInstitute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). In addition, there are many seed production andmarketing companies that could satisfy demand for seed if demand was increased.

Seed is one of the very critical production inputs that affect crop productivity. There have beenreports from smallholder farmers on germination rates as low as 40%, especially for groundnuts.The proportion of smallholder farmers using certified seeds for legume production seed is verylow; the certified seeds farmers do use are mostly supplied through the Government-sponsoredFarm Input Subsidy Program (FISP). Poor quality of certified seed on the market makes it evenmore difficult for farmers to embrace use of certified legumes seed; making it doubly challengingfor agricultural extension agents to convince farmers to buy certified seed. Instead, many farmersopt for recycled seed.

Recognizing these challenges, AgDiv hired a consultant to conduct an assessment of the seedsector in the country. The study, which was conducted between May and June, outlines keystakeholders in the seed industry from government, policymakers, breeders, growers, retailers,agribusinesses, and donor-funded projects. It also establishes the gaps, challenges, andopportunities that exist, suggests recommendations to improve the efficiency and productivity ofthe seed sector. The draft report was submitted in June, and AgDiv expects to share the findingsand recommendations after the final draft is submitted in the next quarter.Seed Stocking and Distribution for Cash Sales

Outcome 1 attended a meeting to discuss experiences and lessons learned from MOST’s pilotlast year to prepare seed suppliers for the end of FISP by introducing them to cash marketplaceinstead of relying on institutional sales (government, donor projects, NGOs). AgDiv, MOST,GIZ, STAM, and Farmers Organization Ltd. were all in attendance. Overall, the pilot wasdeemed a success, as suppliers successfully sold seeds on the open market.

The MOST-led pilot on cash sales for legumes seed shows that, against the general belief thatlegumes seed sales are only FISP-driven, the market may be penetrated through strategicinitiatives. Testimonies from other companies, like Global Seeds, also point to that fact.However, the poor quality of legumes seed on the market will still likely be a challenge formarket penetration. AgDiv is beginning to collaborate with partners like MOST, MISST andGIZ to address the issue of poor seed quality, conduct awareness campaigns to increase demandfor high-quality legumes seeds, and encourage more seed companies to invest in legumes seed (asthey have done with hybrid maize seed).OFSP Vine Multiplication and Production

Given the nutritional value of OFSP, Outcome 3 has been taking the lead on most discussionsconcerning OFSP production, commercialization, and consumption. In Y1Q3, the Outcome 3team met with CIP to gain additional insights on their work with OFSP in AgDiv’s ZOI. AgDivwill collaborate with CIP to promote OFSP production and multiplication for CARE groups,cooperatives, and MSMEs. Through this collaboration, AgDiv will provide a list of interested


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MSMEs who will serve as decentralized vine multipliers in the districts. CIP will then providefree clean planting materials and train them on how to set up Decentralized Vine Multiplicationplots (DVMs) through their district field officers. Additionally, Outcomes 1, 3, and 4, will worktogether with CIP to explore opportunities for women and youth entrepreneurs to becomeDVMs servicing their own and neighboring communities. AgDiv also encouraged its first roundof grant applicants to consider innovative ways to incorporate OFSP production and vinemultiplication in their proposals. These activities will help in scaling up OFSP availability in thedistricts, which will be accompanied by a media campaign to strengthen demand for OFSP.

Subcontractor Agland, which is supporting the development of AgDiv’s overall OFSPDevelopment Plan, also visited in Y1Q3, and conducted several important interviews ofstakeholders along the value chain. In addition to assessing the true viability of expanded vinemultiplication, Agland analyzed whether OFSP could/should be packaged as a commercial crop,a nutritious food crop, or some combination thereof. In order to understand commercialviability of OFSP, Agland held a meeting with Universal Industries – the biggest commercialprocessor of OFSP. Among other products, the confectionary producer makes biscuits andcrisps out of OFSP.

Agland will return in August 2017, in coordination with Outcome 1, to examine how plans forirrigation, specifically for drip irrigation, can accomplish OFSP production goals. By the end ofYear 1, Agland will have produced a six-chapter VC Development Plan for OFSP, which willinclude recommendations for future AgDiv interventions in OFSP, as well as for messaging,extension, and marketing across the value chain.Technology Upscaling

By the end of the project, AgDiv will have offered training and technology transfer to over200,000 farm households holding monthly on- farm demonstrations and farmer trainings in theZOI. Since AgDiv will engage many of its partners through its granting mechanism to facilitatetraining and push out technologies, AgDiv has focused on direct implementation in Year 1 tojump-start some of its activities under this IR—particularly in terms of scaling use of provenagriculture technologies—while finalizing its granting process. The launch of each AgDiv-recommended technology has been, and will continue to be, paired with an extensive mediacampaign.

PICS BagsCutting across Outcomes 1 and 2 is the understanding that most farmer organizations, includingthose involved in the training described above, do not bring their commodities to designatedwarehouses for aggregation. Instead they sell to traders, even when prices are low. This is eitherbecause of the urgent need for cash by the farmers, or lack of understanding of benefits ofcollective marketing. Some farmers also consider the strict quality specifications (e.g. moisturecontent) deterrents to aggregation, and sell to traders with limited quality requirements. BetterPHH and storage practices, coupled with integration into the warehouse receipt systems(through which farmers could access up to 70% of the market value of the commodity), can helpfarmers store their commodities until the market price improves.

Through the upscaling of PICS bags technology for reduction of postharvest losses, an initial125,000 PICS bags were procured, and so far 90,000+ have been distributed to various partnersto distribute to farmers in their network alongside demonstrations across AgDiv’s ZOI. A listand breakdown of this distribution is detailed below:

# Implementing Partner PICS Bags Distributed1 Self Help Africa 12,516


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2 United Purpose 12,102

3 Exagris Africa Ltd 5,034

4 Horizon Farming Ltd 4,500

5 Farmers World Ltd 14,783

6 CICOD 4,668

7 OSSEDI 3,000

8 UBALE 1,050

9 PCI/NJIRA 2,412

10 Concern World Wide 4,422

11 INVC/Bridging Activity 12,010

12 ACE 4,000

13 Dedza CADECOM 2,500

14 GreenRoot 2,000

15 PERFORM Project 1,100

16 Mwati Cooperative 1,350

17 Nkhunguyembe Coop 1,250

18 CARD 2,000

TOTAL 90,697

Post-harvest Loss Assessment: Researchers from Purdue University visited during the monthof April to conduct a quick assessment of post-harvest losses among smallholder farmersthrough interactions with selected stakeholders (described under Monitoring and Evaluation).These interactions helped them design training materials for the May 2017 ToTs.

Training with Anchor Farms: The Purdue team also interacted with Farmers World, ACE and

two anchor farms: Horizon Farming Limited and Exagris Africa Limited. The anchor farms weretargeted because of the large numbers of farmers they work with under their out-grower and in-grower schemes. Exagris Africa Limited has five farms in Mchinji District and working with2,500 farmers from Kalulu Extension Planning Area. Horizon Farming Ltd, on the other hand,

Figure 8: Purdue University’s local consultant demonstrating how to use a PICS bag to members of Kasekese Cooperative inKalulu EPA, Mchinji district.


