Attachment 4 - Revised Attachment J-1_SOO_final.pdf

ATTACHMENT J-1: Statement of Objectives

Activity Name: MARKET SYSTEMS AND RESILIENCE ACTIVITY

A. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Feed the Future Ghana Market Systems and Resilience (Feed the Future MSR) Activity is to increase inclusive1 agriculture-led economic growth in northern Ghana through competitive, stronger, and more resilient markets.

B. TARGET AREA, CROPS, AND POPULATION

The target area for the Feed the Future MSR Activity is the Feed the Future Ghana Zone of Influence (ZOI)2, which has high levels of stunting and poverty, low levels of women’s empowerment, high potential for agricultural growth, low access to water resources, and has opportunities for leveraging other USAID, government of Ghana, private sector and donor investments. The ZOI covers 17 districts in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions of northern Ghana, as follows:

● Northern Region: Gushiegu, Karaga, Mion, Sagnerigu, Nanton, Yendi Municipal

● North East Region: East Mamprusi, Mamprugu Moagduri

● Upper East Region: Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, Garu, Tempane

● Upper West Region: Daffiama Bussie Issa, Nadowli-Kaleo, Sissala East, Sissala West, Wa East The target crops for the Feed the Future MSR Activity are staple crops, such as maize, soybean, groundnut, and cowpea, and high-value export-oriented crops, such as horticulture, shea, and other tree crops. These crops are included in the Feed the Future Ghana Food Security Strategy (GFSS) Country Plan and are important for income generation, nutrition, soil management, risk mitigation, and womens’ and youth empowerment.

The target population of the Feed the Future MSR Activity is market actors in the ZOI, especially smallholder farmers (SHFs), women, youth, and other marginalized groups who tend to be excluded from local markets. Market actors from outside the ZOI and other USAID and government of Ghana initiatives3 will contribute to drive improvements in the ZOI.

C. BACKGROUND

1 Inclusive growth” refers to economic growth that benefits all segments of the population, including low-income people and socially disadvantaged groups, women; youth; and persons with disabilities, etc. Inclusive growth works best when it focuses on increasing access to productive opportunities for women and historically disadvantaged groups while ensuring that markets are competitive. See USAID “Economic Growth Policy” (2021, https://www.usaid.gov/documents/usaid-economic-growth-policy) 2 see Annex 1 3 see Annex 3

PROBLEM STATEMENT

A considerable gap persists between northern and southern Ghana in poverty rates, incomes, nutrition, and child well-being. Despite an overall reduction in Ghana’s poverty rate from 52 percent to 28 percent over the past 10 years, northern Ghana has poverty rates nearly twice that of southern Ghana4. The World Bank reports that while the number of the poor decreased by 2.5 million in southern Ghana, it increased by nearly 1 million in northern Ghana5.

The primary agricultural sector accounts for 22% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs more than half the labor force. The broader agri-food system, covering agribusiness; transport of agricultural goods; agro-processing; and the catering, restaurant and hotel industries, generated 38.2% of GDP and 54.8% of employment in 2017. During 2013- 2017, the agri-food system GDP grew annually at 2.6% and employment in the agri-food system grew annually at 1.7%, reaching $20.8 billion and 6.1 million workers in 20176. Yet, smallholder production dominates in northern Ghana. About 80 percent of agriculture in Ghana is produced by smallholder farmers growing food for consumption and cash crops on an average of 1.2 hectares. Infrastructure, processing, storage, and marketing facilities are rudimentary; and droughts, erosion of arable land, and floods have contributed to low agricultural productivity and weak market access.

Ghana’s market systems have weak regulations and standards, inadequate coordination among market actors; inadequate private sector engagement in input distribution networks; lack of product diversity; insufficient market size; and limited financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Ghana’s market size, especially that in the ZOI, is insufficient to attract large investments that benefit from economies of scale, except for export-oriented products. While the growing urban middle class increasingly demands high-quality processed foods7, consumption among the urban poor is shifting to cheap convenience foods8. Dietary shifts among consumers present an opportunity to expand and modernize Ghanaian food industries. Yet, food needs are met increasingly through imports.9 Food imports in Ghana tripled (Ghanaian cedis 1.5–4.5 bn) from 2009 to 201310 and currently comprise between 8 and 14% of primary agricultural products and 47% of processed food products.11 Ghana cannot meet

4 Ghana Feed the Future Zone of Influence Baseline Report, March 2014.

https://feedthefuture.gov/sites/default/files/resource/ files/Feed_the_Future_Ghana_Baseline_Report_ English.pdf 5 Ibid 6 Thurlow, James. Measuring Changes in Ghana’s Agri-food System. Report to USAID/BFS. 2019.

