Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel - Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG)

QUARTERLY REPORT Quarter 1, Fiscal Year 2020:

October - December 2019

This annex to joint work plans, submitted for review by the United States Agency for International Development, was prepared by 1 CNFA under USAID Contract No. AID-625-C-14-00001, Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) RCesontilienraccet No.and #AEcIDon-o62mic5-C G-14ro-000wth0 1in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth Project.

Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth Project

Project Q1FY20 Report

1 October 2019 – 31 December 2019

REGIS-AG:

USAID Contract

No. AID-625-C-14-00001

Implemented by CNFA

Submitted to:

Patrick Smith

COR USAID/Senegal

10 February 2020

DISCLAIMER

The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the United States Government. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS ...... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... vii PART 1 - PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ...... 1 1.1. REGIS-AG and the RISE initiative...... 1 1.2. REGIS-AG Goal, Objectives, Expected Results and Intervention Areas ...... 1 1.3. Theory of change...... 2 1.4. Implementation Partners ...... 2 1.4.1. Project partners from FY15 to FY18 ...... 2 1.4.2. A New partnership landscape since FY19, but limited collaboration ...... 3 PART 2 – OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT INTERVENTION STRATEGY ...... 5 2.1. Justification: Producers’ low level of market access ...... 5 2.2. The project strategy in brief: a value chain approach based on two pillars using two key tools ...... 6 PART 3 – FY19 ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS ...... 9 3.1. Component 1 – Identify opportunities through value chain and end-market analysis ...... 9 3.2. Component 2 - Strengthening vertical and horizontal linkages in selected value chains ...... 10 Activity 1: Continue to support and monitor the implementation of beneficiary support plans in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 10 Project support and monitoring in the cowpea value chain ...... 12 Project support and monitoring in the poultry value chain ...... 14 Project support and monitoring in the small ruminant value chain ...... 15 Activity 2: Monitor the performance of beneficiaries of the pilot guinea fowl businesses being promoted for youth in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 17 Activity 3: Facilitate products labelling and packaging improvement for 10 REGIS-AG POs producing processed cowpea products in Niger ...... 28 3.3. Component 3 - Strengthening input supply and other services and improving smallholders and agro- processors’ access to interconnected markets ...... 34 Activity 1: Facilitate access to cowpea inputs and PICS bags in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 34 Activity 2: Provide basic equipment to community animal health auxiliaries (AE) ...... 35 3.4. Component 4 – Increasing access to finance, innovation, and private sector investment ...... 37 Activity 2: Facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of 43 literacy centers operated in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 37 Activity 3: Facilitate access to finance in business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 39 Activity 4: Facilitate access to finance in warrantge schemes in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 43 3.5. Component 5 – Improving the enabling environment for local and regional private investment ...... 45 iii

Activity 2: Mainstream gender in project activities ...... 45 Activity 3: Monitor the implementation of action plans POs in business clusters developed to strengthen their governance ...... 50 PART 4 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT ...... 55 4.1. Project staff count ...... 55 4.1.1. The looming end of REGIS-AG negatively affected staffing stability ...... 55 4.1.2. Staff mobility ...... 57 4.2. Administration of offices ...... 58 4.3. Management activities ...... 58 4.4. Project Reporting and Public Communication ...... 59 4.5. Security ...... 59 PART 5 - PROJECT PERFORMANCE - Level of Achievement in FY19 Expected Outcomes and Performance Indicators ...... 61 5.1. Overview of REGIS-AG MEL System...... 61 5.2. Activities carried out during Q1FY20 ...... 61 5.3. Status of achievement of performance indicators at the end of FY19 ...... 61 ANNEXES ...... 78 Annex 1. Distribution of relationships in REGIS-AG business clusters by region and partner projects .... 78 Annex 2. List of BDS providers REGIS-AG mobilized in Burkina Faso and Niger ...... 84

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ACRONYMS

A2N Association Nodde Nooto ADI Association des Distributeurs d’Intrants Agricoles du Niger AE Auxiliaire d’élevage AGED Association pour la Gestion de l’Environnement et le Développement AGIR Alliance Global pour la Résilience - Sahel Afrique de l’Ouest AGRODIA Association des Grossistes et Détaillants d’Intrants Agricoles du Burkina Faso AREN Association pour la Redynamisation de l'Elevage au Niger BDS Business Development Services CBO Community-Based Organizations CNFA Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture CERRA Centre Régional de Recherche Agronomique CILSS Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (Comité Permanent Inter-États de Lutte contre la Sécheresse dans le Sahel) COFENBAVI Confédération des Fédérations Nationales de la Filière Bétail/Viande des pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest COP Chief of Party COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CRS Catholic Relief Services DCA USAID Development Credit Authority DFAP USAID Development Food Assistance Program EMMP Environmental Mitigation & Management Plan FBO Farmers’ Based Organization FCFA Franc de la Communauté Financiére d’Afrique GIE Groupement d’Intérêt Economique IEE Initial Environmental Examination INERA Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles du Burkina Faso INRAN Institut National de Recherche Agricole du Niger IR Intermediate Result JPC Joint Planning Cell LAHIA Livelihoods, Agriculture and Health Interventions in Action DFAP (Save the Children) M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MEL Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning MFI Micro-Finance Institution MOU Memorandum of Understanding MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise NGO Non-Governmental/Non-Profit Organization ONV-BF Ordre national des Vétérinaires du Burkina Faso ONVN Ordre National des Vétérinaires du Niger OP Organisations Paysannes/Producer groups PASADEM Projet d’Appui à la Sécurité Alimentaire et au Développement dans la région de Maradi (World Bank) PASEL Programme d’Appui au Secteur de l’Elevage PERSUAP Pesticide Evaluation Report & Safe Use Action Plan PICS Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage PMP Performance Monitoring Plan

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PPAAO/WAAPP-Niger Programme de Productivité Agricole en Afrique de l’Ouest PRODEX Projet de Développement des Exportations des Produits Agro-Sylvo- Pastoraux au Niger (World Bank) PROFIL Projet des Filières Agricoles RCO Regional Contracting Officer REGIS-AG Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth REGIS-ER Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel - Enhanced Resilience RISE USAID Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced ROI Return On Investment SAP Système d’Alerte Précoce SAREL Sahel Resilience Learning SAWKI Mercy Corps DFAP SIMA System of Agricultural Marketing Information SNV Netherlands Development Organization SVPP Service Vétérinaires Privés de Proximité UEMOA West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (Union Economique et Monétaire West Africaine) USAID United States Agency for International Development USD US Dollar USG US Government VC Value Chain VCA Value Chain Approach VCS Value Chain Study ViM Victoire sur la Malnutrition (Projet) VSF-B Vétérinaires Sans Frontières-Belgique VVV Vaccinateur Villageois de Volaille

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG) project aims to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable households and communities in agro-pastoralist and marginal agricultural zones of Niger and Burkina Faso by increasing their incomes. The project is achieving this goal through five components that aim to upgrade the competitiveness and inclusiveness of pro-poor value chains (cowpea, small ruminant and poultry).

Component 1 focuses on carrying out detailed analyses in the target value chains to identify opportunities for upgrading product quality and improving stakeholders’ operations. The project team carried no such study during the reporting period. The team had planned to carry out a political economic analysis of livestock markets in order to capture outcomes of this project intervention, and the drivers of changes or resistance the market management reform. Due to staffing instability and limited funds, this intervention was limited to the collection of data on the livestock market performance for its presentation in the final project report. Data consolidation and verification are still going on.

Under Component 2, the project team: (i) continued to support and monitor the implementation of beneficiary support plans initiated in FY18 and FY19 in Burkina Faso and Niger; (ii) monitored the performance of 48 beneficiaries of the pilot guinea fowl businesses being promoted for youth in Burkina Faso and Niger; (iii) facilitated the preparation of the 2019-2020 edition of warrantage schemes for cowpea and other crops in Burkina Faso and Niger; and (iv) sensitized 10 REGIS-AG POs producing processed cowpea products in Niger on the importance of product labelling and packaging improvement.

• Support and monitoring of the implementation of beneficiary support plans and cluster performance For the project support, 15 competitively selected Business Development Services Providers (BDSPs) trained 12,280 PO members (3,368 in Burkina Faso, 8,912 in Niger) at the village level in Q4FY19 over a period of 2 weeks. These are members of 19 cowpea business clusters (11 in Burkina Faso and 8 in Niger), 18 poultry clusters (6 in Burkina Faso and 12 in Niger), and20 small ruminant clusters (12 in Burkina Faso and 8 in Niger). During the reporting period, the 15 BDSPs followed up with 8 weeks of coaching (though visits made once a week). The BDSPs coaching focused on reinforcing the themes covered during the training. The project team monitored the BDSPs training and coaching activities and conducted a survey to update the performance of clusters since their establishment in FY18. The growing insecurity in Burkina Faso and Tillabéri affected the BDSPs coaching: • In the cowpea value chain, during the reporting period, six (06) BDSPs (2 in Maradi, 2 in Tillabéri, and 2 in Zinder) coached producers of the 84 POs that are members of the 8 cowpea clusters they trained in Q4FY19 in Niger. In Burkina Faso, due to the growing insecurity situation in the East region, two BDSPs the project mobilized were only able to coach producers of 44 of the 51 POs that benefitted from their training in Q4FY19. Similarly, due to this growing insecurity in Burkina Faso, the team only administered the survey in Niger. As a result, the project was unable to fully update the performance data of cowpea clusters in Burkina Faso.

• In the poultry value chain, during the reporting period, six (06) BDSPs coached producers of the 55 POs and six (06) poultry traders’ organizations that are members of the 12 cowpea clusters

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they trained in Q4FY19 in Niger. In Burkina Faso, due to the growing insecurity situation in the East region, two (02) BDSPs the project mobilized were only able to coach producers in 30 of the 48 POs trained in Q4FY19 and three (03) of the six (06) poultry traders’ organizations that benefitted from their training during the same period. • In the small ruminant value chain, seven (07) BDSPs coached producers of the 97 POs of the business clusters of the value chain they trained in Q4FY19 in Niger. However, the project team was only able to visit 66 of the 97 POs due to growing insecurity, especially in Tillabéri. In Burkina Faso, due to the growing insecurity situation in the East region, two (02) BDSPs REGIS-AG mobilized were only able to coach producers in 59 of the 61 POs that benefitted from their training in Q4FY19). The project team only visited 53 of the 59.

The following summarizes key results of the survey the project carried out to update the performance of business clusters: • Through the facilitation of REGIS-AG employees and the BDSPs, cluster members were able to mobilize $423,295 in credits from MFIs for their activities in the two project countries, o $286,481 in Niger by cowpea producers only, and o $136,814 in Burkina Faso by cowpea producers ($115,820) and poultry farmers ($20,994). • Clusters’ PO members invested $427,460 ($289,721 in Niger, $137,739 in Burkina Faso): o $88,807 by cowpea producers in Niger and $46,773 in Burkina Faso for the purchase of animals for mechanical plowing (by producers), as well as grain mills, driers and tanks used for processing; o $55,705 by poultry producers in Niger and $43,390 in Burkina Faso for the construction or improvement of chicken coops, purchase of feeders and water troughs as indicated in their support plans; o $145,209 by small ruminant producers in Niger and $47,390 in Burkina Faso for the construction or repair of sheds and enclosures, as well as the purchase of animals and equipment (drums and buckets). • Members of 326 POs surveyed in the clusters in both countries earned $1,006,124 from the sale of cowpea, poultry and small ruminants to buyers in their clusters, o $606,817 in Niger ($337,442 for cowpea, $218,278 for poultry, and $51,097 for small ruminants); o $399,307 in Burkina Faso ($158,032 for cowpea, $136,244 for poultry, and $105,031 for small ruminants). In addition, they also sold to non-cluster buyers for a total amount of $395,494 ($252,112 in Niger for cowpea and small ruminants, and $143,383 in Burkina Faso for small ruminants only). It is important to note that these clusters are at their early stages, and as a result, transactions have been limited. The performance presented only reflects part of the transactions the project was able to capture. In addition, clusters’ performance is affected by challenges discussed in the FY19 annual report. With the training and coaching received using the BDSPs and given the high level of enthusiasm generated by this

viii activity among producers, buyers and micro financial institutions (MFIs), the REGIS-AG project team is confident that sales will significantly increase as these relationships mature.

Monitoring of the performance of 48 beneficiaries of the pilot guinea fowl businesses In Niger, during the quarter, the project installed equipment (incubators, hatchers, brooders, and microclimate) in Tillabéri, Maradi and Zinder; trained all 48 beneficiaries on their use and maintenance, and monitored their performance of 48 beneficiaries involved in the incubation business (Business type 1). The REGIS-AG team also gave management forms to the eight (08) incubation units (Business Type 1) beneficiaries and trained them on how to use these forms. Representatives of the 3N Initiative Regional Coordination, the Regional Livestock Directorates (DREL), the University of Tillabéri and the Regional Unions of Producers and Suppliers of Inputs also participated in these trainings. In addition, three (03) electricians and three (03) plumbers also participated so that they can provide maintenance and repair services to beneficiaries in the future. BENALYA experts led the training with the support (mainly translation) of the REGIS-AG team.

Project monitoring activities revealed that, while waiting for the equipment, all beneficiaries began production using natural incubation in July and this continued through September and even into October. They showed a great deal of commitment and creativity of beneficiaries. Two beneficiaries in Zinder joined to construct poultry housing to secure chicks. Others devised creatives ways to protect their kicks against predators; Beneficiaries have engaged in a variety of measures for eggs incubation (ex.: use of the services of other producers, and purchase of hens for natural incubation through the sale of eggs) while waiting for the establishment of the incubation businesses.

The monitoring also revealed that there is a growing interest for Galor guinea fowl breed the project used as well as a growing interest among development partners for promoting the guinea fowl business among the youth. For example, the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) committed to supporting one of the pilot incubation units of Maradi with a budget of $9,259 for the construction of a coop. WAAPP has also pledged support for one of beneficiaries in Zinder. One beneficiary used an application to be able to control misting remotely; he presented his business at the national competition held during the Niger Independence Day and won the fourth prize worth $9,259. While it is too early to assess the economic performance of the beneficiaries, the project team noted that beneficiaries have generated approximately $12,052 FCFA in 3-4 months when valuing eggs, keets and adult birds produced thus far and they have been able to invest $8,413 of their hard-earned money to develop their guinea fowl businesses

In Burkina Faso, the project distrubitued 276 guinea fowls, 140 feeders, and 140 waterers to 24 beneficaries. As in Niger, the project also installed the equipment and held training on their use and maintenance. BENALYA experts led the training with the support (mainly translation) of the REGIS-AG team. One (01) plumber and one (01) electrician also participated in the training. Not all sites beneficiaries presented were acceptable for the installation of equipment: 3 of the 4 incubation units were installed (all in Dori), and 4 out of 10 brooders were installed (3 in Dori and 1 in Seytenga). The equipment the team did not install were stored at REGIS-AG's office in Dori while beneficiaries worked on establishing adequate space. In Burkina Faso and in Niger, beneficiaries and the project team signed transfer documents as well as an MOU specifying the beneficiary responsibilities and indicating that the equipment

ix still belong to the project and can be taken away if it is not taken care of properly, or if they perform poorly.

Facilitating product labelling and packaging improvement The REGIS-AG cowpea team sensitized representatives of 10 cowpea processors POs (3 from Tillabéri, 5 from Maradi, and 2 from Zinder) on improving the packaging and labeling of their products as well as on the rules of good hygiene during a one-day training held on December 17 in Niamey. Each PO sent one participant. Each of the 10 POs came with samples of their products for nutritional analyses the INRAN’s Food Technology Laboratory (LTA) will conduct. However, these samples were not collected using acceptable sampling standards. The instructor explained the correct sampling methodology participants and showed them how to conduct the sampling in conformity with these rules. The processors have since began to take new samples and sending them to the project team in Niamey by transport bus. Samples collection will end in January, and the INRAN’s Food Technology Laboratory (LTA) will analyze these samples in Q2FY19 before the end of the project.

Preparing the 2019-2020 edition of warrantage schemes In Niger, REGIS-AG organized a workshop on September 1- 4 in Maradi with stakeholders (including micro financial institutions - MFIs) to evaluate the FY19 warrantage activity and plan the FY20 warrantage activity. The workshop gathered 19 POs from the three regions who declared their intention to participate in the scheme. The 19 POs declared their intention to warrant 348.1 tons of agricultural products (including 26 tons of cowpea) the scheme. The demand for PICS bags was estimated at 1,395 units. By the end of Q1FY20, 17 of the 19 POs (1 from Maradi, 10 from Tillabéri and 6 of Zinder) aggregated the following quantities for warrantage: 67.9 tons of cowpea, 29.7 tons of millet, and 10.8 tons of peanuts. Their credit needs total 13,565,900 FCFA ($25,122). A total of 618 PICS bags have already been purchased. Participation in the FY20 warrantage activity will be significantly lower than the provisional commitments made during the workshop in September. This is due to the same challenge faced during the FY19 warrantage activity – financial institutions lack the liquidity to make loans.