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works with 5,000 farmers from Mitundu EPA. At both anchor farms, farmers were takenthrough how PICS bags work and how to use them.

Farmers World was identified as a potential entity that would help in upscaling the technology.Farmers World has 50 extension agents each working with 200 farmers. These would be ideal forPICS bags demos. On the supply chain of PICS bags, Farmers World has 44 outlets in thecentral region, while their sister company – Agora, has 36 outlets in the southern region. Some ofthese outlets already stock PICS bags with very low sales volumes. Low sales volumes areattributed to low awareness among farmers and even the personnel working in the sales outlets.The issue of incentives for the sales teams also needs to be discussed between the company andPICS bags manufacturers. Sales staff to be considered for inclusion in the ToT that AgDiv isplanning to conduct in May.

Communications: AgDiv has paired its dissemination of PICS bags with a communicationscampaign to raise awareness and strengthen demand. The team has disseminated over 4,000PICS bag posters, available in both Chichewa and English, to extension agents, media houses,and participants in the ToTs. AgDiv also developed radio and ICT awareness tools (messages)on PICS bags, which have been launched through Farm Radio Trust.

Figure 9: Some of the smallholder farmers trained by Farmers World extension staff

Figure 10: Members of the community listen to a presentation about PICS bags and (right) farmers show off their PICSbags filled with grain.


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InoculantOn 29 June, 2017, AgDiv and MOST jointly hosted a day-long Inoculant Conference to raiseawareness of the benefits of using inoculant for soy production. More than 250 people drawnfrom various sectors attended the conference. Researchers, seed scientists, governmentrepresentatives, member of the private sector, members of the donor community and farmersattended the conference. During the conference, the Principal Secretary for the Ministry ofAgriculture, Mrs Erica Maganga, launched the Groundnuts Inoculant. The conference waswidely covered in print1 and online mass media2.

AgDiv also took advantage of this gathering to exhibit PICS bags.

Drip IrrigationThe approaching winter season presents an opportunity for installing and using drip irrigationkits with selected partners like Horizon Farming Ltd and Exagris Africa Ltd on their anchorfarms. The drip kits manufacturer indicated that the kits would be dispatched during the firstweek of June. Taking clearing of the consignment by Malawi Revenue Authority into

1 https://www.nyasatimes.com/malawi-govt-urges-farmers-use-new-tech-boost-legume-yields/2 http://www.times.mw/groundnut-yield-returns-to-go-up/

Figure 12: PS for Agriculture, Mrs EricaMaganga (right) shakes hands with MsElena Zanardi of GIZ after launching thegroundnut inoculant.

Figure 11: Participants to the conference. Seated 3rd right: AgDiv Cop,Carl Larkins and (4th right) Lynn Schneider from USAID SEG.

Figure 13: Participants celebrate launch of the groundnut inoculant at the conference.


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consideration, it might take up to eight weeks before the equipment is available to AgDiv foruse, and would mean they would not be available for the 2017 winter season.

Arrangements were therefore made with the supplier to have 10 one-hectare kits airlifted fortraining and set up in early July. The procurement process for 750 30m2 drip kits from Driptechin India has begun. Discussions have also started around a training and market scoping visit byDriptech later in the year. Also, Netafim will be in the country to conduct training on dripirrigation from 24th to 27th of July, 2017.

Labor-saving TechnologiesMost agribusiness operations are labor intensive, inefficient and in some cases adversely affectquality and consequently, marketability of the commodities. Farm operations like planting,fertilizer application, harvesting, threshing, stripping and shelling are manually done. To promotelow-cost appropriate technologies suitable for smallholder farmers (e.g., threshers), AgDivintends to partner with Compatible Technologies International (CTI). CTI has been working inpartnership with ICRISAT.

CTI works with equipment fabricators for mass production of equipment. AgDiv has anopportunity to help link these fabricators to AgDiv-identified commercial banks so they couldtap into agribusiness support finance. With the envisaged increase in productivity of soybeans,groundnuts and OFSP, labor-saving technologies will be required. Not only will thesetechnologies reduce the drudgery associated with manual operations, but they will also makeagricultural operations more accessible to women and more attractive to youth.

Figure 14: Labor intensive (left) and (right) labor-saving technology which CTI is promoting


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OUTCOME 2: RESILIENCE OF SMALLHOLDERFARMING SYSTEMS STRENGTHENED


Malawi’s smallholder farmers and community organizations lack the resources to manage aneffective response to climate threats and related disasters. Malawi ranks 151 of 180 countries ona global adaptation index, making it among the most vulnerable countries in the world to climateshocks, especially in the agriculture sector, which makes up almost 30% of the country’s GDPand employs 80% of the population. Climate change, combined with more pronounced ElNiño/La Niña effects, has caused erratic rainfall and flooding as well as severe droughts, leadingto crop failures. National statistics indicate that the droughts in 2015 and 2016 decreased cropproductivity by 12%, resulting in food insecurity for 2.8M people (20% of the population).

Under Outcome 2, AgDiv is taking a comprehensive approach to integrating soil, water andnutrient management with improved agriculture technologies and Good Agriculture Practices(GAP) to improve farmer resilience to potential climate shocks, mainstreaming climate-smartagriculture approaches at the farm, household and landscape levels. AgDiv has and will pursueearly interventions in two key areas: efficient water use/delivery (through drip irrigation), andimproved soil and water conservation (through the construction of simple but effective earthenwater catchment structures that allow for “drought proofing” of farms). The resilience team isalso working to identify additional strategies to complement and strengthen these interventionareas. For example, the use of farm ponds which are also capable of producing fish proteinthrough aquaculture, swales or bunds dug on contour to increase water filtration, water seepageor recharge wells, sand dams, and check dams are likely to be synergistic activities with drip.Importantly, these are also generally low cost and high return. The reason these are not beingdone currently by a large number of farmers relates not to cost but to labor and relatively long-term but substantial benefits.IR. 2.1. Adaptive Capacity of Smallholder Farmers Increased

This IR’s purpose is to build the capacity of smallholder farmers to strengthen their ability toquickly and effectively adapt to climate change. Building smallholder farmers’ capacity to adaptand withstand negative impacts of shocks and stresses reduces their exposure to short and longterm risks. In order to contribute to the achievement of this, a number of activities wereundertaken as outlined below.Scaling PICS Bags to Improve Resilience

As mentioned under Outcome 1, PICS bags are of critical importance across all outcomes—especially Outcome 2. While the activity is being championed by Outcome 1, PICS bags offer away for farmers to reserve some of their surpluses for household consumption later, or safelystore grains and legumes until market prices improve—thereby improving farmer resilience.Outcome 2’s promotion of PICS bags started with training of trainers (ToT) in Lilongwe (for thecentral region); 12 prospective AgDiv partners and government representatives attended.Additionally, AgDiv briefed 20 members from Blantyre District Agriculture ExtensionCoordinating Committee (DAECC) on PICS bags, emphasizing use as a way to affectenvironmental safety, food security and economic resilience.Planning for Scaling Climate Smart Options in ZOI

One of the CSA technologies to be implemented under this IR is solar powered irrigation. Inorder to ensure smooth planning and implementation of solar powered irrigation activities, AgDiv – in collaboration with the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO and DistrictIrrigation officers) – carried out a water resources mapping and consultations exercise to identify


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centers of excellence based on the stakeholders mapping and data from the Department ofIrrigation. The information captured provided a guide in selecting and planning of the initial sitesfor solar powered irrigation; assessment of the target communities and identification of potentialscalable CSA interventions. The potential scalable CSA interventions (leveraging current projectsby both the government and NGOs) identified included:

water-smart practices: aquifer recharge, rainwater harvesting, community management ofwater, laser-land leveling, micro-irrigation, raised-bed planting, and solar pumps.

carbon/nutrient-smart practices: agroforestry, minimum tillage, land use systems,integrated nutrient management.

