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INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
Activity Data Sheet
>> AFR Regional Overview >> ISA Overview PROGRAM: Initiative for Southern Africa
TITLE AND NUMBER: Expanded Commercial Markets for Agricultural Technologies and Commodities in the SADC Region, 690-013
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,122,000 DA
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: $3,300,000 DA
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2000 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2004Summary: USAID's regional agriculture program supports increases in household incomes and food security in southern Africa through commercialization of dryland agriculture and the adoption of improved food crop varieties and animal health products. This market-based strategy for agricultural development in the region addresses essential supply and demand constraints including non-tariff barriers related to agriculture, such as grades and standards, sanitary and phyto-sanitary regulations, transfer of germplasm, and intellectual property rights. Private sector agribusiness and agro-industrial associations will promote free trade policies, laws and regulations. USAID is working with selected southern African countries, each of which has a comparative advantage in the target commodities, to stimulate regional trade and investment. In FY 2001, USAID will use $3,122,000 in agriculture funds from the Development Assistance account to support this program.
Key Results: In the area of technology development, USAID supported the development of 21 new technologies in FY 2000. These include a farm-level mechanical grain cleaner capable of economically removing sand and stones from the sorghum before milling. This process makes sorghum purchased from small farmers more acceptable by sorghum processing industries. As demand for sorghum by milling industries is expected to increase, southern African farmers will benefit directly from marketing a higher quality and higher-priced product. The South African Root Crops Research Network (SARRNET), a USAID-funded activity, introduced a motorized chipping and flour-making machine for cassava farmers in Malawi. The machine produces better quality chips, cassava flour, and cassava starch. Women, who are the primary processors, can save several hours of daily processing time with this new machinery. As a result of this innovation, farmers are able to increase profits by selling their higher quality improved chips directly to private industry.
The private sector continued to participate in the commercialization of technology with nurseries established by non-governmental organizations and farmers' organizations, planting 187 hectares of cassava and 165 hectares of sweet potatoes, which will multiply improved planting material in preparation for the next planting season. This has resulted in the planting of approximately 229,000 hectares of cassava and 13,000 hectares of new varieties of sweet potato. Because family farmers frequently trade planting material among themselves, this process sustains the program at the community level. However to expand distribution, higher levels of commercialization are required. USAID partners including non-governmental organizations and related organizations meet this need by buying planting materials from public multiplication sites established by SARRNET and then selling the improved materials both directly to farmers and through community-level outlets. The local organizations are also providing a certain level of extension services to farmers.
USAID support encouraged the distribution of 1,059 tons of sorghum and 49 tons of pearl millet improved seed to farmers for the 2000/2001 planting season. Approximately 296,000 farmers, 15% of total sorghum farmers in the region, used the improved seed. The USAID-funded sorghum and millet improvement activities continue to promote regional germplasm sharing, generate genotypes for commercialization and promote alternative seed delivery systems. Eighteen non-governmental organizations, two private organizations and 27 public institutions participated in multiplication and distribution of cassava and sweet potato planting materials.
As a result of USAID-supported education and advocacy in the area of market expansion, over 15 industries in four countries have started or substantially increased industrial use of cassava as a substitute for imported commodities. Several additional industries are also showing an interest. In Malawi, four main industrial consumers of cassava flour have increased total utilization to 1,160 tons, with the potential to increase to over 7,000 tons. Sorghum and pearl millet grain used for industrial purposes also increased in FY 2000. As a result, USAID-supported technology has helped industries in the region realize significant progress. For example, a textile manufacturing company in Malawi, which produces over 12,000,000 meters of cloth annually, is saving $108,000 per year by using cassava starch.
In the area of food security and income generation, adoption of drought-tolerant crops has enhanced food security in the region. A 2000 survey on the use of cassava and sweet potato confirmed that root crops contributed over 30% to the national food balance sheet in the region.
Performance and Prospects: USAID activities will expand markets for five agricultural technologies and commodities - sorghum, millet, cassava, sweet potato and heartwater (a tick-borne disease) control products. These are essential if southern Africa dryland farm families, who comprise 60% of the economically active population, are to prosper. Drought-tolerant varieties are especially important because unreliable rains frequently depress the maize harvest. At present, market demand for higher-yielding varieties of drought-tolerant crops is greater than supply and underscores the need for these interventions. Regional and international agribusiness firms have expressed interest in producing and selling improved technologies in southern Africa confirming that viable markets exist in the region for these technologies. Further analysis to confirm this demand will be supported by USAID to determine the scope and depth of market demand within the region.
USAID support for regionally coordinated agricultural research has reaped rich rewards through increased availability of higher-yielding and/or drought-resistant varieties of the region's important food crops. In FY 2002 USAID will continue to focus on increasing the role and participation of commercial markets in marketing these agricultural and livestock technologies to accelerate adoption and facilitate agricultural trade in the region.
