United States Dry Bean Council’s Report on Food Aid Mission to , and September 28 – October 10th 2009

Submitted To - USDA/FAS Grain and Feed Division South Agricultural Building 14TH & Independence Avenues S.W. Washington, D.C. 20250-1000

Submitted By - Charles Wachsmuth Robert Green

Senegal –

Country Stats Life expectancy: 62.3 years (USA: 77.9) Under-5 child mortality: 116/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000) HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [0.4 - 1.5]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%) Physicians per 100,000 people: 6 (USA: 256) People undernourished: 20% (USA: 0%) People with access to safe drinking water: 76% (USA: 100%) Adult literacy: 60.7% (USA: 99%) Gross National Income per capita ( PPP US$): $1,560 (USA: $41,890) People living on less than $1 a day: 17% (USA: 0%)

Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in , and it has long been involved with international peacekeeping and has progressed significantly in the past decade, both politically and economically. The country became eligible for Millennium Challenge Account funding due primarily to its strong commitment to ruling justly, investing in people, and promoting economic freedom. Senegal is a moderating voice in the Islamic and African worlds as a democratic, predominantly Muslim, but secular country.

Senegal is said to be the peanut (or groundnut, as they are called here) capital of the world. While this slogan may be an exaggeration, the importance of agriculture to Senegal's farmers cannot be overstated. Peanut farming accounts for more than 60 percent of the nation's employment, yet makes up only 10 percent of the gross domestic product. Most agricultural produce is low in market value and is used as a domestic food staple. Inconsistent rains and locust invasions are among the many threats to farmers' livelihoods.

Opportunities for the US Dry Bean Council in Senegal are unfortunately small if not inexistent right now both on the food aid and commercial side. While there is a history of bean consumption it is strictly of a blackeye type very specific to the country.

While we weren’t able to make any direct impacts in sales or opportunities in country, our visits with the NGO community and the information we were able to share will certainly impact how those NGOs in other countries regard us (for the better.)

September 28th

8:30 A.M Meeting at USAID SAGIC with Richard Cook Tel (221)33 869 77 30 Email [email protected] Please see expanded notes from the second meeting below

10:00 A.M Josephine Trenchard Resident Representative Counterpart Int Point E X blvd de l’Est next to LGM Tel: Office (221) 33 869 80 20/21

Counterpart International focus in Senegal is to increase access to education and health services, improve child health and nutrition, decrease Malaria infection rates through health and sanitation trainings and coordinate care and support trainings for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Their largest activity that recently ended was the Vulnerable School Program, through this program they provided two hot meals daily to over 3,000 students, and was able to facilitate the construction of schools and latrines for 8 of the 9 participating schools. The program provided children with learning materials as well as bedding mats and mosquito nets since many children sleep on barren floors. Counterpart supplied cooking utensils and training for cooks and helped organize democratically elected school management committees. Students and teachers are de-wormed twice a year and soon an improved educational and technical/vocational curriculum will be fully implemented.

11:30 A.M Cancelled Abi Toure Marketing Director Casino Super Markets 46, Av. Ponty X Wagane Diouf. Tel: (221)33 849 05 05 Email: [email protected]

Tuesday, September 29th 2009 8:30 A.M Mr Aziz Ndiaye - Director of SAFCOM Tel:221 77 113 31 31/ (221) 33 869 30 70 Email: [email protected] Please see Rice Importer Notes Below

10:00 A.M Mrs Diouck - Director of SENCOM Tel: (221) 77 644 22 59/ (221)33 823 34 71 Please see Rice Importer Notes Below

11:30 A.M Mr. Sarr Commercial Director of ETS. ABDOU KEBE. Tel (221)77 550 57 93 or (221) 33822 55 92 Please see Rice Importer Notes Below

15:00 P.M Moustapha Tall General Director C.C.C.S Tel :( 221) 77 638 22 15 Email: [email protected] Please see Rice Importer Notes Below

Wednesday, September 30th 2009 Dr. Ndiaga Cisse Director of the Bambey Research Center Thies Bean/Cowpea CRSP

Dr. Cisse was very informative about his research and the growing of beans (blackeyes or cowpeas) both in his research center and in Senegal. He mention the Lugar area as the primary location for Cowpea production. His research center has developed a 45 day variety (Milla) that is being used. They have also developed a variety that has a red hue to it. Seems Senegalese like to have a color in their white rice and this has worked out very nicely. Two of their main problems are the "flower thripes" which attack the blossom and the Amsacta (insect) that attacks the stem.

He did mention that the Senegalese farmer will keep about 200 kg of his production for home use and seed, and sell the rest. He mentioned that the seed rate was about 12kg/hectare and of course will vary depending on the land. He also mention that the government still owns the land, the the grower controls it. Farms are still small and getting smaller as the generations continue.

