The Food for Progress is targeted to countries that are making strides toward democracy and private enterprise.  The program emphasizes private sector agricultural and economic development and enhanced food security in recipient countries.  Projects are implemented by private voluntary organizations , foreign governments, and the United Nations’ World Food Program .  These organizations submit Food for Progress proposals annually to USDA.  For those proposals that are accepted, USDA purchases the commodities requested from the U.S. market, donates the commodities to the organization, and pays for freight to move the commodities to the recipient country.  Monetized proceeds from the sale of the commodities in the recipient country are used to support agricultural development activities. 

Activities have included improving agricultural techniques and marketing systems, providing education to farmers, helping to develop cooperatives, teaching irrigation and land conservation techniques, supporting agribusinesses and microcredit enterprises, and building the capacity to trade. 

Access to Finance, Training, and Markets Moves Kenya’s Subsistence Farmers to Sustainability 

USDA’s Donation of Wheat to World Council of Credit Unions Helped

Thanks to a World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) program in Kenya funded by USDA’s Food for Progress Program (FFP), nearly 3,000 subsistence-level farmers—many of them women—are increasing agricultural production, feeding their families, and having money left over to pay bills. 

In 2006, USDA donated 26,610 metric tons of wheat valued at $6.1 million to WOCCU under a three-year FFP agreement.  The wheat was sold in Kenya and the proceeds were used by WOCCU to work with local credit unions to provide small-scale farmers with access to:

• affordable agricultural financing with terms that meet their cash-flow needs;

• agricultural training in marketable and labor-saving crops appropriate for farmers weakened by HIV/AIDS; and
• direct market relationships to sell their crops to reputable buyers, as well as connections with other value chain stakeholders.

WOCCU’s approach has been to bring together all local stakeholders in the value chain—farmers, input suppliers, processors, buyers, and credit unions—to identify marketable crops and establish beneficial pricing and payment arrangements.  By so doing, WOCCU has laid the foundation for future collaboration among these groups that will extend beyond the initial program.  The willingness of credit unions to provide financing to small farmers is fueling agricultural development and has sparked collaboration among local organizations.

Maria Adongo, a widow with five children and three AIDS orphans, is one of many small-scale farmers who has benefited from the joint efforts of USDA and WOCCU.  Last year, she and 25 other farmers in her village joined the local credit union.  Through their membership, they received the financing and technical assistance they needed to plant their first cash crop, “New Rice for Africa” (NERICA).  NERICA is a revolutionary, rain-fed rice that does not require irrigation, matures in 90 days, and produces four to five times the yield of other varieties.

In January, Maria sold the rice to Kenya’s largest mill for a previously agreed upon price. The mill did not pay Maria directly, but passed the proceeds from the sale to her local credit union, which then deducted what was needed to pay off her loan, depositing the balance into Maria’s new savings account.  Maria had enough leftover rice to feed her family, as well as money in her savings account to pay school fees and other household expenses.  She took out another loan to produce NERICA again this growing season.  “If the credit union wasn’t here, I’d still be stuck producing low-profit yielding vegetables,” Maria said.

In Kenya, 80 percent of the population relies on agriculture as their main source of income.  Many of these farmers struggle to earn enough income and produce enough food to feed their families.  In addition, HIV/AIDS has weakened the workforce and left an estimated one million children without a parent or both parents.  To help these children, the WOCCU program has an educational grant component that has already given more than 430 students the opportunity to complete secondary school by paying for school uniforms, books, school supplies, and other costs. 

For more information about WOCCU’s development work, visit www.woccu.org/microfinance. Beyond Kenya, WOCCU is implementing agricultural and value-chain finance programs in Sri Lanka (funded by USDA) and Peru (funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development). 

Women Entrepreneurs in Senegal Receive Award for Their Efforts To Promote Development and Reduce Poverty  

USDA’s Donation of U.S. Rice to Counterpart International Made the Program Possible

(Actuality: Josephine Trenchard, Counterpart International’s Africa Regional Coordinator and Senegal Country Representative, talking about how her organization used the Food for Progress grant to train the Senegalese women entrepreneurs so they could market their agricultural products, mp3).

Last year, a group of Senegalese women entrepreneurs, who are members of the Union of Young Agriculturalists of Koyli-Wirnde, were recognized by the President of their country for making rice-based couscous, flour, juices, jams, and marmalades competitive in Podor District’s local markets. 

Without the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-administered Food for Progress (FFP) program and the implementing organization, Counterpart International, the women’s group might not have achieved this success.  In 2004, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) awarded a three-year FFP grant to Counterpart International to provide Senegalese farmers, especially women, in the Podor District with agricultural training and access to improved seed varieties, tools, and a micro-credit loan fund.  Under the FFP grant, USDA donated 10,500 metric tons of milled U.S. rice to Counterpart, which sold the rice on the Senegalese market and used the proceeds from the sale to fund these capacity building and development activities. 