In Burkina Faso, the project held a workshop to review the FY19 warrantage activity on November 21 in Central-North (Kaya) with 40 stakeholders. The project organized 3 workshops in Central-North (Kaya) from December 18 – 21 for warrantage planning with 82 producers (72 women), all from Central- North POs. The 82 POs intend to warrant 73.1 tons of cowpea, 139 tons of rice, 1.2 tons of millet, and 10.3 tons of peanuts. Total credit was estimated to be 71,634,000 FCFA ($13,656). By the end of Q1FY20, no credit has been granted. The same POs plan to sell 32.3 tons of cowpea through group sales.

For the successful completion of the FY20 edition of warrantage, subsequent sub-activities that are often organized when facilitating warrantage will have to be conducted in both countries under the M&N Activity.

Under Component 3, the REGIS-AG team effort focused on facilitating access to cowpea inputs and PICS bags in Burkina Faso and Niger, and in distributing basic equipment to community animal health auxiliaries (AE). Concerning access to PICS bags, the project held a workshop in Maradi in Niger in Q4FY19 (September 3-6) to evaluate the FY19 warrantage activity and to draw lessons and plan for the FY20 warrantage activity. In Burkina Faso, 2 PICS bags distributors were invited to the workshop assessing

x the FY19 warrantage activity held on November 21. The workshop allowed the compilation of PICS bags purchases by producers during FY19 and this totaled 4,360 PICS. For the distribution of equipment to AEs, 165 kits were distributed (147 AEs of 8 SVPPs in Niger and 18 AEs of the RSAP Véto-Assistance). The SVPPs and representatives of the relevant decentralized public sector services and the 3N initiative were present at all the award ceremonies in Niger.

Under Component 4, the project team facilitated the monitoring and evaluation in October and November of 30 literacy centers operated in Niger in FY19 AND 3 self-managed centers in their first year of instruction. In Burkina Faso, no literacy center monitoring and evaluation activities were conducted in Q1FY20 because the evaluations conducted in June 2019 were the final evaluations and not ‘intermediate proficiency tests” were reported as in error in the FY19 annual report. The validated evaluation results in Niger show that for the 30 centers in their second year of instruction, the final evaluation showed that 1,321 (313 men, 1,008 women) were enrolled. Of these, 114 learners (37 men, 77 women) dropped out, giving a dropout rate of 8.6%. A total of 1,207 learners were assessed. (289 men, 918 women). Of these, 650 learners failed (131 men, 519 women), and 557 succeeded (158 men, 399 women), giving a success rate of 42.2% when considering all enrolled learners. For the 3 self-managed centers, the final evaluation showed that 102 learners (33 men, 69 women) were enrolled. Of these, 3 learners (0 men, 3 women) dropped out, which gives a dropout rate of 2.9%. Thus, 99 learners (33 men, 66 women) were assessed. Among these, 10 learners (4 men, 6 women) failed and 89 succeeded (29 men, 60 women) - a success rate of 87.3% when considering all enrolled learners. There is a noticeable difference between the success rate of 3 self-managed centers (87.3%) and the other 30 centers (42.2%). This could be attributed to the consideration that learners in the self-managed centers may be more motivated.

In addition to the literacy centers’ evaluation activity, under Component 4, the project team also facilitated access to finance in business clusters and warrantage participants (including MFIs) in Burkina Faso and Niger. For business clusters, with the support BDSPs provided, a total of 37 cluster’s member POs submitted credit applications totaling 79,350,000 FCFA ($146,944) to six (06) financial institutions during Q1FY20 in Niger. By the end of the reporting period, six (06) of the 37 POs in clusters obtained loans totaling 4,300,000 FCFA ($7,963) from two (02) financial institutions - Bagri Tillabéri and Yarda Maradi - during Q1FY20. In Burkina Faso, nine (09) POs actors obtained loans during Q1FY20 in Central-North. A poultry cooperative in Bouroum commune obtained a loan for 2,500,000 FCFA ($4,630) from the Caisses populaires of Tougouri for poultry production. A small ruminant cooperative in Pissila commune obtained a loan of 1,600,000 FCFA ($2,963). An additional seven (07) small ruminants POs in the Boulsa and Pissila communes obtained credit totaling 6,200,000 FCFA ($11,481).

For credit needed in the warrantage schemes, during a planning workshop held in September 2019 in Niger, 19 POs from the three regions expressed their intention to store 348.1 tons of warranted products with a total credit need of 15,485,900 FCFA ($28,677). By the end of Q1FY20, only one MFI (KOKAREI) was able to disburse 1,920,000 FCFA ($3,556) in credit for one (01) PO in Tillabéri. This low level of credit disbursement by the end of Q1FY20 compared to credit needs expressed in FY19 is attributed to the financial institution’s lack of liquidity. In Burkina Faso where the FY20 warrantage activity was only initiated in the Central North, 82 POs intend to warrant 73.1 tons of cowpea, 139 tons of rice, 1.2 tons of millet, and 10.3 tons of peanuts with a total credit of 71,634,000 FCFA ($13,656). By the end of Q1FY20,

xi no credit was disbursed. The MFI Caisses populaires and POs are engaged to continue the process, with credit disbursement expected in January 2020.

In Niger, REGIS-AG continued to facilitate the refinancing of KOKARI by OIKOCREDIT (a social impact investor and worldwide cooperative) for 250,000,000 FCFA ($462,963). OIKOCREDIT, conducted a due diligence field mission to Niger from November 24 – 28 to enable the institution to verify the information received from KOKARI and finalize the loan application. At the end of its field due diligence mission, OIKOCREDIT made the following overall recommendations: (i) KOKARI should improve its information and management system, (ii) KOKARI should continue to improve performance indicators before the disbursement of credit, and (iii) REGIS-AG should monitoring loan management after loan disbursement. The following steps remain in the processing of the credit application: (i) transfer to the Africa committee, then to the international committee, (ii) legal due diligence, and iii) disbursement which is anticipated in March 2020.

Activities under Component 5, the project team carried out activities focusing mainstream gender in project activities, and monitoring the implementation of action plans 12 GIE developed to strengthen their governance in Niger. In Burkina Faso, the project interventions during the reporting period focused on monitoring the implementation of action plans livestock market management committees developed after the project trained them in Q3FY19 on issues related to good governance, gender, and simplified accounting.

For mainstreaming ender in project activities, the team monitored the implementation of actions taken at the empowerment training and model women training conducted in FY19. At the empowerment training, each of the 10 participants developed a Personal Action Plan focusing on an income generating activity (IGA). Each of them was also required to rain 10 more women. The project follow-ups showed that several participants changed their IGA project when they went back to their home after the training and after re-assessing the situation on the ground. Their challenges were identified an advices provided. The project follow-ups also showed that 125 women had participated in replica trainings. Several participants shared their satisfaction about the training and the IGAs they started as a result.

The model woman training focused on sharing the experiences of female role models to build the capacity of 159 participants (4 men, 155 women) from 24 POs in advocacy, communication and leadership. Participants discussed attitudes, behaviors, and effective strategies that have allowed a Model Woman to flourish and become a true agent for strengthening the resilience of her household. They also developed 24 PO Action Plans (one for each PO) to internalize and nurture identified attitudes, behaviors and strategies. The project follow-ups noted that these 159 participants replicated the training for the rest of their PO members as instructed and at least 560 women from 24 POs were involved. Several participants also shared testimonies about how this training has positively affected their own lives and household.

For the monitoring of the governance strengthening of the 12 GIEs REGIS-AG supports in Niger (7 in Zinder, 5 in Maradi), a project team evaluated their implementation of their annual activity action plans and their road maps for improving governance. Only 2 of the 12 GIEs visited had annual activities action plan for 2019 available and written down on paper; these two had implementation 83% and 63% of their action plans, respectively. The 10 other GIEs reported on their activities verbally but did not have any written documentation to prove that they conducted the planned activities.

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For the livestock market management in Burkina Faso, REGIS-AG monitoring revealed the following progress: (i) committees continued their tax collection activities every market day; and (ii) improvement was noted in the conduct of meetings, communication on the intended use of tax revenues, and improved relations with municipal authorities. However, continued issues of insecurity in Sahel and East prevented the implementation of several important parts of the action plan such as construction of infrastructure and capacity building of committee members.

In terms of staffing, the looming end of REGIS-AG negatively affected staffing stability. REGIS-AG started the FY20 with 75 employees distributed in the seven (07) project offices. Despite efforts to keep turnover low, 23 project employees left REGIS-AG for various reasons during the reporting period: • Six (06) CNFA employees resigned for personal reasons • Three (03) international subcontractors’ positions were terminated as part of the project close out plan. The CNFA leadership and the project management assessed the situation with the technical leadership team and decided to terminate three (03) positions and to continue five (05) during part of the remaining period of implementation as STTA. CNFA rehired them as consultants and their candidacies submitted to USAID for approval. • Fourteen (14) CNFA employees’ contracts were terminated as part of the project close out plan

In terms of management activities, the project COP provided the overall leadership of the project management. In addition, specific staff members were formally assigned the leadership responsibility for the day-to-day management of activities under a component, and CNFA and the project management team made a number of key decisions in line with the project closeout plan: • The field team and CNFA support team drafted a closeout plan that was submitted to the COR for review October 31, 2019 (six months prior to the project end date). • In Niger, the project closed the three regional offices in December and notified public sector service REGIS-AG collaborated with partners (Communes, Governor, and decentralized technical services). The project equipment in Zinder are safely stored in the Karkara office in Zinder and the vehicle relocated in the Niamey office. The project equipment in Maradi are safely stored in the AREN office in Maradi. In Burkina Faso, REGIS-AG will close its two regional offices in January 2020. • The COP, DFO, and HR Manager held many meetings with the project lawyer to ensure that the project complies with the legal requirements when terminating staff contracts during the closeout. • The DFO and HR Manager held many meetings labor inspector to ensure that the project complies with the labor law requirements when terminating staff contracts during the closeout.

For project reporting included, the project team achieved the following: (i) finalized the project FY20 work plan by integrating USAID comments and suggestions; (ii) drafted a detailed FY19 annual report CNFA submitted to USAID for approval; (iii) drafted, submitted three monthly activities reports; (iv) finalized and share 8 REGIS-AG videos (4 in English, 4 in French) with USAID, and (v) prepared/revised 6 success stories (4 for Niger and 2 for Burkina Faso) which were shared with CNFA HQ for review.

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The security situation in the ZOI continued to be a major concern during Q1FY20, especially in Burkina Faso in the Saleh and east regions. Through the ReComs, the security officer of CNFA at the home office, and contacts with the governors, the project team continuously monitored the security situation. No employee was attached and no project vehicle either. However, staff mobility using motorcycles continues to be a challenge due to long distances to cover, road condition (quality) especially during the raining season, and the growing insecurity situation. So far, we have not noted any displacement of our beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and in Niger. Market places have been safe until recently in Burkina Faso when they became a target for attacks by terrorists. The growing insecurity has nevertheless affected project interventions, especially in Burkina Faso: • In the East region, the security situation varies from one province to another: In the Komondjari province, activities were concentrated in the capital of the province (Gayeri) due to the delicate situation of the commune of Foutouri. As a precautionary measure, we avoided going to our second commune Bartiébougou. Consequently, the trainings the BDS providers organized for POs in these two municipalities were held in Gayeri. In the Gnagna province, the municipalities of Bogandé and Manni have not seen their security situation deteriorate. • In the Center North region, among the project 9 ZOI communes, Barsalogho is the most affected. The province of Namentenga (Boulsa) remains relatively calm and activities have experienced no disturbance in this area. As a precautionary measure, field visits in the Bouroum and Nagbingou communes were limited. • Although the security challenge affects the Sahel region, REGIS-AG interventions in this region have not been affected. However, activities are carried out with caution and only after approval of the local authorities. • The project team monitoring visits of the BDSPs coaching of beneficiaries in the small ruminant value chain business clusters in Niger was limited to 66 of the 97 POs due to the growing insecurity, especially in Tillabéri.

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PART 1 - PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1.1. REGIS-AG and the RISE initiative REGIS-AG, conceived as a cornerstone project under USAID’s Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative, aims to increase the resilience1 of vulnerable populations through upgrading the competitiveness and inclusiveness of three value chains (cowpea, poultry and small ruminants). On February 3, 2014, during the high-level launch of the United Nations’ Sahel Humanitarian Response Plan in Rome, USAID announced the RISE Initiative, which initially committed more than $130 million over the first two years of a five-year effort to build resilience to the recurrent crisis in the Sahel. RISE, based on joint analysis and planning, brings together humanitarian and development assistance to address the root causes of persistent vulnerability. Through RISE, USAID made a strong commitment to promote long-term food security and improved nutrition by increasing agricultural production and increasing incomes from that production.

The RISE strategy guides the implementation of four programs: SAREL, a Sahel learning agenda; REGIS-ER, a multi-sector resilience program; REGIS-AG, a focused value chain program; and the DFAPs, development food assistance programs. REGIS-AG will directly contribute to the USAID Sahel Joint Planning Cell (JPC) Strategy Results Framework, specifically to Objective 1: Increased and Sustainable Economic Wellbeing, IR 2: Intensified production and marketing for livestock and high potential crops, and Sub IR 2.2: High potential value chains strengthened.

1.2. REGIS-AG Goal, Objectives, Expected Results and Intervention Areas On January 28, 2015, USAID signed a $34.4 million contract with Washington-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) for the implementation of a new project: Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Accelerated Growth (REGIS-AG). REGIS-AG is a five-year project focusing on strengthening the competitiveness and inclusiveness of the cowpea, small ruminant, and poultry value chains in agro-pastoralist and marginal agricultural zones of Niger and Burkina Faso to increase the incomes of vulnerable households, thereby enhancing the resilience of families and communities to shocks such as drought, conflict, and economic crises.

The target outcome of REGIS-AG is to increase income from sheep, goats, poultry and cowpeas by 50% among target households, which will, in turn, contribute to reducing the depth of poverty by 20%. REGIS- AG will reach 270,000 direct beneficiaries.

Program implementation is managed through five integrated components: • Component 1: Identifying opportunities through value chain and end-market analysis • Component 2: Strengthening vertical and horizontal value chain linkages and relationships in selected value chains • Component 3: Strengthening input supply and other supporting services and improving smallholder and agro-pastoralist access to these interconnected markets • Component 4: Increasing access to finance, innovation and private sector investment • Component 5: Improving the enabling environment for local and regional private sector investment

1 USAID defines resilience as: the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth (USAID, 2012). 1

1.3. Theory of change The underlying theory behind the project is that the resilience of people, households, communities and systems in agro-pastoralist and marginal agriculture zones in Burkina Faso and Niger will be significantly enhanced by increasing sustainable economic well-being (defines by household income, food access, livelihood assets and adaptive capacity), strengthening institutions and governance, and improving health and nutrition. Those who are chronically vulnerable will adapt and become resilient and those who have adapted and become resilient will become further economically secure and strive.

Increased sustainable economic well-being will be achieved by scaling-up, deepening and expanding upon resilient adaptations and innovations already underway. Facilitating the scaling-up, deepening and expansion of these adaptations and innovations will also create an avenue for inclusive economic growth that will further increase sustainable economic well-being and further enhance resilience.

Stronger institutions and governance will provide a critical source of stability that both constitutes and creates resilience. It will also provide an enabling environment needed to facilitate inclusive economic growth, and increased and sustainable economic being.

Initiating and sustaining this positive dynamic of change requires: (a) working with and investing in entire communities (from the most vulnerable to those who are striving), (b) bolstering the resilience of the social, economic and natural resource systems in which they operate, and (c) using an integrated and comprehensive approach to gender that recognizes women as innovative and dynamic change agents, addresses gender disparities inequalities, and leverages (economic, political, and socio-cultural) attributes, constraints and opportunities associated with being male or female.