7 Tschirley, et. al., 2015 as per Pauw, Karl (2018). The State of Agriculture in Ghana: Towards Agricultural Innovations in Ghana: An Evidence-based Approach. IFPRI Ghana https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/Pauw-agriculture-in-ghana.pdf 8 Dixon, et al., 2007, source: https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/Pauw-agriculture-in-ghana.pdf 9 Rakotoarisoa, et. al., 2012 10 Ghana Statistical Service (2014), Digest of International Merchandise Trade Statistics 2009-2013.

11 Arndt and Hartley, 2017; source: https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/Pauw-agriculture-in-ghana.pdf https://feedthefuture.gov/sites/default/files/resource/%0Dfiles/Feed_the_Future_Ghana_Baseline_Report_%0DEnglish.pdf https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/Pauw-agriculture-in-ghana.pdf https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/Pauw-agriculture-in-ghana.pdf https://www.poverty-action.org/sites/default/files/Pauw-agriculture-in-ghana.pdf local demand and compete in global markets unless it improves agricultural market systems critical to its journey to self-reliance.

D. CONTRACT OBJECTIVES

The Contractor must apply a market systems development approach to achieve the objectives outlined below. The Contractor must identify and minimize the root causes of market failures, and create incentives for actors to invest in developing and sustaining productive relationships for the efficient and resilient delivery of goods and services. These incentives are particularly important to encourage behavior change among individuals, communities, and institutions to transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture.

DESCRIPTION OF OBJECTIVES

Objective 1: Increase commercialization and profitability of agriculture markets Agriculture in northern Ghana is largely subsistence farming, without fundamental business practices to create market opportunities. The Contractor must develop and implement a strategy that encourages farmers and other market actors to adopt improved agronomic practices, and increase the access to and use of inputs, mechanization, irrigation and other water management strategies, extension services, and business information; and to connect them to market systems. The strategy must:

a. address the root causes of low profitability, market failures, and gender inequalities to promote gender-based reforms in agriculture markets;

b. facilitate market actors to invest in commercialization; integrate science, technology, innovation and partnership to increase crop and product diversification; improve post-harvest handling and processing and food safety practices; increase product value to meet standards for domestic and international end-markets; and

c. build capacities to decrease environmental risk and vulnerability to shocks and support market systems resilience as defined in “Market Systems Resilience Measurement Resources”12 to protect the gains made towards commercialization and profitability for all market actors.

Objective 2: Increase institutional capacity of market actors The principal market actors are SHFs, MSMEs, financial institutions, regional and district agriculture units, civil society organizations, agriculture research institutes, and universities.

Partnerships among these actors are piecemeal and not sustained. Low levels of transparency, trust, and information exchange lead to poor service delivery and create barriers for the poor, women, youth, and ethnic minorities to participate in markets. The Contractor must collaborate with market actors and excluded groups to strengthen and increase the consistency of business

12 https://www.marketlinks.org/resources/market-systems-resilience-measurement-resources-0 https://www.marketlinks.org/resources/market-systems-resilience-measurement-resources-0 performance and relationships; to attract investment to improve quality and diversity of goods and services; to increase transfer of agricultural innovations to SHFs; to improve agronomic, vocational, technical, and business skills; to promote business development services as a means of increasing market opportunities; and to create incentives for women and youth to enter agricultural markets. This institutional capacity must also consider the roles of the market actors in contributing to resilience that support risk mitigation and management prior to shocks and positive coping and adaptation after shocks (i.e. weather, institutional, conflict, etc.) occur.

Objective 3: Improve market access and quality of business services Market actors have limited access to financial services, market and weather information, extension/advisory services, and logistical services. Women and youth disproportionately face impediments in accessing finance due to high collateral requirements and prevailing gender norms. The Contractor must facilitate application of innovative technologies to improve market information flows; to disseminate research and development outputs; to strengthen and expand inclusive finance mechanisms (e.g., Village Savings and Loan Associations and digital banking) that reach women, youth and other marginalized groups; to facilitate market actors to increase the supply of and the demand for improved business services; and to increase market entry of women and youth. The Contractor must build on outgrower business models and buyer-sponsored outgrower schemes when leveraging the capabilities of business services.

