**FY 2009 Food for Progress Program Considerations**

**What is the focus of the Food for Progress (FFP) program?**

The FFP program is used to assist countries that have made commitments
to introduce or expand free enterprise in their agricultural economies
through changes in commodity prices, marketing, input availability,
distribution and private sector involvement.

**What types of activities is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) looking to fund?**

FFP proposals should focus on private sector development of agricultural
sectors such as improved agricultural techniques, marketing systems,
farmer education and cooperative development, expanded use of processing
capacity, and development of agriculturally related businesses. The
following are examples of activities that might achieve these goals:

-   Educate farmers and communities in cooperative development
    activities that improve livelihoods, food systems, and the
    introduction of crops and foods that improve the nutritional status
    of the communities.

-   Develop businesses that provide support to farmers to improve yields
    and income including seeds, crop rotation, soil inputs and
    irrigation systems, warehouses, storage and transportation.

-   Create or rehabilitate improved market systems that include
    warehouse security, storage (cold chain), inventorying, waterways or
    roads systems.

-   Strengthen or introduce credit systems (loans or grants).

-   Encourage adoption of new agricultural technologies and methods and
    create sustainable business opportunities in communities.

-   Improve agricultural and environmentally sound techniques (e.g.,
    water conservation methods, crop rotation, soil retention, farm
    inputs, and efficient harvesting methods).

-   Assist in building a country's capacity for trade in agricultural
    products and promote science-based sanitary and phytosanitary
    standards for agricultural markets.

-   Support improvement in animal and plant health through technical
    assistance and training.

**What should FFP projects strive to achieve?**

FAS reviews each proposal activity for impact and results. FAS considers
both the primary and secondary beneficiaries (e.g., household siblings
and other community members) of the activities. At a minimum, each
proposal must provide the number of beneficiaries targeted and the
planned impact of the program on those beneficiaries. To the greatest
extent possible, applicants should provide output measures for the
estimated impact. For infrastructure enhancement activities, the impacts
should be measured in both number and impact to the communities and/or
individuals served by the structure. For credit systems, training,
technical assistance, and enhanced farming technique development
projects, sales and income changes should be measured. Proposals that
contain clear outcomes will be more competitive. Additionally,
activities that involve the agricultural sectors to achieve Millennium
Development Goal(s) in priority countries are encouraged.

**What are the priority countries?**

FAS will consider proposals for all developing countries and territories
that meet the requirements of the Food for Progress Act of 1985. FAS
will give priority consideration to proposals for countries that reflect
several economic and trade factors that include:

1.  countries with a per capita income below \$3,595 (World Bank
    statistics) and a population greater than 1 million;

2.  countries who are net food importers with a greater than 20 percent
    prevalence of undernourishment as a proportion to the total
    population (FAO);

3.  countries with positive movement towards freedom, including
    political rights and civil liberties (Freedom House);

4.  FAS Post coverage and FAS ability to monitor the implementation of
    the programs;

5.  No security, market, or capacity issues exist.

FAS also will use Food for Progress to target countries in transition,
either politically or economically. This includes supporting countries
that:

-   show potential towards a strong private sector growth and
    development, or

-   are recovering from conflict.

FAS reviewed the list of countries meeting the criteria above and placed
the countries with little or no ongoing programs on the 2009 list, while
the countries with numerous ongoing or anticipated programs were moved
to the FY 2010 list. This approach provides more focused priorities for
both FAS and applicants. It also gives applicants a two-year horizon
which will help with longer-term planning. However, FAS reserves the
ability to consider funding projects outside this guidance due to
unforeseen circumstances (e.g. natural disasters).

In line with these goals, FAS is most likely to fund proposals for the
following countries for FY 2009:

  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
  Afghanistan                         Namibia

  Bangladesh                          Philippines

  Dominican Republic                  Senegal

  Ethiopia                            Uganda

  Malawi                              Yemen

  Mali                                
  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------

The table below shows the tentative priority countries for FY2010. FAS
will re-confirm these priorities in April 2009 at the International Food
Aid Conference in Kansas City.

  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
  Afghanistan                         Madagascar

  Bolivia                             Mozambique

  Guatemala                           Mongolia

  Honduras                            Nicaragua

  Kenya                               Niger

  Liberia                             Tanzania
  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------

FAS is only soliciting for FY2009 proposals at this time. Proposals for
FY2010 will be requested starting in April 2009.

**Can I submit a proposal for a non-priority country?**

Yes, all proposals submitted to FAS will be evaluated and considered for
funding. Given our limited programming resources, the opportunities to
fund programs in non-priority countries are extremely low. FAS will look
to fund good proposals in priority countries first. Other proposals may
be approved, if additional funding remains available.

**What are the criteria used during the proposal review process?**

FFP proposals are analyzed from several perspectives. The commodity
requests are reviewed by the analysts in the Office of Global Analysis
of FAS. This review helps minimize commercial market disruptions. The
analysts calculate the Usual Marketing Requirement (UMR) and allowable
programming levels. All proposals are sent to the appropriate FAS
overseas office for their review and insights.

FAS also coordinates with other U.S. government agencies, including the
U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department. FFP
is designed to complement and to work in union with these other U.S.
agencies. Projects that duplicate programs already funded by the U.S.
government will not receive high consideration.

Within the Food Assistance Division of FAS each proposal is evaluated
using the same criteria:

A. [Agricultural Focus (30 percent).]{.underline} Proposals must focus
on tangible benefits for the countries agricultural sector, such as
improving and expanding crop and livestock production; other proposals
that focus on food or fiber processing and agro-environmental protection
are also considered agriculturally focused. We encourage wherever
possible activities that aim to introduce or expand free market
activities and focus on private sector development.

