Africare Food Security Review

AFRICARE FOOD SECURITY REVIEW Number 19 December 2008 Lessons Learned from Pilot Testing VitaGoat Technology in Guinea Mamadou Contéi, Bonaventure Traoré,ii iii and Della E. McMillan Objective these reasons, a growing number of African governments and international donors are re- One objective of Africare’s Title II Institutional examining various ways to use soy foods Capacity Building (ICB) grant (FY04-08) from imported from the United States as well as the United States Agency for International locally grown soy to produce soy milk and other Development (USAID) was to pilot test the soy products. Both types of programs have introduction of community-based soybean received support from the American soybean processing equipment as a component of its industry and, especially, the World Initiative for existing and new Title II programs.iv This paper Soy in Human Health (WISHH) of the American provides a brief overview of the results of one of Soybean Association (ASA). these pilot programs, which was introduced in connection with the Guinea Food Security The Development of the Soy Processing Systems Initiative (GnFSI) in the region of Dinguiraye in 2004 and later in Dabola region in 2005. The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), an NGO created in 2000—in Background partnership with Malnutrition Matters (a Canadian non-profit contracted by WISHH to Any broad-based initiative to address the special provide technical support on these outreach needs and concerns of vulnerable people must activities)—has helped fund and facilitate also examine ways for poor and vulnerable funding of the basic equipment of small-scale populations to have access to good quality and soybean processing technologies in various parts less expensive (than animal food) protein of the world. The initial focus of these programs sources, especially in a context marked by was on the SoyCow, later referred to as increases in oil and food prices and the financial VitaCow—a processing system that could crisis. produce 40 liters of soy milk per hour. The soy milk can then be further processed into value Although there is no evidence of a need for added products such as tofu and yogurt, as well increased protein intake for people living with as local food blends. By comparison, live cows human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), the need in developing countries generally produce for high calorie, nutrient dense foods that are between 3.8 and 7.6 liters of milk per day. The easily digested—such as soy milk—is not VitaCow can also process legumes, grains, contested (WHO 2003, Africare and cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Malnutrition Matters 2004, Module 1). Furthermore, it is recognized that those living Based on lessons learned from the initial pilots with HIV in resource poor areas are likely to by Africare as well as other organizations that have underlying protein-energy and pilot-tested the first generation VitaCows—most micronutrient deficiencies (FANTA 2004). For This publication was made possible through support provided by the Office of Food for Peace, Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Award No. AFP-a-00-03-00052. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Map 1: Prefecture of Dinguiraye, Guinea notably the difficulty of growing enough crop extension groups (or groupements) would soybeans to keep the machines fully deployed— need to make the VitaGoat technology profitable. Malnutrition Matters has switched its emphasis After the initial subsidy from Africare for from SoyCow to VitaGoat in the last five years. purchasing the equipment and transporting it to A VitaGoat system can process 30 liters of soy the site,v the community was expected to cover milk per hour, using fuelwood or petrol (not the costs of routine operation through the sale of electricity) (Malnutrition Matters 2007). The the soymilk and related products, as well as other name changed away from a focus on soy in the products that they could produce from the development of VitaGoat systems (i.e., they are equipment. Through its ICB grant, Africare not called SoyGoats) to reflect the wider range of committed to providing some basic technical food stuffs that can be processed with the assistance (through its headquarters office) that systems. Like VitaCow systems, VitaGoat would link its Title II programs with systems can also be used to process other Malnutrition Matters, as well as a VitaCow legumes, grains, cereals, nuts, fruits, and business manual. The business manual, which vegetables. was produced in English during the first year of the ICB, includes information on setting up a Africare’s ICB Grant community-based soy processing activity including information on different products that Under the ICB Grant, Africare proposed to pilot can be made using soy beans, marketing, and a test the introduction of the new VitaCow cost-benefit analysis Excel tool (Africare