MONTHLY FEED THE FUTURE REPORT

USAID CEREAL VALUE CHAIN PROJECT (AID-688-C-13-00002)

JUNE 2015 REPORT

JUNE 20, 2015 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by the USAID CVC project team.

MONTHLY FEED THE FUTURE REPORT USAID CEREAL VALUE CHAIN PROJECT (AID-688-C-13-00002) JUNE 2015 REPORT

DISCLAIMER

The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

INTRODUCTION This report covers the period from May 20 to June 20, 2015. The main activities carried out during this period are:  Training of irrigation management committees in the region  Organization of the rice value chain workshop in the  Monitoring of the marketing contracts between the wholesalers and World Food Programme (WFP)  Follow-up of the recommendations of the millet value chain workshop in and Koro  Preparation and submission of inputs loan applications of the Producer Organizations (POs) in the Sikasso region  Identification of vulnerable groups within partner POs  Sell More For More (SMFM) training  Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) workshops  Participation in the WFP annual review

IR 1: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN IRRIGATED AND DRYLAND SYSTEMS INCREASED Training of irrigation management committees in Sikasso A total of 200 water management committee members (rice producers) were trained in the district of on wa- ter requirements for rice production and the water level control in rice fields to avoid total submersion of the plants. The objective of the training was strengthen the capacity of the water management committees. The USAID CVC project completed several training sessions from June 1-6, 2015.

The table below details the number of POs and water management committee members trained in the Sikasso region: District Name of Village Participants Males Females Total Kadiolo 11 42 53 17 37 54 16 14 30 9 16 25 7 31 38 Total 60 140 200

It is important to note that there were more than twice as many women as men trained in good water management practices (140 against 60).

After the training of trainer (ToT) on valley-bottom irrigation management in March 2015 in Sikasso, the 18 field extension agents were tasked with training water management committees’ members from partner POs. During the reporting period, 209 members of eight water management committees were trained. To meet this objective, from June 1–6, the Sikasso-based irrigation specialist conducted a supervision visit to make sure the training was being ap- plied correctly. During this visit, he also sensitized the farmers on the management of pesticide packages and he also promoted Intensive Rice System (SRI) methods and recalled the roles and responsibilities of the management com- mittees.

Participation in field visit to new rice POs in Alatona region In order to facilitate the exchange of experiences between producers to promote learning, CVC participated in a field visit from May 19-20, 2015 in the Alatona region including representatives from 12 mixed POs and six women POs, eight field extension agents of the USAID-funded Alatona project, two representatives from Federation des Irrigants de Alatona (FIRTONA) and the Niono Chamber of Agricultural. This visit was an opportunity to exchange with the farmers of Sensé village (Mopti commune), women parboilers of Barigondaga (/Mopti), the POs of Kouin (Djenné) and the rice mill Planète Distribution in Sevaré.

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Identification of new POs in Koro and Bankass In order to meet the target of reaching 200 POs in Mopti, CVC’s Mopti t coordinator, along with the regional M&E specialist visited Koro and Bankass from June 8-11, 2015 and identified 16 millet/sorghum POs in Bankass and 14 in Koro and 10 rice POs in the village irrigated perimeters (VIPs). In total, 30 millet/sorghum POs were identified in Koro and Bankass and 10 rice POs from the VIPs of Office Riz Mopti (ORM).

IR 2: MARKETS AND TRADE EXPANDED Organization of rice value chain actors’ workshop in Sikasso In order to assess the 2014-2015 marketing campaign and to lay the foundation for the next agricultural campaign, a rice value chain workshop was held on May 18-19 2015 in Sikasso at Centre Jean Bosco. The workshop objectives were to: - Evaluate the available marketable volumes for rice; - Identify the major constraints encountered during the last season and make proposals for improvement; - Assess the collaboration between CVC and its technical partners such as Direction Regional de l’Agriculture (DRA) and Centre Régionale de Recherche Agricole (CRRA); - Assess planned cultivation areas and input needs (fertilizer and seeds), loan requirements, and the marketing opportunities between POs and wholesalers.