Water Conservation and Drought-proofingAgDiv met with Water Harvesting Association and WOTA Malawi to explore potential CSAtechnologies to scale. Of particular interest for AgDiv were technologies to rechargegroundwater systems and drought-proof farms. WOTA has expertise in integrated watershedmanagement (from identifying of hot spots and conducting needs assessment to capacitybuilding); as well as installation of water harvesting structures such as farm ponds, plasticspumps for harvesting rainwater, and underground tanks, among other CSA practices. Of theexisting technologies WOTA Malawi has to offer, AgDiv began discussion a potentialcollaboration to scale-up Flexipump and Water Wheels for irrigation purposes. These are bothlow cost and user friendly technologies. As discussions advance, AgDiv will continue to exploreadditional opportunities to collaborate with WOTA, whether on scaling other CSA technologiesor tapping into their breadth of expertise.

AgDiv also held meetings with Vithal Karoshi of Agricultural Innovation Partnership – Malawi(AIP – Malawi), which endeavors to increase food security and improve the quality of life ofMalawian farmers by improving agricultural education and extension systems, and creating aconvergence of public and private enterprises. The meeting centered on exploring possibilities ofscaling up CSA options piloted in the model villages. Key technologies for potential scale upwithin AIP Malawi included portable solar Future pumps and farm ponds.Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Centers of Excellence

AgDiv advanced planning on CSA Centers of Excellence, which will be linked to district-levelpriorities during Y1Q3. The centers of excellence will be model sites where identified climatesmart options like soil and water conservation activities at catchment and farm levels will beshowcased with the aim of making smallholder farmers and communities learn to recharge thewater table and make more water available for irrigation. Soil fertility management options willbe employed at farm level to improve soil health. At least 1-2 sites are targeted per district withinthe ZOI linked to identified hot spots. The centers of excellence will also pilot early warning andaction systems in the ZOI.

In order to have first-hand information on the targeted centers of excellence a feasibilityassessment for scaling CSA options in the potential sites was conducted. The sites targeted were:Table 1: List of Cooperatives and Needs

SITE DESCRIPTION OBSERVATION INTERVENTIONMitawa,Domasi EPA

59.1 ha of land. Able tosupply 134 ha withwater through trenches.

A dam was alreadyconstructed andstocked with fish.

Improve soil and water useefficiency; scale up agroforestrysystems; crop diversification;market linkages, seepage wellsand groundwater rechargesystems.

Sanjika,Mtonda EPA;

Established with helpfrom IRLADP; 10 ha; 85

Uses historical weatherdata to schedule

Water harvesting


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Blantyre families growing maize. production; littlediversification inlivelihoods marketlinkages.

Mtemaumo,Mtonda EPA

Managed by a highlyorganized group and isalready implementingCSA options at smallscale.

Previous projectsupported constructionof a water reservoir.The group staggersproduction to guardagainst exploitation byvendors.

Establishment of a solarpowered irrigation scheme;development of the bills ofquantities (BOQ) for establishingthe irrigation schemes. The BOQhas been incorporated intoPractical Action’s SOW for theestablishing of the solar poweredirrigation schemes.

Collaboration and Building Synergies with Existing Projects and Resilience Activities

Outcome 2 participated in a number of forums where different players in the resilience buildingbusiness share experiences and emerging knowledge and information. These forums include:

Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) TechnicalNetworks webinar discussions: CAADP is aimed at building capacity for Africa’sagricultural development. Participation in the webinar discussions will help strengthenthe capacity of the outcome 2 team to contribute to the transformation of agriculture inMalawi especially exploring ways in which AgDiV can collaborate with otherprojects/activities in Scaling up and out CSA options

Malawi Land Symposium: The 2nd Malawi Land Symposium was held under thetheme: “Initial steps in Implementation of Malawi.” The symposium stressed that access toland was key for commercialization of Agriculture in Malawi because there is currentlyno land designated for such interventions and that commercializing agriculture needed tobe a private sector led initiative but public sector enabled. Key thematic areas relevant toAgDIV including New Land Acts and implications on commercial agriculture andWomen and Youth access to land were presented. The two themes have both short termand long term implications on agriculture investments. Other themes included:

o The rise of medium-scale farms;o Causes and consequences of changing farm size distributions. Medium scale

farmers (largely part-time) are rising and projects in agriculture need to bedeliberate to target such a sector.

o A discussion on whether farm land rental markets really promote efficiency andequity in smallholder agriculture, evidence from a matched tenant – landlordsample in Malawi. Tenants tend to be productive, use more inputs but have lessincentive to invest in soil and water conservation.

Malawi CSA Coordination Workshop: AgDiv participated in the Malawi CSACoordination Workshop hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and WaterDevelopment’s (MoAIWD) Department of Land Resources Conservation with supportfrom the DFID-funded VUNA3 program. VUNA is implementing the Malawi ClimateSmart Agriculture Coordination Project. The overall objective of the project is tofacilitate the development of Malawi’s National CSA Framework and enhance CSACoordination by strengthening the Malawi Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (MCSAA)as an umbrella platform that brings together all CSA actors in the country. The keyobjectives of the workshop were: to provide an overview of VUNA support andactivities in Malawi; initiate the process of developing CSA a framework for Malawi;

3 VUNA in the Bantu language means harvesting.


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engage the stakeholders on strengthening CSA coordination in Malawi; and undertakepreliminary mapping of CSA actors and activities in Malawi. The forum presents a greatopportunity for AgDiv to learn what is being implemented by different actors, andexplore avenues for layering/collaboration.

Malawi Forum for Agriculture Advisory Services (MaFAAS) extension week:AgDiv’s Outcome 2 team participated in this event from 19th to 23rd June, 2017. Thetheme was ‘Enabling Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services for AgriculturalTransformation and Growth.’ Participants included farmers, agriculture extensionservices providers and academia. One of the issues discussed at the conference relevantto AgDiv was climate smart agriculture.

Extension and advisory services policies and strategies: (AgDiv is collaborating withSANE project on how to effectively use the DAESS structure to bring about acceleratedadoption of CSA options).

