General

(Democratic Republic of the Congo): The Strengthening Livelihoods and Resilience (SLR) activity will support inclusive agricultural growth, improve the nutritional status of women and children, and increase resilience in targeted communities in Ituri Province in eastern DRC. It will build resilience by promoting expanded and diversified market-oriented livelihood opportunities, increasing private sector activity and investments in the sector, improving access to finance for smallholder farmers, improving land tenure, and integrating with other USAID-supported activities to promote nutrition-sensitive approaches to market-systems development. As SLR develops and tests models and provides technical assistance, the activity will contribute to a better understanding of the needs of vulnerable populations and how they can better adapt to re-occurring shocks such as emerging plant diseases, increased conflict, and climatic events. Given the prevalence of women in the agriculture sector and the critical role in improving their families' nutritional status, health, and livelihoods, SLR will also promote improved nutrition practices with women's groups. The activity will focus on developing interventions to empower and increase women's participation in agricultural markets, such as improving access to credit, inputs, and agricultural training..The activity will contribute to the Mission's Integrated Country Strategy via Mission Goal 2 (Improved quality of life for Congolese through delivery of core services and expanded economic growth) and USAID's Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) via Development Objective 3 (Inclusive, broad-based, and sustainable economic growth increased). SLR will be aligned with the Agency's Resilience Policy and the Administration's Global Food Security Strategy..

General

(Tajikistan): The activity supports the U.S. Global Hunger and Food Security strategy to reduce hunger, malnutrition, and poverty of smallholder farmers and families through more productive and efficient agriculture systems, builds resilience of rural communities, and improves the enabling environment to facilitate sustainable nutrition-sensitive agriculture-led growth. The activity will enhance inclusive market driven value chains and support the sustainable development of agriculture extension service systems and service provider networks. It will introduce new technologies to extend crop production through the lean season to increase household income and the availability of nutritious foods before the next harvest. The activity will engage village committees and community agriculture volunteers to strengthen knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to nutrition in all 775 communities in the Feed the Future (FtF) zone of influence. By leveraging public/private resources and partnering with local organizations it will achieve maximum buy-in from communities to increase the production and consumption of nutritious foods to sustainably reduce stunting and undernutrition. It will strengthen existing local institutions to provide diversified services to farmers and households and improve the enabling environment at national and local levels, particularly in land governance. These interventions will strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers and rural communities by improving adaptation to and recovery from shocks and stresses through the diversification of livelihoods, advancing Tajikistan's self-reliance. This activity contributes to $9 million of the Mission's $11 million Agriculture earmark. .The program supports ICS goal 3.1, and the CAS by strengthening the sovereignty and independence of the Central Asian states, individually and as a group..