Document Type: Progress Reports

The Tanzania SERA Policy Project (SERA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative is implemented by Booz Allen Hamilton. The SERA Project is focused on improving the policy environment for agriculture, and developing individual and institutional capacity to undertake policy analysis and advocate effectively for policy reforms. SERA began in April 2011, and completed the third full year of operation on 30 September 2014. This Quarterly Report, Quarter 2 (Q2) of Project Year 4 (Y4), covers the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2015.

The SERA Policy Project was very busy in the second quarter with the presentation of an important workshop and the start of several new activities. However, access to Government officials was limited by the busy schedule of Government staff as they prepared for the budget discussions in May and June, and national elections in October. SERA was advised that Government officials and staff were likely to be even less available for the next several months because of these obligations. Consequently, SERA activities were focused on completing existing projects where possible, and developing research and capacity building activities with non‐Government stakeholders.

Finally, there were several changes in senior leadership within the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (GoT); a new Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC), Honorable Stephen Wasira, and a new Minister of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Developments (MLHHSD), Honorable William Lukuvi.

Important SERA work activities in Q2 included:

• Presentation of the workshop on Policy Options for Food Security, Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction to GoT,
• Support to the Rice Council of Tanzania (RCT) for their first strategic plan workshop,
• Start of the Rapid Assessment of the Rice Sector with RCT,
• Development of a draft Concept Note for the SERA‐led study of the Business Environment in Tanzanian Agriculture,
• Development of a draft Term of Reference (TOR) for a study of Gender in Maize Marketing; a study to be undertaken jointly with the World Bank (WB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC),
• Discussion with iAGRI on Phase 2 of the Policy Seminar Series, and,
• Discussions with the MAFC Seed Unit and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) on seed policy.

A rapid assessment of the rice market was completed in response to media reports that rice prices were rising rapidly. The assessment was provided to the Rice Council of Tanzania and the Department of Food Security of the MAFC. (Annex1). The research on Drivers of Maize Prices in Tanzania, completed jointly with the World Bank, was accepted for presentation at the International Association of Agricultural Economics (IAAE) in Milan, Italy in August 2015 and will be jointly presented by Don Mitchell, Senior Advisor of SERA and John Baffes, Senior Economist at the World Bank. Discussions are on‐going with the Department of Food Security of the MAFC on the implementation of the Food Basket Methodology (FBM) to measure the cost of a typical food basket in each region, and the Department has been requested to propose a pilot study to implement the FBM. The development of a collateral registry system by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) was delayed due to other priorities of the BoT. The study of Land Compensation and Benefits Sharing Schemes undertaken by Landesa, an international non‐governmental organization (NGO) specializing in land issue, with SERA support was also delayed due to the change in Ministers at the MLHHSD . Edith Lazaro joined SERA as a research associate in February and she will study food demand in Tanzania. Don Mitchell, the Senior Advisor to SERA Project completed two trips to Tanzania (17 – 31 January 2015 and 18 February – 8 March 2015). SERA was not actively involved in policy research or capacity building on Zanzibar in Q2.

The workshop on Policy Options for Food Security, Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction was presented on 27 February to GoT officials and invited guests (Policy Options Workshop). The workshop was hosted by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and chaired by Mr. Peniel Lyimo of the Big Results Now (BRN) activity on agriculture. The presentations were well received and the summary of the workshop, policy recommendations and actions are attached as Annex 2. The background papers will be finalized in Q3 and made available on the SERA website at www.tzsera.com. Mr. Lyimo concluded the workshop by noting that there were no strong objections to the 24 recommendations presented at the Policy Options Workshop and that many of the recommendations required only administrative approval and could be implemented quickly. The SERA Project will follow up with GoT to develop a prioritization and implementation plan. The USAID NAFAKA Staples Value Chain Activity supported the workshop with two international consultants who provided background papers and presentations.

