Policies for Integrating Relief and Commercial Market Sources of Agricultural Inputs Proposal for follow-up to Input Voucher Study submitted to USAID Doug Merrey Lusaka, 4 September 2007

Background Building on foundation created by previous work on relief seeds, input vouchers Opportunity to help region identify ways to: strengthen agricultural input markets; escape from blanket subsidy programmes; and target support to poorest farmers and enable them to improve their livelihoods Opportunity to explore other innovative uses, for example purchase of simple equipment like treadle pumps Sufficient evidence from within and beyond region on effectiveness of input vouchers to give us confidence

Activity objectives 1. Develop implementation plans and achieve commitment to demonstrate the potential impacts of scaling up (Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia) 2. Extend work on relief seeds and fertilizer, and input vouchers, to Angola 3. Hold workshop to share experiences— Africa, Asia—as inputs to regional policies— > edited book 4. Prepare longer term program of research, pilot testing, capacity building, strengthening advocacy, for external funding support.

Asset creation through cash transfers by World Food Programme, Malawi Source: B. Mwale, World Food Programme Report, 2006

We invite your inputs, suggestions for a future programme, and your collaboration in its development and implementation!