1.4. Implementation Partners 1.4.1. Project partners from FY15 to FY18 From FY15 to FY18, REGIS-AG implemented innovative “pull” strategies linking smallholder groups to markets, in close cooperation and synergy with projects operating in its target zones and which focus on production level “push” strategies, in order to move vulnerable households from subsistence level farming to commercial farming and increased food security. These projects included: • The Enhanced Resilience Cooperative Agreement REGIS-ER in Burkina Faso and Niger • The Food for Peace (FFP) Development Food Aid Programs (DFAP), namely o in Niger Livelihoods, Agriculture and Health Interventions in Action (LAHIA) implemented by a consortium led by Save the Children International Sawki implemented by a Mercy Corps-led consortium Program for Support to Household Food Security (PASAM-TAI) implemented by a CRS-led consortium o In Burkina Faso Programme Faso implemented by a CRS-led consortium Victoire sur la Malnutrition (ViM) Project implemented by an ACDI/VOCA-led consortium • The learning agenda procurement Sahel Resilience Learning (SAREL) project implemented by the Mitchell Group.

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• Non-USAID funded projects o IFAD-funded Projet d’Appui aux Filières Agricoles (PROFIL) by the governments in Burkina Faso o World Bank-funded Projet Régional d’Appui au Pastoralisme au Sahel (PRAPS) implemented by the government in Burkina Faso and Niger o World Food Program projects

To achieve its objectives, REGIS-AG worked as expected in tandem with these projects and others. REGIS- AG focuses on the demand side while REGIS-ER and other partners (in and outside the RISE consortium) focus on the supply side, supporting the production at the village and farm levels while REGIS-AG helps link farmers involved in these production to markets. Consequently, REGIS-AG collaboration with these projects was critical to its success because developing inclusive market systems that are resilient and beneficial to all cannot be achieved without close and coordinated efforts with these projects; only together can these projects succeed.

Structurally, REGIS-AG collaboration with the RISE partners was organized around common beneficiaries and area of intervention. By design, REGIS-AG worked with their beneficiaries to link them to markets. The table below presents the lists of partners and the geographic area involved.

Table 1 : REGIS-AG key Implementing partners and geographic areas of collaboration Partner Lead implementer Geographic areas of collaboration In Burkina Faso: • REGIS-ER CLUSA In 3 regions (Sahel, Center-North and East) • PROFIL Burkina Faso Government In 2 regions (Sahel and Center-North) • ViM ACDI VOCA In 1 region (Center-North) • Programme Faso CRS In 2 regions (Center-North and East) In Niger: • REGIS-ER CLUSA In 3 regions (Maradi, Tillabéri and Zinder) • LAHIA Save the Children In in 1 region (Maradi) • SAWKI Mercy Corps In 2 regions (Maradi and Zinder) • PASAM-TAI CRS In 2 regions (Maradi and Zinder)

Operationally, REGIS-AG collaboration with any of the RISE partners and DFAP was built around a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that is implemented through annual collaborative or joint work plan. These plans are mutually agreed upon at the beginning of each calendar year and constitute pieces of REGIS- AG annual work plan.

1.4.2. A New partnership landscape since FY19, but limited collaboration In FY19, REGIS-ER intervention strategy changed as the project turned its focus on ensuring the sustainability of its core activities by transferring their implementation to communes and coaching these communes to strengthen their ability in carrying out activities they have limited experience implementing. This change in strategy limited the scope of collaboration between REGIS-AG and REGIS-ER to activities involving communes. In addition, REGIS-ER limited its interventions in fewer communes, which further limits opportunities for collaboration with REGIS-AG. Given the change in strategy of REGIS-ER and considering that REGIS-ER was still defining the contours of its new strategy, collaboration with REGIS-AG could not be discussed when REGIS-AG was developing its FY19 work plan. Discussion held during the first quarter of FY19 led the two projects to agree that there was no tangible area of direct collaboration. However, REGIS- AG continued to work with the POs that were beneficiaries of REGIS-ER. 3

In contrast to REGIS-ER that is still being implemented, all aforementioned DFAP ended in FY18, and a new generation of FfP projects called Development Food Security Activities (DFSA) started in October 2018: Girma, Hamzari, and Wadata in Niger, and ViMPlus in Burkina Faso. While REGIS-AG continued working with the POs that were beneficiaries of the DFAP, the project envisaged developing new partnerships with the DFSA in FY19. However, because they were still going through their refinement period, apart from the sharing of reports, no specific collaboration was carried out. Similarly, during Q1FY20, no specific collaboration occurred because the DFSA refinement period had not ended.

Table 2 : FfP Development Food Security Activities (DFSA) in Niger and Burkina DFSA DFSA Zone of Influence project / communes Country Lead coved by Region Departments Communes implementer REGIS-AG 1. Damagaram Takaya No WADATA / − Damagaram Takaya 2. Guidi Mouni No Zinder Save 3. Mazamni No − Gouré 4. Guidguir No 1. Bandé Yes 2. Dan Tchiyaou No 3. Kwaya Yes − Magaria 4. Magaria Yes 5. Sassoum Broum No Niger GIRMA / Zinder 6. Wacha No CRS 7. Yekouwa No 8. Dogo Yes 9. Doungas Yes − Doungas 10. Gouchi No 11. Malawa No 1. Chadakori Yes HAMZARI / Maradi − Guidam Roumdji 2. Guidam Sori Yes CARE 3. Guidam Roumdji Yes 1. Bourzanga No − Bam 2. Rollo No 3. Bouroum Yes 4. Nagbingou Yes − Namatanga 5. Tougouri No Burkina ViM-Plus / Center 6. Yalgo Yes Faso ACDI-VOCA North 7. Barsalogho Yes 8. Dablo No − Samentenga 9. Namissiguima Yes 10. Pensa No 11. Pissila Yes

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PART 2 – OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT INTERVENTION STRATEGY

2.1. Justification: Producers’ low level of market access REGIS-AG interventions focus on fostering inclusive economic development and competitiveness in the cowpea, poultry and small ruminant value chains in Burkina Faso and Niger. Through market-oriented, pro- poor interventions, REGIS-AG has the goal to reach 50,000 households and have the following impacts: (a) increasing household incomes by 50%, and (b) reducing poverty of vulnerable households by 20%, thereby strengthening household resilience to shocks. There are two sides to what these objectives imply. On the demand side, this implies changing the development trajectory of small marginalized producers by identifying opportunities within the value chain and demand in the markets (VC/End Market studies) and acting on what is required (work plan implementation) to shift these producers away from selling to collectors/intermediaries in thin local markets only, in favor of selling their products to more profitable markets within their country and abroad on fairer terms, which will lift them out of poverty. On the supply side, REGIS-AG sister project REGIS-ER and other partners (in and outside the RISE consortium) supported the production at the village and farm levels until the end of FY18. Consequently, REGIS-AG could not achieve its objectives without close and coordinated efforts with these projects; only together can these projects succeed in developing inclusive market systems that are resilient and beneficial to all.

To foster the inclusive economic development and competitiveness in the target value chains achieve this transformation, REGIS-AG interventions are focused on bringing about the kinds of systemic-level changes that would facilitate market linkages and product and process upgrading or allow them to take place at scale. Such interventions address systemic issues which were identified in the value chain and end market analyses carried out at the beginning of the project in FY15. The analysis concluded that marginalized producers (especially women) are consistently constrained from entering the targeted value chains or fully participating in their development, and links between the different segments in the various target value chains are weak. In particular, producers have limited access to markets and basic services, which limits opportunities the farming populations in rural areas have to effectively participate in economic activities.

Households raising small ruminants usually sell to individual consumers through village collectors2, or to a lesser extent make direct sales in local markets. Until 2016, at least 95% of Niger's small ruminant exports were destined for Nigeria. However, most of the trade is not recorded; there are also exports to Burkina Faso and beyond. Since then, because of the devaluation of the Nigerian currency (naira), this trend has been reversed. The project team also noted that for cowpea, small farmers who are targeted by REGIS-AG (and therefore by REGIS-ER and DFAPs) have low bargaining power due to their limited production and the poor quality of their products. The marketing of cowpea is done informally and generally to the detriment of producers and processors. Yet, there is an important international market; but this market has requirements in terms of norms and standards that are still unfamiliar to exporters and local producers.

2 They are local buyers who walk through villages and rural markets to buy from producers directly or indirectly. In the case of direct collection, the collector acts for himself. He has his own capital, buys and resells to wholesalers; this is the main mode of collection, particularly for small ruminants and poultry. In the case of indirect collection, he acts as an intermediary for wholesalers. In the latter case, the collector receives money from a wholesaler and he is responsible for grouping the products in batches large enough to be transferred to the wholesaler for a salary or a commission.

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2.2. The project strategy in brief: a value chain approach based on two pillars using two key tools Given producers’ low level of market access, REGIS-AG has placed particular emphasis on improving access to the market and producers’ ability to interact productively and proactively with other actors in competitive markets (market readiness). The improvement in market access requires the aggregation of outputs from individual farmers at a PO level3 and the strengthening of vertical and horizontal links (or relationships among actors in the value chain) by facilitating removal of the constraints that limit the relationships and linkages between the various actors in the value chain. In its facilitation, REGIS-AG uses a value chain approach (VCA) and recognizes that the demand-drive approach is critical for success in value chain development. As a result, REGIS-AG Value Chain development begins by focusing on the nature and character of demand with an intervention strategy that is based on two essential pillars: • Facilitating the development and institutionalization (by municipalities, organizations of actors and/or other decentralized services of the State) of sales platforms for cowpea, small ruminants and poultry products during periods of high demand and which are close to stakeholders. For cowpeas, the platforms are warrantage schemes and fairs in communes. For small ruminants and poultry, the platforms are the fairs during Tabaski, Ramadan, Independence Day, and end of year, when their demand and associated prices are very high. For small ruminants, in addition to fairs organized in communes, the REGIS-AG project also facilitates the participation of Burkina Faso and Niger stakeholders in fairs organized in West Africa to diversify their sales opportunities and exploit the peculiarities of their breeds of sheep and goats that are highly appreciated in these markets. The project support focuses on strengthening the capacities of these organizations through coaching and on-the-job training to enhance the likelihood of the sustainability of these platforms. • Facilitating business linkages development by offering stakeholders in the cowpea, small ruminants and poultry value chains business-to-business (B2B) platforms for establishing commercial relations. Exchanges between producers and buyers at the B2B sessions that results buying and selling intentions are supported by the project based on an action plan that focuses on removing the constraints that may limit the success of the transaction. The project support focuses on capacity building in functional literacy, production, entrepreneurship4, group governance, gender integration, and access to finance. Two types of linkages development interventions or activities emerge from the B2B sessions: linkage to be developed between a set of producers and a buyer (trader or processor) and linkage between a set of traders and a processor. The actors involved in any of the linkages to be developed constitute a business transaction cluster or a cluster of relationships. Table 3 shows that, through this process and by the end of FY18, REGIS-AG was able to develop 57 business clusters that link 438 POs, 43 traders and 32 butchers or processors.

3 The aggregation of individual farmers’ outputs at a cooperative or association level is essential because grouping reduces the cost of food and services (including financial and animal health services), creates economies of scale, and contributes to increasing the efficiency of livestock producers. 4 The training in entrepreneurship focuses on business management skills development (simple accounting, procurement, cost calculation, price fixing, marketing, inventory management, and human resource management) and introduction to business plan development and analysis.

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Table 3 : REGIS-AG business clusters by value chain and by country # of # of traders # of processors # of agro- Total # of Value chain # of PO Clusters or collectors or butchers dealers support plans Burkina Faso 29 202 23 15 - 240 • Cowpea 11 51 11 7 - 69 − Center North 7 32 7 2 - 41 − East 3 17 3 2 - 22 − Sahel 1 2 1 3 - 6 • Poultry 6 48 4 5 - 57 − Center North 2 20 1 1 - 22 − East 2 11 2 2 - 15 − Sahel 2 17 1 2 - 20 • Small ruminants 12 103 8 3 - 114 − Center North5 4 42 3 1 - 46 − East 5 22 4 1 - 27 − Sahel 3 39 1 1 - 41 Niger 28 236 20 17 5 278 • Cowpea 8 84 7 10 5 106 − Maradi 1 39 1 5 1 46 − Tillabéri 3 19 3 3 3 28 − Zinder 4 26 3 2 1 32 • Poultry 12 55 6 6 - 67 − Maradi 5 24 3 2 - 29 − Tillabéri 4 17 2 2 - 21 − Zinder 3 14 1 2 - 17 • Small ruminants 8 97 7 1 - 105 − Maradi 3 48 2 1 - 51 − Tillabéri 3 24 3 0 - 27 − Zinder 2 25 2 0 - 27 Burkina + Niger 57 438 43 32 5 518 • Cowpea 19 135 18 17 5 175 • Poultry 18 103 10 11 - 124 • Small ruminants 20 200 15 4 - 219

To implement this strategy, REGIS-AG relies on two important tools: the Strategic Services Sub awards (3S) fund included in the project design and the Community Relays (ReComs) the implementation team introduced in FY17:

5 In previous annual and quarterly reports, the REGIS-AG team mistakenly reported that no small ruminant business cluster that emerged from the B2B events in the Center North region in Burkina Faso. A recent end-of-project internal reviews of reports in preparation for the final report revealed that there were four (04) business clusters linking 43 POs, 3 traders and 1 butcher or processor in the small ruminant value chain the project supported since FY18 that were not captured in this summary table.

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• The REGIS-AG 3S Fund is a sub award mechanism the project uses to mobilize business development service providers (BDSPs) to reach out to a larger number of beneficiaries in its efforts to catalyze product, process or function upgrading through training and coaching of these value chain actors; • Community Relays (ReComs) are project focal points or liaison agents (ReCom) identified within the beneficiary POs (one in each) to address the challenge of insufficient frontline technical staff knows as Regional Value Chain Coordinators (one in each region and value chain, intensify field activity implementation, and deepen project impact. Value chain coordinators are linked with a set of ReComs to facilitate activity implementation and information sharing within the POs under his responsibility while at the same time building capacity within the PO to continue interventions well after the end of the project.

With this strategy, REGIS-AG envisages that, at its end in FY20, the project would have developed a market- ready group of POs that will have established business relationships with specific buyers and will have internalized / adopted the practice of setting up and achieving production objectives that include precise quantities for sales to specific buyers and/or in market platforms (fairs) set up by municipalities or any other appropriate organizations during periods of high demand. As they become more efficient in terms of income generation and food security, a growing number of POs will adopt these practices, thereby strengthening their resilience to shocks.

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PART 3 – FY19 ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS

To facilitate its understanding and comparison with proposed activities for the fiscal year, this section of the report is structured by project component as was done for the corresponding work plan.

3.1. Component 1 – Identify opportunities through value chain and end- market analysis Under the project’s Component 1, REGIS-AG focuses on carrying out detailed analyses in the target value chains to identify opportunities for catalyzing necessary upgrading of product quality and stakeholders’ operations. After the completion of the initial project inception studies in FY15 (Value Chain and End Market Analyses, Gender Assessment, etc.), additional complementary analyses are carried out either to deepen understanding of issues being dealt with or to refine project strategies. For FY20, the project planned to carry out only one activity under Component 1: Assessing the outcome of REGIS-AG livestock market management reform activity. The team intended to carry out a political economic analysis of these markets in order to capture the outcomes of this project intervention, and the drivers of changes or resistance the market management reform. Due to staffing instability and limited funds, interventions were limited to the collection of data on the livestock market performance for its presentation in the final project report. Data consolidation and verification are still going on.

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3.2. Component 2 - Strengthening vertical and horizontal linkages in selected value chains This section of the report resents activities the REGIS-AG team carried out in Q1FY20 under Component 2. Activities planned were the following: • Continuing to support and monitor the implementation of beneficiary support plans initiated in FY18 and FY19 in Burkina Faso and Niger to strengthen linkages established in business clusters mature in sustainable relationships. • Monitoring the performance of 48 beneficiaries of the pilot guinea fowl businesses being promoted for youth in Burkina Faso and Niger. • Preparing the 2019-2020 edition of warrantage schemes for cowpea, and other crops in Burkina Faso and Niger. • Facilitating product labelling and packaging improvement for 10 REGIS-AG POs producing processed cowpea products in Niger.