The research center is doing many other things including millet, sorghum, sunflowers along with the cowpeas. He also mention that transgenic is needed if they expect to feed Africa in the future.

Thursday, October 01st 2009 9:00 A.M Hassana Idriss Outman Senior Country Representative - Africare

Africare-Senegal is currently implementing projects in community health, nutrition and food security. These projects are funded by various donors such as USAID, USDA, and the World Bank. Africare- Senegal has projects in seven out of 14 regions of the country. Africare’s approach has been to work directly with the local population to develop appropriate solutions to problems and capitalize on opportunities. However, local administrative authorities and locally elected officials play a key role in their approach as they represent the entry point to any activity Africare wants to undertake. Africare always intervenes as a facilitator to a process by providing capacity building which is central to ensuring the sustainability of the interventions.

Africare in Senegal has a three year USDA Food for Progress program currently focused on Agricultural Development including seed, technology assistance and micro-credit. The program is affecting close to

56,000 beneficiaries in 140 villages through the monetization of soy meal. At this time there is no direct distribution of food happening and none planned in the immediate future.

11:00 A.M Rebecca Bassey Country Director - Catholic Relief Services CRS programs in Senegal include food security, natural resource management, local institutional development, health (specifically HIV and AIDS), income generation, peacebuilding and rehabilitation are creating a sustainable environment for development. CRS is not dealing with any food products at this time (distribution or monetization) but is working on a seed and tool program funded by USAID and OFD. The main thrust of the work here is to increase yields - even though 70% of the population in country is involved in ag production the country needs to import large portions of food needed.

2:00 PM Robert Hanson Ag Attaché USDA/FAS Senegal, , Burkina Faso, , Cote d'Ivoire and

Mr. Hanson met with us and we spent the meeting discussing the overall situation in Senegal both for the Council and in general. It is his opinion that if the rice importers are not interested in bringing in product then there is little chance to move beans in country.

3:30 PM USAID SAGIC Dr. Richard Cook Tel (221)33 869 77 30 Email [email protected]

Dr Cook (based in Mali) was very interested in the production of beans in Western Africa though in a way that was quite surprising, he asked us for technical assistance for the growing of a blackeye to be used as animal forage. During the space of a short introductory meeting on the 28th and another on the 1st it was readily apparent that this was the main focus of his section. We provided him with the contact information of Dr. Ndiaga Cisse with the CRSP for further assistance.

Friday, October 02nd 2009

10:00 am Mr. Abdoulaye Faye School Meals Program Officer UN World Food Program (WFP)

Senegal provides free education and is supposed to be compulsory for children ages 6 to 16. However, many children do not attend school due to lack of resources or available facilities. In 2006 more girls than boys were enrolled in primary school for the first time ever. However, high female illiteracy rates of 44 percent and school drop out rates of 30 percent affect mostly rural girls. WFP is working in 4,000 schools in 12 of the 14 regions (states) in the country reaching somewhere around 600,000 children. Right now the commodity basket being distributed is made up of 1,600MT of grain (maize & millet), pulses (lentils & green peas), oil and salt. We discussed the possible switch to beans as their pulse of

choice but since the Senegalese aren’t culturally tied to any of our available classes WFP showed no interest.

General Notes on Rice Importers: In general we were not received with any interest by the rice importers of Senegal. In fact it was rare that these meetings lasted over 20 minutes. The general thoughts were that there would not be a large enough market for US beans to make it worthwhile. The only exception was Moustapha Tall of C.C.C.S and the only way he would consider it was if the NGO community was to introduce alternate bean types into the country and then he could begin importing to an established market.

Burkina Faso Country Stats Life expectancy: 51.4 years (USA: 77.9) Under-5 child mortality: 191/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000) HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [1.5 - 2.5]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%) Physicians per 100,000 people: 5 (USA: 256) People undernourished: 15% (USA: 0%) People with access to safe drinking water: 61% (USA: 100%) Adult literacy: 23.6% (USA: 99%) Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $1,213 (USA: $41,890) Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $391 (USA: $41,890) People living on less than $1 a day: 27.2% (USA: 0%)

Landlocked, with an arid climate and limited natural resources, Burkina Faso has been plagued for decades by drought. Today, water scarcity and the erosion of other natural resources remain major challenges, as do food shortage and malnutrition. About 18 percent of the land is arable. Some 90 percent of the Burkinabe are engaged in subsistence agriculture and thus remain consistently vulnerable to the effects of drought. Burkina Faso is the second least-developed country in the world, according to the U.N. Development Program's 2007/2008 Human Development Index. Cotton is the main cash crop; the country also has significant reserves of gold.