The SERA Project moved forward with two capacity building support activities for the Rice Council of Tanzania namely, hosting a strategic planning workshop and conducting a rapid market assessment of the rice sector. The strategic planning workshop was held in March and the draft plan will be finalized and presented to stakeholders in Q3 (Annex 3). Phase 1 of the rapid assessment of the rice market started with a team traveling to Morogoro, Iringa and Mbeye for an initial field assessment (Annex 4). Phase 2 of the field assessment will be completed in Q3, as well as the final report. A draft Concept Note on the Business Environment in Tanzanian Agriculture was developed in Q2 (Annex 5) and meetings were held with senior officials of the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) Center and BRN. The activity will be led by SERA in collaboration with the SAGCOT Centre, BRN and the MAFC. It will look at how the agricultural business environment in Tanzania compares with that in neighbouring countries. It will build on work done by the BRN, World Bank, and other organizations and seeksto better understand why investment in Tanzanian agriculture is low compared to other countries and other sectors in Tanzania. Initial interviews were conducted with key experts and insights gained were used in the preparation of the Concept Note.

A draft TOR on Gender in Maize Marketing (Annex 6) was developed by SERA for a joint study with the World Bank and International Finance Corporation. The proposed study will conduct farmer surveys in two regions to study maize marketing by men versus women farmers and after adjusting for quality and other factors, will try to determine whether female farmers receive lower prices for their maize. The study’s findings may lead to programs to reduce these differences through marketing education or information directed to women maize farmers. The WB and IFC used the TOR to secure financing from a donor and invited qualified firms to express interest in undertaking the study. The response was large, with 39 firms expressing interest and 6 were short‐listed to provide a proposal for the research. The study will be undertaken in Q3 and SERA Project will then continue the study in Q4.

The SERA team met with the iAGRI team in Q2 to discuss the second phase of the Policy Seminar Series at Sokoine University (SUA). The Policy Seminar Series was initially developed by SERA and jointly sponsored by SERA and iAGRI. Its objective is to encourage policy research by providing financial support to teams undertaking research on agricultural or nutrition policy issues of importance to FtF. Support is provided on a competitive basis and the first series of four studies was completed in Y3. The quality of some of the research was not acceptable and a more focused approach will be used in the second phase to try and improve quality. The second phase of the Policy Seminar Series will focus on land issues.

Seed policy has been a priority of SERA Project since Year 1 and previous efforts have focused on improving the tax treatment of seeds and seed packaging materials. This effort culminated in Y3 with a presentation by the MAFC Seed Unit and the Tanzania Seed Traders Association (TASTA) with SERA support to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) committee on taxation. However, severe budget constraints of GoT made it difficult to obtain tax relief and SERA Project will now focus on other policy issues. In that regard, meetings were held with the Seed Unit of MAFC and with AGRA staff in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam to identify important policy constraints to expanded use of improved seeds. Several issues were identified and SERA will work closely with the MAFC Seed Unit to address them. SERA will partner with AGRA to leverage resources and impacts, and will provide leadership on policy issues.

The SERA Project faced implementation challenges due to delays by key counterparts in the GoT in completing agreed work activities. In particular, progress on the collateral registry/secured transaction system, undertaken by the Bank of Tanzania was not achieved as the BoT did not complete work on the legal framework as planned; the National Food Security Department (NFSD) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC) did not submit a proposal to pilot the implementation of the Food Basket Methodology as agreed; and discussions on the Data Harmonization workshop have not taken place.

The SERA Project works closely with other development partners in an effort to leverage resources and increase effectiveness. In Q2, SERA concluded an on‐going activity with the USAID FtF NAFAKA Staples Value Chain Activity to undertake research on trade policy and food security policy with the delivery of the Policy Options for Food Security, Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction paper on 27 February. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also collaborated with SERA on food security, consumer demand, and the Food Basket Methodology to measure food basket costs at the regional level. SERA also partnered with iAGRI to sponsor the Policy Seminar Series at Sokoine University and that activity continues. More recently, SERA has collaborated with the World Bank and International Finance Corporation on the gender in maize marketing study and with AGRA on seed policy. SERA has also collaborated with private sector organizations, including TASTA to improve seed policy and, this quarter, began a collaboration with AGRA on seed policy.

Implemented by Booz Allen Hamilton, the Tanzania SERA Policy Project (SERA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Initiative (FtF) began in April 2011 and completed the second full year of operation on September 30, 2013. The second quarter Project Year 3 covers the period from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014.

SERA Project is focused on improving the policy environment for agriculture, and developing individual and institutional capacity to undertake policy analysis and advocate effectively for policy reforms. Quarter 1 (Q1) of Year 3 focused heavily on establishing relationships with new government actors in policy and on designing and staffing new activities to be undertaken in Year 3. Quarter 2 (Q2) developed these relationships and continued ongoing activities.