In total, 68 POs represented by 93 leaders including 53 women attended the workshop. In addition to the POs, the workshop received the participation of other actors namely: wholesalers and ; seed companies Faso Kaba and SOPROSA; inputs suppliers Protection des Cultures “MPC”, Toguna SA and Faso Jigui; representatives of the DRA, CRRA, the Regional Directorate of Women, Children and Family Promotion, the Banque Nationale de Développement Agricole (BNDA), the Association of Professional Farmers Organizations (AOPP); and a financial intermediary. In terms of results, the workshop allowed to: - Assess and communicate the available stocks (5.5 tons) at PO level to wholesalers; - Discuss and clarify the conditions and practical arrangements of both sides as soon as possible for a good success of agricultural campaign (loan application preparation, validation of requirement inputs, market- ing planning meetings, etc) - Develop a campaign action plan for CVC for the 2015-2016 season

The estimated input needs as expressed during the workshop are presented in the table below: Input needs evaluated at the workshop Production Area Urea DAP Herbicides Herbicides (# of bags) (# of bags Seeds (kg) (liters) (sachets) / 336 336 2,232 531 0 Sikasso/Kadiolo 2,274 2,150 18,625 1,196 0 / 466 398 957 40 0 Diabaly/Dogofry 8,250 4,125 23,155 0 3,095 TOTAL 11,326 7,009 44,969 1,767 3,095

Individual working group sessions highlighted the following challenges: - Improving the quantity of rice in the region: this problem is due to poor management of post-harvest opera- tions especially the poor quality and the low capacity of threshing equipment (high breakage rates) - Facilitating the POs access to timely input credit, a key factor to improve productivity and control of produc- tion costs - The establishment of a win-win business partnership between POs and the local wholesalers

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Monitoring of contracts between cereal wholesalers and WFP In order to assist POs to improve quality and receive better prices for their products, the project has made it possible for POs to sell to WFP via wholesalers who buy from the project POs and sell to WFP. The total volume of ongoing contracts under this mechanism will increase to 3,000 tons of millet and sorghum by the end of the third quarter and will reach 5,000 tons before the end of the year 2.

Through the previously held regional workshops, a marketing plan was developed to ensure the timely delivery of cereals to WFP. During the reporting period, follow-up monitoring activities were carried out by the Sikasso the re- gional team. By June 3, 2015, Société Doumbia & Fils (SO-DF) had purchased 261.507 MT of sorghum out of 700 MT planned from 34 POs in Koutiala, Yorosso and Bougouni and Koni Jiginè, had bought 41.4 MT of sorghum out of 343 MT planned from five POs in Sikasso.

Follow-up of millet value chain workshop in Bankass and Koro During the millet value chain workshop organized by CVC from May 11-12, 2015, recommendations for improve- ments were made by the participants. In an effort to follow-up on the recommendations, CVC’s Mopti based market- ing specialist carried out a field visit from June 2-5, in Koro and Bankass to improve the POs’ access to inputs for the 2015-2016 agricultural season. The field visit assessed the following aspects: - the stock of millet available for reimbursing the fertilizers obtained through the revolving funds; - the current state of sold and non-sold part of the collected stocks; - the payments received for the stocks sold; - the level of unsold stock; - the preparations at the PO level to get access to improved seeds and subsidized fertilizer as planned during the workshops.

In addition to the above mentioned activities, during the field visit the marketing specialist assessed the storage capaci- ties of the warehouses in the intervention zone (including some built by IICEM) and compiled a list of traders (cereal wholesalers, inputs suppliers) working in the visited areas.

The major difficulties remain insufficient volumes of subsidized fertilizers and access to additional credits for the revolving fund. Additionally, another key challenge is the awareness of producers for the purchase and use of DAP + Urea + improved seeds instead of cotton or cereal fertilizer complex (NPK) which is less effective than using DAP for raising yields. CVC is working to develop strategies to address this challenge.

“Savings for Change” activities in the Sikasso region In order to increase gender integration in the CVC project and promote improved income generation for women in the intervention zone, CVC Sikasso continued to support the “Savings for Change” program within women organizations in the Sikasso region. In support of these activities, a field visit was carried out from May 21-23, 2015, by CVC’s Sikasso-based gender, M&E, and rice specialists.

The visits highlighted the enthusiasm of women for the program—which has lead to the establishment of new groups in During this supervision mission, the team emphasized the importance of involving women leaders in the program for sustainability. “Savings for change” is a local saving system bringing women together in groups to set an amount and pay it per member and per week. This activity has a high potential to bring women together and introduce themes such as leadership, entrepreneurship, nutrition, health and sanitation issues.