and technology and eventually scale up the Malnutrition Matters 2004). The manual also experience by adding it as a component in all of includes three more focused modules: its existing and new Title II food security • Module 1. Health and Nutrition programs. It was anticipated that WISHH would Instructions for People Living with provide the basic equipment for the projects and HIV/AIDS that the project would use its own resources to • Module 2. Weaning Foods using the fund training and other inputs—such as VitaCow improved seeds and crop extension—that local 2 Africare Food Security Review, No 19, December 2008. Lessons Learned from the Pilot Introduction of Vita Cow Technology in Guinea. Conte et al.. • Module 3. Fruit & Vegetable Processing using the VitaCow (with a particular emphasis on mango and tomato processing) The GnFSI Project One of the first pilot tests was organized through the Africare Guinea Food Security Initiative (GnFSI, 2001-2007vi) in the Dinguiraye region of middle Guinea. Despite relatively high rainfall and abundant resources, historically, the Dinguiraye region has had some of the highest rates of malnutrition in Guinea. The Guinea Food Security Initiative and its preceding project the Dinguiraye Food Security Initiative (DFSI, 1997-2000) were designed to reduce these high malnutrition rates. The GnFSI was a classic three-pronged food security project to address food availability, access, and utilization. The project activities were conceptualized as following two strategic objectives: VitaGoat cycle grinder, Guinea. • Strategic Objective One: Improving the Photo Credit: GnFSI II archive nutrition and health status of women and monitoring and evaluation system set up children under five and specifically for the VitaGoat activities and • Strategic Objective Two: Increasing limited data are only available for the final year agricultural productivity. or two of the grant. The lack of an M&E system for VitaGoat activities means that data on this Based on the results of the final evaluation of the sub-component is sparse and sometimes difficult previous DFSI project, the new project included to interpret. Records were kept based on the post-harvest management (i.e., reducing post existing GnFSI model developed by GnFSI for harvest losses, increasing revenues by value- community-based income generating activities added food processing) as one of the three sub- that it facilitated. In addition, there was some foci of the second strategic objective. The other attempt at tracking cash flow associated with the two were agricultural production and community equipment. Although the initial installations capacity building (see McMillan et al. 2006; included handing over the SoyCow/VitaCow Pogba et al. 2007 [AFSR No. 7], and Sidibé, et Business Guide, which included a cost-benefit al. 2007 [AFSR No. 8]). analysis template (Box 1 and Annex I), this guide was not translated into French and has not Methods been sufficiently incorporated into the management structures in order to ensure its Although food processing was an important sub- widespread use.viii focus under Strategic Objective Two, introducing VitaGoat technology was not in the This review of the experience with VitaGoat original proposal. It was also introduced systems associated with the GnFSI project used relatively late in the project cycle—one system project records and data and an initial review of vii was introduced in year four (2004/2005) and Africare’s VitaGoat Pilot projects in 2007 two in year five (2005/2006) of the original five (Bryson 2007) to assess the success and impact year project period, which was later of the VitaGoat systems and attempted to geographically expanded to cover the Dabola construct an ex-post facto analysis of the rate of region and further extended by one year to return from the technology for the women’s include fiscal year 2007. This late introduction groups and individuals involved in the initial has had two important impacts on the data for pilot tests. The VitaGoat machines were this case study: there was no standardized 3 Africare Food Security Review, No 19, December 2008. Lessons Learned from the Pilot Introduction of Vita Cow Technology in Guinea. Conte et al.. Box 1. Cost-Benefit Analysis The cost-benefit spreadsheet (prepared using Microsoft Excel) has 4 sections (see Annex I for example image of the spread sheet): a) Capital Investment: This includes the cost of all equipment, site preparation, etc that is necessary to start the business. b) Variable Costs: These are costs that are only incurred if there is production. c) Fixed Costs: These costs are incurred regardless of whether there is production or not. d) Revenue: This is the money that the business collects for products it sells. In addition, there are 4 columns: a) Unit cost: This is what the material or service costs on a “per unit” basis. For example, electricity is priced by kW-hours.

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