Activity 1: Continue to support and monitor the implementation of beneficiary support plans in Burkina Faso and Niger From FY17 through FY19, REGIS-AG support resulted in the establishment of 57 business clusters (29 in Burkina Faso and 28 in Niger). These clusters are distributed by value chain as follows: • In the cowpea value chain: 19 business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger with 175 beneficiary support plans involving 135 POs with 3,833 members (1,608 men; 2,225 women), 18 traders, and 17 processors: o 11 business clusters in Burkina Faso with 69 support plans that link 51 POs with 1,372 members (534 men; 2,225 women), 11 traders, and 7 processors. o 8 business clusters in Niger with 106 beneficiary support plans that link 84 POs with 2,461 members (1,074 men; 1,387 women), 7 traders, and 10 processors. In addition, the team also developed 5 support plans for agro-dealers (1 in Maradi, 3 in Tillabéri, and 1 in Zinder). • In the poultry value chain: 18 business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger with 124 beneficiary support plans involving 103 POs with 3,051 members (856 men; 2,195 women), 10 traders, and 8 processors or butchers: o 6 business clusters in Burkina Faso with 57 support plans that link 48 POs with 365 members (158 men; 207 women), 4 traders, and 5 processors or butchers. o 12 business clusters in Niger with 67 beneficiary support plans that link 55 POs with 2,003 members (373 men; 1,630 women), 6 traders, and 6 processors. • In the small ruminant chain: 20 business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger with 219 beneficiary support plans involving 200 POs with 6,460 members (1,594 men; 4,866 women), 15 traders, and 4 butchers: o 12 business clusters in Burkina Faso with 114 support plans that link 103 POs with 2,594 members (553 men; 2,041 women), 8 traders, and 3 butchers; o 8 business clusters in Niger with 97 beneficiary support plans that link 97 POs with 3,866 members (1,041 men; 2,825 women), 7 traders, and 1 butcher.

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Annex 1 details the distribution of these business relationships in each of the three targeted value chains by region, by partner project that supported these POs, and by type of buyer.

Building on the results achieved, the project rolled out the implementation of the support plans in FY19. This corresponded in strengthening 454 business linkages between 438 POs and 75 buyers of their production by carrying out the activities outlined in these support plans. More specifically: • A total of 149 linkages between 135 POs and 35 buyers were being strengthened in the cowpea value chain as follows: o 133 business linkages between 133 cowpea POs and 18 traders/collectors in Burkina Faso and Niger; o 14 business linkages between 14 traders and 16 processors in Burkina Faso; o 2 business linkages between cowpea 2 POs and one processor in Niger. • In the poultry value chain, a total of 105 linkages between 103 POs and 21 buyers were being strengthened as follows: o 52 business linkages between 52 poultry POs and 10 traders/collectors in Burkina Faso and Niger ; o 51 business linkages between poultry 51 POs and 9 processors in Burkina Faso and Niger; o 2 business linkages between 1 trader and 2 processors in Burkina Faso. • In the small ruminant value chain, a total of 200 linkages between 200 POs and 19 buyers were being strengthened as follows: o 40 business linkages between small ruminant 40 POs and 4 butchers in Burkina Faso and Niger; o 160 business linkages between 160 small ruminant POs and 15 traders in Burkina Faso and Niger.

For the implementation of these clusters’ support plans, REGIS-AG used the 3S Fund to engage 9 Business Development Services providers (BDSPs) in Burkina Faso and 15 in Niger (listed in Annex 2) to conduct all capacity building trainings outlined in the plans. The project selected the BDSPs through a competitive process and trained them before their deployment in the beneficiary POs’ villages to train cluster members. For each subject matter, all BDSPs used the same training modules6 to ensure uniformity of the knowledge imparted on the beneficiaries. For additional quality assurance, the BDSPs were required to submit progress reports and the project team monitored a random sample of their training replications.

In Q4FY19, the 15 BDSPs trained 12,280 cluster members (3,869 men and 8,411 women). The table below presents the distribution of the training beneficiaries.

6 Beneficiaries were asked to include their training modules in their submission and the project team used these modules to develop standard modules to be used by the BDSPs that will be selected.

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Table 4 : Number of PO members BDSP trained in Niger and Burkina Faso

Number of participants Value Chain Male Female Total Burkina Faso: 1,006 2,362 3,368 − Cowpea value chain 241 894 1,135 − Poultry value chain 263 264 527 − Small ruminant value chain 502 1,204 1,706 Niger: 2,863 6,049 8,912 − Cowpea value chain 959 1,787 2,746 − Poultry value chain 578 2,301 2,879 − Small ruminant value chain 1,326 1,961 3,287 Total Burkina Faso + Niger 3,869 8,411 12,280 Source: REGIS-AG FY19 Annual Report (Table 48)

The sections below details the BDSPs clusters supports, the project team monitoring activities, and the performance of these clusters by value chain.

Project support and monitoring in the cowpea value chain

Clusters support by BDS providers (BDSPs) and project team monitoring In Niger, six (06) BDSPs (2 in Maradi, 2 in Tillabéri, and 2 in Zinder) coached producers of the 84 POs of the 8 cowpea clusters, 7 traders, 10 POs of processors once in a week during October and December.

In Burkina Faso, while two (02) BDSPs also trained all producers of the 51 POs of the 11 cowpea clusters, 7 traders, 10 processors in Q4FY19;, they were only able to coach producers in 44 POs (out of 51) during the reporting period due to the growing insecurity situation in the East region. Coaching was also A ReCom assisting a BDSP agent in his support to the PO done once in a week over 8 weeks. This support Tsintsiya of the Naki karhi village in Maradi (Photo: REGIS-AG) focused on reinforcing the themes covered during the training. REGIS-AG cowpea coordinators monitored the implementation of the BDSPs support through visits made during all BDSPs trainings and visits made to a random sample of the BDSPs coaching sessions. The coaching focused on reinforcing the themes covered during the training. In addition, ReComs also played a role in providing information to the Coordinator to ascertain the effective occurrence of the BDSPs coaching.

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Clusters performance results During the reporting period, the MEL team designed a survey to update the cluster performance data the project reported in the FY10 annual report. Due to the growing insecurity in Burkina Faso, the team only administered the survey in Niger. The Regional Coordinator conducted the survey with the ReCom support. The table below summarizes the volume of products sold or purchased through the linkages established in FY18 and FY19. A total of 3,833 cowpea value chain POs members generated a combined gross revenue of $495,474 through the sale of cowpea grains (694,460 kg) and cowpea processed products in Burkina Faso and Niger in the last two years.

Table 5 : Quantity and value of products sold in the cowpea business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger in FY18 and FY19 Sales value (FCFA) Quantity of Total sales Country Processed grains sold (kg) Grains Total (USD) products Burkina Faso7 316,760 85,337,280 0 85,337,280 158,032 Niger 377,700 105,575,000 76,643,500 182,218,500 337,442 Total 694,460 190,912,280 76,643,500 267,555,780 495,474 Source: Updated Table 5 of the REGIS-AG FY19 Annual Report (for Niger only)

In Niger, the project team conducted field missions to update cluster performance results from December 13 – 21 in Maradi, from December 12 – 16 in Tillabéri, and from December 13 – 20 in Zinder. The following are key results obtained from the data collected in terms of sales and investments made in FY18 and FY19 in the cowpea clusters in Niger. • Six (06) BDSPs strengthened the technical skills of 2,746 PO members (959 men and 1,787 women) on cowpea production techniques through trainings over a period of 2 weeks in Q4FY19 followed by coaching conducted at the village level during the reporting period over 8 weeks with project monitoring. • Through REGIS-AG facilitation, cluster members were able to mobilize 154,700,000 FCFA ($286,481) in loans from MFIs for their activities.8 • POs and processors invested 47,523,930 FCFA ($88,807) for the purchase of animals for mechanical plowing (by producers), as well as grain mills, driers and tanks used for processing. • Intra-cluster transactions occurred in four clusters (1 in Maradi and 3 in Zinder). 65 POs sold a total of 377,700 kg of cowpea grains as well as cowpea processed products to their buyers in the clusters, generating a gross revenue of 182,218,500 FCFA ($337,442) for 1,659 (805 men, 854 women). • Traders in the Tillabéri clusters made no purchases from the POs. However, clusters’ POs sold 89.9 tons of cowpea grains in local markets at 26,970,000 FCFA ($49,944) and nine (09) tons of improved cowpea seeds to development partners at 5,400,000 FCFA ($10,000).

7 The data reported for Burkina Faso was not updated in Q1FY20. 8 This includes 1,200,000 FCFA ($2,222) for inputs in Tillabéri from KOKARI and 153,500,000 FCFA ($284,259) for petit commerce from BAGRI Magaria.

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In Burkina Faso, because of the security challenge, the project was unable to fully update the performance data of cowpea clusters in Burkina Faso. The following are key results presented in the FY19 annual report. • Two BDSPs trained 1,135 PO members (241 men and 894 women) over a period of 2 weeks on cowpea production techniques. They followed up with 8 weeks of coaching with project monitoring. • Cluster members were able to mobilize 62,542,750 FCFA ($115,820) in loans from MFIs for their activities.9 • POs and processors invested 25,257,420 FCFA ($46,773) for the purchase of animals for mechanical plowing (by producers), as well as grain mills, driers and tanks used for processing. • 316,760 kg of cowpea grains were sold within the cluster, generating a gross revenue of 85,337,280 FCFA ($158,032) for members of the 51 POs of the poultry value chain clusters.

It is important to note that these clusters are at their early stages of development, and as a result, transactions have been limited. Challenges discussed in the FY19 annual report contribute to this limited performance. It is also important to note that there are large quantities of grain sales outside the clusters. With the training and coaching received using the BDSPs and given the high level of enthusiasm generated by this activity among producers, buyers and micro financial institutions (MFIs), the REGIS-AG project team is confident that sales volumes will significantly increase as these relationships mature.

Project support and monitoring in the poultry value chain

Clusters support by BDS providers (BDSPs) and project team monitoring In Niger, six (06) BDSPs coached producers of the 55 POs and six (06) poultry traders organizations of the 12 cowpea clusters they trained in Q4FY19 once in a week during October and December. In Burkina Faso, due to the growing insecurity situation in the East region, two (02) BDSPs were only able to coach producers in 30 of the 48 POs and three (03) of the six (06) poultry traders organizations that benefitted from their training in Q4FY19) during the reporting period. As in the case of the cowpea clusters, the BDSPs support focused on reinforcing the themes covered during the training. REGIS-AG poultry coordinators monitored the implementation of the BDSPs support through visits made during all BDSP trainings and visits made to a random sample of the BDSPs coaching sessions. In addition, ReComs also played a role in providing information to the Coordinator to ascertain the effective occurrence of the BDSPs coaching.

Clusters performance results In Niger, REGIS-AG technical staff organized field missions to monitor results obtained in these clusters from December 5 – 12, 2019 in Maradi and Zinder and from December 2 – 10 in Tillabéri. During these missions, the team collected data on the clusters performance in terms of sales and investments since the establishment of the clusters (FY18 - FY20). Through focus group interviews, the team also collected data on the level of satisfaction of the POs about the training and coaching the BDSPs. The team analysis of the

9 This includes Kaya Cluster ($39,574), Nagbingou-Bouroum Cluster ($34,383), Boulsa-Dargo Cluster ($19,394), Pissila Cluster ($14,159), Barsalogho Cluster ($8,309) for only agricultural inputs and equipment.

14 data collected from all 55 POs yielded the following results that update the ones presented in the FY19 annual report: • Six (06) BDSPs trained 2,879 PO members (578 men and 2,301 women) on poultry production techniques including the manufacture of poultry feed from local raw materials. • Cluster PO members invested 30,080,891 FCFA ($55,705) for the construction or improvement of chicken coops, purchase of feeders and water troughs as indicated in their support plans. • The 55 cluster POs earned 117,869,950 FCFA ($218,278) from the sale of guinea fowl and chicken and they sold more to buyers outside than to the 12 buyers in the clusters. o The POs sold 21,842 chickens and 6,088 guinea fowl to the 12 buyers in the cluster (traders and processors) for a total revenue of 48,563,180 FCFA ($89,932). o These POs also sold 26,008 chickens and 9,695 guinea fowl to buyers outside the cluster for a total amount of 69,306,770 FCFA ($128,345). • A large majority (89.7%) of cluster POs interviewed indicated they were satisfied with the training the BDSPs conducted, while 3.4% were moderately satisfied and 6.9% not at all satisfied. • Majority (70.7%) of cluster POs also declared that they were satisfied with the coaching they received from the BDSPs, while 15.5% were moderately satisfied, and 13.8% not at all satisfied.

In Burkina Faso, the REGIS-AG team will collect data on clusters sales and investments in January and February 2020 to update the information presented in the FY19 annual report.10 Results presented in the FY19 annual report indicate that 36 POs from 4 of the 6 poultry value chain clusters sold 28,957 birds (27,854 chicken and 1,103 guinea fowl), generating a gross revenue of 73,572,000 FCFA ($136,244). Cluster members were able to mobilize 11,310,000 FCFA ($20,994) in loans from MFIs for their activities.

Project support and monitoring in the small ruminant value chain Clusters support by BDS providers (BDSPs) and project team monitoring In Niger, six (06) BDSPs were able to coach all 97 producers in all 97 POs in the 8 business clusters of the value chain. The Small Ruminant Coordinators conducted field missions together with the Cowpea Coordinator in Maradi (December 13-21), Tillabéri (December 12-16), and Zinder (December 13-20). They monitored the implementation of the BDSPs support through visits made during all BDSPs trainings and visits made to a random sample of the BDSPs coaching sessions. However, they only visited 66 of the 97 POs (28 POs in Zinder, 28 POs in Maradi and 10 POs in Tillabéri) and 1 butcher (in Maradi) due to the growing insecurity. The team communicated with those PO by phone through the ReComs.

10 REGIS-AG did not collect the clusters performance data in Burkina Faso during the reporting period because the lead staff involved (Poultry VC Specialist) was a VSF employee and CNFA terminated VSF subcontract in the consortium on 31 October 2019 as envisaged in the closeout plan. CNFA rehired the same employee as a short- term consultant, a rehiring USAID approved on November 3, 2019.

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In Burkina Faso, seven (07) BDSPs were able to coach 59 of the 61 small ruminant POs they trained in Q4FY19. The project team conducted field missions to monitor BDSPs coaching in 53 of the POs (31 in the Sahel, 22 in the East)11. The BDSPs visited these POs once a week. Insecurity also affected the number of POs interviewed in Tillabéri. The project team only visited 53 of the 59.

Clusters performance results During the reporting period, the MEL team designed a survey to update the cluster performance data the project reported in the FY10 annual report. The regional coordinator conducted the survey with the ReCom support. The table below summarizes the volume of products sold or purchased through the linkages established in FY18 and FY19. A total of 126 small ruminants value chain POs members sold `1,187 animals to buyers within the clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger in the last two years and 3,064+3,707 outside the clusters. These sales generated a combined gross revenue of $105,030 for intra- cluster sales and $335,530 for sale outside clusters.

In Niger, the project team conducted field missions to update cluster performance results from December 13 – 21 in Maradi, from December 12 – 16 in Tillabéri, and from December 13 – 20 in Zinder. The project wanted to update performance data from all 97 POs involved in the small ruminant value chain clusters, only 66 were interviewed due to security concerns. The following are key results obtained from the data collected in terms of sales and investments made in FY18 and FY19 in the small ruminant clusters in Niger: • Six (06) BDSPs trained 3,287 PO members (1,326 men and 1,961 women) over a period of 2 weeks on commercial fattening, agricultural entrepreneurship, marketing, and negotiation and pricing. They followed up with 8 weeks of coaching with project monitoring. However, during the monitoring visits, the project team noted that some POs better mastered the module on commercial fattening than other POs. A number of POs indicated that 3 days of training were not sufficient to fully understand the 5 training themes, and are in need of further reinforcement of the content. • Most POs in the clusters vaccinated their animals against the PPR (small ruminant pest) and pasteurellose – 3,017 animals (60 goats, 2,957 sheep) were vaccinated. • POs invested 78,412,590 FCFA ($145,209) in the construction or repair of sheds and enclosures, as well as the purchase of animals and equipment (drums and buckets). • The 66 POs visited sold 579 animals (93 goats and 486 sheep) within the cluster in Maradi and Zinder, generating a gross revenue of 27,592,600 FCFA ($51,097). There was no transactions between POs and buyers within the clusters in Tillabéri. This is due primarily to limited finances of the traders. Due to the growing insecurity, the could not assist them in facilitating access to credit situation, the project’s monitoring and follow up on sales commitments were weak. • These 66 POs also sold 3,064 animals (2,610 sheep and 454 goats) to non-cluster buyers for a total value of 103,770,495 FCFA ($192,168).

11 The small ruminant POs in Central-North did not benefit from the support of BDS providers during Q1FY19 because they participated in training on commercial fattening held by REGIS-AG carried out in March 2019 in collaboration the Regional Direction of Animal and Fisheries Resources of Central-North.