Possible Adjustments to Plans: None.
Other Donor Programs: USAID is coordinating efforts with two donors that are working to harmonize national agricultural and food policies as well as seed policies and laws. The World Bank is designing a Sub-Saharan Africa Seed Initiative as an Africa-wide effort which includes reforming government seed sector support programs. USAID coordinates its assistance to the Southern Africa Agricultural Policy Analysis Network with French assistance.
Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Two international agricultural research centers participate as USAID grantees -- the International Center for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture. USAID provides funding to the University of Florida for developing heartwater disease and tick control technologies for cattle.
FY 2002 Performance Tables
Performance Measures:
Indicator FY97 (Actual) FY98 (Actual) FY99 (Actual) FY00 (Actual) FY00 (Plan) FY01 (Plan) FY02 (Plan) Indicator 1: Progress in policy, legal and regulatory reform for the removal or mitigation of non-tariff trade barriers for seed and planting materials - Intellectual property rights NA NA A A B B C Indicator 2: Progress in policy, legal and regulatory reform for the removal or mitigation of non-tariff trade barriers -Technical barriers to trade NA NA A B B C D Indicator 3: Progress in policy, legal and regulatory reform for the removal or mitigation of non-tariff trade barriers -Sanitary/Phyto-sanitary regulations NA NA A B B C D Indicator 4: Percent of area planted with improved varieties to the total crop area - Millet NA 12 12 13 14 16 18 Indicator 5: Percent of area planted with improved varieties to the total crop area - Sorghum NA 11 12 15 14 16 18 Indicator Information:
Indicator Level (S) or (IR) Unit of Measure Source Indicator Description Indicator 1: IR Progress towards established milestones RCSA Project documents "Progress in policy reform for the removal or mitigation of non-tariff trade barriers for seed and planting material, as measured by the achievement of the following milestones:
Level A => prioritization of policy reform agenda begun
Level B => policy reform agenda established and policy analyses begun
Level C => policy analyses completed (50% complete) and pilot policy reform activities initiated
Level D =>key policy analyses completed (100% complete) and pilot policy reform activities ongoing
Level E => memorandum of agreement for harmonized legislation to promote agricultural trade in improved varieties in two or more SADC countries
Level F => draft national-level policy changes completed and commencement of adoption (two or more country-level agreements to harmonize seed trade laws and regulations towards international standards / norms)"Indicator 2: IR Progress towards established milestones RCSA Project documents "Progress in policy reform for the removal or mitigation of non-tariff trade barriers for seed and planting material, as measured by the achievement of the following milestones:
Level A => prioritization of policy reform agenda begun
Level B => policy reform agenda established and policy analyses begun
Level C => policy analyses completed (50% complete) and pilot policy reform activities initiated
Level D =>key policy analyses completed (100% complete) and pilot policy reform activities ongoing
Level E => memorandum of agreement for harmonized legislation to promote agricultural trade in improved varieties in two or more SADC countries
Level F => draft national-level policy changes completed and commencement of adoption (two or more country-level agreements to harmonize seed trade laws and regulations towards international standards / norms)"Indicator 3: IR Progress towards established milestones RCSA Project documents "Progress in policy reform for the removal or mitigation of non-tariff trade barriers for seed and planting material, as measured by the achievement of the following milestones:
Level A => prioritization of policy reform agenda begun
Level B => policy reform agenda established and policy analyses begun
Level C => policy analyses completed (50% complete) and pilot policy reform activities initiated
Level D =>key policy analyses completed (100% complete) and pilot policy reform activities ongoing
Level E => memorandum of agreement for harmonized legislation to promote agricultural trade in improved varieties in two or more SADC countries
Level F => draft national-level policy changes completed and commencement of adoption (two or more country-level agreements to harmonize seed trade laws and regulations towards international standards / norms)"Indicator 4: IR % IARC's "Adoption level is defined as the percentage of total area growing sorghum, pearl millet, cassava and sweet potato in the respective target countries planted to improved varieties of these crops. Target countries are Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe." Indicator 5: IR % IARCs "Adoption level is defined as the percentage of total area growing sorghum, pearl millet, cassava and sweet potato in the respective target countries planted to improved varieties of these crops. Target countries are Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe."
U.S. Financing
(In thousands of dollars)
Obligations Expenditures Unliquidated Through September 30, 1999 6,549 DA 3,697 DA 2,852 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Fiscal Year 2000 3,600 DA 1,400 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA Through September 30, 2000 10,149 DA 5,097 DA 5,052 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Prior Year Unobligated Funds 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA 3,122 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001 3,122 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Future Obligations Est. Total Cost Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA 3,300 DA 0 DA 16,571 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
