Document Type: Project Design and Implementation

Background

Cocoa has a particularly important position in Ghana’s economy and within the culture of cocoa growing regions. Due to its commercial value, cocoa is considered a man’s crop and gender inequality is pervasive within the cocoa sector. Although women are involved in nearly all activities of cocoa production in Ghana, their role and contributions remain unrecognized, undervalued, and often unpaid. This is caused by a combination of unequal access to productive resources, unbalanced power relationships, and harmful gender norms. Land ownership is a key factor and because women typically do not own or lease land on their own, they are not perceived as farmers by themselves, by others within the community, or by the commercial firms within the supply chain. Women have low representation in cocoa producer groups, which are an important vehicle for receiving inputs, extension services, financial services, and technology. Women also have little to no involvement in the sale of cocoa and limited decision-making power over use of income from cocoa production.

To address these barriers, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program, is working with Ecom Agroindustrial Corp. (ECOM), a global commodity trading and processing company specialized in coffee, cocoa, and cotton, as well as brands who buy cocoa from ECOM such as Hershey, to strengthen women’s land rights, promote gender equality, and empower women in the cocoa value chain in Ghana. The proposed 18-month activity is informed by an initial gender assessment carried out between November 2020 and March 2021 that provided a better understanding of ECOM’s current practices and capacity on gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as the barriers and opportunities for women’s empowerment, access to productive resources, and income diversification. The assessment included a review of existing primary and secondary data, interviews with 40 ECOM staff and local stakeholders, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with 122 women and men farmers in Assin Fosu and Antoakrom Districts.

The activity will draw from other ILRG partnerships with large agribusiness investors to promote women’s land rights and women’s empowerment in value chains in India and Mozambique. Private sector actors have an influential role in the cocoa sector and are strategically positioned to lead efforts to empower women by adopting sourcing policies that recognize and respond to women’s needs and providing gender-responsive training and resources. Inclusive business models make social and economic sense through increased profitability for farmers and companies, greater compliance with sustainability goals, and positive brand image.

The overall purpose of the partnership is to make the business case for women’s empowerment within the PepsiCo potato supply chain, demonstrating that reaching, benefiting, and empowering women in the potato supply chain make social and economic sense for both rural Bengali households and PepsiCo.

The overall purpose of the partnership is to make the business case for women’s empowerment within the PepsiCo potato supply chain, demonstrating that reaching, benefiting, and empowering women in the potato supply chain make social and economic sense for both rural Bengali households and PepsiCo.

Background

The purpose of the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order is to provide support to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Land and Resource Governance Team under the Development, Democracy, and Innovation Bureau’s Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure Center to develop and implement targeted, discrete interventions in select USAID presence and non-presence countries to remove the tenure-related barriers to achieving priority development objectives such as conflict prevention and mitigation, countering violent extremism, achieving women’s economic empowerment, promoting inclusive economic growth, increasing agricultural productivity and food security, and strengthening biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural resources management.

The government of Malawi enacted a series of land laws in 2016, including the Customary Land Act 2016 that requires all customary landholders to formalize ownership through registration of their parcels. Pilot activities have been done in seven districts in Malawi ahead of a countrywide systematic customary land registration supported by development partners and donors like the World Bank and the European Union (EU).

It is anticipated that formalizing land rights in customary estates through titling will improve security of tenure. However, unless the process of formalizing land rights looks beyond the technical and legal components to address the social and cultural norms and attitudes that often undermine women’s land rights, there is potential risk of formalizing exclusion of women and other marginalized groups according to identities such as age, marital status, disability, and ethnicity, among others. The customary laws and practices that do not recognize equitable property rights will render formal legislation ineffective at ensuring gender equality and social inclusion in property rights. Both matrilineal and patrilineal systems are associated with some form of discrimination when it comes to land rights between men and women. The general practice that affects a person’s rights to land is the place of residence after marriage as inheritance is the principal way in which a person owns land in customary set ups.

