Currently the director of the Small Business Liaison Office, Heather is an international development practitioner with more than 20 years of experience in agricultural value chains, financial services, small business development, and rural development. In addition, Heather has worked on contracts and grants management with an emphasis on designing grant programs to avoid market distortions.…
Kirk Ramer has over 25 years of experience managing projects to promote agricultural and small-and medium-sized enterprise development in southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. He is currently the chief of party of the Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity (RCRA) in Moldova. Kirk has worked to promote trade and investment and improve business education,…
This post originally appeared on Agrilinks. Farming is a risky livelihood throughout the world. But for smallholder farmers in particular, productivity and food security are defined by risk. “Good years” are defined by adequate rains, and “bad years” by drought. In Uganda, where 70 percent of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, the…
This post originally appeared on Marketlinks. Development practitioners are often innovating, piloting, and problem-solving — but sometimes these initiatives have a hard time getting disseminated past the project annual report. At Chemonics, the Economic Growth and Trade Practice and the Education and Youth Practice joined forces to kick off 2018 with the launch of our…
MARKETS II supported the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative, the government of Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), and its succeeding Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016 – 2020 (also known as the Green Alternative). Through a market-demand value chain orientation, the project focused on the large population of smallholders with between 1 to 5 hectares of…
Which digital tools show the greatest promise to maximize development impact around the world? How can organizations and governments make sure that these tools are part of an inclusive approach to development? These are the kinds of questions that participants will discuss at the Digital Development Forum: The Next 10 Years event, hosted by USAID…
Down-and-dirty politics and political roadblocks have thwarted the success of agricultural development projects for decades. To achieve greater success, we need to consider how we can better understand and break down such blocks. Whether we like it or not, international development efforts are inherently political. Within the agriculture sector, the relationships and power dynamics among…
Final Report: Colombia Consolidation and Enhanced Livelihoods Initiative – Northern/Southern Regions
From October 2011 to 2017, the USAID-funded Consolidation and Enhanced Livelihoods Initiative – Northern/Southern Regions (CELI N/S) supported the Government of Colombia’s efforts to improve governance, stimulate sustainable economic development, build social capital, and encourage licit lifestyles free from conflict and violence in 19 prioritized municipalities in Antioquia, Bolivar, Córdoba, and Tumaco (Nariño).
Marcos Moreno is a managing director in Latin America and the Caribbean, leading a diverse portfolio of people-centered justice, youth-at-risk and violence prevention, and gender-based violence prevention projects in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, El Salvador, and Guatemala. He is a versatile agribusiness and youth development expert with over 35 years of experience, including 23 years…
During the last 10 years, Tajikistan has made great strides in reforming land legislation and increasing knowledge of land-use rights within rural communities. The Feed the Future Tajikistan Land Market Development Activity supported the next wave of reforms by establishing a functional agricultural land market that ensures the orderly transfer of land-use rights in the…
Wine is of significant importance to the Moldovan economy because it is one of the only products exported with its full value chain completed in-country and high employability in rural areas. The Moldovan wine sector has opened new markets and reoriented exports to the EU, China, and the U.S. by organizing promotion activities. The ‘Wine…