B. [Commodity Management and Appropriateness (20 percent]{.underline}).
Has the organization identified commodities and tonnages appropriate for
the country? Is adequate information about the monetization process and
storage and handling of commodities provided?

C. [Organizational Capability and Experience (20 percent)]{.underline}.
FAS looks at the experience of the organization and evaluates the
organization favorably if it has experience in providing food aid with
its own resources, or those of other donors. FAS considers the
experiences of providing food aid regardless of the source of funding.
Past experiences with USDA, USAID, or other donors will be viewed
positively. FAS also reviews lists of known terrorists to ensure that no
organization, nor recipient agency, is participating in or funding
terrorist activities. A review of non-profit websites is also conducted
to ensure the financial and technical capability of program applicants.
FAS ensures that organizations new to FAS have a fair chance in
competing for funds.

D. [Ability to Quantify Program Impact (15 percent).]{.underline}
Proposals that relate their activities to tangible, quantifiable
outcomes have a better chance of being funded. The objective is to fund
programs with clearly defined beneficiaries with well articulated
activities and quantifiable objectives. A practical focus, one that
relates to improving the everyday lives of the beneficiaries, should be
evident in the proposed activities.

E. [Proposal Quality (15 percent)]{.underline}. Are the ideas in the
proposal well developed and articulated? Is the proposal cost efficient
in reaching a large number of recipients with the requested resources?
Has the organization identified recipient agents or other partners in
county? Are the beneficiaries clearly targeted and defined?

After the initial evaluations, further reviews are undertaken regarding
the distribution of programs geographically, level of impact and
outcomes, and complements to strategic goals. When all other evaluation
factors are equal, proposals that provide the greatest impact per
beneficiary will receive preference.

**What proposals are unlikely to be approved?**

Food for Progress is an agricultural development program. Proposals that
target humanitarian assistance through direct feeding as their primary
focus are less likely to be funded under Food for Progress. These types
of programs should be submitted under McGovern-Dole International Food
for Education and Child Nutrition program, if the project involves
school feeding. Proposals that have a low number of beneficiaries or
have a limited impact are not likely to be funded.

**How many proposals should an organization submit?**

FAS cannot anticipate the number of proposals received for any given
country. In recent years, FAS has received about 100 proposals each
year, but FAS often approves 20 percent of less of these proposals due
to budget limits. Since the approval process is expected to be very
competitive, more focused, clearly developed and well-written proposals
will fare better. The proposals that best meet the proposal review
criteria will be more competitive.

For organizations that submit more than one proposal, a written priority
list should accompany the proposals. This is helpful due to the very
competitive nature of the program that makes approval of all proposals
not possible.

**Are multi-year agreements possible?**

Proposals for multi-year agreements, up to a maximum of three years,
will be considered. Implementation of successive years will be subject
to a favorable review of the program's progress and the availability of
funding. FAS will also consider proposals involving the shipment of
commodities in one year and the use of monetization proceeds for up to
three years.

**Will FAS give priority to continuations of programs versus brand new
programs?**

FAS wants to establish sustainable programs whenever possible. In many
cases, FAS will choose a continuation of a program that is making
progress towards sustainability over a brand new program.

**What will FAS use as the final determining factors among strongly
competitive proposals?**

In making the difficult final decisions, FAS will consider the intended
impact of the program. Proposals that provide reasonable and clear
estimates of the outcomes will receive strong consideration.

**With 20 percent of the proposal weight going toward organizational
experience, how can new organizations become more competitive for FAS
food aid programming?**

FAS looks for experience and capability to give assurance that the
organization can implement the program. Many organizations that are new
to FAS programs may have experience in delivering food aid by using
their own resources or the resources of other donors. Organizations that
do not have any experience with food aid can work with other
organizations who have received international food aid grants.

**Does FAS accept applications from faith-based organizations and are
there any barriers to applying by faith-based organizations?**

FAS accepts applications from faith-based, community-based, and secular
organizations. When the President's Faith-based and Community-based
Initiative was first announced, all agencies were required to conduct an
assessment of their programs to determine if any barriers existed for
these types of organizations. FAS has a long history of working with
faith-based and community-based organizations and was pleased to report
that no barriers existed for these organizations when applying for FAS
food assistance grants.

**Can an organization apply for a regional program that includes both
priority and non-priority countries? If so, what are the proposal's
chances of receiving funding?**

FAS will accept and review all proposals for funding. Regional proposals
that contain non-priority countries should include information that
specifically addresses the need for the food assistance program in the
non-priority country. The organization should also clearly articulate if
FAS should consider the proposal only as a regional proposal (i.e., all
countries considered as one group) or if a more limited number of
countries could be programmed (e.g., funding only one or two of the
three countries contained within the regional proposal).

**Will FAS accept proposals from consortiums?**

FAS will accept and review all proposals. However, FAS and implementing
organizations have a mixed experience with consortiums. The consortiums
can be complex, and FAS has multiple legal relationships with the
members that lead to additional challenges in monitoring, servicing, and
amending agreements.

**Is bartering of commodities considered similarly as monetization?**

Both bartering and monetizing commodities go through commercial sectors.
Commodities requested for these uses must fit within the usual marketing
requirements (UMR). Prior to making awards, FAS reviews all proposals
that request monetization or bartering of commodities to ensure that
there is no market displacement.