With funding from the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Fund at USAID, ILRG is working against this background to support gender integration in customary land documentation in Malawi. The activity recognizes that while Malawi has put into place the legal framework for customary land documentation, implementation is in its early stages and the framework for action is emerging. The approach recognizes the diversity of patrilineal and matrilineal systems within Malawi and their associated impacts on women’s rights, as well as that social barriers are a key challenge to translate legal provisions into women’s access to and control of land in both matrilineal and patrilineal set-ups. The materials and manuals developed so far have not included an explicit and intentional gender lens and this can fail to address and/or inadvertently reinforce barriers to women’s land rights.

The activity will take place over approximately two years from activity initiation (a year and a half of implementation). There is no assumption that these funds will be followed on by additional investment in the sector in Malawi, and as a result the proposed activities will be stand alone and achieve impact within the two years. The activity links to the Government of Malawi’s (GOM) objectives related to customary land documentation, as well as USAID’s priority of advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

ILRG proposes to support gender integration across the full customary estate documentation process and administration on a single traditional land management area (TLMA). This will ensure that funds can be used to complete documentation of a full jurisdiction and feed into a complete administrative system, supporting the broader capacity required for the land clerk and associated structures to sustainably manage land records in coordination with district land registrar (a new position as well). Specifically, ILRG will:

• Provide technical assistance to a district level land registry and clerks;
• Promote the inclusion of women and youth in the land documentation process through updated
  gender-responsive land guidelines, process manuals, and implementation practical notes;
• Engage key stakeholders to shift gender norms around women’s land rights at institutional,
  community, and household levels; and
• Convene dialogues with national and international stakeholders to discuss lessons learned and build positive momentum on gender and customary land documentation work.

It is expected that gender-responsive documentation of customary land in the selected TLMA will benefit up to 45,000 people; the number is to be confirmed upon final selection of the group village headpersons (GVHs) to be supported within the TLMA. In addition, the activity will leave in place structures and links to broader land documentation funded processes for a lasting impact that is not dependent on USAID funding.

ILRG will contribute to USAID/Malawi’s overarching goal of “A More Self-Reliant Malawi that is Gender Equitable and Democratically Accountable” through the implementation of a gender transformative approach to customary land rights, as well as the three development objectives: 1. Public sector is more accountable and effective at national and decentralized levels; 2. Youth lead healthy, informed, and productive lives; and, 3. Private sector increases inclusive and sustainable wealth generation.

All activities will be carried out in close coordination with the Land Reform Implementation Unit (LRIU) at the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development (MLHUD), and in compliance with USAID regulations. The plan will be implemented by ILRG Malawi country team, comprised of the Country Coordinator, Field Coordinator, and Administration and Finance Specialist. ILRG global and home office staff will provide technical and operational support and local consultants will be engaged for specific tasks as needed.

The implementation plan outlines the specific tasks to be undertaken by ILRG. Section 2 provides an overview of preparation tasks that informed the development of the implementation plan, followed by details on the tasks in Section 3, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning considerations in Section 4.

Introduction 

The Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order (TO) under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights II (STARR II) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides support to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Land and Urban Office in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3/LU). ILRG develops and implements targeted interventions in select USAID presence and non-presence countries, providing technical assistance to improve land and resource governance, strengthen property rights, and build resilient livelihoods as the foundation for stability, resilience, and strong economic growth. The TO has four primary objectives that assist in ending extreme poverty:

• To increase inclusive economic growth, resilience, and food security;
• To provide a foundation for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity
  conservation;
• To promote good governance, conflict mitigation, and disaster mitigation and relief; and,
• To empower women and other vulnerable populations.

To achieve these objectives, the TO works collaboratively with USAID, communities, civil society, governments, academia, and the private sector through inter-related components:

• Component 1: Support the development of inclusive land and property rights laws and
  policies;
• Component 2: Assist law and policy implementation, including clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources;
• Component 3: Support the capacity of local institutions to administer and secure equitable land and resource governance; and
• Component 4: Facilitate responsible land-based investment that creates optimized outcomes for communities, investors, and the public.