Monday, October 5 & Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 Africare Program Evaluations, Office Meetings & Warehouse Evaluation

Africare in Burkina Faso was one of the first countries in recent years in Western Africa to use beans in feeding programs. While not a very large program it is a consistent market for #2 beans (approximately 600MT/year for 5 years) and it will continue at the same levels through the next programming cycles. Our mission was to examine the program in relation to the beans used to see if a possible model might be found to include beans into other programs in the region.

Zondoma Food Security Initiative Phase II (ZFSI II): Funded by USAID, ZFSI II is an extension of ZFSI I, implemented in Zondoma Province from 1999 to 2004. Phase II started in 2005 and is set to run through June 2010. The project continues to focus on building upon existing resources by strengthening capacities at the community and Government extension service levels. It does this while increasing crop productivity and livestock yield, improving household health and nutrition, and contributing to the project’s sustainability by preparing participants to analyze, and respond to their food security needs. ZFSI II adds a focus on credit, literacy, HIV/AIDS prevention and providing nutritional support to vulnerable households. This phase has seen the project expand to 64 new villages and implement a phase-out plan for the 40 old villages over a 3-year period to ensure sustainability, increase secondary

adaptors and the quality of techniques adopted, further empower villages committees, and build the government’s capacity to link and reinforce these activities over time. This program benefits 160,000 people, covering all the villages in the province.

While in country we visited several of the different focuses of the Zondoma program. In this program beans are being used in seven different program areas. Over all, the program seemed very efficient and making a strong impact in the regions where services are being provided. We used this programs as a discussion point for our meetings in Liberia.

General Distribution:

Health, nutrition and malnutrition rehabilitation

HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness

Food for Work:

Water and Sanitation

Agriculture Development

Livestock

Micro-credit and Community Organization

Impromptu Meeting with CRS at Warehouse

We met with a program officer inadvertently while visiting the Africare warehouse and further discussions are planned to have them make the switch from lentils to dry beans. While they have muliple programs currently the two largest are Ag development and HIV/AIDS. The Ag development program works to ensure adequate access to food. The department educates farmers on soil and water conservation to increase yields, teaches market gardening so they can diversify their crops and increase income, and trains teachers to incorporate gardening into the school curriculum. As an added bonus, the school gardening supports the school feeding program and improves students' health. The CRS agriculture team also shows farmers how to sell unused crops, especially sesame and a kind of millet called fonio. These

programs currently reach more than 13,000 people. The HIV program in Burkina Faso focuses on education about the virus and preventing its spread in country. Schoolchildren are a primary target of the education campaign. They are given information about how the disease is contracted. Another program focuses on prevention by providing counseling to couples on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Some couples serve as volunteer counselors, providing the same prevention information to other couples. In a country where the stigma of HIV is strong, this kind of personal, one-on-one counseling by locals has been very effective. CRS works with people living with HIV, providing food rations, counseling and advice on locally available nutritious foods.

Liberia Country Stats Life expectancy: 44.7 years (USA: 77.9) Under-5 child mortality: 235/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000) HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [2.0 - 5.0]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%) Physicians per 100,000 people: 3 (USA: 256) People undernourished: 50% (USA: 0%) People with access to safe drinking water: 61% (USA: 100%) Adult literacy: 51.9% (USA: 99%) Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $167 (USA: $41,890)

Liberia was founded during the first half of the 19th century by freed black slaves from the United States and has remained independent ever since. Tragically, however, civil war engulfed Liberia from 1989 until 2003, with only brief interludes of peace. Some 250,000 people were killed. Nearly two million fled their homes to escape the violence. And war left the country in ruins — roads, buildings, health clinics, communications networks, farms and factories were almost totally destroyed. Yet postwar recovery is progressing. Africa's first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, won Liberia's presidency in late 2005 and took office in 2006. Political stability and economic revival are among the new government's top priorities. Liberia is richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests and a climate favorable to agriculture. Raw timber and rubber (80% of exports) have been among the country's primary exports.

NGOs in Liberia are just beginning the process of writing their 5 year MYAPs (USAID grants) and therefore it was very important for the Council to make the rounds and discuss what beans would be acceptable, discuss what other programs are using beans as well as what technical assistance the Council could provide if NGOs in Liberia were to use beans.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 10:00 AM Todd Flower Deputy Country Director for Programs

Mercy Corps is working to improve both short- and long-term food security in Liberia. Our programs focus on four areas: Boosting Agricultural Productivity To address some of the underlying causes of food insecurity in rural Liberia, Mercy Corps is helping farmers obtain higher crop yields. We’re providing more than 1,500 farmers with training opportunities and technical assistance so they can grow crops that meet the needs of local markets. We also provide the vital seeds and tools that help farmers increase their harvests. Mercy Corps also is investing in infrastructure, building small feeder roads and bridges that allow farmers to deliver their crops to market.

