FY 2010 Food for Progress Program Considerations

What is the focus of the Food for Progress (FFP) program?

The FFP program is used to assist countries that have made commitments to introduce or expand free enterprise in their agricultural economies through changes in commodity prices, marketing, input availability, distribution and private sector involvement.

What types of activities is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) looking to fund?

FFP proposals should focus on private sector development of agricultural sectors such as improved agricultural techniques, marketing systems, farmer education and cooperative development, expanded use of processing capacity, and development of agriculturally related businesses. The following are examples of activities that might achieve these goals:

·  Educate farmers and communities in cooperative development activities that improve livelihoods, food systems, and the introduction of crops and foods that improve the nutritional status of the communities.
 

·  Develop businesses that provide support to farmers to improve yields and income including seeds, crop rotation, soil inputs and irrigation systems, warehouses, storage and transportation.
 

·  Create or rehabilitate improved market systems that include warehouse security, storage (cold chain), inventorying, waterways or roads systems.
 

·  Strengthen or introduce credit systems (loans or grants).
 

·  Encourage adoption of new agricultural technologies and methods and create sustainable business opportunities in communities.
 

·  Improve agricultural and environmentally sound techniques (e.g., water conservation methods, crop rotation, soil retention, farm inputs, and efficient harvesting methods).
 

·  Assist in building a country’s capacity for trade in agricultural products and promote science-based sanitary and phytosanitary standards for agricultural markets.
 

·  Support improvement in animal and plant health through technical assistance and training.

What should FFP projects strive to achieve?

FAS reviews each proposal activity for impact and results. FAS considers both the primary and secondary beneficiaries (e.g., household siblings and other community members) of the activities. At a minimum, each proposal must provide the number of beneficiaries targeted and the planned impact of the program on those beneficiaries. To the greatest extent possible, applicants should provide output measures for the estimated impact. For infrastructure enhancement activities, the impacts should be measured in both number and impact to the communities and/or individuals served by the structure. For credit systems, training, technical assistance, and enhanced farming technique development projects, sales and income changes should be measured. Proposals that contain clear outcomes will be more competitive. Additionally, activities that involve the agricultural sectors to achieve Millennium Development Goal(s) in priority countries are encouraged.

What are the priority countries?

FAS will consider proposals for all developing countries and territories that meet the requirements of the Food for Progress Act of 1985. FAS will give priority consideration to proposals for countries that reflect several economic and trade factors that include:

1.       countries with a per capita income below $3,705 (World Bank statistics) and a population greater than 1 million;
 

2.       countries that are net food importers with a greater than 20 percent prevalence of stunting among children under age five (World Health Organization);
 

3.       countries with positive movement towards freedom, including political rights and civil liberties (Freedom House);
 

4.       FAS Post coverage and FAS ability to monitor the implementation of the programs;
 

5.       Absence of security, market, or capacity issues.

FAS also will use Food for Progress to target countries in transition, either politically or economically. This includes supporting countries that:

·  show potential towards a strong private sector growth and development, or

·  are recovering from conflict.

FAS reviewed the list of countries meeting the criteria above and placed the countries with little or no ongoing programs on the 2010 list, while the countries with numerous ongoing or anticipated programs were moved to the FY 2011 list. This approach provides more focused priorities for both FAS and applicants. It also gives applicants a two-year horizon which will help with longer-term planning. However, FAS reserves the ability to consider funding projects outside this guidance due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g. natural disasters).

In line with these goals, FAS is most likely to fund proposals for the following countries for FY 2010:

FAS is only soliciting for FY 2010 proposals at this time. 

The table below shows the tentative priority countries for FY 2011. FAS will confirm these priorities in the fall of 2009, and at that time, designate priority activities by country. 

The table below shows the tentative priority countries for FY 2012. FAS will confirm these priorities in April 2010, and at that time designate priority activities by country. 

Can I submit a proposal for a non-priority country?

Yes, all proposals submitted to FAS will be evaluated and considered for funding. Given our limited programming resources, the opportunities to fund programs in non-priority countries are extremely low. FAS will look to fund good proposals in priority countries first. Other proposals may be approved, if additional funding remains available.

What are the criteria used during the proposal review process?

FFP proposals are analyzed from several perspectives. The commodity requests are reviewed by the analysts in the Office of Global Analysis of FAS. This review helps minimize commercial market disruptions. The analysts calculate the Usual Marketing Requirement (UMR) and allowable programming levels. All proposals are sent to the appropriate FAS overseas office for their review and insights.

FAS also coordinates with other U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. FFP is designed to complement and to work in union with these other U.S. agencies. Projects that duplicate programs already funded by the U.S. government will not receive high consideration.

Within the Food Assistance Division of FAS each proposal is evaluated using the same criteria:

A. Agricultural Focus (30 percent). Proposals must focus on tangible benefits for the countries agricultural sector, such as improving and expanding crop and livestock production.  Other proposals that focus on food or fiber processing and agro-environmental protection are also considered agriculturally focused. We encourage wherever possible activities that aim to introduce or expand free market activities and focus on private sector development.