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In Burkina Faso, during this period, the BDSPs were able to coach 72 of the 74 POs they trained in Q4FY19. The project team conducted field missions to monitor BDSPs coaching in 53update cluster performance results from December 13 – 21 in the Sahel, and from December 12 – 16 in the Center North. A total of 33 POs from 5 clusters sold 222 small ruminants (202 sheep and 20 goats) to traders within the clusters for a gross revenue of 9,739,000 FCFA ($18,035) during the reporting period. Most of the animals purchased by the traders were intended for export to Benin, Côte d'Ivoire or Nigeria. The following are key results obtained from the data collected in terms of sales and investments made in FY18 and FY19 in the small ruminant clusters in Burkina Faso: • 1,706 PO members (502 men and 1,204 women) from 74 POs were trained on training on commercial fattening, agricultural entrepreneurship, marketing, and negotiation and pricing by two (02) BDSPs. • Most POs in clusters vaccinated their animals against the PPP and pasteurellose. • POs invested 25,691,040 FCFA ($47,576) in the construction or repair of sheds and enclosures, as well as the purchase of animals and equipment (drums and buckets). • 135 goats and 1,055 sheep were sold within the clusters, generating a gross revenue of 56,716,600 FCFA ($105,031) for 60 POs of the small ruminant value chain actors. • 3,707 animals were sold to non-cluster members for a total value of 77,426,195 FCFA ($143,382).

Table 6 : Number and value of animal sold in business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger in FY18 and FY19 Number of animal Sales value (FCFA) Total sales Country Goats Sheep Goats Sheep Total in USD Burkina Faso 42 569 986 000 28,138,000 29,124,000 53,933 Niger 93 486 3,593,175 23,999,425 27,592,600 51,097 Total 135 1,055 4,579,175 52,137,425 56,716,600 105,031 Source: Updated table 28 of the REGIS-AG FY19 annual report

As indicated in the previous sections, it is important to note that these clusters are at their early stages, and as a result, transactions have been limited. This is compounded by challenges discussed in the FY19 annual report. However, with the training and coaching received using the BDSPs and given the high level of enthusiasm generated by this activity among producers, buyers and micro financial institutions (MFIs), the REGIS-AG project team is also confident that the number of animals sold will significantly increase as these relationships mature.

Activity 2: Monitor the performance of beneficiaries of the pilot guinea fowl businesses being promoted for youth in Burkina Faso and Niger This pilot initiative was initiated in FY19 to provide opportunities to youth to exercise authentic participation and pursue their own visions, dreams, hopes, and concerns pertaining to their development and overall well-being. It is grounded in the fundamental evidence that if young people have sufficient incomes and resources to sustain productive lives, they can generate an economic opportunity and contribute to the wider good and care for others in their communities. In contrast, when youth are unable

17 to sustain productive lives, they are vulnerable to ideologically motivated violence fueled by radical ideological, religious or political views. As USAID embarks on efforts to counter violent extremism, this initiative also aims to demonstrate how the RISE initiative and USAID programming can begin to counter rising insecurity with activities focused on economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. It focuses on youth, age 18 to 2912 in localities facing rising insecurity in Burkina Faso (Sahel and Center North regions) and Niger (Tillabéri region).

The guinea fowl activity involves three types of businesses for beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger: • Sub-activity 1 or Business type 1: 12 pilot guinea fowl eggs incubation business units for the sale of chicks and/or live adult birds for home consumption (8 in Niger and 4 in Burkina Faso); • Sub-activity 2 or Business type 2: 50 pilot guinea fowl business units for the production and sale of live adult birds and/or some eggs during the rainy season only (30 in Niger and 20 in Burkina Faso); • Sub-activity 3 or Business type 3: 10 pilot Galor13 guinea fowl business units for the production and sale of live adult birds and/or some eggs throughout the year (10 in Niger).

REGIS-AG completed the distribution of guinea fowl kits in Niger in Q4FY19. This included 552 Galor guinea fowl, 280 waterers, 280 feeders, and 3,200 kg of poultry feed as shown in the table below. Table 7 : Summary of guinea fowl kits distributed in Q4FY19 in Niger

Number of beneficiaries Guinea Fowl Materials Livestock Region Business type Female Male Total Female Male Waterers Feeders feed (Kg) Business type 1 1 2 3 54 18 30 30 450 Business type 2 7 3 10 60 30 50 50 500 Maradi Business type 3 0 2 2 12 6 10 10 100 Total 1 8 7 15 126 54 90 90 1,050 Business type 1 0 2 2 36 12 20 20 300 Business type 2 10 0 10 60 30 50 50 500 Tillabéri Business type 3 2 4 6 36 18 30 30 300 Total 2 12 6 18 132 60 100 100 1,100 Business type 1 1 2 3 54 18 30 30 450 Business type 2 4 6 10 60 30 50 50 500 Zinder Business type 3 1 1 2 12 6 10 10 100 Total 3 6 9 15 126 54 90 90 1,050 Business type 1 2 6 8 144 48 80 80 1,200 Business type 2 21 9 30 180 90 150 150 1,500 Total Business type 3 3 7 10 60 30 50 50 500 26 22 48 384 168 280 280 3,200 Source: REGIS-AG FY19 Annual report (Table 23)

12 However, candidates older than 29 can be considered if they employ 18-29 years old young people or are linked to other businesses that are being promoted in this activity and are owned and managed by 18-29 years old young beneficiaries. 13 Galor is an improved breed of guinea fowl FOA introduced in Niger in 2004 from Europe in the Maradi region. It weighs 2-3 times as much as the local breed, and can produce eggs throughout the year under certain conditions whereas local breeds only lay eggs during the rainy season (3 months),

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The following figures present the incubator, the brooder, the feeder, and the waterer:

Figure 1 : An outside view of the incubator Figure 2 : An inside view of the incubator distributed distributed to beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger to beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger

Figure 3 : An inside view of the brooder distributed to Figure 4 : An inside view of the hatcher distributed to beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger (Photo: REGIS-AG) beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger (Photo: REGIS-AG)

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Figure 5 : A view of the waterers and feeder distributed to beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger (Photo: REGIS-AG)

While the installation of the equipment training started in Niger in Q4FY19, due to delays in the procurement process for equipment and birds, REGIS-AG postponed the distribution of guinea fowl kits and installation of the equipment in Burkina Faso in Q1FY20.

a) Sub-activity 1: Installation of guinea fowl equipment and training on its use in Niger In Niger, the installation of equipment (incubators, hatchers, brooders, and microclimate) took place from October 14 – 19 in Tillabéri, from October 19 – 25 in Maradi and from October 28 – November 2, 2019 in Zinder for all 48 beneficiaries. REGIS-AG coupled the installation with training of beneficiaries on their use and maintenance, as well as the filling out of property transfer documents between REGIS- AG and the beneficiaries. To encourage beneficiaries to perform, these were later complemented with the signing of an MOU between REGIS-AG and each of the beneficiaries specifying the beneficiary responsibilities and indicating that the equipment still belong to the project and can be taken away if it is not taken care of properly, or if they perform poorly.14

Training of beneficiaries on the use and maintenance of equipment in Niger The BENALYA and a REGIS-AG team organized a one-day training for all 48 beneficiaries in Tillabéri on October 15, in Maradi on October 19, and in Zinder on October 28. The training involved a presentation of the equipment and material, and demonstration on the operation of the material.15

14 REGIS-AG does not anticipate that any of the beneficiaries will not take good care of its equipment. However, if this occurs and the project is forced to withdraw the equipment from a beneficiary, it will be turned over USAID to decide on its disposal. 15 It is important to note that REGIS-AG previously trained all guinea fowl pilot participants in poultry production techniques. 20

Representatives of the 3N Initiative Regional Coordination, the Regional Livestock Directorates (DREL), the University of Tillabéri and the Regional Unions of Producers and Suppliers of Inputs also participated in these trainings. In addition, three (03) electricians and three (03) plumbers also participated so that they can provide maintenance and repair services to beneficiaries in the future.

In addition to the aforementioned training, the REGIS-AG team also gave the following management forms to the eight (08) Business Type 1 beneficiaries and trained them on how to use these forms: (i) production monitoring sheet for keets and/or chicks, (ii) production monitoring sheet for the eggs year-round, (ii) and account sheet for expenses and sales.

At the end of the trainings, the team also developed a schedule for visiting each village to conduct the equipment installation.

Installation of equipment in Niger BENALYA and REGIS-AG traveled to the relevant villages to install the equipment. This included the following: • Each Business Type 1 beneficiary: 1 incubator, 1 hatcher (capacity 500), 1 large 200-place brooder, 1 microclimate system (1 300-liter water tank, 6 watering stations and a misting nucleus), 3 solar panels, 4 batteries, 2 regulators, and 2 inverters. • Each Business Type 2 beneficiary: 1 simple 50-place brooder, 1 solar panel, 1 battery, 1 regulator, 1 inverter • Each Business Type 3 beneficiary: 1 simple 50-place brooder, 1 micro-climate system (1 300-liter water tank, 6 watering stations and a misting hose), 1 solar panel, 1 battery, 1 regulator, and 1 inverter.

Figure 6 : Schematic representation of a Coop and the microclimate system (Benalya graphic)

The REGIS-AG team was not able to participate in the installation of equipment in the Torodi and Makalondi areas in Tillabéri region due to security concerns. Thus, BENALYA Group carried out the installation in these two areas alone.

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At each site, BENALYA performed a test to ensure that the installation works properly and conducted a beneficiary briefing on how to start-up and turn off the brooders and incubators as well as how to manage the temperature of the brooder.

b) Sub-activity 2: Monitoring of beneficiaries of guinea fowl kits in Niger and performance assessment All 48 beneficiaries in Niger received their guinea fowl, feeders, drinkers and poultry feed during Q4FY19. The project had intended to install all the equipment during the rainy season in June - September (the typical season for traditional poultry farming) so that the beneficiaries could immediately begin production using the relevant equipment. However, the equipment procurement processes took longer than anticipated and installation only began in Q1FY20 (October). Consequently, all eight (08) beneficiaries of Business Type 1 produced guinea fowl by natural incubation in July through October (Q4FY19 and into Q1FY20) without the use of hatchers, brooders and the microclimate system. It is important to note that beginning in October, it is difficult to find guinea fowl eggs to put in the incubators because the guinea fowls stop laying at the end of the rainy season.

Business type 1 performance with artificial incubation

When REGIS-AG distributed the equipment in October, the rainy season had ended and the eight (08) beneficiaries of the incubation units did not have eggs to place in the incubators once the dry season began. However, four (04) out of them (2 out of 3 in Maradi, 1 out of 1 in Tillabéri and 1 out of 3 in Zinder) tested the artificial incubation by using fertilized guinea fowl and chicken eggs they were able to purchase from the market. As shown in the table below, three (03) of the four (04) beneficiaries placed 766 eggs (220 guinea fowl eggs and 546 chick eggs) in three incubators (2 in Maradi and 1 in Tillabéri). • The two beneficiaries in Maradi were able to obtain 80 chicks from one (01) batch of eggs and 156 keets, which corresponds to a hatching rate of 50% for guinea fowl eggs, and of 25% to 83% for chicken eggs depending on the batch placed. Given the high quality of the incubators distributed, the hatching rate observed is low. The quality of the eggs used is primarily factor explaining the performance recorded. A second explanatory factor is a disruption in energy supply16 noted during this test phase. Due to this disruption, only 36 of the 80 keets obtained were still alive when the team visited the REGIS-AG beneficiaries on December 22, 2019. However, all 156 chicks were still alive.

16 Although all equipment of Business Type 1 beneficiaries was tested at the time of installation in October (as discussed above), a key challenge encountered by the pilot incubation units was a disruption of the energy supply. Since the beginning of December, the incubators and brooders stopped functioning every night around 8PM, causing heavy mortalities for the keets in the brooders, and will likely lead to the loss of eggs in the incubators as well. The REGIS-AG team and BENALYA immediately took two corrective measures when the beneficiaries reported problem. First, the team advised beneficiaries to stop using the equipment in mid-December so as not to damage their batteries. Nevertheless, where available, beneficiaries continued production activities by plugging the equipment into a power outlet in their home. Second, having recognized that the solar panel systems installed were not powerful enough to provide adequate energy for the equipment used, BENALYA committed to address the issue by visiting the sites in January to assess the challenge in situ and adding new solar panels and batteries as needed.

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• The lone beneficiary in Tillabéri was able to obtain 63 chicks from there batches of chicken eggs, which corresponds to a hatching rate ranging between 0% and 87% depending on the lot placed. As in Maradi, the quality of the eggs and the solar energy disruption affected performance as well.

Table 8 : Keets / chicks obtained from three artificial incubation units in Q1FY20, Niger

Keets or Hatching Date of Number of eggs placed chicks Name of Hatching rate Region egg batch produced (#) beneficiary date placement Guinea Chicken Total Keets Chicks Keets Chicks fowl Maradi Issoufou Illa Oct 26 160 0 160 80 0 Nov.19 50% Abache Oct 3 0 60 60 0 31 Nov 23 52% Nov 29 0 91 91 0 0 Dec 20 Dec 5 0 78 78 0 65 Dec 26 83% Ainaou Nov 26 0 236 236 0 60 Dec 22 25% Harouna Total 160 465 625 80 156 Tillabéri Rafiou Ala Roi Nov 15 60 0 60 0 0 na 0% Fhad Nov 18 0 26 26 0 15 Dec 9 58% Dec 14 0 55 55 0 48 Jan 9 87% Total 60 81 141 0 63 Total 220 546 766 80 219

The fourth beneficiary in Zinder placed 40 guinea fowl eggs in one incubator in Mirriah. However, due to the energy disruption, the BENELYA and REGIS-AG team advised the beneficiaries to disconnect the incubator and stop the production.

Performance all business types with natural incubation All beneficiaries began production using natural incubation in July and this continued through September (Q4FY19) and even into Q1FY20 (October). The following presents the major findings during the monitoring visits:

Beneficiaries showed a great deal of commitment and creativity • Two beneficiaries in Zinder joined to construct poultry housing to secure chicks. Others devised creatives ways to protect their kicks against predators;

• Beneficiaries have engaged in a variety of measures for eggs incubation while waiting for the establishment of the incubation businesses: o Use of the services of other producers to conduct natural incubation (the resulting chicks are divided up 50/50 by the guinea fowl beneficiary and the owner of the hen); o Purchase of hens for natural incubation through the sale of eggs. However, this resulted in high losses of chicks in part because of their poor maintenance. o Purchase of a locally made incubator by one beneficiary who ended up obtaining 25 chicks. • A growing interest for Galor guinea fowl breed. Some PO members sourced eggs from beneficiaries to obtain the breed; some beneficiaries donated eggs to relatives.

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• A growing interest among development partners for promoting the guinea fowl business among the youth. The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) committed to supporting one of the pilot incubation units of Maradi with a budget of 5,000,000 FCFA ($9,259) for the construction of a coop. WAAPP has also pledged support for one of beneficiaries in Zinder. In Maradi, an incubator beneficiary will benefit from the support of the Maison de l'Entreprise for the development of a business plan with a commitment to cover 60% of the needed fund, the rest will be sought from a local bank. • One beneficiary (pictured to the right) used an application to be able to control misting remotely; he presented his business at the national competition held during the Niger Independence A REGIS-AG beneficiary proudly showing his $9,259 Day and won the fourth prize worth prize awarded by the Niger government 5,000,000 FCFA ($9,259).

A total of $12,052 FCFA generated in 3-4 months when valuing eggs, keets and adult birds and $8,413 of investment mad by beneficiaries • 90% of distributed guinea fowl survived after distribution. • The guinea fowl herd increased in less than 5 months from 552 to 1,268 Guinea fowl, an increase of 230%. • 10,553 eggs were produced, of which 5,721 eggs were sold for 567,025 FCFA ($1,050), 2,070 eggs were brooded, 1,579 eggs were consumed and 1,183 eggs were donated. • 20% of eggs produced were brooded to obtain chicks – the number and proportion of eggs are expected to be higher with the establishment of artificial incubation businesses in Q1FY20. • 54% of eggs produced were sold to other producers.

• Several investments were made by the beneficiaries, totalling 4,543,000 FCFA ($8,413). The following figure details the types of invesments made. The development of chicken coops accounted for 72% of the total value of investments.