Balaka DAECC Meeting

AgDiv participated in a Balaka DAECC meeting where members adopted environmentalmanagement implementation standards of conservation agriculture and soil and waterconservation that must be adhered to by service providers in Balaka district. These standards willbe considered by AgDiv to part of terms of reference when engaging implementing partners.OFSP Field Days

The Outcome 2 team participated in the Ministry of Agriculture’s Sustainable AgriculturePromotion Program (SAPP) OFSP field day in Blantyre held in Mtonda EPA - Nacholi SouthWest Section. The field day, which was held in April with support from SANE, accordedOutcome 2 an opportunity to interact with community members and government extensionworkers on climate change interventions and natural resources conservation. The section hasapproximately 700 farm families with at least 100 involved in conservation agriculture but mostlyon small scale. Through SAPP there are farmer clubs involved in maize production intercroppedwith legumes such as khungudzu (dolicas beans) for soil fertility management and diversification.The clubs were used to disseminate sustainable agriculture and climate smart agriculturetechnologies. The area receives reliable rainfall and is one of the most productive EPAs underBlantyre district. Over 20 ha is under irrigation schemes; using canals and gravity fed systemmostly growing maize and beans. The main rivers are Mudi and Naperi but the water flow stopsaround October. The area is hilly with high levels of deforestation and prone to soil erosion. It isa good area to target with catchment management activities; on farm tree managementtechnologies, and scaling out soil fertility management technologies like legume doubled up.IR. 2.2. Risk Mitigation in Smallholder Farming Systems Increased

Under this IR, the Activity will support farmers to manage soils and trees in ways that maximizestheir potential to acts as carbon sinks and absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. AgDiv will supportsmallholder farmers to predict, prepare for, withstand, and recover from shocks and crisesthrough disaster risk reduction efforts and early warning systems.Collaboration to Scale Risk Reduction Options

AgDiv facilitated district-level meetings (DADOs) and site visits (with communities) forconsultations and mapping of climate smart options as it relates to implementation ofinterventions on risk mitigation in the ZOI. These were reviewed (across the 12 sites) within thekey domains of:

Weather-smart activities including weather forecasts, climate informed agro-advisories,weather insurance, climate analogues as a tool for forward planning, and strategies to


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avoid maladaptation. These were largely non-existent in most of the ZOI and thereforepresents an opportunity for AgDiv through information centers and radio listening clubsto disseminate climate information.

Integrated watershed management including trees on farm and catchment – FMNRacting as carbon sink and drought proofing of farms, and recharging of undergroundacquifers. Opportunities exist in the ZOI to leverage existing and past projects.

Resiliency Index and Model

Adopting a resilience-based approach to the management of farming systems presupposes aframework for analyzing resilience and enabling people to discover how livelihoods might bemade more resilient to shocks, and more able to renew or reorganize itself should such shocksoccur. As part of initial steps, AgDiv worked on a Design framework and model towardsdevelopment of a resilience index with technical support from Ryan Hottle. This involvedstrategic thinking--not only about how to create an index model--but also how to integrateresilience into intervention activities. The index will guide AgDiv to more efficiently leverageactivities to increase household- and community-level resilience.Support for Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (including Safety Net Plans)

AgDiv is collaborating with district-level technical working groups to establish disasterprevention measures, develop and maintain early warning systems, and design rapid responsemechanisms. These activities build on the interventions outlined in the safety net plans. As partof building rapid response mechanisms, the Activity participated in discussions organized byBlantyre DAECC on the outbreak of fall army worms. Discussions centered on how to containthe outbreak and prevent further spread. Stakeholders agreed to encourage and support farmersto use appropriate quantities of chemicals. It was reported that irrigation fields have been heavilyinfested, hence the need for collaborative efforts to address the problem. Ag Div is supporting anational radio campaign to this effect. A further review of safety net plans will be done toidentify gaps for implementation in line with the Activity’s strategy.

AgDiv (Outcomes 1-3) also held strategic meetings with SANE to explore possible areas ofcollaboration. SANE’s main focus is on strengthening the District Agriculture ExtensionServices System (DAESS). The project works in collaboration with Local Development Fund(LDF) to map out hotspots for environmental stressors and identify safety nets. Targeting theidentified hot spots, AgDiv and SANE plan to collaborate on implementation of some of thedistrict priorities especially on catchment management and linking to irrigation farming. Amemorandum of Understanding between AgDiv and SANE was developed and signed by bothparties.Packaging Farmer-focused Meteorological Data

Agrometeorological services facilitate flexible, weather-based agriculture planning and help buildevidence and capacities of communities, technical and developmental agencies to plan andimplement climate-adaptive responses. This is based on the fact that relevance andinnovativeness of multi-institutional collaboration lies in the institutional, technical strategyadopted, which offers important lessons on how agrometeorological services can be organized tomake smallholder farming climate-resilient on a larger scale.

AgDiv is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and others to package farmer-focusedinformation in a user-friendly format. To this end, the Outcome 2 team held consultativemeetings with the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services on ClimateInformation Centers. The Climate Information Centers aim to help stakeholders at the district-level manage risks associated with climate change through the dissemination of up-to-date andreliable information tailored to local needs. Activities at the centers will focus on communication


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outreach through dissemination of reading materials, briefing services, video screenings, topicaldiscussions, dances, and public lectures and discussions with communities on climate change-related issues.

Specifically, the centers will:

serve as knowledge centers for data collection, collation, and analysis related tovulnerability to climate change;

provide response measures at the district-level related to land use planning, health, waterand other areas, ensuring that all programs incorporate climate change considerations;

serve as centers for sharing best practices to addressing climate change risks based onprevious and current experiences;

help partners in the district/EPA plan programs that are related to climate changeadaptation;

provide information to targeted users related to weather and climate change, includingdaily weather forecasts and seasonal climate forecasts.

In this quarter, Outcome 2 also explored and considered essential and supplementary aspects ofthe community-managed mini weather stations that AgDiv plans to develop. Essential aspectsinclude: a rain gauge, wind vane and thermometers. These weather stations will be installed inEPAs for easy monitoring. AgDiv will also need to link the communities receiving weatherstations to Esoko, as well as the Department of Meteorological Services for effective flow ofinformation. At the community-level, AgDiv will facilitate capacity building of communitymembers and extension staff in data recording and reporting. AgDiv will plan learning visits todistricts where there are existing weather stations (e.g., Salima) in the coming quarter.


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OUTCOME 3: NUTRITION STATUS OF WOMEN ANDCHILDREN IMPROVED


Over the last decade, Malawi has experienced rapid smallholder-led growth in the agriculturesector but little improvement in nutritional outcomes, with continued high rates of stunting(42.7%) and wasting (5.8%) for children in AgDiv’s ZOI. Micronutrient deficiencies, especiallyvitamin A and iron, continue to affect most of the population, and are a major underlying causeof maternal and child morbidity and mortality. Rural farming populations spend a significantportion (46% on average) of their incomes on food; when they are faced with shocks, they copeby increasing their consumption of cheaper, less nutritious foods (often maize), furtherundermining dietary diversity (Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis, 2012).

Poor nutrition for households is exacerbated by poor access to diversified nutritious foods suchas micro-nutrient rich fruits and vegetables, legumes and animal source foods for humanconsumption. Production is mostly seasonal with plenty of produce during a particular period inthe year, after which households become food insecure. There is poor food storage andpreservation due to lack of knowledge and skills on simple household level processing,preservation and food safety. Therefore, households cannot keep food longer for consumptionduring lean periods to ensure year-round nutrition. For those households that produce nutrient-rich crops – like groundnuts, soya, and OFSP – most households sell almost all their produceafter harvest, ignoring the need to keep some for their own consumption.