A number of important meetings were held with key government counterparts in Q2 and resulted in approval and support for new and ongoing activities on food security, land policy, access to credit, improved seed policy, and the economic environment. In particular, SERA staff met with senior staff of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) in early January to discuss the development of the collateral registry system. In that meeting, SERA learned that the BoT has included the activity as one of its priority activities in its efforts to improve access to credit. This was a major accomplishment for SERA as since the project’s inception, we have worked to promote the development of a modern collateral registry system in Tanzania.

The draft Land Compensation and Benefits Sharing study undertaken by Landesa, with support from SERA, was discussed with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development (MLHHSD) in mid‐January. The discussion with the Ministry included the legal basis for local communities to engage directly with investors. This could provide an alternative to the current practice of communities converting their land to general land for the central government to control. Further work is being undertaken to obtain a second legal opinion from a respected Tanzanian land law expert. SERA also agreed to co‐sponsor a national workshop on land policy with the Ministry.

A meeting was held with the co‐directors of the MUCHALI Framework, which is the Government of Tanzania’s (GoT) early warning and disaster response activity. The program is jointly managed by the Department of Disaster Management in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC). A work plan was developed to better utilize data to identify chronically food insecure villages and districts, and once identified, the potential for developing programs to assist such villages and districts out of poverty will be explored. A meeting was held with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss the proposed SERA work plan on Food Security and other activities, and support and approval was received. The activities discussed included: 1) developing a policy options paper on food security, 2) continued training of Ministry staff on the Food Basket Methodology (FBM), 3) a study of food security data systems, 4) preparation of a submission to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on improved tax treatment of seeds, and 5) further research to quantify the impacts of the maize export ban. All of these activities will begin in Q3 of Y3 and will be priorities for SERA.

Other activities undertaken in Q2 included continued capacity building with the Zanzibar Department of Food Security and Nutrition (ZFSND) and participation of senior SERA staff in the Big Results Now (BRN) lab. In addition to the work activities noted, two new staff joined the SERA team, including the Operations Manager, and the Communications and Capacity Building (CCB) Specialist.

The Tanzania SERA Policy Project (SERA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative is implemented by Booz Allen Hamilton. The SERA Project is focused on improving the policy environment for agriculture, and developing individual and institutional capacity to undertake policy analysis and advocate effectively for policy reforms. SERA began in April 2011, and completed the fourth full year of operation on September 30, 2015. This Quarterly Report, Quarter 1 (Q1) of Project Year 5 (Y5), covers the period from October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. SERA is scheduled to conclude in March 2016, and discussions are underway with USAID for a no‐cost extension.

Tanzania elected a new President in October 2015, and the preparation for the election and establishment of a new Government following the election have impacted SERA activities as the focus of Government was on the election. The Bank of Tanzania (BOT), for example, was not able to maintain momentum on establishing the collateral registry and little progress was made on that activity. However, the preparation for the new Government also created opportunities such as the preparation of a Policy Note for the new Government, led by SERA and jointly authored with the World Bank, and the appointment of new actors into critical leadership positions, including a new Minister and Permanent Secretary (PS) of Agriculture and the consolidation of the Ministry to include agriculture, livestock and fisheries under a single Ministry called the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. The new PS for Agriculture was previously the PS in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and worked closely with SERA while in the PMO. With the focus of Government on the election, SERA undertook activities that did not require direct interaction with Government officials, including a study tour to Zambia, completion of a survey of maize farmers, preparation for the Agricultural Policy Conference scheduled for February 2016, continued work on the food demand study, and continued support to the Zanzibar Department of Food Security and Nutrition (ZDFSN) to implement the Food Basket Methodology (FBM) to measure food basket costs.

The study tour to Zambia was very informative as it compared the agricultural business environment with Tanzania. The results are expected to be of great interest to the new Government which appears to be very focused on improving the business environment. The study tour, undertaken from November 15‐21, allowed a comparison of the corporate agricultural business environment between Tanzania and Zambia. The study team was led by the SERA Senior Advisor, Don Mitchell, and included Edith Lazaro (SERA), Daktari Hango from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC), and Emmanuel Lyimo from Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). Two other participants (Martin Masalu from Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), and James Ngwira from the President’s Delivery Bureau (PDB)) were not allowed to travel by their management due to uncertainty about who was included in the new President’s ban on foreign travel by Government officials. These staff will participate in the study tour to Mozambique scheduled for January 2016. The trip report (Annex 1) provides the findings of the study tour.

