The project works to increase smallholder farmers’ incomes by improving productivity, expanding markets and creating private sector-led partnerships to increase competitiveness of selected agricultural value chains. The project creates jobs in the agricultural sector – especially for women and youth – while improving the availability of nutritious foods.
MAJOR FOCUS AREAS
To sustainably reduce poverty and promote agricultural economic growth, the USAID Agro Horizon Project aims to increase productivity of agricultural producers and link them to markets, increase productivity and markets for agribusiness, improve the enabling environment for agriculture sector growth, and improve nutritional status of women and children in the zone of influence of Osh, Batken, Jalal-Abad and Naryn.
In its third year, the Project partners with large agribusinesses and SMEs operating in target value chains with the development of their supply base, upgrading their facilities and equipment, adoption of quality and food safety management systems, and marketing of processed products.
EXPECTED RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
- USAID Agro Horizon Project has leveraged over $22.4 million in private sector investment capital to increase production and sales of fresh and processed agricultural products. An anticipated 42,613 households are expected to benefit from these partnerships. Other outcomes include $16,572,500 of incremental sales at the farm level, 792 full time jobs created, an increase of 53,500 cubic meters of additional installed storage capacity, and an increase of 27,500 metric tons of processing capacity.
- The project supports alternative financing mechanisms such as embedded financing and mobile payment systems that will leverage the partnership between the private sector and the USAID Agro Horizon Project to provide access to inputs and services for farmers to increase their productivity and ensure availability of raw materials for the private sector. By the end of 2017 8,145 farmers will have access to finance through innovative financial products.
- In the mountainous areas of Naryn and Osh, 15 women farmers partnered with USAID Agro Horizon Project to construct greenhouses This collaboration will generate 100 jobs and additional incomes to the women and their families from annual sales estimated at $26,000.
- Since August 2016, a series of Business-to-Business (B2B) activities generated $5.7 million in new commercial opportunities for farmers and small and medium enterprises in foreign and local markets.
- Since project inception, with the objective of improving productivity of smallholder farmers of maize, potatoes, apricots, onions and berries, nearly 44,000 rural households benefited directly from training and technical assistance. Over the last two years, the Project estimates an average increase of $1,000 in gross margin of farmers per hectare.
- In 2016, 1600 households of remote mountainous areas strengthened their technical skills in sustainable multiple cropping of vegetables, off-season production under low plastic tunnels, and growing vegetables that store well over longer periods. On average, each farmer earned around US$250 from a 0,02-ha plot of land by selling extra seedlings in spring, and selling tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, peppers and cucumbers to neighbors and in local markets in September and October.
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