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Purchase of Purchase of keets guinea fowl eggs 1% 2%

Purchase of live guinea fowl 19%

Purchase of chicken for Improvement of incubation the coops 6% 72%

Figure 7 : Types of investments beneficiary made during the reporting period in Niger

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Table 9 : Monitoring of the production of eggs and guinea fowl on the date of 12/22/2019

Number of Number Number guinea fowl Value Number Use of eggs produced (number) Personal beneficiaries guinea produced of eggs Type de business of eggs investments fowls sold produced made (Fcfa) Total Femme distributed Keets Adults Total Consumed Hatched Donated Sold (Fcfa) Total Maradi 15 8 180 210 314 524 3,985 801 714 597 1,873 167,550 2,051,850 1 – Natural incubation 3 1 72 132 172 304 1,198 240 61 55 842 42,700 1,117,800 2 – Eggs raining season 10 7 90 69 99 168 2,217 416 433 447 921 115,600 295,050 3 – Eggs year round 2 0 18 9 43 52 570 145 220 95 110 9,250 639,000

Total Tillabéri 18 14 192 167 170 337 1,168 120 471 93 484 65,475 946,500 1 – Natural incubation 2 0 48 0 50 50 210 6 5 18 181 27,150 689,000 2 – Eggs raining season 10 10 90 133 70 203 696 105 274 75 242 28,275 137,650 3 – Eggs year round 6 4 54 34 50 84 262 9 192 0 61 10,050 119,850

Total Zinder 15 7 180 283 124 407 5,400 658 885 493 3,364 334,000 1,544,650 1 – Natural incubation 3 1 72 72 38 110 1,822 157 300 62 1,303 184,850 943,050 2 – Eggs raining season 10 5 90 190 73 263 3,296 466 500 417 1,913 138,050 383,600 3 – Eggs year round 2 1 18 21 13 34 282 35 85 14 148 11,100 218,000

Total Niger 48 29 552 660 608 1,268 10,553 1,579 2,070 1,183 5,721 567,025 4,543,000 1 – Natural incubation 8 2 192 204 260 464 3,230 403 366 135 2,326 254,700 2,749,850 2 – Eggs raining season 30 22 270 392 242 634 6,209 987 1,207 939 3,076 281,925 816,300 3 – Eggs year round 10 5 90 64 106 170 1,114 189 497 109 319 30,400 976,850

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c) Sub-activity 3: Distribution of guinea fowl in Burkina Faso / Installation of guinea fowl equipment and training on its usage in Burkina Faso

In November 2019, REGIS-AG distributed 276 guinea fowls, 140 feeders, and 140 waterers to 24 beneficiaries in Burkina Faso (Table 10). As planned, all beneficiaries were from the Sahel region. Unlike in Niger, due to challenges in water availability in the Sahel region17, the project only planned to pilot test Business type 1 and Business type 2 in Burkina Faso. As in Niger, the project purchased the birds and donated them to the beneficiaries as approved by USAID.

Table 10 : Summary of guinea fowl kits distributed in Q1FY20 in Burkina Faso

Number of Guinea Materials Business beneficiaries Fowl type Female Male Total Female Male Waterers Feeders Incubator Hatcher Brooder Business type 1 0 4 4 72 24 40 40 3 3 3 Business type 2 8 12 20 120 60 100 100 0 0 4 Total 1 8 16 24 192 84 140 140 3 3 7

Training of beneficiaries on the use and maintenance of equipment in Burkina Faso From October 29 – November 5, a BENALYA and REGIS-AG team led by the Poultry Value Chain Lead traveled from Niger to the Sahel region in Burkina Faso to train beneficiaries of the guinea fowls kits on the use and maintenance of incubators, hatchers, brooders and microclimate systems, as well as to install the equipment. All 24 beneficiaries participated the one-day training held on October 30. In addition, as in Niger, one (01) plumber and one (01) electrician participated as well to ensure that they are familiar with the equipment and will be able to provide repair and maintenance services to beneficiaries when necessary. As in Niger, BENALYA experts led the training with the support (mainly translation) of the REGIS-AG team. Business Type 2 beneficiary with brooder in Sahel

Equipment and material installation phase After training, the team traveled to the sites to install the equipment. This was programmed to include 4 incubation units for Business Type 1 beneficiaries (4 incubators and 4 hatchers), 14 brooders (4 for Business Type 1 beneficiaries and 10 for Business Type 2 beneficiaries), and the entire microclimate system (water tank, water pipe system, solar panels and solar misting system) for the 4 Business Type 1 beneficiaries.

17 Because Business type 3 (year round production) involves production during the dry season, all beneficiaries in Niger were selected along water sources (along the Niger River in Tillabéri, and in swamps in Maradi and Zinder). 27 As presented in the table above, only 3 of the 4 incubation units were installed (all in Dori), and 4 out of 10 brooders18 were installed (3 in Dori and 1 in Seytenga). At each site, BENALYA experts tested the equipment installed to ensure that it worked properly. They also conducted a beneficiary briefing on how to start-up and stop the incubators, hatchers, and brooders and how to regulate the temperature settings of the brooder. As in Niger, beneficiaries and the project team signed transfer documents as well as an MOU stipulating that the equipment remains the property of USAID and that USAID reserves the right to withdraw the equipment in case of poor handling and performance.

The lack of a secure space prevented the installation of the remaining equipment: 1 incubation unit (Business Type 1) and 6 brooders (all Business Type 2). These items were stored at REGIS-AG's office in Dori while beneficiaries worked on establishing adequate spaces. In December, the project followed up with the 7 beneficiaries who were preparing space for their equipment. Verbal exchanges indicated that they have established appropriate space for the equipment. The BENALYA and REGIS-AG teams will check these commitments during a field visit planned for January 2020 to determine if they can install them in Q2FY20.

Activity 3: Facilitate products labelling and packaging improvement for 10 REGIS-AG POs producing processed cowpea products in Niger

Nutrition facts labels inform potential consumers about the nutritional value of a product. This information includes serving size, the number of servings in the package, calories per serving, and the amount of various nutrients contained in the product. Once a consumer understands how these labels work, this can help him/her make health decisions regarding diet. The label makes it easier to understand the nutritional values of certain foods and to choose a balanced diet full of nutritious foods. When deciding between two different foods, one can look at the nutrition labels to determine which food is more nutritious and which foods are lowest in calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar. Checking the ingredients list will also help avoid foods that contain ingredients that one wants to avoid.

Unfortunately, processed cowpea products produced and sold by REGIS-AG beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and Niger do not have nutrition facts labels. While there is no scientifically documented evidence that nutrition labels do affect people's food choices in Burkina Faso and Niger, there is enough anecdotal evidence suggesting that consumers care about the nutritional content of what they buy – especially in urban areas. As a result, the absence of nutrition labels on processed products sold by these REGIS-AG beneficiaries is an important factor affecting the extent to which they can be marketed to urban buyers. In FY20, REGIS- AG plans to work with 10 POs involved in cowpea processing in Niger to determine the nutritional profile of their cowpea products. Each of the POs is also a member of a business cluster. To this end, processors were asked to propose the top three products of their cowpea processed products portfolio they would like to determine the nutrient content.

During the reporting period, the REGIS-AG cowpea team sensitized representatives of 10 cowpea processors POs (3 from Tillabéri, 5 from Maradi, and 2 from Zinder) on improving the packaging and labeling

18 While the project initially selected 20 beneficiaries for Business Type 2, only 10 brooders were ordered (rather than 20 brooders) due to an error in the purchase order. Thus, only 10 brooders will be installed. REGIS-AG chose the 10 beneficiaries to receive these brooders from among the 20 based on the determination of who is the most prepared (having started or completed the construction poultry housing and/or structures to house incubators and brooders). The project advised the 10 beneficiaries who will not receive a brooder to continue their production activities with locally constructed brooders heated by a conventional heating system (furnace and charcoal).

28 of their products as well as on the rules of good hygiene during a one-day training19 held on December 17 in Niamey. Each PO sent one participant. A researcher from the national research institute (INRAN)'s Food Technology Laboratory (LTA) led the training with the Cowpea Value Chain Lead.

Sensitization of the rules of food hygiene The REGIS-AG team sensitized the processors on cowpea processing techniques that respect the rules of food hygiene. This included a review of the principles of food hygiene during processing and a brief discussion of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system20. The team also discussed compliance with food safety standards as well as health and safety rules for premises, equipment, personnel and operations.

Sensitization on packaging and labeling The REGIS-AG team educated processors about the importance of using packaging materials that ensure security and hygiene. It also discussed the importance of descriptions on labels that inform potential consumers about the characteristics and nutritional value of a product (particularly to attract urban buyers). Such information includes the name, the weight of the product in the package, the calorie content and the quantity of various nutrients in the product.

Sensitization on how to obtain a certificate of conformity The INRAN facilitator sensitized the processors on the process of obtaining the certificate of conformity, and advised on how to begin the process. He also linked the processors to the state structures responsible for certification, such as the National Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (ANMC).21

Collection of samples of processed cowpea products Each of the 10 POs (with the exception of Komi from Lokaci from Matamèye region of Zinder22) came with 3 samples of their products for nutritional analyses the INRAN’s Food Technology Laboratory (LTA) will conduct. This makes 30 samples for analysis as detailed in the table below. The analyses will determine the composition of the each sample into proteins, fats, carbohydrates, water, starch, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, cellulose, and acidity.

However, the samples participants brought to the workshop were not collected using acceptable sampling standards. The A processor from Tillabéri with samples of her instructor explained the correct sampling methodology PO’s production (Photo: REGIS-AG)

19 Although the work plan described this activity as a 3-day workshop in each region, the activity was instead conducted as a single one-day workshop in Niamey only. 20 The HACCP system is a science-based and systematic system that helps identify specific hazards and measures for their control to ensure the safety of food. It is a tool to assess biological, chemical, and physical hazards and establish control systems that focus on prevention rather than relying mainly on end product testing. It is a systematic preventive approach to food safety (to reduce these risks to a safe level). The HACCP system can be used at all stages of a food chain, from food production and preparation processes including packaging, distribution, etc. 21 New structure that has just replaced the Standards Verification and Compliance Agency. 22 The PO Komi da Lokaci only supplied 2 products, since it has already had its flagship product analyzed (Garin Yara). 29 participants23 and showed them how to conduct the sampling in conformity with these rules. The processors have since began to take new samples and sending them to the project team in Niamey by transport bus. Samples collection will end in January, and the INRAN’s Food Technology Laboratory (LTA) will analyze these samples in Q2FY19 before the end of the project. The project will share results of nutritional analyses will with the processors and presents summary in the final project report.

Activity 4: Facilitate the organization of the 2019-2020 warrantage schemes for cowpea and cereals in Burkina Faso and Niger Warrantage is a rural credit mechanism that involves obtaining a loan by pledging an agricultural product that is likely to increase in value significantly over time, such as cowpea cereals when the market is not flooded with product. It can also be used in a food safety strategy for agricultural products that are not likely to increase much in value like cereals. This operation links a producer of cowpea or other cereals with a financing structure that is generally a microfinance institution (MFI) for small producers.

Warrantage improves the supply of rural finance by directly easing collateral constraints and simultaneously enhancing the risk profile of farmers by fostering improvements in output markets that can lead to higher farm incomes. The system revolves around warehouse receipts (WR), which are issued as evidence that specified commodities of stated quantity and quality have been deposited at particular locations or warehouses by named depositors. The WRs may be issued to farmers, traders, exporters, or processors as well as individuals or corporate bodies. Warehouse operators or collateral managers, who issue the WRs, guarantee that a bona fide holder of the receipt can take delivery of the underlying commodity. They further warrant that they can make good any value lost through theft or damage by fire and other catastrophes – this is often underpinned by insurance, a practice not commonly used in Burkina Faso and Niger. The guarantee is critical to the credibility of the WR system as it allows for the receipt to be pledged or transferred to trade counterparties.

For cowpea, prices usually slump right after harvesting time. By deciding to sell the goods at a later time, when prices have picked up, the depositor can avoid price risk. The depositor who is a REGIS-AG beneficiary (FBOs) can, therefore, receive a loan from an MFI for 70-80% of the value of their product in stock to purchase inputs for the next season or meet other financial needs. The loan is paid at the sale of the stock. This has the potential to improve the supply of rural finance by directly easing collateral constraints and simultaneously enhancing the risk profile of farmers by fostering improvements in output markets that can lead to higher farm incomes.

In three editions of warrantage, REGIS-AG beneficiaries mobilized 739,080 kg of cowpea grains and 174,248 kg of other cereals and legumes for a credit amount of 184,544,300 FCFA ($341,749) distributed as follows:

23 Key sampling featured covered are the following: (i) each sample must come from a product batch of at least 10 kg; the batch should not be produced solely for sampling purposes; (ii) samples need labels bearing the name of the PO, the product, the quantity, the date of manufacture, and the full address of the manufacturer; iii) each sample must weigh at least 1 kg; and (iv) samples must reach Niamey within no more than 10 days.

30 Table 11 : Quantity of products stored and credit amount disbursed during the last three edition of warrantage in Burkina Faso and Niger 2016-17 season 2017-18 season 2018-19 season Quantities (kg) Quantities (kg) Cowpea Credit Credit Credit Country quantities amount Other amount Other amount Cowpea cereals & Cowpea cereals & (kg) (Fcfa) (Fcfa) (Fcfa) legumes legumes Burkina 93,396 18,406,700 198,014 33,451 51,803,600 313,770 103,192 77,084,000 Niger 93,700 15,757,000 21,050 19,825 14,475,500 19,150 17,780 7,017,500 Total 187,096 34,163,700 219,064 53,276 66,279,100 332,920 120,972 84,101,500

Generally, warrantage activities start in October/November and end in May/June. Therefore, to allow the M&N Activity to be able to implement the warrantage activity in FY20, it is imperative that REGIS-AG initiates the process before closing. To this end, in Q4FY19, REGIS-AG conducted an assessment of the FY19 warrantage in a workshop format held in Niger in Maradi with beneficiaries from all three target regions and representatives of MFIs (MECAT MFIs, Mutuelle Mutunci and Taanadi by Maradi, KOKARI by Tillabéri and Zinder). During the assessment, participants also planned the FY20 edition. A total of 19 POs from the three regions declared their intention to supply the following quantities for warrantage: 139.5 tons of cowpea, 136.8 tons of millet, 54.0 tons of peanut, 5.0 tons of sorghum, and 12 tons of nutgrass. In addition, the demand for PICS bags was estimated at 1,350 units. These quantities are provisional and will likely increase after the wider sensitization planned for Q1FY20.

In FY20, REGIS-AG continued supporting the FY20 warrantage by focusing on: • Conducting an assessment of the FY19 warrantage in Burkina Faso in October 2019; • Sensitizing actors through orientation and training workshops in both countries. • Conducting joint missions with MFIs to confirm the eligibility of stores and stocks,

In Niger, REGIS-AG organized a workshop on September 1-4 in Maradi with stakeholders (including micro financial institutions - MFIs) to evaluate the FY19 warrantage activity and plan the FY20 warrantage activity. The workshop gathered 19 POs from the three regions who declared their intention to participate in the scheme. The table below presents the total quantities of agricultural products the 19 POs intended to bring into the scheme. The demand for PICS bags was estimated at 1,395 units.

Table 12 : Provisional stocks declared for the FY20 warrantage at the planning workshop, Niger Products type (tons) # PICS Region MFIs Cowpea Millet Peanut Sorghum Tiger nut Total bags MECAT 29.0 41.0 20.8 5.0 12.0 107.8 290 (3 PO) TANADI Maradi 20.0 20.0 10.0 0 0 50.0 200 (1 PO) MUTUNCI 42.5 44.8 12.4 0 0 99.7 425 (9 PO) KOKARI Tillabéri 33.0 20.0 0.2 0 0 53.2 330 (6 PO) KOKARI Zinder 15.0 11.0 11.4 0 0 37.4 150 (7 PO) TOTAL 139.5 136.8 54.8 5.0 12.0 348.1 1,395 Source: REGIS-AG FY19 annual report (Table 10) 31 In Q1FY20, the project organized field missions for the FY20 warrantage activity from December 23 to 28 in Maradi and from December 26 to 30 in Tillabéri and Zinder. During these field trips, the team (i) monitored the aggregation of agricultural products intended for warrantage, (ii) verified stocks in warehouses in collaboration with MFIs (KOKARI and MUTUNCI from Mayahi), and (iii) monitoring of warranted products and the disbursement of credit.

Results of the field mission presented in the table below show that 17 of the 19 POs (1 from Maradi, 10 from Tillabéri and 6 of Zinder) aggregated the following quantities for warrantage: 67.9 tons of cowpea, 29.7 tons of millet, and 10.8 tons of peanuts. Their credit needs total 13,565,900 FCFA ($25,122). A total of 618 PICS bags have already been purchased.

