The main objective of our work was to provide technical assistance to AGRA’s Regional Food trade Unit in the design and development of projects with a strong market systems development alignment. To achieve this objective, we supported the Regional Food Trade Unit in identification and analysis of market failures in regional food trade and assisted in the design of interventions to overcome them. We then proposed approaches to improve the way agricultural market systems function, making them more effective, competitive, and participatory by including poor farmers and other disadvantaged groups. On the regulatory side, we assisted the Regional Food Trade Unit Policy staff in reviewing and structuring proposals aimed at addressing policy or regulatory related interventions that sought to build functional market systems for agri-food sector. We also developed templates and checklists for the team that will be used to assess future grant proposals to ensure alignment with the market systems development approach. Finally, we delivered a 3-day MSD training course to over 50 AGRA members of staff. 

Partner: Alliance for a Green revolution in Africa (AGRA)   

https://agra.org/

The USAID Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) program is designed to bolster the U.S. Government’s ability to boost trade and investment to, from, and within the African continent. The continent-wide program is USAID’s flagship effort in support of the Prosper Africa initiative and will expand and accelerate two-way trade and investment between African nations and the United States. In Southern Africa, the USAID ATI Southern Africa Buy-in Activity focuses on increasing exports from targeted Southern African countries to South Africa and boosting sustainable utilization of AGOA opportunities by targeted Southern African countries. ATI seeks to deepen the market systems approach to tackle the root causes that limit Southern Africa’s agricultural and non-agricultural market system - addressing incentives, behaviors, and relationships that impede the region’s trade competitiveness. To this end, DevPact was retained by the ATI program to work closely with the project team and primarily be responsible for supporting the co-creation and deal note development process related to USAID’s Annual Program Statement (APS). Specifically, DevPact staff provided close technical leadership to all project staff and partners to ensure that they applied best practice market systems development methodologies in the targeted market systems. In addition, DevPact staff supported project country representatives and regional portfolio managers to prepare deal notes with private sector partners laying out clear intervention designs and measurable results.

Partners:  https://ati-partnerships.com/          www.dai.com

The governments of South Africa, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, along with the European Union, have an ambitious, long-term Just Energy Transition Partnership to support South Africa's decarbonisation efforts. The Partnership aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of South Africa's economy, with a focus on the electricity system, to help it achieve the ambitious goals set out in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution emissions goals. To execute on the ambitious aims of JETP, there is a need to drive the inclusive and economic growth of the economy in the major coal mining region of the country. The Mpumalanga province of South Africa produces 80% of the country’s coal and of the13 coal-fired power stations that Eskom operates, 11 are in Mpumalanga (70% of Eskom’s generation capacity is in the province). The agriculture and agro-processing sectors have been identified as high potential sectors on which to achieve this objective. To better understand these sectors’ potential in the province, DevPact was commissioned by TechnoServe to identify and validate relevant agribusinesses in Mpumalanga as a pipeline that could be targets for investment/FCDO support, leveraging local networks including local government and NGO databases and networks where relevant. These agribusinesses and the recommended interventions had to show significant job creation potential in line with JETP priorities. DevPact engaged over 60 agribusinesses, private and public sector financial service providers and farmers in Mpumalanga in support of this objective.

Partner: Technoserve

https://www.technoserve.org/

The Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (AATIF) is an innovative public-private partnership dedicated to realise the potential of Africa's agricultural production, manufacturing, service provision and trade for the benefit of the poor. AATIF investments foster agricultural value chain enhancement and thereby contribute significantly to the business growth of African farmers and subsequently to a reduction of poverty. To accomplish this objective, AATIF prioritizes investments which have a distinct approach and the ability to improve food security, create employment and boost local incomes. Within AATIF’s mandate, the Fund provides finance directly to farming businesses or indirectly through intermediary companies or through financial institutions. DevPact was commissioned by AATIF to conduct an endline appraisal of AATIF’s investment in BancABC. For the appraisal, DevPact analysed the agricultural strategy and agricultural loan portfolio expansion of the bank during the AATIF investment period, assessed the strategic, operational, and human resources (capacities, number of staff, new staff) implications of these changes within the bank, and analysed how the changes in the bank were reflected in the agricultural sub-loan clients. DevPact also performed an analysis specifically of the financing provided by the bank to smallholder farmers supplying sugar cane mills in the low-veld area of the country (Chiredzi, Hippo Valley and Triangle), which included, among others, changes in production, mechanisation and income levels of these smallholder farmers

Partner: 

https://www.aatif.lu/home.html

The REDD+ Participatory Forest Management (PFM) in South-West Ethiopia (REPAFAMA-SW Ethiopia, Phase III) project has been implemented since 2021 as part of Norway’s International Climate and Forests Initiative (NICFI) for the period 2021 - 2025. The overall objective of the project is to contribute towards reduced and reversed forest loss in Southwest Ethiopia. The project is implemented across 14 woredas housing a contiguous forest block of high conservation significance covering parts of Oromia, Gambella and Southwest Ethiopia Peoples Regional States. Specifically, project implementation areas include Kefa, Sheka, and Bench Sheko Zones of the South-West Ethiopia Peoples Regional State, Ilubabor zone of Oromia Regional State, and Agnwa zone of Gambela Peoples’ Regional State. The areas of project intervention fall within one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots and constitute Ethiopia’s largest remnant forest blocks and home to important plant genetic materials such as the wild varieties of Arabica coffee. The project is implemented by Development Fund (DF) in collaboration with Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association (EWNRA) and the Alliance of Bioversity and Centre for International Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). DevPact was commissioned to conduct a mid-term review (MTR) of the project with a focus on assessing and documenting performance and the extent to which the outputs and outcomes had been achieved, determining coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, relevance and sustainability of project outputs and outcomes. DevPact enumerators conducted key informant interviews and focus group discussions in Massha, Gesha, Sheko, Gambella, Nono-Sele and Halu, encompassing federal and regional government offices, forest management groups, forest management cooperatives, forest product marketing cooperatives, forest management associations, other donor funded forest management initiatives and private sector. The findings of the review were used by DF and its implementing partners to make necessary adjustments to the project for the remaining grant period, therefore, the review provided actionable recommendations for improvement and identified important areas for learning.

Partner: https://www.utviklingsfondet.no/en

DevPact was retained to analyse how the COVID-19 pandemic affected market access and financing for SMEs in six value chains (poultry, aquaculture, beans, sesame, vegetables, dairy) in six countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, and Nepal). Our analysis highlighted how SME agribusiness operations had changed pre- and post COVID and how this had an impact on investment decisions. Aspects such as labour supply disruptions, depressed market demand and increased phytosanitary requirements were identified as the major challenges faced by SME agribusiness because of the COVID 19 pandemic. Post analysis, we provided recommendations on how investor supporting stakeholders could facilitate investment readiness amongst SMEs sourcing from smallholder farmers in view of COVID-19 impacts, drawing on the data and analysis from the six value chains in the target countries. Key recommendations included supporting increased use of digital technology (e-commerce and digital financial services) and reviewing loan pricing during the pandemic.

Partner: CABI, https://www.cabi.org/

Link to report click here