As of the end of fiscal year (FY) 2019, ILRG had multi-year activities in Zambia, Mozambique, and India, with additional preparations underway for support to community land protection in Liberia, and discussions began on opportunities in Malawi and Madagascar. Near the end of FY 2019, ILRG was informed that it would program funding related to the Women’s Global Development Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) with the aim of implementing activities in existing and new ILRG geographies over approximately two years. This work plan is focused on describing how these funds will be programmed, recognizing that opportunities differ in each geography, as do the amount of time and effort required to build a common understanding with USAID missions, host country governments, and partners. This work plan also recognizes the importance of coordinating with USAID’s Communications, Evidence and Learning (CEL) program, which will be undertaking W-GDP activities in some overlapping geographies, as well as the Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA) project. W-GDP activities will be fully integrated into the implementation plans and associated budgets for each country, but are presented here to focus specifically on a global W-GDP work plan. ILRG was awarded July 27, 2018. The TO has a three-year base period (through July 2021) and two one-year option periods. Any changes to this plan related to COVID-19 will be reflected in quarterly reports.

INTEGRATED LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE TASK ORDER UNDER THE STRENGTHENING TENURE AND RESOURCE RIGHTS II (STARR II) IDIQ

Introduction 

The Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights II (STARR II) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides support to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Land and Resource Governance (LRG) Team under the Development, Democracy, and Innovation Bureau’s Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure (EEI) Center. ILRG implements interventions in USAID countries, providing technical assistance to improve land and resource governance, strengthen property rights, and build resilient livelihoods as the foundation for stability, resilience, and economic growth. The task order has four primary objectives: 1) to increase inclusive economic growth, resilience, and food security; 2) to provide a foundation for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity conservation; 3) to promote good governance, conflict mitigation, and disaster mitigation and relief; and 4) to empower women and other vulnerable populations.

To achieve this, the task order works through four interrelated components with diverse stakeholders:

• Component 1: Support the development of inclusive land and property rights laws and policies;
• Component 2: Assist law and policy implementation, including clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources;
• Component 3: Support the capacity of local institutions to administer and secure equitable land and resource governance; and
• Component 4: Facilitate responsible land-based investment that creates optimized outcomes for communities, investors, and the public.

The ILRG contract has two mechanisms for providing support on land and natural resource governance: term activities and completion activities. Activities currently pursued include: 1) support around USAID’s Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 2) support to deforestation-free cocoa in Ghana through the creation of a sustainably financed farm rehabilitation and land tenure strengthening model; 3) collaboration with PepsiCo on gender and women’s empowerment within the potato value chain in West Bengal, India; 4) a land tenure and property rights assessment in Indonesia; 6) a deep dive in Colombia with the Global Property Rights Index (Prindex); 5) support for completion of community land protection program activities in Liberia; 6) activities related to the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Fund in Ghana, India, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia; 7) support to the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals (PPA); 8) engagement in Madagascar with the Climate Resilient Cocoa Landscape Program; 9) investigation of conflict financing, due diligence and socioeconomic dynamics in the artisanal mining supply chains in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); 10) multiple activities in Mozambique including clarification of rights to land and resources related to responsible land-based investment, as well as disaster response work in Sofala Province; 11) in Zambia support to land policy, customary land administration, and service delivery, as well as community-based natural resource governance around protected areas; and 12) various research and analysis in support of sustainable landscapes.

ILRG was awarded on July 27, 2018, with a three-year base period and two one-year option periods; both option years were exercised in August 2020

INTEGRATED LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE TASK ORDER UNDER THE STRENGTHENING TENURE AND RESOURCE RIGHTS II (STARR II) IDIQ

Introduction 

The Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights II (STARR II) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides support to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Land and Resource Governance Team under the Development, Democracy, and Innovation Bureau’s Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure Center. ILRG develops and implements targeted interventions in select USAID countries, providing technical assistance to improve land and resource governance, strengthen property rights, and build resilient livelihoods as the foundation for stability, resilience, and strong economic growth. The task order has four primary objectives: 1) to increase inclusive economic growth, resilience, and food security; 2) to provide a foundation for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity conservation; 3) to promote good governance, conflict mitigation, and disaster mitigation and relief; and 4) to empower women and other vulnerable populations.