Helping Farmers Access Financial Services Mercy Corps helps families in rural areas – where access to banks is severely limited – form saving

groups so they can pool their savings and make small loans to one another. The groups help people withstand financial shocks and expand their income-generating activities; for instance, one member may borrow the funds to purchase a sewing machine and open a tailoring shop. Mercy Corps trains voluntary savings group participants how to run their Village and Savings Loan Associations.

Increasing Availability of Clean Water Clean drinking water is essential to the body’s ability to utilize the nutrients in food. Mercy Corps employs skilled and local labor to build community wells and trains local groups to maintain them. And because proper hygiene is necessary to avoid disease, we’re also training communities in safe hygiene practices.

Using Local Foods to Combat Malnutrition Mercy Corps is training mothers and other family members in proper feeding practices for malnourished children under the age of five. Our program draws on the experiences and practices of community caregivers whose children are well nourished, so as to teach their positive habits to others and encourage the use of locally available foods.

2:00 PM MONOPRIX Grocery Chain & General Market Notes The amount of US product available in the grocery stores around Monrovia was very, very surprising. In fact the stores were stocked with what seemed to be 90% or more American product. As you can see from the pictures below US beans were very prevalent both in canned form and dry form. After seeing this we tracked down the MONOPRIX offices and were able to set up a short meeting. There we found that all of the grocery chains in Monrovia order from general wholesalers and receive containers of very mixed products – beans, oreos, shaving cream, corn flakes and the list goes on and on.

Friday, October 9, 2009 9:00 AM ACDI/VOCA Robin Wheeler In addition to the MYAP currently being written and under review ACDI/VOCA’s $2.7 million, 5-year Agriculture for Children’s Empowerment (ACE) project is part of USAID’s new global initiative to improve child welfare using economic growth activities was of great interest to us. ACE’s underlying assumption is that sustainable reductions in children’s vulnerability require improvements in their families’ economic circumstances. The importance of youth to Liberia’s immediate future is evident with 44 percent of Liberia’s population being 14 years old or younger and its population’s median age being 18. ACE’s main entry points into the communities are schools and private agricultural input service providers. This strategy is informed by several considerations including the need to Improve the relevance of school as a broader information and service provider to communities Strengthen networks through which people access knowledge and resources Build a support infrastructure that promotes continuous innovation and upgrading of the communities’ commercial, educational and nutritional activities Develop career and business growth paths around the agriculture industry Facilitate access to agricultural and educational services to help reduce the amount of time children spend on farm labor and caring for younger siblings.

We are also under discussion with ACDI/VOCA concerning their desire to partner in a Farmer to Farmer program which would provide a great deal of technical assistance for them as well as a good deal of good publicity for us within the whole NGO community. This would mean a two week mission by some of our growers to Liberia funded by ACDI/VOCA to help in local production.

2:00 PM Africare Improved Community Health Project—Funded by USAID for a duration of 5 years ending in 2008, the goal of the project is to improve health services, access to these services and information regarding issues such as reproductive health that specifically target youth and other vulnerable members of society. A unique component of this program, the Liberia Community Infrastructure Project (LCIP), takes ex- combatants and war affected individuals and employs them in jobs that work toward an increase in health facilities. This integrative and unique approach tackles multiple problems and makes the project more sustainable.

Liberia Integrated Assistance Program—Funded by USAID in partner with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Samaritan’s Purse (SP) for a duration of 3 years ending in 2009, the project focuses in on three primary areas of concern: agriculture, infrastructure and health . Africa Well Fund Program—In partnership with the African Well Foundation, Africare/Liberia constructs wells in communities that lack access to a clean water supply. This project will also see the training of water and sanitation committees and the organization of hygiene education sessions. Mano River II Project—Funded by UNFPA for a duration of 1 year ending in 2008, the project aims to strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention and care and to promote coordination between multiple sectors and regions. The project impacts multiple communities in the Mano River Basin in 4 different countries.

3:30 PM CRS CRS Liberia and its local partners are working with over 250,000 Liberians through programs in the following areas: health, agriculture, safety net, justice, peacebuilding, emergency relief and HIV and AIDS.

Emergency Agricultural Rehabilitation Project: Many families were forced to flee from their homes during the civil conflict, and are just now starting to return. CRS Liberia's emergency agricultural rehabilitation project assists these farming families to recover their livelihoods through the provision of seeds and farm tools. The project is assisting 30,000 families who might otherwise have remained in temporary camps for displaced people.

In the past the food basket used by CRS in Liberia consisted of Lentils, Bulgar and Veg Oil. It is of my opinion that we have a very good chance of seeing that switched to include beans.