AgDiv’s approach to Outcome 3 is to engage with partners already working on dietary diversityin Malawi, and work with them to promote homestead production of diverse nutritious food,processing, preservation and food safety with focus on OFSP, soybean, groundnuts and otherequally nutritious foods. Outcome 3 will also promote value addition through MSMEs that arealready producing or processing AgDiv’s target three value chains to increase the number ofnutritious foods available on the market. AgDiv will also work with existing groups such asproducer coops and care groups to promote food processing for home consumption andnutrition. To further create demand for consumption of nutritious and safe foods, Outcome 3will carry out demand creation or social marketing activities through radio and open days to helpcreate a market for products made by MSMEs in the ZOI.IR 3.1: Access to and consumption of diverse and quality foods increased

OFSP Field Days

The SANE Project, in collaboration with Bvumbwe Research Station, has sought to strengthenthe relationships among farmers, extension workers, and agriculture researchers to enhancefarmer learning in Blantyre. As part of this effort, SANE has facilitated on-farm, OFSPdemonstrations (including field days and farmer exchange visits) to bring researchers, extensionworkers, and other value chain actors closer to farmers to improve applicability of agriculturaladvisory services. Given AgDiv’s emphases on nutrition and OFSP, SANE requested AgDiv’sassistance to help demonstrate OFSP recipes to promote awareness of the versatility of OFSPand encourage increased consumption. AgDiv mounted two separate cooking demonstrationsduring the field days at Ntonda EPA in Blantyre. 135 people (63 male; 72 female) attended thedemonstrations.


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Aflatoxin Control and Management

Aflatoxin is a health hazard that can cause stunted growth in children, cancer, or aggravate evenillnesses for people with compromised immunity. It is also a major impediment to trade, ascontaminated produce does not meet the food safety standards of major export markets.However, with the right approaches, aflatoxins in grains and legumes can be managed andcontrolled.

AgDiv collaborated with the Solutions for African Food Enterprises (SAFE) project –implemented by TechnoServe – to conduct an Aflatoxin Control and Management training forselected agro-processors, warehouse operators, producers, and food safety regulatory bodies.The training was held in Lilongwe from 21-22 June, 2017. A total of 55 people (15 female and 40male) attended. Of these participants, 19 (7 female and 12 male) represented MSMEs, producercooperatives, and warehouse operators from AgDiv’s target districts. The two-day trainingexposed participants to aflatoxin control and management techniques, best practices, andtechnologies used to test, measure, and reduce Aflatoxin.

The training was divided into sessions: 1) causes and effects of aflatoxin, 2) food safetymanagement, and 3) a practical session testing for aflatoxin. The training was followed by a field-industrial visit to Chitedze Research Station and Valid Nutrition, where participants gained realinsights into aflatoxin testing and mitigation at processing facilities. Hermetic storage bags, likePICS bags, have been proven to help control aflatoxin after harvest. AgDiv demonstrated howto properly use PICS bags for grain and legume storage in the practical session of the training.

Figure 15: A woman unveils a dish of delicacies made fromOFSP

Figure 16: A group of women during one of the recipedemonstrations.

Figure 17: A cross-section of participants to the Aflatoxin training in Lilongwe


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A similar training will be conducted in Blantyre in July 2017 to increase number of people withknowledge and understanding on aflatoxin control and management. AgDiv plans to send about15 people to attend the training.Soy Processing and Utilization

AgDiv held discussions with the Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) to review the food processingTraining of Trainers (ToT) curricula that LUANAR developed, and to make suggestions forimprovements. SIL, in collaboration with LUANAR, will conduct ToTs on food processing andutilization in the first week of August 2017 at LUANAR. AgDiv would like to see a link betweenproduction of the value chains and consumption. As such, the curriculum will have to be revisedto reflect this linkage. Another aspect to be included in the curriculum are systems for capturingdata from beneficiaries of the training to be able to track progress.

AgDiv and SIL have also been working together to identify MSMEs with the desire and capacityto operate soy cows for processing soy dairy products (e.g., soy milk, yogurt, tofu, etc.). AgDivundertook an extensive mapping and assessment exercise in Mchinji and Lilongwe districts inApril (see table below). Of those visited, AgDiv identified five MSMEs, including LUANAR-NRC campus, to receive soy cows as in-kind grants in September. To ensure success, AgDiv willwork with SIL to support the establishment of the soy cows, providing training on operation andmaintenance. Additionally, AgDiv will hire business development consultants to work with eachof the five facilities on business planning. These consultants will help each cooperative thinkthrough procurement, packaging and labeling, and distribution. Simultaneously, AgDiv will workwith SIL to develop behavior change messages on production and consumption of soy and soy-based products.Table 3.1. Potential Operators of Soy Processing Equipment

CO-OP LOCATION DESCRIPTION FINDINGSPROPOSED

INTERVETION

Tayamba Mchinji, ZuluEPA

135 membersproducing soy, g/nut& maize products

Soy milk makingmachine broke downin 2013.

Soy cow grant.

Kasekese Mchinji, KaluluEPA

491 membersproducing, soy, g/nut,maize, sunflower.Produce peanutbutter that is soldlocally.

Need certificationfrom Malawi Bureauof Standards (MBS).Need training.

Food safetytraining. Linkinggroup to MBS.

Figure 18: Participants testing for aflatoxin Figure 19: A participant takes a sample of groundnuts


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Kamwendo Mchinji, ZuluEPA

25 members making800 liters ofsunflower oil/day.Certified by MBS.

They want to diversifyto other value chainproducts.

Soy cowmachine toprocess milkand yoghurt.

Chiwamba Lilongwe,Chiwamba EPA

111 membersproducing cassavaand OFSP

Want to processcassava and OFSPinto starch.

OFSPprocessingequipment

Kampini Lilongwe,Mlomba EPA

41 membersproducing 10 metrictons of soy bean.Also produce maize

To diversify into foodprocessing such assoy milk.

Training in foodsafety.

Mthirasembe Mchinji,Chiosya EPA

56 membersproducing gnuts,sunflower, soybeanand maize. Produce200 liters of oil/day.

Lack capital todiversify to otherproducts i.e. peanutbutter.

Training in foodsafety todiversify to soymilkprocessing.

Mkanda Mchinji,Mkanda EPA

540 membersgrowing gnuts,soybean, sunflowerand maize.

Want to venture intovalue addition i.e. oilfrom soybean andsunflower. Have astructure that couldbe transformed intofactory.

Equipmentgrant i.e. oilexpeller.

Nkhunguyembe

Mkanda EPA,Mchinji

50 shareholders and530 membersproducing gnuts,soybean, sunflower,and maize.

Want to start valueaddition to takeadvantage of the bigvolumes of rawmaterial in thecommunity.

Oil expeller andsoy milkprocessingmachine.

Machichi Mchinji 165 membersproducing soybean,gnuts, sunflower andmaize. Have a seedrevolving fund andwarehouse.Processing crude oil(1,000 liters/day).

Plan to buy refiningmachine so they cansell finished product.Need training in foodsafety.

Training in foodsafety andcertification.

Mando Mchinji,Mlonyeni EPA

52 membersproducing soybeans,sunflower and maize.

Want to startprocessing oil fromsoy and sunflowerbut lack equipment.

Oil expeller.

TembweYouthCooperative

Mchinji 20 membersproducing soybean.

