Supply Capacity - United States of America

In 2008 the USADF provided grants to private enterprises and non-governmental organizations in Africa. These grants were given to promote the expansion and development of export trade. Other activities funded by the ADF are trade facilitation, trader-related agriculture, services trade, and tourism sector development. Through 2010, ADF has provided grants of close to US$9.4 million to Botswana, Burundi, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The BPC Project increases productivity and sales of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to generate/sustain employment and increase incomes in urban and peri-urban areas. This happens through strengthening selected value chains, strengthening capacity of local organizations to provide services to MSMEs (i.e.: production technologies, clean production, quality control, financial access, etc.), and promoting initiatives to improve the business environment and workforce development.

The Growth with Equity in Mindanao-3 (GEM-3) Program will support Mindanao producers in their market development efforts by increasing competitiveness through improvements in production practices, product transport, and sales procedures.

IICEM (2007-2012) focuses on intermediate results within selected value chains: expansion/rehabilitation of irrigated agriculture and intensification of agricultural production in target areas; enhancing access to finance; enhancing access to markets and trade; introducing, transferring and applying improved technologies; increasing control of village associations over natural resources; and fostering an enabling environment.

The Competitiveness and Trade Expansion (COMPETE) program will enhance economic growth and food security in Eastern and Central Africa by stimulating increased trade and competitiveness in both regional and global markets. COMPETE will be headquartered in Nairobi and will respond to the Presidents African Global Competitiveness Initiative and the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa. Activities will be focused on increasing AGOA exports, removing barriers to trade, and strengthening Afghan markets.

The goal of the proposed Trade and Accession Facilitation for Afghanistan (TAFA) project is to foster economic growth, trade, and investment through improving the conditions for international and cross-border trade and transit. The project will help the Government of Afghanistan and the private sector to pursue and realize the advantages of greater regional and global trade linkages and economic integration.

• Assisted GIRoA to resolve key policy and technical bottlenecks and ratify the historic Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, in legal effect as of June 12, 2011
• Assisted GIRoA to ratify the South Asia Free Trade Agreement, lowering tariffs on many Afghan exports to India and Pakistan immediately on entry into effect August 7, 2011
• Developed a new border management model that is aimed at streamlining processes at the borders
• Reduced the customs processing time at Kabul International Airport by 45 percent through the introduction of streamlined procedures
• Worked with the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan to establish a One Stop Shop for Exports, bringing all the agencies involved in exporting under one roof in Kabul
• Assisted the Afghan National Standards Authority to develop and adopt a five-year strategy for development of international product and safety standards and quality control for exports
• Prepared the Afghan delegation to participate in its first WTO working party meeting in January 2011

USAID will help small and medium enterprises to have better access to business development services, increase their productivity and competitiveness, and expand operations in local and exports markets. A sustainable business expansion will contribute the Salvadoran economy to grow and expand job creation.

A major emphasis in the project is building the capacity of service providers supporting Serbia’s agribusi- ness sector, incorporating them seamlessly in project activities, providing them with the latest technical skills, and building a market for their services. A number of major driving forces pose challenges to the Serbian agricultural sector, but they also represent great opportunities, if they are harnessed properly, for Serbian agribusiness.

The USAID COMPETE program metakes an integrated approach to advance trade and economic growth and ensure food security in the region. The program builds the capacity of African firms to compete in the global marketplace and takes advantage of preferential trade opportunities under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other international trade agreements. Central to the USAID COMPETE program is an African private sector-led reform agenda. USAID COMPETE works through regional trade associations and lead firms to build the private sector’s capacity to advocate for an improved policy and trade environment. USAID COMPETE works with regional economic communities such as the Common Market for East and South- ern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC) to build public sector capacity to advance regional integration through harmonized policies, procedures and standards and technological improvements to sup- port evidence based policy decision making. Regional integration is key to fostering development of regional markets and increasing the competitiveness of African products globally.