PO inputs loan application preparation The inputs requirements in the Sikasso region and in the millet producing areas of the consist principally of fertilizers (Urea and DAP), pesticides and herbicides whereas in the Mopti rice growing areas there is more of an additional need for oil and diesel which constitute over 55% of the farm budget, in addition to the inputs mentioned above. Based on this, CVC is working on developing strategies to address the different needs of the two areas: Monthly Feed the Future Report 3

1. Direct access to input credit: this activity was conducted through the CVC field extension agents and fi- nancial intermediaries under the supervision of the Bamako-based financial services manager. CVC’s field ex- tension agents, in cooperation with the financial services manager develop and validate the inputs needs ex- pressed by the different POs; then after addressing the issues with each individual PO, the financial interme- diaries finalize the application and submit to BNDA for funding and follow-up with the POs on repayments.

This strategy was developed in the cotton area where most POs are growing cotton and the only task for the project is to seek funding for the rest of cereals (millet and sorghum) not covered by the subsidized inputs provided by the Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement des Textiles (CMDT) for cotton and maize.

2. Access to inputs in kind: this activity is rather common in the rice-growing areas POs which are generally connected to mini rice mills. As far as this system is concerned, the mini rice mills that have accessed to inputs from an input whole supplier dis- tribute inputs to POs. The POs then reimburse the mini rice mills in kind (paddy) who in turn reimburse input suppli- ers and or banks (such as BNDA) through the sale of white rice after husking the paddy. This approach has enabled Planète Distribution to raise a credit of from Malian Bank of Solidarity (BMS SA) and distribute credit to the various POs in VIPS of Federation pour le Developpement Rural de (FDRY). The input credit distributed by Planète Distribution to the POs is estimated at .

Moreover, in Mopti, CVC contacted two MFIs SIGIGNOGNONDEME SOBA for the financing of Bankass millet POs and Premiere Agence de Micro Finance (PAMF) for the financing of certain POs from Korientzé and Djenné. It is important to note that in the Mopti region, BNDA has almost stopped giving credit directly to POs as a result of the high rate of outstanding credits with some actors. The project has developed an action plan aimed at helping POs and the bank to recover the outstanding credits.

The table below presents loan applications submitted and credit obtained during the reporting period:

*Exchange rate used is 1 USD=500 FCFA

IR3: RESILIENCE OF VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND HOUSEHOLDS INCREASED Identification of vulnerable groups in partner POs households During the month of June, CVC’s regional gender specialists conducted field visits to identify vulnerable groups ac- cording to the CVC’ definition (household members of the project partner POs whose production does not cover their yearly or 12 months family cereal consumption) and to analyze the constraints of the identified household mem- bers of partner POs. As result in Mopti, 393 households have been identified as vulnerable. Among the 393 house- holds, 43 female-headed households and 26 male-headed households participated in a constraints identifications activ- ity led by Mopti’s gender specialist on from June 3-4, 2015 with five mixed POs: Patin, Yadianga, Tiembara, Golo and Dimbal.

In Sikasso the identification of vulnerable groups was carried out through three POs: the women’s cooperative “Benkadi”, millet-sorghum cooperative “Faso Kanou” and the millet-sorghum cooperative “Binkoro Djouté”, in the commune of . During the Sikasso mission, 40 households were identified as vulnerable, including 11 female-

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headed households and 29 male-headed households. CVC will work with the 40 households to begin to identify and eventually address their constraints.

IR4: LOCAL CAPACITIES AND SYSTEMS STRENGTHENED

Sell More For More (SMFM) training sessions In order to promote POs as enterprises and encourage the idea of farming as a business, the USAID CVC project continued the roll-out of ACDI/VOCA’s SMFM training curriculum with the following four modules 1. Cooperative Organization, 2. Marketing, 3. Bookkeeping or Money and, 4. Management. All modules are designed to improve the overall PO management system. The training sessions were conducted in Sikasso Mopti, and Segou (Niono) regions by CVC staff and training consultants. As results of these sessions, 350 leaders including 127 women from 71 POs benefited from SMFM training during 12 sessions including five sessions on the modules 1 and 2 and seven sessions on the modules 3 and 4.