Want to establish abakery for bread froma mixture of wheatand OFSP flour.

OFSP vines formultiplication;OFSPprocessingequipment forpuree and


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bakeryequipment

Namilolo Mchinji,Mlonyeni EPA

38 membersproducing maize,soybeans and gnuts.Has high marketpotential.

Need warehouse tofacilitate collectivemarketing.

Link toOutcome 1 forstructuredmarkets.

Bua Mtete Mchinji, MsituEPA

80 membersproducing soybean,maize and gnuts.Have warehouse.

Want to start valueaddition but lackcapital for equipment.

Processingequipment forsoy corn blend.

Kampini Lilongwe,Mlomba EPA

41 membersproducing maize andsoybean. Havewarehouse andequipment from JICAthrough OVOP.

To start processingsoymilk.

Training in foodsafety.

With support from AgDiv’s M&E Leads and SIL, the Outcome 3 team will develop appropriatetools to capture required data for reporting progress. The success of these initial soy cowinstallations will help determine whether AgDiv should continue to identify additional MSMEsfor soy cows or other processing equipment. AgDiv recognizes that for some of the additionalsites visited during the mapping exercise, there would need to be additional support to preparethem for installation (in some cases on electricity or water supply, for example).

In the meantime, SIL will also provide support on exploring other soy technology options suchas de-hauling machines and soy grinders for potential adoption by the AgDiv groups.


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OUTCOME 4: WOMEN EMPOWERED


Outcome 4 implements activities to empower women at the household, community andinstitutional levels in order to increase their participation and leadership in household decisionmaking, access to and control over credit, incomes and productive assets.

The overarching goal of the quarter was to identify the best candidate to serve as Outcome 4Lead. In the absence of a Lead, DCOP Rachel Sibande assumed responsibility for ensuring thatOutcome 4 activities continued in the interim. The AgDiv team advertised the position in thenewspaper. After a competitive recruitment process, AgDiv’s selection panel identified a highly-qualified candidate to lead Outcome 4; their decision was affirmed after Ms. Jessica Menon ofAtethemis conducted a second interview early in June.Gendered Value Chain Assessments

Given INVC had conducted gendered value chain assessments of both soy and groundnuts,AgDiv has prioritized the gendered value chain assessment of OFSP for Year 1. Agland genderconsultant Ann Graham arrived in early June to begin the assessment (5-17 June). Her visitoverlapped with Atethemis (who will be updating INVC’s soy and groundnut assessments earlyin Year 2), and the two collaborated to ensure harmonization across their methodologies. Aglandconducted focus groups with both male and female groups. Additionally, Agland interviewedCVMs, DVMs, NGOs, village growers, vendors, CIP, government research and extensionworkers, World Bank staff, and men and women in cooperatives. While the team anticipates Ms.Graham’s final report in August 2017, her preliminary findings/recommendations include:

Training for women in OFSP must go beyond women’s perceived role as familynutritionists—i.e., mentorship/training for women on how to become better farmers

Women are involved in marketing of OFSP, but not as involved as men.

Ms. Jessica Menon of Atethemis, who arrived in the second week of Ms. Graham’s visit, metwith USAID to determine focus areas for updating the 2014 gendered value chain assessment,which includes chapters on soy, groundnuts, and dairy. USAID has requested that updates tothis assessment focus on marketing, trade, and productive/marketing technologies in these valuechains.Mapping of Potential Women’s Empowerment Partners

AgDiv finalized an Atethemis-led mapping exercise of partners currently implementing genderactivities in AgDiv’s ZOI, including NGOs as well as donor-funded, government, and privatesector projects/initiatives. This serves as a preliminary step toward engaging partners inknowledge sharing, activity coordination and collaboration, and layering initiatives. AgDiv willcontinue to add to and revise this list of potential partners over the life of the project.Coordination with WOLREC

Of the EOIs submitted under Outcome 4, AgDiv was very impressed with that of the Women’sLegal Resource Centre (WOLREC), with whom AgDiv had already had several openconversations. As AgDiv views WOLREC as a leading partner that could offer meaningfulcontributions under Outcome 4, the team decided to remove WOLREC from the grantingprocess and consider them for a potential subcontract. AgDiv envisions WOLREC adapting andimplementing the IFAD GALS approach and other household approaches, including themethodology they currently employ in the health sector, to empower women at the householdlevel. In addition, AgDiv would like WOLREC to expand their model for capital injection into


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VSLAs, support financial literacy and household budgeting training, and provide technicalassistance to AgDiv’s broader pool of partners—particularly sub-grantees—in these same areas.Desk Review of Women’s Empowerment Activities/Approaches

Building upon the potential partner mapping described above, Atethemis began a desk review ofexisting programs in strategic areas of interest (e.g., capital injection into VSLAs, efforts toimprove women’s access to capital, women’s integration into digital financial services) to identifyareas of potential collaboration as we begin to think about Year 2 activities. The final report,which we anticipate in August, will cover 1) the landscape of what is currently being done inMalawi, 2) methodologies that have been employed in Malawi or elsewhere that have affectedchange, 3) methodologies that have not produced meaningful results, 4) a discussion of gender-based barriers and opportunities, and 5) suggested recommendations and activities. The AgDivteam has timed this report with the expected start date of the Outcome 4 Lead, so that s/he maybegin as soon as possible to think about Outcome 4 strategy for Year 2 and beyond.


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OUTCOME 5: CDCS PRIORITIES FOR INTEGRATIONADVANCED

Outcome 5 seeks to enhance integration across agriculture activities in Malawi—whether fundedthrough USAID, other donor agencies, the Government of Malawi, NGOs, or private sectoractors. In addition to the collaboration and coordination described in Outcomes 1-4, AgDivparticipated in the following activities throughout the quarter:Fall Army Worm Campaign

AgDiv provided a Fall Army Worm (FAW) update to partners at USAID offices. The meetingwas organized by the Mission to take stock of what had been achieved so far. Through Feed theFuture Malawi projects – AgDiv, SANE and MISST, USAID is supporting the MalawiGovernment to fight FAW. At the meeting, AgDiv gave a rundown of its activities focused onthe radio campaign with FRT. The FAW radio messages, jingles and recorded programs arebeing aired to the nation through 12 radio stations.Aflatoxin and Extension Webinar

Outcome 1 and 3 participated in a webinar at SANE’s office. The topic was Aflatoxin andExtension in Zambia. Other attendees included representatives of the Malawi Program forAflatoxin Control (MAPAC) and the Health Communication for Life Project (HC4L)implemented by FHI360. Key among the action points was consumer education on health risksassociated with consuming aflatoxin-contaminated foods. It was observed that in Malawi,messages emphasize adverse effects of aflatoxins on trade with little emphasis on health risks.Other areas requiring attention are regulatory and enforcement issues on aflatoxin. Traders buycontaminated groundnuts, as most of them do not have facilities or equipment for aflatoxinmonitoring. There is little motivation on the part of traders to invest in suchfacilities/equipment, since they know the market will buy their commodities anyway.SANE Messaging Workshop

In-line with USAID’s policy for collaboration and colocation among USAID-funded projects,SANE asked AgDiv to help design messages for extension staff on the DAESS implementationguidelines. AgDiv’s Communications Director and Radio Specialist (based at Farm Radio Trust),participated in SANE’s 4-day message development workshop.

