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 Sikasso region Organization of the rice value chain workshop in the Sikasso region 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 Bankass 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 Kadiolo 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 Mopti 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 (Socoura/Mopti), the POs of Kouin (Djenné) and the rice mill Planète Distribution in Sevaré. Monthly Feed the Future Report 1 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 Mali 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) Bougouni/Yanfolila 336 336 2,232 531 0 Sikasso/Kadiolo 2,274 2,150 18,625 1,196 0 Koutiala/Yorosso 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 Monthly Feed the Future Report 2 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.