These models have increased sales and revenues for SHFs; increased their access to and utilization of inputs and services; established long-term relationships among SHFs, buyers, aggregators, processors, MSMEs, and agro input companies; and opened new end-markets and pulled in smaller actors as suppliers, among them women and youth. The Contractor must integrate considerations as to how types of market access and business services can enhance market systems resilience capacities.

Objective 4: Improve the enabling environment for local market actors Communities, firms, organizations, and government agencies lack commitment and enforcement capacity to regulate markets. The Contractor must engage the government, market actors, and civil society to support them to develop policies that improve functioning of markets with respect to risk reduction and management, business performance, and opportunities for market growth and continuity in the face of shocks and stresses. The Contractor must strengthen institutions to increase the compliance and enforcement of formal and informal market regulations on sanitary, phytosanitary, food safety, and seed quality standards.

E. RESULTS AND INDICATORS

The Contractor must measure and track indicators for each objective. The Contractor must track and report on standard indicators in the Standard Foreign Assistance13 economic growth indicator reference sheets and the Feed the Future Indicator Handbook14 . The Contractor may develop custom indicators and review indicators included in reports of previous USAID

13 https://usaidlearninglab.org/library/standard-foreign-assistance-indicators 14 https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-indicator-handbook https://usaidlearninglab.org/library/standard-foreign-assistance-indicators https://www.agrilinks.org/post/feed-future-indicator-handbook agricultural activities found on the Development Experience Clearinghouse15. The Contractor must ground truth and update the final baseline indicators and targets in consultation with USAID and must indicate proposed baselines and targets, where available or appropriate. Please see Annex 4, for a summary of endline data from the USAID/Ghana’s Feed the Future (FTF) ZOI, Phase 1. The ZOI for Phase 2 are 17 districts which fall within the original Phase 1 ZOI.

This table can be used as data as a guide ground truthing.

The table below lists the core FTF indicators with the minimum expected results to be used as a basis for monitoring activity progress and measuring contractor performance. Contractors may propose in the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan additional FTF and custom indicators and associated targets, as long as they are well-aligned with the contract objectives and expected results.

Table: Minimum Results for the Feed the Future MSR Activity

# Objectives FTF Indicator Minimum Results

1 Objective 1: Increase commercialization and profitability of agriculture markets

EG.3.2 Number of individuals participating in United States Government (USG) food security program

180,000

EG.3.2-26: Value of annual sales of producers and firms receiving USG assistance.

$183,000,000

2 Objective 2: Increase institutional capacity of market actors

EG.3.2-24 Number of individuals in the agriculture system who have applied improved management practices or technologies with USG assistance

180,000

3 Objective 3: Improve markets access and quality of business services

EG.3.2-27 Value of agriculture-related financing accessed as a result of USG assistance

$18,500,000 in financing accessed

4 Objective 4: Improve the enabling environment for local market actors

EG.3.1-d Milestones in improved institutional architecture for food security policy achieved with USG assistance

Policy target for MSR Activity Five (5) Milestones:

A. Policy development and coordination element (two Milestones):

15 https://dec.usaid.gov/dec/home/Default.aspx https://dec.usaid.gov/dec/home/Default.aspx

A1. Policies around market risk reduction and management A2. Business performance & opportunities for market growth & continuity in the face of shocks and stress

B. Policy implementation element (three milestones) -compliance and enforcements of:

B1. Sanitary and phytosanitary issues

B2. Food safety issues

B3. Seed quality standards

F. GRANTS UNDER CONTRACTS

Grants may be included in the Performance Work Statement and considered under this contract.

[END OF STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES]

ANNEXES

Annex 1: Ghana Food Security Project Zone of Influence

* Note: At the time this map was created, Garu-Tempane in the Upper East Region was shown as one district, however it will be split into Garu and Tempane Districts, both in the Zone of Influence. In the Northern Region, Savelugu-Nanton will also be split, however only Nanton District is included in the Zone of Influence.

Northern Region North East Upper East Region Upper West Region

Gushiegu East Mamprusi Bawku Municipal Daffiama Bussie Issa

Karaga Mamprugu Moagduri Bawku West Nadowli-Kaleo

Mion Garu Sissala East

Nanton Tempane Sissala West

Sagnerigu Wa East

Yendi Municipal

Annex 2: MSR aligns to the USAID/Ghana Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) Results Framework

CDCS MSR Activity

CDCS Goal:

A more self-reliant Ghana offering a productive, healthy life to all its citizens

Purpose:

Strengthen market systems that will result in greater efficiency, productivity, and investment in goods and services that drive agriculture-led economic growth, ultimately increase incomes for households in Northern Ghana.