B. Commodity Management and Appropriateness (20 percent). Has the organization identified commodities and tonnages appropriate for the country? Is adequate information about the monetization process and storage and handling of commodities provided?

C. Organizational Capability and Experience (20 percent). FAS looks at the experience of the organization and evaluates the organization favorably if it has experience in providing food aid with its own resources, or those of other donors. FAS considers the experiences of providing food aid regardless of the source of funding. Past experiences with USDA, USAID, or other donors will be viewed positively. FAS also reviews lists of known terrorists to ensure that no organization, nor recipient agency, is participating in or funding terrorist activities. A review of non-profit websites is also conducted to ensure the financial and technical capability of program applicants. FAS ensures that organizations new to FAS have a fair chance in competing for funds.

D. Ability to Quantify Program Impact (15 percent). Proposals that relate their activities to tangible, quantifiable outcomes have a better chance of being funded. The objective is to fund programs with clearly defined beneficiaries with well articulated activities and quantifiable objectives. A practical focus, one that relates to improving the everyday lives of the beneficiaries, should be evident in the proposed activities.

E. Proposal Quality (15 percent). Are the ideas in the proposal well developed and articulated? Is the proposal cost efficient in reaching a large number of recipients with the requested resources? Has the organization identified recipient agents or other partners in county? Are the beneficiaries clearly targeted and defined?

After the initial evaluations, further reviews are undertaken regarding the distribution of programs geographically, level of impact and outcomes, and complements to strategic goals. When all other evaluation factors are equal, proposals that provide the greatest impact per beneficiary will receive preference.

What proposals are unlikely to be approved?

Food for Progress is an agricultural development program. Proposals that target humanitarian assistance through direct feeding as their primary focus are less likely to be funded under Food for Progress. These types of programs should be submitted under McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program, if the project involves school feeding. Proposals that have a low number of beneficiaries or have a limited impact are not likely to be funded.

How many proposals should an organization submit?

FAS cannot anticipate the number of proposals received for any given country. In recent years, FAS has received about 100 proposals each year, but FAS often approves 20 percent or less of these proposals due to budget limits. Since the approval process is expected to be very competitive, more focused, clearly developed and well-written proposals will fare better. The proposals that best meet the proposal review criteria will be more competitive.

For organizations that submit more than one proposal, a written priority list should accompany the proposals. This is helpful due to the very competitive nature of the program that makes approval of all proposals not possible.

Are multi-year agreements possible?

Proposals for multi-year agreements, up to a maximum of three years, will be considered. Implementation of successive years will be subject to a favorable review of the program’s progress and the availability of funding. FAS will also consider proposals involving the shipment of commodities in one year and the use of monetization proceeds for up to three years.

Will FAS give priority to continuations of programs versus brand new programs?

FAS wants to establish sustainable programs whenever possible. In many cases, FAS will choose a continuation of a program that is making progress towards sustainability over a brand new program.

What will FAS use as the final determining factors among strongly competitive proposals?

In making the difficult final decisions, FAS will consider the intended impact of the program. Proposals that provide reasonable and clear estimates of the outcomes will receive strong consideration.

With 20 percent of the proposal weight going toward organizational experience, how can new organizations become more competitive for FAS food aid programming?

FAS looks for experience and capability to give assurance that the organization can implement the program. Many organizations that are new to FAS programs may have experience in delivering food aid by using their own resources or the resources of other donors. Organizations that do not have any experience with food aid can work with other organizations who have received international food aid grants.

Does FAS accept applications from faith-based organizations and are there any barriers to applying by faith-based organizations?

FAS accepts applications from faith-based, community-based, and secular organizations. When the President’s Faith-based and Community-based Initiative was first announced, all agencies were required to conduct an assessment of their programs to determine if any barriers existed for these types of organizations. FAS has a long history of working with faith-based and community-based organizations and was pleased to report that no barriers existed for these organizations when applying for FAS food assistance grants.

Can an organization apply for a regional program that includes both priority and non-priority countries? If so, what are the proposal’s chances of receiving funding?

FAS will accept and review all proposals for funding. Regional proposals that contain non-priority countries should include information that specifically addresses the need for the food assistance program in the non-priority country. The organization should also clearly articulate if FAS should consider the proposal only as a regional proposal (i.e., all countries considered as one group) or if a more limited number of countries could be programmed (e.g., funding only one or two of the three countries contained within the regional proposal).

Will FAS accept proposals from consortiums?

FAS will accept and review all proposals. However, FAS and implementing organizations have a mixed experience with consortiums. The consortiums can be complex, and FAS has multiple legal relationships with the members that lead to additional challenges in monitoring, servicing, and amending agreements.

Is bartering of commodities considered similarly as monetization?

Both bartering and monetizing commodities go through commercial sectors. Commodities requested for these uses must fit within the usual marketing requirements (UMR). Prior to making awards, FAS reviews all proposals that request monetization or bartering of commodities to ensure that there is no market displacement.