The Maize Gender Study field work was completed in October 2015 by TNS East Africa Ltd and a preliminary report was received November 2015 (Annex 2). The study surveyed 300 men and 300 women maize farmers in Iringa and Ruvuma Regions. A prior companion study was undertaken by the World Bank/International Finance Corporation in July 2015 for the Mbeya and Rukwa regions using the same consultants, an almost identical questionnaire, and a similar sized survey of men and women maize farmers. The two surveys will be combined to obtain a survey of 1,200 farmers, equally divided among men and women farmers, to quantify the differences between men and women maize farmers. The results were expected to show that women maize farmers had access to fewer resources and had lower production, and would provide a basis for policy recommendations on how to narrow the gender gap—such as the recommendation to hire more female extension agents to focus on women maize farmers. The surveys data sets are being combined by TNS. The preliminary reports of both surveys confirm expectations and showed that women maize farmers are disadvantaged compared to men maize farmers in almost all areas. They have less education, smaller land holdings, use less inorganic fertilizers, less improved seeds, and have lower maize yields. Women maize farmers also receive about 70 percent of the maize prices received by men maize farmers when they market their maize. The findings are expected to be relevant to other sectors where women farmers may have similar characteristics compared to men farmers.

An Agricultural Policy Note for the new Government (Annex 3) was prepared by SERA at the request of the World Bank. The Policy Note went through extensive revisions and World Bank reviews, and was finally sent to the new Government in December along with Policy Notes on nine other sectors. The Policy Note was sent to the USAID Feed the Future team in Tanzania for concurrence but due to lack of time, a thorough approval review was not completed. Consequently, the views presented in the Policy Note were attributed to a USAID consultant and World Bank staff, and not to USAID. The Policy Note is broader in scope than SERA policy work and includes greater coverage of non‐food crops, smallholders, marketing, irrigation, and extension. Several World Bank staff, including the former and current senior agricultural economists, made substantive contributions to the Policy Note.

There were important personnel changes in Q1 as the Chief of Party, Marialyce Mutchler, was on extended leave. The former Chief of Party and currently the Senior Advisor, Don Mitchell, returned to lead the project.

The Tanzania SERA Policy Project (SERA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative is focused on improving the policy environment for agriculture, and developing individual and institutional capacity to undertake policy analysis and advocate effectively for policy reforms. SERA began in April 2011, and completed the fourth full year of operation on September 30, 2015. This Quarterly Report, Quarter 3 (Q3) of Project Year 5 (Y5), covers the period from April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016. The SERA Project’s period of performance was originally set to end on April 6, 2016, however, a request for a no‐cost extension was approved by USAID that extended the period of performance through August 30, 2016.

The following tasks were completed in Q3:

• Presentation of the Close‐Out Plan to USAID on April 18.
• Presentation of the Business Environment Study to stakeholders on April 20, and completion of the Policy Brief (Annex 1).
• Completion of a Policy Brief on Policy Options for Food Security, Economic Growth and Poverty Alleviation (Annex 2).
• Completion of the Rice Market Efficiency Study (Annex 3).
• Completion of a report on the impact of the Global Food Crisis, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), that was accepted for publication in a forthcoming book on Food Security (Annex 4).
• Presentation of the draft Maize Gender Study, undertaken in collaboration with the World Bank (WB)/International Finance Corporation (IFC), at a workshop on May 23, and finalization of the report (Annex 5).
• Completion of the report on the Transparent Rules‐Based System for Emergency Food Imports (Annex 6).
• Completion of a training on a Healthy Food Basket to the staff of the Department of Food Security and Nutrition in Zanzibar (Annex 7). The training was conducted by Nancy Cochrane of the Economic Research Service (ERS) in collaboration with SERA staff and a nutrition expert.
• SERA project worked with the USAID ASPIRE Project to deliver training to over 40 participants from the Government of Tanzania (GOT) and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (RGOZ) on the use of STATA statistical software.
• SERA concluded its support to the Tanzania Seed Trade Association (TASTA) by hosting a one‐day stakeholder workshop on June 3, 2016 in Arusha. 68 participants from the public and private sectors attended the workshop to discuss issues related to access to public bred varieties and the impact of the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (Annex 8).
• Completed a training on website design, development, and maintenance for key SERA beneficiaries (Annex 9).