The workshop ran from 6th June through 10th June, 2017.

During the workshop the following outcomeswere achieved:

1. A booklet in Chichewa and English.2. A brochure in Chichewa and English.3. Two posters each in Chichewa and

English.4. One jingle in Chichewa.

USAID Partners’ Media Tour

Outcome 3 participated in a media tour forUSAID partners that are implementing projects in Mangochi district. The tour was organized byFeed the Children to create awareness of nutrition services USAID partners are offering in thedistrict. The team consisted of journalists from different media houses and partners fromTiwalere II project (Feed the Children), PaMawa project (Goal Malawi), HC4L project (FHI360)and AgDiv (Palladium). Before visiting the field, each partner presented their activities in thedistrict.

Figure 201: Participants sketching messages


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The team visited three sites including 1) a permaculture garden owned by one of the communitymembers in Traditional Authority Chowe; 2) a care group that demonstrated the six food groupsusing various food recipes to show the importance of dietary diversity; and 3) a youth groupunder PaMawa project. The group is involved in irrigation farming and is also practicing CSA.Delivery of Biofortified Crops

Outcome 3 participated in a stakeholders’ follow-up meeting organized by CIAT/Harvest Plusin collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Research Services (DARS) and otherCGIAR centers (IITA and CIP) on delivery of biofortified crops in Malawi. Participants sharedsuccesses, experiences and lessons from the mega biofortification demonstration plots for2016/2017 season. Main crops discussed included: OFSP, beans, cassava and orange maize.

Participants agreed upon plans for the 2017/2018 season. They also discussed thecommunication strategy (including awareness creation and advocacy) and resource mobilizationfor scaling up the delivery of bio fortified crops in Malawi.Agro-processing Center of Excellence – LUANAR - NRC

AgDiv has made strides to collaborate with LUANAR – NRC campus to use it as a center ofexcellence for agro processing. LUANAR has also been earmarked by UNESCO and the GIZfor support in setting up a center of excellence for value addition. UNESCO has orderedprocessing and lab equipment that will be installed in the processing unit at LUANAR. Theyhave also trained NRC staff on competency-based training on agro processing and teachingpedagogy. In addition to this, they have developed booklets and curriculum for agro-processingaccording to value chains. AgDiv therefore held a meeting with the National Project Coordinatorfor UNESCO to understand how they plan to work with LUANAR and how AgDiv canleverage its support especially on processing soya, groundnut and OFSP.

As described under Outcome 3, AgDiv also intends to support LUANAR with processingequipment. AgDiv will procure and install a Soy Cow in coordination with SIL, and eventually anOFSP grater, a puree making machine and a peanut butter machine. AgDiv intends to use NRCcampus as a center to train MSMEs who have been identified to receive equipment grants toenhance value addition, food safety and nutrition from processed products. The MSMEs willalso benefit from the competent training they will get from NRC staff who have undergonecompetency skills training provided by UNESCO.

AgDiv also learned during its consultations with LUANAR that the Department of FoodScience has received funding from the World Bank – Agriculture Productivity Program forSouthern Africa (APPSA) to enhance quality management systems for small- and medium-sizedlegume and cereal processing enterprises. In this project, LUANAR will attach some of itsstudents as interns to selected agro-processors in different districts. LUANAR will attach someof the interns to the MSMEs identified by AgDiv to help them implement food safety standardsin their processing facilities.Feed the Future Regional Conference

AgDiv participated in the Feed the Future Regional Conference at Ufulu Gardens, Lilongwe.The focus of the conference was to provide stakeholders with an update of FtF activities inSouthern Africa and SADC Regions. The overarching theme of the conference was collaborativestorytelling.

Outcome 1 exhibited PICS bags jointly with the manufacturer, Polypack Ltd. PICS bagstechnology generated a lot of interest not just among Malawians, but regional participants aswell. Participants to the regional workshop were from Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe,Mozambique, South Africa and Washington DC.


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AgDiv received feedback from some of the urban farmers who had learned about PICS bagsthrough radios and newspapers, but could not access the bags from some of the outlets as theyhad been sold out. This is good indication that awareness campaigns are bearing fruit, while atthe same time a wakeup call for the manufacturer to identify more distribution partners acrossthe country.

Other exhibitors at the conference with direct relevance to AgDiv were FRT and Agri-InputSuppliers Ltd, manufacturers of Nitrofix. The Southern Africa Regional Seed Trade Project andthe Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub both presented at the conference. Another keyfocus was the SADC harmonized seed regulations. Overall, AgDiv’s activities and work plan fitvery well with the vision put forward by USAID and its partners during the conference.

Key collaborations were developed with the Regional Seed Trade Project, which will serve tofocus AgDiv’s seed work moving forward. Discussions around collaboration were also startedwith the AGRA Scaling Seed Trade partnership which will focus on moving varieties from theresearch sector to the market and ultimately to small holder farmers.

The regional conference was covered by both the print and electronic media.

Figure 21: A cross-section of pavilions at the regional conference and (below left) visitors to the AgDiv pavilion and(right) Outcome 1 Lead Shelix Munthali demonstrating how the PICS bags technology works.


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MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Overall Activity Monitoring

AMEP

AgDiv received additional comments on the AMEP from USAID in the quarter. The commentshave been addressed and the final AMEP was approved by USAID in May 2017. A total of 25approved indicators will be tracked by AgDiv. Of the 25, 13 are outcome indicators while 12 areoutput indicators.MIS Development

The AgDiv plan is to have MIS basic, version 1 of the system available in October, which willinclude GIS, geospatial analysis and mapping capabilities. The plan is to then have quarterlyupdates to the system that will add new features, capabilities and enhancements. One of theexpectations is that the M&E team will be able to generate the indicator tracking table directlyfrom this MIS system. AgDiv is currently utilizing indicator tracking tables to track indicatorsfrom implementation. Because initiatives are ongoing and data is still being collected only a fewoutput indicators were reported in the quarter.EPA-Mapping

AgDiv continued with the process of mapping out the EPAs where activities will beimplemented in the first year. One of the major criterion used in selecting the EPAs was thelocations in which partners will be distributing key technologies such as the PICS bags. By end ofthe quarter, a total of 44 EPAs had been identified and this is an ongoing process. Thirty EPAswere selected from the eight districts and a total of 47,080 beneficiaries are expected to bereached with AgDiv interventions during Fiscal Year 2017.Data Collection Tools

M&E team continued the process of developing indicator data collection tools. Almost all thedata collection tools have been finalized. There are a few additional tools to be developed fortracking output level indicators. After the AMEP approval, the performance indicator trackingtable was also finalized. The M&E team intends to further review all data gathering formsdeveloped with the goal of simplifying these forms.