To achieve this, the task order works through four interrelated components with diverse stakeholders:

• Component 1: Support the development of inclusive land and property rights laws and policies;
• Component 2: Assist law and policy implementation, including clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources, particularly focusing on women’s land rights;
• Component 3: Support the capacity of local institutions to administer and secure equitable land and resource governance; and
• Component 4: Facilitate responsible land-based investment that creates optimized outcomes for communities, investors, and the public.

The ILRG contract has two mechanisms for providing support on land and natural resource governance: 1) term activities; and 2) completion activities. Under the term portion of the contract, the project implements technical assistance in Mozambique and Zambia. Work in Mozambique focuses on clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources through collaboration on responsible land-based investment, while work in Zambia includes support to land policy, customary land administration, and service delivery, as well as natural resource governance and tenure around protected areas. Under the completion portion of the contract, USAID missions, bureaus, and offices can support additional scopes of work. Activities currently pursued under this portion of the contract include: 1) support around USAID’s Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 2) support to deforestation-free cocoa in Ghana through the creation of a sustainably financed farm rehabilitation and land tenure strengthening model; 3) collaboration with PepsiCo on gender and women’s empowerment within the potato value chain in West Bengal, India; 4) a land tenure and property rights assessment in Indonesia; 6) a deep dive in Colombia with the Global Property Rights Index (Prindex); 5) support for
completion of community lands protection activities in Liberia; 6) activities related to the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Fund in Ghana, India, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia; 7) support to the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals (PPA); 8) engagement in Madagascar with the Climate Resilient Cocoa Landscape Program; 9) investigation of conflict financing, due diligence and socioeconomic dynamics in the artisanal mining supply chains in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); 10) multiple activities in Mozambique including clarification of rights to land and resources related to responsible land-based investment, as well as disaster response work in Sofala Province; and 11) in Zambia support to land policy, customary land administration, and service delivery, as well as community-based natural resource governance around protected areas

INTEGRATED LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE TASK ORDER UNDER THE STRENGTHENING TENURE AND RESOURCE RIGHTS II (STARR II) IDIQ

Introduction 

The Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights II (STARR II) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides support to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Land and Urban Office in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3/LU). ILRG develops and implements targeted interventions in select USAID countries, providing technical assistance to improve land and resource governance, strengthen property rights, and build resilient livelihoods as the foundation for stability, resilience, and strong economic growth. The task order has four primary objectives:

1. to increase inclusive economic growth, resilience, and food security;
2. to provide a foundation for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity conservation;
3. to promote good governance, conflict mitigation, and disaster mitigation and relief; and,
4. to empower women and other vulnerable populations.

To achieve this, the task order works through four inter-related components with diverse stakeholders:

• Component 1: Support the development of inclusive land and property rights laws and policies;
• Component 2: Assist law and policy implementation, including clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources, particularly focusing on women’s land
  rights;
• Component 3: Support the capacity of local institutions to administer and secure equitable land and resource governance; and
• Component 4: Facilitate responsible land-based investment that creates optimized outcomes for communities, investors, and the public

The ILRG contract has two mechanisms for providing support on land and natural resource governance: 1) term activities; and 2) completion activities. Under the term portion of the contract, the project implements technical assistance in Mozambique and Zambia. Work in Mozambique focuses on clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources through collaboration on responsible land-based investment, while work in Zambia includes support to land policy, customary land administration, and service delivery, as well as natural resource governance and tenure around protected areas. Under the completion portion of the contract, USAID missions, bureaus, and offices can support additional scopes of work. Activities pursued under this portion of the contract include: 1) support around USAID’s Policy on Promoting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; 2) support to deforestation-free cocoa in Ghana through the creation of a sustainably financed farm rehabilitation and land tenure strengthening model; 3) collaboration with PepsiCo on gender equality and women’s empowerment within the potato value chain in West Bengal, India; 4) a land tenure and property rights assessment in Indonesia; 6) a deep dive with the Global Property Rights Index (Prindex) in Zambia; 5) support for completion of Customary Land Protection Program activities in approximately 35 communities in Liberia; 6) activities related to Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) funding, including new work with the cocoa sector in Ghana and work on land rights documentation in Malawi; 7) support to the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and 8) engagement in Madagascar with the Climate Resilient Cocoa Landscape Program.
ILRG was awarded on July 27, 2018 and has a three-year base period (through July 2021) and two one-year option periods that were exercised in August 2020.