Delays were encountered in these activities:

• The SERA Project had planned to support the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) to reform the Secured Transactions Laws and implement a Collateral Registry, but that activity was postponed by the BOT because of internal delays. No further SERA support is planned.
• The data for the Maize Gender Study was found to be incomplete and returned to Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) consultants on May 6 for revision and data checking. Revised data was received on June 24.

The Tanzania SERA Policy Project (SERA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Initiative (FtF) began in May 2011 and completed the second full year of operation on September 30, 2013. The SERA Policy Project is focused on improving the policy environment for agriculture, and developing individual and institutional capacity to undertake policy analysis and advocate effectively for policy reforms.

The first quarter of Year 3, from October 1 to December 31 of 2013, focused heavily on establishing relationships with new actors in policy and on designing and staffing new activities to be undertaken in Year 3. Several important staff changes took place in the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (GoT) in Q3 and Q4 of Year 2, requiring SERA to establish new relationships with these key GoT officials. Among the most important, was the shift of the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the State House to lead the Big Results Now (BRN) President’s Delivery Bureau. This led to the appointment of a new PS in the PMO. The acting PS in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC) was also appointed PS. Meetings were requested with new appointees, and held with the official appointed to lead the BRN President’s Delivery Bureau and the new PS in the PMO. A meeting could not be arranged with the new PS in the MAFC due to her busy schedule. Her policy priorities are not yet clearly understood and future efforts will be made to meet her while we continue to support and communicate with her through MAFC channels. A new policy coordinator was also appointed in the MAFC and has worked closely with SERA to identify policy priorities and coordinate policy analysis.

In addition to these relationship building activities, an analysis of the profitability of irrigated and rain‐fed rice in Zanzibar was completed and presented to the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (RGoZ) in December 2013. Work began on the design of a rules‐based system for food imports at the request of the GoT. Further analysis on land issues was undertaken, and a meeting requested with the Minister of Lands to present the findings. Additional efforts were made to encourage the GoT to develop and implement a collateral registry system. Capacity building activities continued with the Zanzibar Department of Food Security and Nutrition (ZDFSN) and the Department of Food Security (DFS) of the MAFC on the mainland. The capacity building activity with the DFS will be undertaken in Q2‐Q4 jointly with the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This activity will train approximately 30 staff of the MAFC and other Ministries on the food basket methodology for estimating food requirements at the regional level. A scientifically rigorous study of the impacts of the maize export ban on maize prices in each region was planned in Q1 and will begin in Q2 and continue into Q3. Recruitment to replace the Operations Manager and Communications Officer, who both left the project in 2013, was undertaken with advertisements in the Guardian and Daily News that received nearly 100 applications for each position. Interviews were conducted for the Operations Manager position and a candidate selected. The Communications Officer position was modified to more closely meet the changing requirements of the SERA Project. An international consultant was engaged to finalize the website which will be launched in Q2 of Year 3.

The Tanzania SERA Policy Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future Initiative (FtF) completed its third full year of operation on September 30, 2014. SERA Project has made significant achievements towards improving the agricultural policy environment and developing individual and institutional capacity in the three and one‐half years of the Project. SERA Project is well placed to continue those achievements over the remaining one and one‐half years of the Project, and has achieved a reputation for fair, balanced, and timely analysis and cutting edge research on important policy issues. This has led the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (GoT), the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar (RGoZ), and development partners to regularly turn to SERA Project for research and advice on policy issues. SERA Project has also actively engaged in a program of individual and institutional capacity building to improve the ability of individuals and institutions to engage in policy analysis and advocacy, and to implement policies and improved methodologies identified through research. The SERA Project website was launched in Year 3 and will be a primary information and advocacy tool for policy reform efforts.

