Global Food Crisis Response Program: Review of Lessons Learned

The Global Food Crisis Response Program: Review of Lessons Learned is a helpful and balanced analysis produced by the agency that implemented the program:  Mercy Corps. Reaching 75,000 people over 18 months across five countries facing food shortages, the ambitious project aimed to use rapid market analysis to inform quick-impact interventions, while also addressing longer-term needs.  Its interventions varied significantly by context, but always included a focus on specific agricultural value chains. Short-term resource transfers in the form of vouchers or cash for work were often applied, as were support to vehicles for financial services. Drawing from this experience, the review captures a number of valuable lessons for value chain practitioners, particularly around how to select and implement preparatory activities that support value chain participation. A multi-phase approach to encouraging graduation among project clients is presented. The document raises the questions of whether the short duration of the project will permit sustainable market linkages to be created, but does not answer it.