INTEGRATED LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE TASK ORDER UNDER THE STRENGTHENING TENURE AND RESOURCE RIGHTS II (STARR II) IDIQ

Introduction 

The Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order (TO) under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights II (STARR II) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract provides support to the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Land and Urban Office in the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment (E3/LU). ILRG develops and implements targeted interventions in select USAID presence and non-presence countries, providing technical assistance to improve land and resource governance, strengthen property rights, and build resilient livelihoods as the foundation for stability, resilience, and strong economic growth. The TO has four primary objectives that assist in ending extreme poverty:

• To increase inclusive economic growth, resilience, and food security;
• To provide a foundation for sustainable natural resource management and biodiversity
  conservation;
• To promote good governance, conflict mitigation, and disaster mitigation and relief; and,
• To empower women and other vulnerable populations.

To achieve these objectives, the TO works collaboratively with USAID, communities, civil society, host country governments, academia, and the private sector through four inter-related components:

• Component 1: Support the development of inclusive land and property rights laws and policies;
• Component 2: Assist law and policy implementation, including clarifying, documenting,
  registering, and administering rights to land and resources;
• Component 3: Support the capacity of local institutions to administer and secure equitable land
  and resource governance; and
• Component 4: Facilitate responsible land-based investment that creates optimized outcomes for
  communities, investors, and the public.

The ILRG contract has two mechanisms for providing support on land and natural resource governance. Under the term portion of the contract, the project implements technical assistance in Mozambique and Zambia. Under the completion portion of the contract, USAID missions, bureaus, and offices can support additional field support scopes of work in locations to be determined. ILRG aims for field activities to inform legal and regulatory objectives and have larger scaling / impact opportunities. In Mozambique, ILRG focuses on clarifying, documenting, registering, and administering rights to land and resources through collaboration on responsible land-based investment while sharing results with government at the district and national levels. In Zambia, ILRG provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on land policy as well as natural resource management and focuses grants to partners in the field on customary land administration and service delivery and natural resource governance and tenure around protected areas. Activities under the completion portion of the contract include support to USAID Policy on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, deforestation-free cocoa in Ghana through the creation of a sustainably financed farm rehabilitation and land tenure strengthening model, integration of gender into PepsiCo’s potato supply chain in India, and emerging activities related to community land protection in Liberia, land tenure and property rights (LTPR) assessment in Indonesia (completed in October 2019), and research and analytical support to USAID. Additionally, USAID’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) is supporting activities to be integrated within the Mozambique, Zambia, India, and Ghana portfolios, while launching a new activity in Malawi associated with implementation of the 2016 Customary Land Act.

ILRG was awarded July 27, 2018. The TO has a three-year base period (through July 2021) and two one-year option periods.

The focus of this document is natural resource management for terrestrial food systems. The GFSS 2022–2026 aims to sustainably reduce global poverty, hunger, and malnutrition across three interconnected strategic objectives: inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth; strengthened resilience among people and systems; and a well-nourished population, especially among women and children. The GFSS recognizes natural resource management as essential to achieving its strategic objectives through Crosscutting Intermediate Result (CCIR) 5: Improved natural resource management, and CCIR 6: Improved water resources management. The GFSS also highlights “healthy ecosystems and biodiversity” and “enhanced climate change adaptation and mitigation” as complementary results that are necessary for improving food security and nutrition.

This guidance shares guiding questions to improve current integration approaches in a more coordinated, systematic manner when designing activities, and examples of programming in practice.

The Activity Design Guidance documents provide a shared understanding of key concepts and best practices for designing and implementing Feed the Future activities under the Global Food Security Strategy. Aid effectiveness principles are core to implementation across these technical areas.

Implementers are strongly encouraged to refer to multiple relevant GFSS Activity Design Guidance documents in conjunction for best implementation practices and suggestions for designing activities.

The Activity Design Guidances replace the Technical Guidances for the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy (2017–2021) that will be archived in May 2023.

This is one of several Activity Design Guidance documents for implementing the U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Strategy. The full set of documents is at www.feedthefuture.gov and www.agrilinks.org.