Table of sessions conducted from May 18 to June 15, 2015 Regions Districts Period Training centers PO Participants trained Males Females Total CVC Sikasso Module 3 & 4 Kapala 6 29 0 29 Module 3 & 4 Koutiala May 18 to 23 Soussoula 6 30 0 30 Module 3 & 4 6 29 1 30 Module 1 & 2 Sikasso Deh 6 0 29 29 Module 1 & 2 Koutiala May 26 to 31 6 0 30 30 Module 1 & 2 Bougouni 6 0 30 30 Module 1 & 2 Niono May 26 to 31 Niono 7 28 8 36 Module 1 & 2 June 09 to 14 Dogofry 4 9 11 20 Total Sikasso and Segou (Niono) 47 125 109 234 CVC Mopti Module 3 & 4 Koro Koporona 6 24 6 30 Module 3 & 4 1 6 27 3 30 Module 3 & 4 Mopti May 19 to 24 Konna 2 6 28 2 30 Module 3 & 4 6 19 7 26 Total Mopti 24 98 18 116 Total 71 223 127 350 These sessions were conducted by: - In Mopti, 12 CVC field extension agents, three consultants assisted by five interns - In Sikasso, 12 CVC field extension agents and one consultant

MONITORING & EVALUATION

Monitoring and Evaluation workshops During this period, USAID CVC team organized three training workshops on CVC’s M&E system for the CVC re- gional team in Mopti, the DRA of both Mopti and Sikasso and ORM. After a year of collaboration with these partners and following identified shortcomings in the data collecting process, CVC has initiated this series of training work- shops for partners responsible for the implementation of field activities. This activity was intended to harmonize the levels of understanding of stakeholders on issues relating to the project monitoring and evaluation, including a better orientation on CVC’s indicators and data collection tools.

These workshops had the following objectives: (i) Training of specialists, including CVC staff and state technical ser- vices field extension agents on their roles and responsibilities in data collection and compilation methods of indica- tors; (ii) enhance their understanding on the monitoring and evaluation documents (Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), data collection sheets, indicators reference sheets, campaign plan and Data Quality Assessment (DQA) plan); (iii) educate the specialists on the requirements of data quality required by USAID and the specific criteria to be taken into account in the collection and analysis of data; (iv) sharing the agricultural plan of campaign 2015, (iv) explaining

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to the field extension agents the importance of producer ID card, the importance and the coding system used for PO members.

During these workshops, CVC’s indicators were reviewed and explained through the corresponding reference sheet. The data collection sheets designed to collect indicators were largely explained through a series of learning exercises conducted in group work.These various training workshops were attended by 120 specialists, field extension agents of CVC and government technical services, including 13 women. In addition to the above objectives, the workshops were used as framework for consultation between the project and its partners to better explain its vision, objectives and implementation strategy.

The issue of estimating production through yield measurement plots was raised by participants. It is clear from these workshops that the government structures and CVC do not use the same methods to estimate yield. CVC proposes to share a technical note with state partners for contributions. Once agreed on this technical note will immediately be adopted by the project as a reference document and then used by all partners for the purpose of CVC. To ensure quality, these training workshops were also attended by a representative of IOS Partners and CVC’s Bama- ko-based training and capacity building director.

SECURITY

USAID CVC Bamako staff security training On June 18, 2015, CVC Bamako hired Société Malienne de Protection (SOMAP) to train Bamako-based staff on the use of extinguishers. The training was attended by 12 people, including CVC staff and security guards. The training was organized into two phases: theoretical phase and practical phase. During the theoretical phase, the facilitator cov- ered the following topics: causes and effect of fire, triangle of fire, the type of fire, extinguisher agents, composition of extinguishing and the material of extinguishing. After this, the practical session started with firewood and fuel in the courtyard of the office, giving opportunities to participants to practice the use of extinguishers after the classroom session.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Audit of local subcontractors In order to meet the requirements of USAID (FAR 52.215-2 ), ACDI/VOCA hired Regional Inspector Gen- eral/Senegal approved to conduct the annual audit of CVC’s local subcontractors G FORCE and Nyeta Conseils according to the Office of Inspector General’s guidelines for financial audits contracted by foreign recipients. CVC’s Bamako-based management team met with the audit firm on June 9, 2015 to discuss the scope of work, provide detailed background on the project, and discuss any questions from either party. The auditors then travelled to G FORCE’s headquarters in Segou and CVC’s Sikasso office (run by G FORCE) from June 18 to 20, 2015 to begin the audit.