Residents of Podor, which is a district within the St. Louis region of Senegal, suffer from extensive food insecurity and poor health compared to other districts in Senegal.  According to the President of the women’s group Aissata Ibrahima SY, “Thanks to this support, we were able to develop our business plan… [and] improve our product presentation and quality to be more competitive on the market.”   Counterpart International worked with the women’s group to review their goals and improve their operational ability.  “The partnership with Counterpart International permitted us to pursue our ambitions and better understand how we need to organize and profit from our hard work,” said Ibrahima.  This included helping the group develop a business plan, finance activities, and improve production and marketing techniques of their agricultural products. 

As a result of the successes of the 2004 FFP agreement, USDA’s FAS signed a new three-year agreement with Counterpart International in 2008.  Under the agreement USDA will donate 4,260 metric tons of crude degummed soybean oil over a three-year period, which Counterpart International will sell in Senegal.  The proceeds from the sale will be used to build the capacity of Senegal’s extension service and farmer associations to train others in organizational development and crop production techniques, strengthen farm groups’ agricultural marketing capacity, and provide micro-credit loans.  Podor District will be targeted and priority will again be given to women’s groups. 

The FFP program provides U.S. agricultural commodities to developing countries and emerging democracies committed to introducing and expanding free enterprise in the agricultural sector.  Commodities are donated to foreign governments, private voluntary organizations, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, or intergovernmental organizations that implement agricultural and rural development projects, while helping to address food shortages.  The development projects are funded by sales of the donated U.S. commodities within the recipient countries.  Projects are chosen based on their agricultural focus, the country’s needs, the proposal’s quality, and the organization’s management, experience, and financial and technical capabilities.

The FFP program is administered by USDA’s FAS and authorized by the Food for Progress Act of 1985.

For more information about the FFP program go to http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFP/foodforprogress.asp. For more information about Counterpart International, go to www.counterpart.org.

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On November 21, 2008, the Institute of Higher Education and Technology or One World University was officially opened by the President of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza, in Changalane, a rural area nearly 50 miles from the country’s capital Maputo. The university is training students to become instructors in rural development at 10 teacher training colleges throughout the country. The students will pass their knowledge on to hundreds of primary school teachers-in-training, showing them how to fight poverty and organize rural economic development activities.

More than 1,000 people attended the official opening of One World University in Changalane, Mozambique.  Photo courtesy of ADPP Mozambique.

The opening of the university was made possible by a 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress (FFP) agreement with Planet Aid., Inc. The FFP agreement is providing a total of 60,000 tons of hard red winter wheat and 70 tons of textured soy protein valued at $25.5 million (including transportation costs) for three years through June 2009. Proceeds from the sale of the 60,000 tons of wheat were used to complete the construction of One World University and purchase equipment. The agreement also includes providing scholarships to 180 One World University students, who will in turn train 1,500 teachers.

The construction of the university, the purchase of its equipment, and the scholarships are but one component of the broad-based FFP agreement between USDA and Planet Aid. Other aspects of the agreement include:

The official opening of One World University was attended by more than 1,000 people. Participants included hundreds of people from nearby villages, heads of national and international organizations, Mozambican government officials, U.S. Embassy officials, including the Charge d'Affaires from the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, and USDA’s Agricultural Counselor from the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, and representatives from Planet Aid and its implementing partner ADPP Mozambique and The Federation Humana People to People, to which both Planet Aid and Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo (ADPP) Mozambique are members.

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Food for Work and Food for Training Program in Bolivia

One project that demonstrates the success of this program was a Food for Work and Food for Training program in Bolivia implemented by Project Concern International (PCI) in fiscal 2006.  Using a $5.9-million Food for Progress grant that provided 17,340 metric tons of commodities, PCI sold some of the commodities in Bolivia and used the proceeds to strengthen llama agribusinesses and build indigenous communities’ economies.  PCI provided training and technical assistance to help llama farmers’ improve their production technology and organizational capacity, strengthen rural microenterprises, and improve rural markets.  As a result, 34,000 beneficiaries improved their economic prospects.  Llama farmers’ expanded their ability to generate income, directly impacting their families’ food security.  The training and technical assistance helped prevent the deaths of four llamas per farm per year, enabling 2,000 llama producers to increase their incomes by 29 percent.  New economic opportunities resulting from stronger microenterprises and improved access to markets also contributed to household income.

Between 2003 and 2009, PCI conducted three phases of this program in 139 communities.  For an update on the program's success, please click here.