Table 13 : Aggregated stocks for FY20 warrantage at the end of Q1FY20, Niger

Number of Products types (tons) Credit need Number Region MFIs beneficiary of PICS Total women Cowpea Millet Peanut Total FCFA USD bags MECAT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (0 PO) TANADI Maradi 4 0 20.0 6.0 1.2 27.2 3,850,500 7,131 200 (1 PO) MUTUNCI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (0 PO) KOKARI Tillabéri 88 190 36.4 17.8 0 54.2 7,062,600 13,078 364 (10 POs) KOKARI Zinder 56 50 11.5 5.9 9.6 27.0 4,572,800 8,468 115 (6 POs) 5 MFIs Total 148 240 67.9 29.7 10.8 108.4 15,485,900 28,677 679 (17 POs)

This table also shows that participation in the FY20 warrantage activity will be significantly lower than the provisional commitments made during the workshop in September. This is due to the same challenge faced during the FY19 warrantage activity – financial institutions lack the liquidity to make loans. By the end of Q1FY20, only one (01) of the 17 POs (Tchigaba de Yanta in Filingué commune in Tillabéri) that warranted 6.1 tons of cowpea and 2 tons of millet received credit totaling 1,920,000 FCFA ($3,556) from the IMF KOKARI. This PO also purchased 61 PICS bags. The remaining 16 POs are now awaiting the disbursement of credit by the MFIs. More details concerning the MFIs situation are presented in Component 4 of this report.

The following sub-activities that are often organized when facilitating warrantage will have to be conducted under the M&N Activity: • Training of store managers (members of the POs) on the management of the warehouse, • Training of POs on the use of PICS bags and improved cowpeas storage practices. • Aggregation of stocks of cowpea and cereals in the identified warehouses • Monitoring of the credit disbursement and use • Monitoring of the status and quality of stocks in warehouses with the finance institutions • Monitoring of credit reimbursements by farmer to the MFIs • Assessment of the activity with beneficiaries and the partner projects • Evaluation of warrantage by partners

32 In Burkina Faso, the REGIS-AG team held an internal meeting on November 20 to prepare for the workshop to share data, prepare tools for use in the workshop, and update the status of repaid/outstanding credit. The team also discussed the FY20 warrantage activity strategy taking into account the security challenge and the imminent closure of the REGIS-AG project. The team concluded that the FY20 warrantage activity would only be conducted in the Central North region due to security concerns and the winding down of the project.

Review of the FY19 warrantage activity On November 21, the project held a workshop to review the FY19 warrantage activity in Central-North (Kaya) with stakeholders. The workshop brought together 40 participants, including 20 POs members from Central-North, 12 agents of the Caisses populaires (4 from each of the three regions), 5 cowpea traders, 2 PICs bags distributors, and a REGIS-ER staff member. At the workshop, the team presented results of the FY19 warrantage. Participants noted the following main achievements of the FY19 warrantage activity: • the commitment of the Caisses populaires network to support POs in warrantage through flexible and advantageous conditions; • the strengthening the relationship of trust with the network of Caisses populaires and POs; • the development of cowpea as a product in warrantage; • the independence of POs and Caisses populaires in assembling files and setting up credits; and • the increase in the volume of stored products and warrantage credit from year to year.

In addition, participants noted that the main achievements of the FY19 warrantage in terms of challenges, participants noted that the closing of the REGIS-AG project is the main challenge facing the warrantage activity in FY20 along with security concerns. Ongoing support will be needed for organizing the activity, facilitating the aggregation of stocks, and the disbursement of credit.

FY20 warrantage activity sensitization workshops The project organized 3 workshops in Central-North (Kaya) from December 18 – 21 for warrantage planning (rather multiple workshops in various communes in all regions as in previous years). The 3 workshops brought together 82 producers (72 women), all from Central-North POs. Representatives from the Caisses populaires in East and Sahel also participated with the objective to continue offering warrantage credit to POs in their respective region. Participants took stock of the amount of agricultural products intended for warrantage. The 82 POs intend to warrant 73.1 tons of cowpea, 139 tons of rice, 1.2 tons of millet, and 10.3 tons of peanuts. Total credit was estimated to be 71,634,000 FCFA ($13,656). By the end of Q1FY20, no credit has been granted. The same POs plan to sell 32.3 tons of cowpea through group sales.

The project plans to conduct monitoring missions in January to review quantities, warehouse conditions, and the disbursement of credit. For the completion of this FY20 warrantage in Burkina Faso, the M&N Activity will have to carry out the same sub-activities listed in the Niger section Participants at the sensitization workshop in Burkina Faso above. (Photo: REGIS-AG) 33 3.3. Component 3 - Strengthening input supply and other services and improving smallholders and agro-processors’ access to interconnected markets

REGIS-AG value chain studies clearly indicate that access to quality inputs and supporting services are important to enable project beneficiaries (agro-pastoral smallholders, traders, processors, and/or buyers) to upgrade their operations and increase their potential income. Therefore, the effective and timely delivery of these inputs and services is essential for achieving the project goals. Furthermore, given the barriers that exist to women’s mobility and participation in off-farm commercial activities, gender is a critical dimension in increasing access to and delivery of inputs and services.

Activities under this project component are structured around two broad intervention areas: (i) cowpea inputs and agricultural services, and (ii) animal health services. These activities are geared towards facilitating access to agro-inputs and animal health services for project beneficiaries involved in value chain development activities presented under the project Component 2. As such, Component 3 is complementary to Component 2.

Access to agro-inputs (quantity and quality) and agricultural services is a key factor in improving the development of the cowpea value chain. Moreover, in the small ruminants and poultry value chain studies the project carried at its inception in FY15, animal health was identified as a major constraint to the development of these value chains. Service improvement activities focused on bringing these health services closer to project beneficiaries through the extension or scaling up of a private sector-led scheme developed by VSF-B called Private Veterinary Proximity Service (SVPP) in Niger and Proximity Animal Health Networks (RSAP) in Burkina Faso24. Interventions carried out to improve animal health service provision have included promotion of immunization practices and support for public authorities in vaccination campaigns.

During Q1FY20, activities the project team implemented under Component 3 focused on: (i) supporting the implementation of warrantage and facilitating access to PICS bags, and distributing AE kits.

Activity 1: Facilitate access to cowpea inputs and PICS bags in Burkina Faso and Niger

In Niger, in Q4FY19, the project held a workshop in Maradi (September 3-6) to evaluate the FY19 warrantage activity and to draw lessons and plan for the FY20 warrantage activity. The project presented distributors to the producers at the workshops and producers and suppliers made contacts for potential PICS bags orders. During Q1FY20, project staff maintained contact with PICS bag distributors.

The project has not yet collected comprehensive data on PICS purchases for the FY20 warrantage activity because purchases will continue until March 2020. However, the data collected during the monitoring of the cowpea clusters in Niger indicate that producers plan to purchase 1,395 PICS bags for the warrantage activity. Producers in the clusters had already purchased 680 bags by the end of the period.

24 The SVPP or RSAP network is under the supervision of a private veterinarian around which 20-40 Community Animal Health Officers (ACSA) or Auxiliaries d'Elevage (AE) are organized to bring the animal health system closer to the target populations in the project area. AEs are sourced from the veterinarian and the veterinarian ensures the quality of the services and products offered by AEs. The implementation of SVPP or RSAP dates back to the early 2000s in Niger and 2006 in Burkina Faso. 34 In Burkina Faso, 2 PICS bags distributors were invited to the workshop assessing the FY19 warrantage activity held on November 21. The workshop allowed the compilation of PICS bags purchases by producers during FY19 and this totaled 4,360 PICS. 25 A constraint raised by producers during the workshop were delays in the delivery of PICS bags. The distributors present at the workshop reassured producers orders they have already placed the orders with the supplier to meet the demand for bags, and that they are ready to provide PICS bags on time. Distributors also noted that POs often fail to make firm orders in a timely manner in the past and this delayed their orders. As in Niger, the data collected during the monitoring of the cowpea clusters in Burkina Faso indicate that producers plan to purchase 679 PICS bags for the warrantage activity. The project is expecting a decrease in the number of PICS bags purchased this year compared to last year due to a relative decrease in cowpea production as well as to the insecurity and the displacement of producers in the Central-North and East regions.

Activity 2: Provide basic equipment to community animal health auxiliaries (AE) The development of small ruminant and poultry value chains in Burkina Faso and Niger is hindered by the limited access to animal health services. This is because the public sector animal health services are unable to adequately cover the entire country. To help improve agro-pastoralists' access to animal health services in its intervention areas, the REGIS-AG project has been working to expand the network of private proximity health services26 (SVPP known as RSAP in Burkina Faso) VFS pioneered in Niger by facilitating the establishment of 9 networks (5 RSAPs in Burkina Faso and 4 SVPP in Niger) between FY15 and FY18. A tenth network is currently being established in Niger with project support. In addition, through training, REGIS-AG revitalized four other SVPPs that were set up by other projects before FY15.

To date, REGIS-AG has trained a total of 464 AEs using a training guide approved by the government. Many trained AEs do not have basic equipment to put the acquired knowledge into practice. The nature of REGIS- AG contract is such that the project could not give grants to the AE for their equipment as was done by previous projects. Microfinance institutions and commercial banks are reluctant to giving credit to AE for such an investment. As a result, the only option available to the project to help equip the trained AE was to work with USAID-funded projects that have a grant component in their design. As a result, collaboration and dialogue with REGIS-ER and the DFAP led to the equipment of 228 AEs out of the 464 trained in Burkina Faso and Niger with a basic kit27. DFAP has ended and REGIS-ER is no longer able to provide additional support.

In FY19, USAID approved an in-kind donation of these basic pieces of equipment to the remaining 236 AE in order to make them fully operational and improve the quality of their service delivery. The procurement

25 This is an update to the figure shared in the FY19 annual report of 3,700 PICS bags purchased in FY19. 26 The SVPP or RSAP is a network of animal health practitioners under the supervision of a private veterinarian around which 20-40 Community Animal Health Officers (ACSA) or Auxiliaries d'Elevage (AE) are organized to bring the animal health services closer to the population in the area that has officially been granted to them by the government. The Veterinarian ensures the quality of the services and products offered by AEs. The implementation of SVPP or RSAP dates back to the early 2000s in Niger and 2006 in Burkina Faso. 27 Each equipment kit distributed to an AE is composed of the following fourteen items: AE lab coat, AE bag, Plastic boot, Small veterinary dissection kit, 7-liter electric cooler, 30-CC semi-automatic syringe, 30-CC refill glasses, 10-CC single syringe (poultry), poultry needles, subcutaneous needles, intramuscular needles, Burdizzo clamp, 5-liter sprayer, and a management notebook. 35 process was competitive and it took longer than expected and the equipment was only supplied to REGIS- AG in late September early October 2019. The budget available was only able to provide kits for 165 AEs. The kits were distributed to the beneficiaries during the reporting period.

In Niger, the supplier delivered 147 AE kits28 to the REGIS-AG offices in Niamey, Zinder and Maradi in early October 2019. REGIS-AG commissioned the service of the Say/Torodi SVPP checked the kits for quality during the first delivery in Niamey. The project then made field visits in Tillabéri to deliver the kits on October 24. The project animal heal specialist traveled to all site to oversee the distribution. The SVPPs, REGIS-AG staff and representatives of the relevant decentralized public sector services and the 3N initiative were present at all the award ceremonies. The Torodi AEs came to the REGIS-AG offices in Niamey to receive their kits for security reasons. The table below shows the dates of the kit delivery ceremonies and number of beneficiaries by site in each of the three regions.

Table 14 : Distribution of AE kits, Niger

Number of SVPP of the Location of kit Region Dates AEs that beneficiary Other participants distribution received a kit AE Regional 1 private veterinarian, Directorate of 1 representative of October 24 22 Tillabéri Livestock (DREL), DREL, i3N Regional Tillabéri coordinator Departmental 1 private veterinarian, Tillabéri Directorate of 1 representative of October 25 17 Filingué Livestock) (DDEL), DDEL Balleyara Balléyara REGIS-AG office, 3 private veterinarian, October 25 20 Torodi Niamey 27 Madarounfa 1 private veterinarian, REGIS-AG office, Maradi October 28 6 Guidan Roumdji and 1 representative Maradi 15 Dakoro, DREL 31 Mirriah 2 private veterinarians, REGIS-AG office, Zinder October 30 and 1 representative of 09 Magaria Zinder DREL Total 147 8 SVPP

In Burkina Faso, the project organized a ceremony to distribute kits to 18 AEs of the RSAP Véto-Assistance on October 16 in Fada at the Youth Center. Before the kits were distributed, the project held a short session to present the composition of the kit and provide practical advice. Topics covered included the risks of deterioration of the equipment, cleaning measures, maintenance and how to disinfect the equipment after use (especially the semi-automatic syringe, needles, sprayer), the supply of vaccines and the cold chain, and the use of castration pliers. The AEs were attentive and committed to the use of the items, thanking USAID and the REGIS-AG project for this support. Each AE each signed a waiver upon receiving the kit.

28 Each equipment kit distributed to an AE is composed of the following fourteen items: AE lab coat, AE bag, Plastic boot, Small veterinary dissection kit, 7-liter electric cooler, 30-CC semi-automatic syringe, 30-CC refill glasses, 10-CC single syringe (poultry), poultry needles, subcutaneous needles, intramuscular needles, Burdizzo clamp, 5-liter sprayer, and a management notebook. 36 3.4. Component 4 – Increasing access to finance, innovation, and private sector investment

To capitalize on the momentum achieved under Component 2 and to foster sustainable upgrading within the value chains, investment in inputs, equipment, storage, and processing is deeply needed in Burkina Faso and Niger. REGIS-AG value chain studies indicates that most financial institutions in these countries have been reluctant to dedicate significant - if any - portions of their loan portfolios to the agriculture sector. This is largely due to their perception of agriculture as a high risk for lending and the lack of rural infrastructure and agribusiness expertise. At the same time, many of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), farmer-based organizations, and women’s groups who could benefit from increased availability of credit, lack basic business and financial management skills, have poor financial literacy, and a limited understanding of traditional banking requirements. Indeed, in the project target area, most project beneficiaries are illiterate and consequently, they are unable to develop business plans, prepare loan applications, or otherwise prove creditworthiness to lenders. In REGIS-AG, increasing access to financial services is first and foremost complementary to the value chain development efforts the project deploys under Component 2.

During Q1FY20, the project team implemented the following three (02) activities under Component 4: (i) facilitating the monitoring and evaluation of 43 literacy centers operated in FY19; (ii) facilitating access to finance in business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger; and (iii) facilitating access to finance for warrantage schemes in Burkina Faso and Niger. Due to funding limitation, the project was unable to implement Activity 1 presented in the approved work plan focusing on functional literacy (Pilot test the scaling up of the FY19 self-managed literacy centers experience in 30 other centers in Niger).

Activity 2: Facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of 43 literacy centers operated in Burkina Faso and Niger In Burkina Faso, no activities were conducted in Q1FY20. The evaluations conducted in June 2019 were reported as ‘intermediate proficiency tests” in error in the FY19 annual report; the evaluations conducted in June were the final evaluations. The 10 centers in Sahel showed a passing rate among evaluated learners of 81.4% and a passing rate of 77.5% among enrolled learners. The abandon rate was 4.78%.

Meetings to prepare for final evaluations and amend tools in Niger In Niger, the project facilitated a series of one-day meetings before the inspectors left for the final evaluation (also called the counter evaluation). This meeting was used to prepare for the final evaluations and validate the tools to be used during the evaluation. In particular, the following items were discussed: the application of technical knowledge by learners, whether the learners understand the importance of literacy and if learners know how to use a calculator and cellphone. The meeting in Zinder was held on October 28. The meetings in Tillabéri and Maradi were held in Q4FY19 (September 18 and 19 respectively).

Final evaluations in Niger Final evaluations for the 33 centers in Niger were conducted from October 28 - November 8, 2019 (30 centers in year 2 of instruction and 3 self-managed centers). Meetings to validate the results were held from November 13 - 23, 2019. The validated results for the final evaluations are recorded in the tables below.

Final evaluations of the 30 centers in the second year of instruction: For the 30 centers in their second year of instruction, the final evaluation showed that 1,321 (313 men, 1,008 women) were enrolled. Of these, 114 37 learners (37 men, 77 women) dropped out, giving a dropout rate of 8.6%. A total of 1,207 learners were assessed. (289 men, 918 women). Of these, 650 learners failed (131 men, 519 women), and 557 succeeded (158 men, 399 women), giving a success rate of 42.2% when considering all enrolled learners.

