1. WILLIAM VERZANI
U.S. Embassy Agricultural Attache
Foreign Agricultural Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Verzani earned his B.A. degree in Spanish at the University of
Nebraska and his M.A. degree in International Political Economy and Development at Fordham
University. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras (1998-2001) and participated in
the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program in Tottori Prefecture, Japan (2002-2005). Mr.
Verzani arrived in the Philippines in June 2011 and has worked for FAS since 2007. Prior to this
assignment, he was a commodity analyst for the FAS Office of Global Analysis and as a
development analyst for the USDA Food for Progress program in Washington.

2. USDA Capacity Building Programs in
the Philippines
Bill Verzani, Agricultural Attaché
U.S. Embassy Manila

3. USDA Foreign Agricultural
Service
Mission: Maximize Exports of U.S. Food and Agricultural Products and
Enhance Food Security (food ingredients to finished products)
How: Eliminate Trade Barriers
Identify Opportunities for Producers & Traders
Partner and Promote
Capacity Building
Results: The U.S. is the Philippines’ number one export market and the
number one supplier of food and agricultural products (two-way
trade totaled over US$3.7 billion in 2011).

4. USDA Capacity Building
Programs in the Philippines
• Food for Progress Program - $70 million since 1995 (grant-agricultural
sector development)
• Section 416B - $42.3 million since 1995 (grant-feeding)
• P.L. 480 Title I - $200 million since 1995 (i.e., biotechnology, Agricultural
Fulbright Program, livestock development, etc.)- concessional loans to GRP
• Cochran Fellowship Programs – U.S. based short term training open to
public and private sector
• USDA Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science & Technology
Fellowship Program - U.S. based three month research and training for
researchers and policymakers
• Technical Seminars by U.S. Cooperators (feed seminar by ASA, food safety
and hygiene seminar by USAPEEC)

5. USDA Food for Progress
(FFPr) Basics
• Developing countries committed to
expanding free enterprise in the
agricultural sector
• Competitive process and priority
country list
• Commodities monetized and
proceeds used to support
development activities
• Principle objectives are to improve
agricultural productivity and expand
trade
• Total USDA FFPr funding in 2012
reached $200 million (globally)

6. USDA FFPr Projects in the Philippines
since FY 2009

7. Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Farmer Alliances for Resource Strengthening
and Marketing (FARM) Project
• 2006/09 FFPr recipient
• In FY 2011, FAS provided a three-year
FFPr grant of $7M to CRS for their FARM
project in Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat,
Misamis Oriental, Davao del Sur,
Maguindanao, North Cotabato and
Bukidnon.
• Focused on expanding public-private
partnerships in agribusiness,
microfinance, training and information
technology.
• CRS collaborates with the Philippine DA
to improve the livelihood of 32,000
smallholder and landless farmers.

8. Land O’ Lakes (LOL) & the National Dairy
Authority
Dairy Development Initiative
• LOL has been funded under both FFPr (FY
2006 and FY 2009) and 416B (FY 2002 and
FY 2005) funding sources.
• Key player in developing the Philippine
dairy industry and strengthening the
market for dairy products through school
milk feeding programs.
• Administers distribution of donated dairy
animals and milk processing plants
• Trains local farmers in dairy production,
cooperative management and business
development
• Created dairy processing zones in
Camarines Sur, Pangasinan, Negros
Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del
Norte , Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Davao
del Norte, North Cotabato and Sarangani

9. ACDI/VOCA
SUCCESS Alliance & COCOPAL
• SUCCESS Alliance: FFP grant provided in
FY06 to improve cacao production
practices, marketing, build post-harvest
facilities, and introduce international
cacao bean quality standards
• COCOPAL (Cocoa-Coconut-Palayaman) –
3-year integrated farming project
funded through a FY09 USDA FFPr grant
of $5.8 million.
• Approximately 25,000 farmer
beneficiaries in Western Mindanao and
the Davao region.
• Outcomes: Expanded agricultural
productivity and incomes.

10. DA Bureau of Plant Industry
FFPr Mango Project
• FY2005 USDA FFPr grant
valued at $2 million USD
• To establish a commercially
viable national irradiation
protocol in order to export
mangoes from all Philippine
regions to the United States
mainland.

11. Government of Philippines
USDA FFPr FY2010 - Response to Typhoon “Ondoy”
• Designed as a feeding program in
response to Typhoon “Ondoy”
victims in Luzon.
• A total of 81,799 children in 13
Luzon school districts were provided
tetra packed milk rations for 59 days.

12. FY 2013 Priority Countries
Bangladesh Mongolia
Burkina Faso Mozambique
Haiti and
Philippines
Dominican Republic
Kenya Timor Leste
Liberia Tanzania

13. Thank You!
http://www.fas.usda.gov/internatldevelopment.asp