CDCS Development Objective (DO) 1:

Broad-based economic growth accelerated and sustained

Illustrative aligned behaviors:

Intermediate Result (IR) 1.1: Government strengthens the enabling environment for equitable, sustainable growth:

1.1.3 Business associations and other civil

society organizations promote an improved business enabling environment

IR 1.2 Businesses expand through efficient, productive practices

1.2.1: Businesses use financing to grow

1.2.2: Businesses use business development services to grow

1.2.3: Businesses attract greater investment from domestic and foreign sources

1.2.4: Businesses improve the quality and diversity of their goods and services.

CDCS DO 3:

Sustainable development accelerated in northern Ghana

IR 1.3: Healthy, skilled citizens contribute to economic growth

1.3.3: Workforce acquires marketable work skills

IR 3.1: Government improves equitable delivery of quality services in health, education and agriculture

3.1.3 Private sector invests in low-cost

quality services

IR 3.2: Private sector increases investment

3.2.1: Government improves incentives to stimulate private sector investment

3.2.3: Market actors strengthen market systems to meet demand

IR 3.3: Citizens adopt improved practices to advance their well-being and resilience

3.3.2: Farmers link to profitable market systems

Annex 3: RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ACTIVITIES

Strategic Alignment between Ghana and USAID Strategies The Feed the Future MSR Activity aligns with Ghana’s 2018-2021 Medium-term National Development Policy framework vision of “A transformed Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ); a place of opportunity and free from poverty.” The Feed the Future MSR Activity contributes to President Nana Akufo-Addo’s vision to move “Ghana Beyond Aid,” a national transformation agenda comprising a compact of a Wealthy, Inclusive, Sustainable, Empowered, and Resilient (WISER) Ghana. The Feed the Future MSR Activity should align with the Government of Ghana Investing for Food and Jobs initiatives, including:

● Planting for Food and Jobs

● Rearing for Food and Jobs

● 1 District 1 Factory (1D1F); among others

USAID defines self-reliance as the capacity to plan, finance, and implement solutions to local development challenges, and the commitment to see these solutions through effectively, inclusively, and with accountability. The Feed the Future MSR activity must support USAID’s strategy of the Journey to Self-Reliance and align with the below USG and USAID strategies and policies:

● Global Food Security Strategy 16

● Local Systems: A Framework for Supporting Sustained Development17

● Private Sector Engagement Policy18

● Youth in Development Policy19

● Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy20

● Getting Employment to Work for Self Reliance: A USAID Framework for

Programming21

● USAID's Digital Strategy (2020-2024)22

USAID/Ghana Activities The Contractor must apply USAID/Ghana’s behavior change approach to the activity, as described in the new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)23 ]. With this

16 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USG-Global-Food-Security-Strategy-2016.pdf 17 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/LocalSystemsFramework.pdf 18 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/usaid_psepolicy_final.pdf 19 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/Youth_in_Development_Policy_0.pdf 20 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/GenderEqualityPolicy_0.pdf 21 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/EF-FINAL-2019-11-12.pdf 22 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/15396/USAID_Digital_Strategy.pdf 23 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CDCS-Ghana-August-2025.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USG-Global-Food-Security-Strategy-2016.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/LocalSystemsFramework.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/usaid_psepolicy_final.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/Youth_in_Development_Policy_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/GenderEqualityPolicy_0.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/EF-FINAL-2019-11-12.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/15396/USAID_Digital_Strategy.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/CDCS-Ghana-August-2025.pdf approach, USAID/Ghana will move from traditional donor-driven interventions to allowing key stakeholders to define and solve problems. The Feed the Future MSR Activity is aligned with the CDCS under Development Objective (DO) 1 - Broad-based economic growth accelerated and sustained; and Development Objective (DO) 3 - Sustainable development accelerated in northern Ghana. These DOs encompass businesses expanding by improving the quality and diversity of their goods and services, adopting services that improve the functionality of market systems, and creating an enabling environment for market actors to invest more in goods and services. The Contractor must implement the Feed the Future MSR Activity in partnership with stakeholders so interventions target beneficiaries to adopt practices for sustained change.

MSR is the flagship activity under GFSS 24 . The Contractor’s proposed approach must be aligned with the GFSS and USAID activities.