Policy Research and Reform activities in Year 3 focused on quantifying the impacts of the GoT’s decision to lift the maize export ban in 2011, finalizing a study on land compensation schemes and the powers of local communities to lease village lands, and on an analysis of rice irrigation in Zanzibar. In addition, SERA Project continued active discussions with Government and other stakeholders on policy issues that arose during the year including the impacts of duty‐free rice imports, the appropriate stocking levels for food security, the need for export permits, promoting exports of surplus cereals, and improving data for policy analysis. Efforts also continued to improve the tax treatment of seeds and seed packaging materials through support to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC) and the Tanzania Seed Traders Association (TASTA). SERA Project’s effort to support the development of a modern collateral registry at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) also progressed and the activity is now reported to be high priority of the BoT. The Food Security Policy Options Paper planned for completion in Year 3 was not completed due to the focus on other policy issues and the busy schedule of the MAFC which precluded the opportunity to discuss preliminary findings prior to finalizing the Paper.

The focus of SERA Project’s Capacity Building activities in Year 3 was on the training of staff of the MAFC and other Ministries on the implementation of the Food Basket Methodology (FBM), and on the Data Assessment of Food Security and the Early Warning Systems. FBM capacity building activities included two trainings of two weeks, each undertaken in collaboration with the staff of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). This capacity building activity seeks to strengthen the capacity of the MAFC’s Department of Food Security (DFS) to monitor food costs at the regional level in a more objective and timely manner. The Data Assessment focused on identifying data needs and availability for food security analysis and will likely lead to further capacity building activities. In addition to these important activities, SERA Project continued to support institutional capacity building in the Zanzibar Department of Food Security and Nutrition (DFSN) and the Policy Seminar Series at Sokoine University (SUA).

The Tanzania SERA Project assists both the Government of the Republic of Tanzania (GoT) and the private sector to enable a broad‐based, sustainable transformation of the agricultural sector through policy reform. The vision for this project is twofold: to improve the policy and regulatory environment for agriculture growth and to build a group of public sector institutions, advocacy organizations, and individuals capable of performing rigorous policy analysis and advocating for policy reform. The SERA Project is part of USAID’s Tanzania Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative and works closely with other implementing partners and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

There are three major components to the SERA Project:

1. Policy Research and Reform to improve agricultural policies to enhance food security and increase agricultural productivity in Tanzania with focus on policies affecting investments in SAGCOT region.
2. Individual and Institutional Capacity Building to build local institutional and individual capacity to do agricultural policy research to support policy and regulatory reform.
3. Advocacy and Communications to strengthen advocacy and communications for policy reforms and build alliances with partners to work toward these objectives.

Improving agricultural policies will be accomplished by working with the GoT and other stakeholders to identify important policy constraints to growth in the agricultural sector and helping to alleviate these constraints through policy reform. The SERA Project will conduct and commission evidence‐based policy research to inform the GoT and other stakeholders of the impacts of existing policies and the potential benefits of improved policies. In addition, the SERA Project will develop the capacity of individuals and organizations to engage in policy analysis and advocate for policy change. At the conclusion of the project, we expect USAID will leave behind an improved policy environment and a legacy of enabling the GoT and other stakeholders to initiate, develop, and utilize evidence‐based research in policy decisions and implementation. The project will also empower local research and private sector advocacy groups to more effectively use analysis and strategic communications to lobby for change, to build national partnerships that create consensus around agriculture policy, and to monitor the impacts of policy. The SERA Project will focus its activities around priorities identified in collaboration with the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) initiative.

The USAID contract for the SERA Project was awarded in April 2011 with a start date of May 1, 2011. Activities started when the team attended the USAID FtF Implementing Partners Meeting in Kilombero, Tanzania from May 23‐27, 2011. The first work planning meeting was held on June 27, 2011 and the project began operations with limited staff in July 2011. The period from May to September 2011 was designated as Year 0.5 and the first full year work plan covered the period from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012 to coincide with USAID’s fiscal year. The project began its second year activities on October 1, 2012, and this Annual Report is for Year 1 covering the period October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012 and also serves as the Q4 report of Year 1.

The Tanzania SERA project will assist both the Government of the Republic of Tanzania (GoT) and the private sector in enabling a broad‐based, sustainable transformation of the agricultural sector through policy reform.  The project will focus on current policy and the regulatory environment for agriculture—from the transactional “hot” topics to the needed strategic foundational changes— building capacity of local institutions to lead informed dialogue on policy and regulatory issues in the agriculture sector and advocate for the necessary changes.