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Catholic Relief Services Improves the Lives of 5,000 Households in Niger Through a Sesame Production and Marketing Project

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) awarded a two-year Food for Progress (FFP) grant to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to improve the lives of 5,000 households in 30 villages in the Sirba zone of the Tillaberi region of Niger, which is close to the country’s capital of Niamey.  

Women’s group in Tillaberi region of Niger, who make products from sesame to sell in local markets.  Photo courtesy of Jennifer Burns, Communications Coordinator, Catholic Relief Services Niger.

Under the agreement, USDA donated 2,500 tons of hard red winter wheat that CRS sold in Niger.  The proceeds of the sale, totaling nearly $800,000, were used to increase sesame production and trade, expand the management skills of farmers, and empower women to become entrepreneurs.  USDA also donated 500 tons of bulgur, which CRS distributed in the Tillaberi region, which is one of the poorest in Niger, in conjunction with a Food for Work (FFW) program.   

The activities conducted by CRS in conjunction with its in-country partner Federation des Coopératives Maraichères du Niger (FCMN) and the Government of Niger benefited nearly 25,000 people.  Achievements included the following:

• The FFW program showed people in the community how to rehabilitate degraded land through natural resources management techniques.  The result was an increase in production and revenue.  Production of sesame and other crops grew from a baseline of 158 pounds to 440 pounds per household, while revenue increased from a baseline of $32 to $112 per household in 2006 and increased again in 2007 to $232 per household.  One FFW participant noted that the techniques he learned helped him increase production of millet from 785 pounds to 2,237 pounds in 2006.

• Farmers were organized into sesame grower unions so that economies of scale could be created to buy inputs and organize sesame trade.  Various training programs, including train-the-trainer, agricultural marketing, agro-enterprise, financial management and best practices, and credit systems, were provided to more than 1,800 people.  The result was a threefold increase in productivity and revenue and more diversified market channels.  In addition, the development of a new market channel for sesame oil is being explored.  One woman became president of her community’s sesame seed union, which represents 250 farmers.  Since starting to farm sesame in 2006, her income has tripled to $250 per year with which she has bought goats and sheep that she has sold for a sizeable profit after fattening them.  Her success has gained the respect of men in the community.  This is noteworthy for a country in which men traditionally make most of the important decisions.  Another woman’s profits from the sesame project helped her start an off-season garden that has improved her family’s diet and provides income to finance the following year’s sesame production.

• Five union warehouses were built by FFW participants in five villages for each producer union to use for post-harvest storage of sesame until prices reached their peak, at which time the sesame was sold.  An inventory credit system gave producers access to cash while their sesame was in storage.  In the first year of the project, sesame growers were provided with seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides and then reimbursed their unions for the value of the inputs after their sesame was sold.  The reimbursements were used to create a revolving fund for storing the sesame in union warehouses.
   

Sesame products (oil, cream, soap, and biscuits) made by women’s groups in Tillaberi region of Niger and sold on the local market.  Photo courtesy of Jennifer Burns, Communications Coordinator, Catholic Relief Services Niger.

As a result of the successes achieved between 2005 and 2007, FAS signed a new three-year agreement with CRS in 2008 to increase production of sesame, okra, onion, and other vegetables in another 30 villages in the Tillaberi region.  The project will enhance private sector development and give producers the ability to support their financial needs through the sale of sesame, onion, and okra to national and international markets.  Under the agreement, USDA will donate 2,410 tons of vegetable oil that CRS will sell in Niger.  The proceeds from the sale will be used to fund the project, which is expected to benefit 8,000 people directly and 32,000 indirectly. 

Sesame seeds grown by farmers in Tillaberi region of Niger.  Photo courtesy of Jennifer Burns, Communications Coordinator, Catholic Relief Services Niger.

The FFP program provides U.S. agricultural commodities to developing countries and emerging democracies committed to introducing and expanding free enterprise in the agricultural sector.  Commodities are provided on a donation basis to foreign governments, private voluntary organizations, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, or intergovernmental organizations that implement agricultural and rural development projects, while helping to address food shortages.  The development projects are funded by sales of the donated U.S. commodities within the recipient countries.  Projects are chosen based on their agricultural focus, the country’s needs, the proposal’s quality, and the organization’s management, experience, and financial and technical capabilities.

The FFP program is administered by USDA’s FAS and authorized by the Food for Progress Act of 1985.

For more information about the FFP program go to http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFP/foodforprogress.asp.  For more information about CRS, go to http://crs.org/.

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Questions or comments can be directed to the Food Assistance Division at 202-720-4221
or via e-mail at PPDED@fas.usda.gov.