Prior Activities: The Feed the Future MSR Activity builds on USAID’s investments in market systems. The Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement I and II activities improved the livelihoods of 113,000 SHFs and boosted the productivity of rice, maize, and soy value chains. The Ghana Feed the Future Agriculture Policy Support Project opened private sector investment in irrigation infrastructure and high-quality seed supply. The Financing Ghana Agriculture Project facilitated access to finance in the agriculture sector. The Agriculture Technology Transfer Project significantly transformed the country's seed sector through increased availability of certified seeds and other agricultural technologies to sustain productivity for farmers. USAID/Ghana’s public-private partnership with Sahel Grains Limited created linkages with SHFs and improved their production and post-harvest handling practices. The FTF Ghana Agriculture and Natural Resource activity built USAID’s resilience strategy with the goal of addressing environmental, agricultural, governance and natural resource management challenges using natural and non-traditional agriculture products. USAID/Ghana supported the Savannah Agriculture Research Institute to improve capacity for agricultural research in northern Ghana and to develop and disseminate agricultural technologies to farmers.

Current Activities: The Contractor must align with USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Policy to build the capacity of markets to be more efficient and sustainable in the provision and consumption of goods and services. The Contractor must contribute to implementing USAID initiatives that promote investments in market-driven reforms.

The Contractor must coordinate and partner with the following USAID/Ghana activities but not limited to:

● The Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa

● USAID/Ghana Trade and Investment Activity

● USAID West Africa Trade and Investment Hub

24 https://www.feedthefuture.gov/resource/global-food-security-strategy-gfss-ghana-country-plan/ https://www.feedthefuture.gov/resource/global-food-security-strategy-gfss-ghana-country-plan/

● Mobilizing Finance for Agriculture Activity

● Northern Ghana Governance Activity

● Resilience in Northern Ghana

● Fisheries Activity

● Health Systems Strengthening

● Power Africa (for productive uses of electricity)

● Prosper Africa

● Feed the Future Innovation Labs

Other USG and Donor Coordination Despite donor interest in market system development, a number of notable activities recently ended, or will soon end. The U.K. Department for International Development’s Market Development Programme for Northern Ghana (MADE) is improving livelihoods and incomes for the poor in northern Ghana. MADE contributed to agribusiness enterprises developing robust market systems for inputs, services, and products. The International Fund for Agricultural Development’s Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) is improving the target population's access to business development services, appropriate technology and skills, and financial services. REP is creating an enabling institutional, regulatory and policy environment for the growth of rural micro and small enterprises. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Market Oriented Agriculture Programme promoted income-generating business models for competitive agricultural value chains and improved the ability of value chain actors to compete in national, regional, and international markets. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa aims to leverage resources of partners to catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation in Africa and increase capacity of smallholder farming households and agricultural systems to better prepare for and adapt to shocks and stresses. Canada continues to support Ghana’s agricultural system by providing direct budgetary support to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, including for the Research-Extension Linkages Committees — a concept developed in the Ghana Grains Development Project.

Annex 4: FTF ZOI Endline Data Summary Table

Summary Data for the Feed the Future Phase 1 Zone of Influence (ZOI)25

No . Indicator Indicator

Value

1 Mean daily per capita consumption expenditure among households in the

ZOI

$2.5526

2 Percent of people living on less than $1.25/day in the FTF P1-ZOI 27.11%

3 Depth of poverty27 9.01%

4 Abbreviated women’s empowerment in agriculture (WEAI) index 0.74

5 Households in the ZOI are experiencing moderate and severe hunger 21.2%

6 Women dietary diversity (WDD) score28 3.5

7 Percent of children under 6 months of age who are exclusively breastfed 53.5%

8 Percent children 6-23 months of age receive a minimum acceptable diet in the ZOI

15.6%

9 Percent women of reproductive age that are underweight 9.6%

10 Percent of stunted children under 5 years of age in the ZOI 25.4%

11 Percent children under 5 years of age in the ZOI who are wasted 10.1%

12 Percent children under 5 years of age in the ZOI who are underweight 17.7%

Source: USAID/Ghana Feed the Future Phase I Endline Survey 2019

25 The FTF Phase 1 ZOI is made up of 59 Districts in the five northern regions of Ghana and nine districts in the Bono East Region. The 17 districts of the FTF Phase 2 can be found in this area.

26 The value is reported in constant 2010 USD prices 27 This is the mean percent shortfall relative to the $1.25/day poverty line in the ZOI 28 This is the mean number of food groups consumed by women of reproductive age (15-49 years of age)

Annex 5 See attached to the RFP the USAID Ghana Market System Assessment COVID-19 Update