The vision for this project is twofold: to improve the policy and regulatory environment for agriculture growth and to build a group of public sector institutions, advocacy organizations, and individuals capable of performing rigorous policy analysis in support of evidence‐based advocacy and policy reform. At the conclusion of the project, we expect USAID will leave behind sustainable capacity within the GoT to initiate, develop, and utilize evidence‐based research in policy decisions and implementation, empowering local research and private sector advocacy groups to more effectively use analysis and strategic communications to lobby for change, and building national partnerships that create consensus around agriculture policy and monitor the impacts of policy. The SERA project will focus all activities around priorities identified in collaboration with the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) initiative.

The SERA project has three major components:

1. Policy Research and Reform: Improve agricultural policies to support food security and agricultural productivity in Tanzania with focus primarily on policies affecting investments in the SAGCOT region.
2. Individual and Institutional Capacity Building: Build local institutional and individual capacity to do agricultural policy research and implement policy reform and regulation.
3. Advocacy, Communications and Alliances: Strengthen advocacy and communications for policy reforms and build alliances with partners to work toward these objectives.

The Tanzania SERA Policy Project assists both the Government of the Republic of Tanzania (GoT) and the private sector to enable a broad‐based, sustainable transformation of the agricultural sector through policy reform. The vision for this project is twofold: to improve the policy and regulatory environment for agriculture growth and to build a group of public sector institutions, advocacy organizations, and individuals capable of performing rigorous policy analysis and advocating for policy reform. Improving agricultural policies is accomplished by working with the GoT and other stakeholders to identify important policy constraints to growth in the agricultural sector and by helping to alleviate these constraints through policy and regulatory reforms.

The Tanzania SERA Project has made significant achievements towards improving the agricultural policy environment, and developing individual and institutional capacity in the four years of the Project. SERA is positioned to successfully transition on going activities and conclude work on priority areas in 2016. The SERA Project’s reputation for fair, balanced, and timely analysis and cutting edge research on important policy issues continues to provide access to decision makers in the public and private sector. SERA will continue to conduct research and provide capacity building support with a focus on providing an actionable framework for the continued analysis and reform of critical policy issues in agriculture to alleviate poverty.

The Tenure and Global Climate Change (TGCC) program provides the United States Agency for International Development with the opportunity to explore the relationship between the governance of agriculture, forests, and fisheries landscapes and the achievement of sustainable land use and resilient communities through analysis, field work, and policy engagement. During this quarter, activities included:

Zambia: The Petauke District Land Alliance (PDLA) began the distribution of customary land certificates following the installation of Chief Sandwe, and also completed a site plan for over 1,000 parcels in Ukwimi Resettlement Area. Following the completion of impact evaluation data collection, the Chipata District Land Alliance (CDLA) began completing demarcation and claims in additional villages in Mkanda and Maguya Chiefdoms. TGCC carried out a training on land governance with the House of Chiefs, and integrated customary data into the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. TGCC supported the participation of government, civil society, and chiefs at the African Union’s Land Policy Conference in Ethiopia.

Burma: In Burma local civil society organization (CSO) partners completed community mapping of village tract boundaries and resources, as well as associated local outreach with government and broader communities. TGCC held a series of events to document lessons learned across these CSO partners and with state and regional government and to integrate lessons into broader practices.

Vietnam, Mangroves, and Marine Tenure: In Vietnam, the field team completed the dissemination of coastal spatial plans and worked on the documentation of the process, as well as broader community outreach on coastal zone management. The team also finalized mangrove co-management discussions and an assessment report. Results were shared at a national level workshop with other mangrove related activities from across the country. Preparations are underway for a mangroves webinar to be held in 2018. TGCC drafted two journal articles for publication on the marine tenure work.

TFA 2020: Activities in Ghana were completed with the delivery of farm seal documents from TGCC partner Landmapp and the completion of land tenure training. Private sector and civil society partners participated in a Lessons Learned workshop in December to disseminate project findings. TGCC partner World Resources Institute (WRI) completed the Tierras Indigenas platform and launched it with local partners in Paraguay in November 2017.

Challenges: TGCC encountered few notable challenges this past quarter.

Priorities: In the coming quarter, TGCC will focus on documenting lessons learned and sharing outcomes, primarily in Washington, but also through social media and with partner missions.