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Qualitative Analysis Training

The M&E team participated in the IFPRI-organized qualitative analysis training from 26 – 28April. The objective of the training was to equip participants with skills and knowledge on howto systematically manage and analyze qualitative data, such as focus group discussions, keyinformant interviews, stakeholder interviews, etc. Major topics covered included rigorousqualitative research, capturing evidence rather than intuition, qualitative research planning, datacollection and data handling, thematic coding, inductive and deductive analysis, finding patternsand logical conclusions, and introduction to qualitative analysis software (Nvivo).Post-Harvest Loss Assessment

The M&E team, in collaboration with Outcome 1 and researchers from Purdue University,conducted field visits to Exagris, Horizon Farm, ACE, and Farmers World. The major objectivesof the visits were to conduct a quick assessment of postharvest losses among smallholderfarmers through interactions with selected stakeholders and raise awareness on the use of PICSbags. The Purdue University team interacted with Farmers World, ACE and two anchor farms:Horizon Farming Limited and Exagris Africa Limited. The anchor farms were targeted becauseof the large numbers of farmers they work with under their out-grower and in-grower schemes.At both anchor farms, farmers were taken through how PICS bags work and how to use them.The assessment found that post-harvest storage losses are a major concern for maize andlegumes. Weevils in particular are a problem, and current chemical solutions are not satisfactory.PICS Bag Snap Survey

The PICS bag baseline spot survey was completed this quarter in the ZOI (Lilongwe rural,Mchinji, Dedza, Ntcheu, Blantyre rural, Machinga, Mangochi and Balaka districts) with 948farmers. Data from this survey is discussed in more detail in the upcoming PICS bag surveyreport. Some findings include:

Storage practices: Storage rates were high among the survey respondents: 94.7 percentof respondents stored at least some quantity of one of the seven main crops covered inthe survey. Storage rates were highest for the two most commonly grown crops, maizeand groundnuts.

Post-harvest losses after storage: Maize was the crop that had the highest percentageof respondents who experienced at least some loss during storage. Only 23.4 percent ofrespondents who stored maize reported no storage losses. Among the respondents whoreported storage losses, the average loss rate was 14.0 percent. Groundnuts had thesecond highest percent of respondents who reported at least some loss during storage;46.2 percent of respondents who stored groundnuts reported no storage losses. Amongthe respondents who reported storage losses, the average loss rate was 19.3 percent.

Experience with pics bags: The respondents surveyed had generally low exposure tothe PICS bags technology. Only 16.8 percent of the respondents, or 159 farmers, hadever heard of PICS bags. Of the 159 farmers who had heard of PICS bags, only ten, orabout one percent of the total sample, had used them. Only twenty had ever taken part ina PICS bag demonstration. Eight had taken part in a PICS bag opening ceremony.

Short Term Technical Assistance

During the quarter, the M&E team hosted HO Project Manager Anne Szender. Ms. Szenderhelped finalize comments on the AMEP and select the EPAs for the Population Based Samplingof the AgDiv baseline survey. At the end of the quarter the Activity also recruited a short termM&E consultant to beef-up capacity of the M&E team, Elizabeth Venable. Currently, Ms.Venable will focus her attention on supporting the M&E team with internal assessments of the


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impact of AgDiv interventions, such as the PICS bags snap survey, and providing as-neededsupport on other M&E functions as the team finalizes AgDiv’s M&E system.Principal Activities for Q4

Collaborate and coordinate with MELS project to support baseline survey. PICS bag monitoring and supervision during pre-demonstration and demonstration. Conduct nitrofix and drip irrigation spot surveys. Disseminate results of spot surveys to partners. Quarterly reporting and uploading results in DevResults.


APPENDIX 1: Y1Q3 INDICATOR REPORTING TABLE

INDICATOR TRACKING TABLE

Outcome#

InternalRef. # PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

NUMBERS ACHIEVEDYear 1 Q3

TotalReported Total Verified

1 1.1-1 1.1-1 Number of households benefiting directly from USG assistance under Feed theFuture (EG.3-1)

1,516

LocationUrbanRural

1,516Duration

New1,516

Continuing1 1.1-2 1.1-2 Value of agricultural and rural loans as a result of USG assistance (EG. 3.2-6)

$2,000,000

Type of Loan RecipientProducers

Local Traders/assemblers $2,000,000

Wholesalers/processors $2,000,000

OthersDisaggregates not available


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Sex of RecipientMale

FemaleJoint $2,000,000

1 1.1-3 1.1-3 Number of MSMEs, including farmers receiving agricultural related credit as aresult of USG assistance (EG. 3.2-3)

Size of MSMEMicroSmall

MediumSex of owner/producer

MaleFemale

Joint1 1.2-2 1.2-2 Value of new private sector capital investment in the agriculture sector or food

chain leveraged by FTF implementation (USG) (EG 3.2-22)1 1.4-1 1.4-1 Number of farmers in the target value chains receiving the contractor's

assistance in production, access to finance or access to markets (Custom)

DurationNew

ContinuingSex

Male1,228

Female288

Type of AssistanceFarmers assisted in production

--

Soy


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GroundnutsOFSP

Farmers assisted in acess to finance-

-

SoyGroundnuts

OFSPFarmers assisted in acess to markets

1,516-

Soy1,516

GroundnutsOFSP

1 1.4-6 1.4-6 Number of farmers and others who have received USG supported short-termagricultural sector productivity or food security training (EG 3.2-1)

72

SexMale

55Female

17Type of individual

Producers (Farmers)Government staff (Extension, EPA etc.)

72Private Sector (Processors, service providers)Civil Society (NGO' CBO, FBO, research etc.)

1 1.3-1 1.3-1 Number of for profit private enterprises producer organizations, water usersassociations, women's groups, trade and business associations and community basedOrganizations (CBOs) receiving USG food security related organizationaldevelopment assistance. (EG. 3.2-4) 1


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Organization TypePrivate enterprises for profit

Producer organizations1

Water User OrganizationsWomen’s groups

Trade and business AssociationsCBO

DurationNew

1Continuing

1 1.3-2 1.3-2 Value of annual sales of firms receiving USG assistance (Custom)6,600

Commodity

Soy6,600

GroundnutsOFSP

1 1.3-3 1.3-3 Number of for profit private enterprises producer organizations, water usersassociations, women's groups, trade and business associations and community basedOrganizations (CBOs) that applied improved organizational-level technologies ormanagement practices with USG assistance. (EG. 3.2-20) 10

Organization TypePrivate enterprises for profit

Producer organizations10

Water User OrganizationsWomen’s groups

Trade and business AssociationsCBO


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1 1.3-4 1.3-4 Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance for improvingbusiness performance (EG. 5.2-1)

Type of FirmFormal

InformalDuration

NewContinuing

2 2.1-1 2.1-1 Number of people supported by the USG to adapt to the effects of climatechange (EG. 11.5)

Drip IrrigationVSL

Drought proofing farms3 3.1-1 3.1-1 Number of agroprocessors, cooperatives, care groups, and farmers' associations

that practice safe food processing for the targeted value chains (Custom)

Type of OrganizationAgro-processor

Cooperatives9

Care groupsFarmers' associations

Type of Commodity ProcessedSoy

GroundnutsOFSP

4 4.1-1 4.1-1 Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted programs designed toincrease access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income oremployment) (GNDR-2)

Type of AssistanceProduction

Economic resources


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AssetsIncome employment 19%

5 5.1-1 5.1-1 Number of integration interventions completed in collaboration withUSAID/Malawi partners or development partners in accordance with the criteriaidentified in Section C5.5.

Type of InterventionConferences, Workshops, and Trainings Hosted

8

Field Days2

MALAWI AG DIVERSIFICATION ACTIVITY

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