Upon auditors’ arrival at CVC Sikasso office, after introduction of each side, the discussion concerned the different activities implemented by the project such as: access to inputs loans, production, post-harvest, marketing, gender, M&E system, etc. From June 19-22, the auditors will travel to CVC’s Mopti office (run by Nyeta Conseils) and follow it with a visit to Nyeta Conseil’s headquarters in Niono. The final report of both partners is due by the auditors at the end of July. Outcomes of the audit report will be used by CVC management to put together a detailed institutional capacity building plan for ACDI/VOCA to implement, alongside of each individual organization over the remainder of the project under Sub IR 4.1: Local Organizations’ Capacities to Receive USAID Funds Developed.

Short term technical assistance (STTA) of CVC’s Washington D.C.-based senior project coordinator During the absence of an operations manager, CVC’s D.C.-based senior project coordinator (SPC) traveled to Bama- ko for an STTA assignment from June 8-26 to provide additional operational and administrative support to the team in preparation for the agricultural campaign. During this trip, the SPC is focused on the recruitment of replacement positions for the operations manager, millet/sorghum value chain manager, and NRM manager positions. Additional-

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ly, she is providing support to: the technical team in the finalization of subcontracts with DRA, ORM, and CMDT, local subcontractors as they undergo their audits, finance and accounting team with additional training on procure- ment and financial documentation, and the security/logistics manager in the preparations for the year three annual work plan to take place at the end of July.

COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION Participation in a meeting at the Regional Chamber of Agriculture in Mopti To facilitate smallholders’ access to markets, the Regional Chamber of Agriculture (CRA) organized a “lobbying day” on June 08, 2015 at its conference room in Sevaré. The topic of the meeting was the promotion of a favorable agricul- tural policy environment to facilitate smallholders’ access to market in the district of Mopti. The meeting gathered 50 participants including three women, and was chaired by the Sub Prefect of Mopti and participated by CVC Mopti and many other partners and producers organization representatives. During the meeting the warrantage systems (invento- ry credit, warehouse receipts systems) and upcoming legislation about warrantage were discussed.

Preparation of subcontracts with government agricultural extension services To promote large scale extension of production technologies, during the reporting period, CVC worked on the finalization of dossiers for subcontracting with government extension services, including ORM and Regional DRA in Mopti and Sikasso. The consent to subcontract requests have been sent to USAID for approval. Preparation of the subcontract with CMDT is underway.

Participation in the WFP Annual Review On June 10th, CVC’s Chief of Party (COP) participated in the WFP’s annual review of the P4P (Purchase for Pro- gress) project in Mali. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Rural Development. At the end of the pilot phase (2009-2014), P4P has been evaluated worldwide, and specifically in Mali, producer organiza- tions did their own evaluation from June 3-4, 2015 in Ségou. In this workshop WFP shared the results of the overall evaluation and results of the Ségou workshop. Current activities and activities for 2015/16 were presented. Partici- pants discussed lessons learned and proposals for the future around the topics of sustainable access to markets, strength and weaknesses of P4P and strategies to upscale the P4P experience. An additional topic was the develop- ment of cowpea production and marketing to serve WFP’s annual demand of 6,000 MT. The ministry informed par- ticipants that a follow up project is in preparation targeting more producer organizations and additional production areas. CVC’s COP presented the CVC-WFP collaboration as one of the ways to come to scale, by inclusion of cereal traders in P4P while still guaranteeing additional capacity building for farmers and premium prices for improved quali- ty. WFP plans to purchase about 6000 MT in the 2015/16 season under the partnership with CVC and experiment further this alternative to direct purchase of producer organizations.

Meeting with IOS Partners On June 3, 2015, CVC’s COP and monitor and evaluation and learning (MEL) manager met with the IOS Partners’ Regional Director, and his team at CVC’s Bamako office. The objectives of the meeting were to introduce and to learn about the project interventions strategies, the collaboration between IOS and the CVC project, as well as management practices. At the end of the meeting, stated his satisfaction with the collaboration between his organization and CVC and encouraged the teams to continue in this process.

Collaboration between CVC and CMDT: On May 27, CVC’s COP, training and capacity building director, and MEL manager had a meeting with CMDT’s Chief Technical Agricultural Advisor about collaboration with CMDT’s regional entities, training of CMDT extension staff, and finalization of subcontracts for the large scale extension of improved millet and sorghum production tech- nologies (including soil fertility management and soil conservation) on 13,000 ha in CMDT’s intervention zone.

Meeting with Mali Bio-Carburant SA: On May 28, CVC’s COP and training and capacity building director met with , Regional Coordinator Mali Bio-carburant SA (MBSA) about collaboration and CVC’s possible inclusion in the public private partnership between ICRAF and MBSA on the plantation of Jatropha in agroforestry systems. Outcomes of the meeting include Monthly Feed the Future Report 7

that CVC could contribute to large scale plantation of life fences (about 5,000 km) and ICRAF and MBSA can pro- vide seeds.

Meeting with DRA Sikasso and IOS Partners: On Thursday, May 28, 2015, CVC’s Sikasso region coordinator participated in a meeting at the DRA represented by , Head of Division of Value Chains, , head of Division of Advice and Extension and , M&E and Communication Specialist along with from IOS Partners. The discussion was focused mainly on the identification of parameters to measure revenue increases in assisted areas and non-assisted areas. Additional topics discussed were farmers’ training session by ICRISAT in Koutiala and Sikasso on sorghum diseases carried out from June 1-4, 2015, lack of equipment for sowing and weeding and other; women empower- ment issues, subsidies by PAPAM for women rice producers (80 two-rows sowing machines, certified seeds and ferti- lizers), construction of four lowland dams in the commune of Ganadougou by IPROSSI, extension of the CVC intervention to N’tjikouna next year and how to facilitate women access to inputs.

Participation in the Feed the Future (FTF) Partners meeting: On May 15, CVC’s COP and DCOP participated in the FTF partner meeting organized by USAID. The DCOP pre- sented the subcontracting with government extension services as the project’s strategy to accelerate the large scale introduction of improved production technologies. During the coffee break, the COP had the opportunity to discuss directly with partner projects about CVC’s possible participation in (or contribution to) two public private partner- ships: one between ICRISAT and the local branch of Syngenta, and the other between ICRAF and Mali Bio- carburant.

Participation in NGO MUSO’s activities extension plan in rural area in Mopti: On June 12, 2015, CVC Mopti participated in an information sharing workshop organized in the conference room of the Ministry of Planning in Mopti. The objective of the workshop was to announce the activity extension plan of NGO MUSO with the approach Social economic and cultural. NGO MUSO is a non-government organization work- ing in the field of health, nutrition of pregnant women and children. Their intervention is based on eight health dis- tricts of Bankass that are Tori pilot site, Kanibonzon, Doundé, Dimbal Habe, Koulogon, Senge, Lessagou, and Ende. This workshop was chaired by the representative of the Governor of Mopti and was participated by 35 people including five women from NGO MUSO, the Regional Director of Health Mopti; the Director of Social De- velopment and Solidarity Economy (DSES); the Sub-Prefect of Bankass; the 2nd Vice President of District Council of Bankass; Mayor of Bankass, the Representative of Regional Federation of Community Health Association (FERASCOM) of Mopti; CVC’s gender and vulnerable groups specialist; and representatives of Doctors Community Health Center (CSCOM) of Bankass.

USAID/Mali-funded project partners’ monthly meeting: In order to avoid duplication of activities and facilitate partnership between USAID/Mali-funded projects, CVC Mopti received the partners’ monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. In total, ten men and three women took part to this meeting. The meeting was an opportunity to introduce a new vegetable and nutrition project implemented by Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) in the district of Bankass. During this meeting, participants elaborated an action plan with date, intervention village, actions to be carried out, involved projects or organizations, the leaders of the activity which aims to identify synergetic actions in implementing certain activities in the field. This plan will be monitored at each monthly meeting to assess the rate of implementation of the planned actions. The USAID/Mali-funded projects represented at the meeting were as followed: the USAID CVC project’s Mopti Coordinator and gender and vulnerable groups specialist, SPRING Project Nutrition Advisor, AVRDC site Coordinator, NH- (Nutrition, Hygiene) Communication Advisor and Nutritionist, WASH Plus- Chief of Party, Pro- ject Advisor, and Integration Advisor Wash Plus Washington and Livestock for Growth (L4G) Responsible for Nutri- tion.

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