Table 15 : Results of Final Evaluations (writing and calculation) in the 30 centers, Niger

Number of Success rate Number of Number of Number of Number of learners Abandon among learners learners learners learners enrolled by rate (%) enrolled abandoned evaluated failed passed region learners (%) Tillabéri: 3 146 54 92 149 (16 men, (0 men, 3 wo 2.0% (16 men, 130 (4 men, 50 (12 men, 80 61.7% 133 women) men) women) women) women) Maradi: 74 818 420 398 892(212 men, (21 men, 53 8.3% (204 men, 614 (82 men, 338 (122 men, 276 44.6% 680 women) wo men) women) women) women) Zinder : 37 243 176 67 280 (85 men, (16 men, 21 13.2% (69 men, 174 (45 men, 131 (24 men, 43 23.9% 195 women) wo men) women) women) women) Total: 114 1,207 650 557 1321 (313 (37 men, 77 8.6% (289 men, 918 (131 men, 519 (158 men, 399 42.2% men,1008 wo wo men) women) women) women) men)

Final evaluations of the 3 self-managed centers: For the 3 self-managed centers in their first year of instruction, the final evaluation showed that 102 learners (33 men, 69 women) were enrolled. Of these, 3 learners (0 men, 3 women) dropped out, which gives a dropout rate of 2.9%. Thus, 99 learners (33 men, 66 women) were assessed. Among these, 10 learners (4 men, 6 women) failed and 89 succeeded (29 men, 60 women) - a success rate of 87.3% when considering all enrolled learners.

Table 16 : Results of Final Evaluations (writing and calculation) in the 3 centers, Niger

Number of Success rate Number of Number of Number of learners Abandon Number of among learners learners learners enrolled by rate (%) learners failed enrolled abandoned evaluated passed region learners (%) Tillabéri: 0 41 3 38 41 (2 men, 39 (0 men, 0 0 % (2 men, 39 (0 men, 3 (2 men, 36 92.7% women) women) women) women) women) Maradi: 3 30 3 27 33 (3 men, 30 (0 men, 3 9.1% (3 men, 27 (0 men, 3 (3 men, 24 81.8% women) women) women) women) women) Zinder : 0 28 4 24 28(28 men, 0 (0 men, 0 0 % (28 men, 0 (4 men, 0 (24 men, 0 85.7% women) women) women) women) women) Grand Total: 3 99 10 89 102 (33 men, (0 men, 3 2.9 % (33 men, 66 (4 men, 6 (29 men, 60 87.3 % 69 women) women) women) women) woman)

There is a noticeable difference between the success rate of 3 self-managed centers (87.3%) and the other 30 centers (42.2%). This could be attributed to the consideration that learners in the self-managed centers may be more motivated. In addition, the literacy facilitators in the self-managed centers were punctual and 38 regularly prepared their lessons, respecting the different stages of lesson delivery. They organized themselves to complete the literacy curriculum and even held additional review sessions. The facilitators maintained good relations with the communities because they come from the communities themselves. In each village, the Management Committee of Literacy Actions (CGAA) members helped the facilitators to manage the equipment and the training program calendar. The application of the self-management strategy has enabled CGAA members and facilitators to understand that they are responsible for the process of self-management and the sustainability of literacy activity. During the evaluation, it was noted that 5 additional centers (4 in Tillabéri and 1 in Zinder) want to apply the self-managed approach, even without project support.

Activity 3: Facilitate access to finance in business clusters in Burkina Faso and Niger REGIS-AG facilitates the access of beneficiaries to funding through the development of support plans detailing the funding needs of the value chain actors. The project facilitated the development of these support plans during business-to-business workshops. The project uses the 3S Fund to provide capacity building and business development services to these actors through BDS providers (BDSPs). The financing needs expressed by the actors in their support plans fall under the following main categories: • Cowpea POs for purchasing certified seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and PICS bags; • Small ruminant POs for feed needed for animal fattening; • Poultry processors for the purchase of birds to raise targeted sales, as well as for acquiring small equipment; • Cowpea processors for small equipment; • Small ruminant processors for investments to formalize their storefronts/points of sales; • Traders for equipment and means of transportation.

a) Access to finance for business clusters in Niger In Niger, with the support29 BDSPs provided, a total of 37 cluster’s member POs submitted credit applications totaling 79,350,000 FCFA ($146,944) to six (06) financial institutions during Q1FY20 as shown in the following table. Table 17 : Credit requests submitted in Q1FY20 by cluster members, Niger Credit sought Credit disbursed Value MFI Region Number Amount Number Amount chain solicited Type of POs (FCFA) of POs FCFA USD GOMNIKA 5 5,000,000 Production 0 BAGRI 5 7,500,000 Production 3 1,500,000 2,778 Tillabéri Poultry BANBATU 2 1,500,000 Production 0 Mutuelle 2 10,000,000 Production 0 Ballayara Maradi Small Yarda 10 9,450,000 Fattening 3 2,800,000 5,185 ruminant Zinder Small BAGRI 13 45,900,000 Fattening 0 ruminant Total 37 79,350,000 6 4,300,000 7,963

29 Actualisation du besoins de financement, assistance à la formulation de la demande et mise en relation avec les MFI 39 By the end of the reporting period, six (06) of the 37 POs in clusters obtained loans totaling 4,300,000 FCFA ($7,963) from two (02) financial institutions - Bagri Tillabéri and Yarda Maradi - during Q1FY20. Credit disbursement will continue in Q2FY20.

In addition to these loans, a BDSP facilitated the submission of an interest-free credit request for 1,500,000 FCFA by the PO Niyya in the village of Gao Tawey (Tillabéri) to the International Islamic Charitable Foundation. If approved, the credit will be disbursed in Q2FY20.

Similarly, a support a BDSP provided enabled 60 members of two (02) POs from Tillabéri to obtain a grant of 8,250,000 FCFA ($15,278) for the purchase of 120 rams for fattening from the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP).

b) Access to finance for business clusters in Burkina Faso

Facilitation of access to new credit for cluster members in Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso, nine (09) POs actors listed in the table below obtained loans during Q1FY20 in the Center Nord. A poultry cooperative in Bouroum commune obtained a loan for 2,500,000 FCFA ($4,630) from the Caisses populaires of Tougouri for poultry production. This is the group’s second loan; they fully repaid their first loan. A small ruminant cooperative in Pissila commune obtained a loan of 1,600,000 FCFA ($2,963) form the local Caisses populaires. This is the group’s second loan as well and they equally fully repaid their first loan. An additional seven (07) small ruminants POs in the Boulsa and Pissila communes obtained credit totaling 6,200,000 FCFA ($11,481) form the local Caisses populaires.

Table 18 : Loans for cluster actors disbursed in Q1FY20, Burkina Faso

Number of Credit amount Date when Applicant Value chain beneficiaries granted credit Due date Total women FCFA USD obtained One cooperative in Poultry 7 2 2,500,000 4,630 10/12/2019 9/12/2020 Bouroum One cooperative in Small ruminant 10 10 1,600,000 2,963 09/12/2019 09/09/2020 Pissila One producers’ Small ruminant 8 8 600,000 1,111 12/11/2019 12/06/2020 organization in Pissila 3 3 400,000 741 10/12/2019 10/06/2020 5 5 1,150,000 2,130 06/12/2019 06/06/2020 6 producers’ 5 5 950,000 1,759 12/12/2019 12/06/2020 Small ruminant organization in Boulsa 8 8 900,000 1,667 20/12/2019 20/06/2020 9 9 1,050,000 1,944 10/12/2019 10/06/2020 10 10 1,150,000 2,130 20/12/2019 20/06/2020 Total 65 60 10,300,000 19,074

Monitoring the repayment of loans made in previous fiscal years in Burkina Faso A number of actors obtained credits in FY19 in a total amount of 83,257,750 FCFA ($154,181) for animal fattening and cowpea inputs. By the end of Q1FY20, they had repaid 68,371,750 FCFA ($126,614) or 82%

40 of the loan. The remaining amount of 14,886,000 FCFA ($27,567) is due in Q2FY20. The following are the loans details: • Fattening credit: A total of 171 actors (21 men, 150 women) from 17 POs obtained credit for animal fattening of 20,715,000 FCFA ($ 38,361) in FY19. A portion of these loans have repayment deadlines in FY20. By the end of Q1FY20, 15 of these POs had fully repaid their loans on time for a total amount of 15,915,000 FCFA ($29,472) or 77% of the loan. A total of 4,800,000 FCFA remains outstanding for two (02) POs; however, these loans are not overdue as their due dates are in January and February 2020.

• Cowpea inputs credit: Cowpea value chain actors received credit totaling 62,542,750 FCFA ($115,820) in FY1930. By the end of Q1FY20, they had repaid 52,456,750 FCFA ($97,142) or 84% of the loan. The remaining balance of 10,086,000 FCFA ($18,678) is made up one 1,190,000 FCFA ($2,204) is due in Q2FY20.

In addition to the aforementioned credits, 11 traders in business clusters submitted a credit request totaling 87,597,500 FCFA ($162,218) to the Caisses populaires. The Caisses populaires provisionally committed to financing 3 of these buyers for 15,194,500 FCFA ($28,138 USD) if they fulfill the relevant conditions. Throughout Q1FY20, these requests remain pending for two reasons: (i) the Caisses populaires feels that the traders are offering a sufficient probability of repayment for the relatively high amounts of individual credits, (ii) some traders had not made sufficient transactions in their account to meet the Caisses populaires requirements.

c) Refinancing of KOKARI by OIKOCREDIT During the reporting period, REGIS-AG continued to facilitate the refinancing of KOKARI by OIKOCREDIT31 for 250,000,000 FCFA ($462,963). OIKOCREDIT conducted a due diligence field mission to Niger from November 24 – 28 to enable the institution to verify the information received from KOKARI and finalize the loan application. The project team facilitated all their meetings.

November 25 was devoted to meeting KOKARI staff and management and discussing documents OIKOCREDIT OIKOCREDIT meeting with cowpea value chain actors in Tillabéri region requested had been.32 OIKOCREDIT

30 This amount updates the 60,042,750 FCFA presented in the FY19 annual report based on addition reporting the MFI provided to the project team. 31 OIKOCREDIT is a social impact investor and worldwide cooperative with over four decades of experience in promoting sustainable development through investments. OIKOCREDIT focuses its investments on financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. It has offices in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Benin. It offers loans and investments in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. 32 These include: (i) 2018 auditors' report, (ii) recent BCEAO reporting (indicators from the end of October 2019), (iii) the social performance management policy and associated initiatives, (iv) updated list of the 10 largest borrowers and 41 made the following recommendations for the improvement of KOKARI’s portfolio management: (i) establish a mechanism to regularly send data from different agencies in real-time, (ii) conduct periodic studies on social performance, and (iii) continue to implement their indicator improvement plan to achieve projections. They also recommended that REGIS-AG monitor KOKARI’s management of loan funds to reassure OIKOCREDIT.

The OIKOCREDIT representatives then visited the REGIS-AG office in Niamey on November 26. Staff presented the REGIS- AG project and the KOKARI credit application was discussed. OIKOCREDIT expressed their two main concerns – when will the REGIS-AG project end and how will KOKARI be supported after the end of the project. OIKOCREDIT was reassured that the second phase of the project is anticipated to continue OIKOCREDIT’s visit to KOKARI’s office in Niamey supporting KOKARI. OIKOCREDIT confirmed that the application will soon be submitted to the international committee and that they will continue to promote its approval. They highlighted that they expect the due diligence field visit to help in the approval process, and that such visits are rarely made if the application is viewed positively.

The visitors traveled to the Kollo agency in Tillabéri region on November 27, approximately 30 miles away from Niamey. The visit was made by 2 OIKOCREDIT agents, 2 KOKARI agents (the DG and the Credit Manager) and the REGIS-AG Financial Services Specialist. At the agency, a working session identified key weaknesses in the agency’s management including: (i) inconsistency of data at the agency level with data provided by management, (ii) weak mastery of figures by the agency manager, and (iii) outdated and non- functional IT equipment. OIKOCREDIT made the following recommendations to improve the situation: (i) build the capacity of the agency manager, (ii) strengthen internal control, iii) renew or repair the computer equipment used for data processing, and (iv) regularly send data to management for aggregation.

After the working session, the mission met with cowpea value chain actors, both REGIS-AG beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, in the Tillabéri region. Discussions helped OIKOCREDIT to see that these groups are well organized, their activities are well thought out, the seasonality of their activities, the needs and risks involved in this type of lending, and the capacity beneficiaries have for managing their activities. In addition, markets exist for their products. These observations helped OIKOCREDIT to see the creditworthiness of such beneficiaries.

Before departing, the visitors met with Director of the Professional Association Decentralized Financial Systems (AP / SFD) in Niamey. They discussed the microfinance sector in Niger and requested data from 2018 and 2019. During a visit to the Microfinance Sector Regulatory Agency (ARSM), the visitors obtained a copy of the national strategy for microfinance institutions.

10 largest depositors, (v) distribution of the portfolio by fund, (vi) the completed Wolfsburg sheet, and (vii) the updated organization chart. In anticipation of the next phase – legal due diligence after loan approval - they also requested: (i) the RCCM, (ii) the powers of the signatories, (iii) the minutes of the board meeting authorizing the OIKOCREDIT loan, and (iv) tax regularity. 42 At the end of its field due diligence mission, OIKOCREDIT made the following overall recommendations: (i) KOKARI should improve its information and management system, (ii) KOKARI should continue to improve performance indicators before the disbursement of credit, and (iii) REGIS-AG should monitoring loan management after loan disbursement.

The following steps remain in the processing of the credit application: (i) transfer to the Africa committee, then to the international committee, (ii) legal due diligence, and iii) disbursement which is anticipated in March 2020.

Activity 4: Facilitate access to finance in warrantge schemes in Burkina Faso and Niger

a) Status of warrantage credit at the end of Q1FY20 in Niger During the planning workshop held in September 2019, 19 POs from the three regions expressed their intention to store 348.1 tons of warranted products with a total credit need of 15,485,900 FCFA ($28,677) as presented in Table 19. By the end of Q1FY20, only one MFI (KOKAREI) was able to disburse 1,920,000 FCFA ($3,556) in credit for one (01) PO in Tillabéri. This low level of credit disbursement by the end of Q1FY20 compared to credit needs expressed in FY19 is attributed to the financial institution’s lack of liquidity: • The MFI Mutual Mutunci of Mayahi is interested in providing credit for the FY20 warrantage activity, but it needs financing from commercial banks (BAGRI in particular) to be able to do so. The MFI plans to meet on January 15 to decide on its participation in the FY20 warrantage edition. In total, 9 POs from the Maradi region are awaiting their decision. • The MFI MECAT in Maradi has as similar challenge. It is interested in providing credit for the FY20 warrantage activity but it is awaiting a possible line of credit from partners like the PRODAF project and from the repayment of other loans previously made before making its decision.

b) Status of warrantage credit at the end of Q1FY20 in Burkina Faso

Monitoring credit repayment for the FY19 warrantage activity in Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso, warrantage credit disbursed for the FY19 warrantage activity totaled 77,084,000 FCFA. Of this amount, 142 POs reimbursed 69,174,700 by the end of FY19. A total of 5,501,154 FCFA was repaid during Q1FY20, bringing the total repayments level to 74,675,854 FCFA. A total of 2,408,146 FCFA remains outstanding; this entire amount is with one group in East which was not able to sell its cowpea stock.

Table 19 : Credit repayment for the FY19 warrantage activity at the end of Q1FY20, Burkina Faso Total credit repaid Total credit repaid Initial Credit by the end of by the end of Credit outstanding Region Q4FY19 Q1FY20 FCFA USD FCFA USD FCFA USD FCFA USD Central-North 51,043,000 94,524 46,532,200 86,170 51,043,000 94,524 0 0 East 15,713,800 29,099 12,315,300 22,806 13,305,654 24,640 2,408,146 4,460 Sahel 10,327,200 19,124 10,327,200 19,124 10,327,200 19,124 0 0 Total 77,084,000 142,747 69,174,700 128,100 74,675,854 138,288 2,408,146 4,460

43 Implementation of the FY20 warrantage activity in Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso as described in Component 2 of this report, the FY20 warrantage activity was only initiated in the Central North region due to security concerns in the other two regions and the winding down of the project.33 A total of 82 POs intend to warrant 73.1 tons of cowpea, 139 tons of rice, 1.2 tons of millet, and 10.3 tons of peanuts with a total credit of 71,634,000 FCFA ($13,656). No credit was placed for the FY20 warrantage activity by the end of Q1FY20.

Credit application files were developed after the planning workshops for the FY20 warrantage activity held from December 18 -21 in Kaya. The MFI Caisses populaires and POs are engaged to continue the process, with credit disbursement expected in January 2020.

33 However, representatives from the Caisses populaires in East and Sahel regions participated in the planning workshops in Kaya at the project invitation, so that they can continue to offer warrantage to POs in those regions. 44 3.5. Component 5 – Improving the enabling environment for local and regional private investment

This section of the work plan focuses on activities planned for improving the policy environment for private sector investment, for mainstreaming gender and governance in the value chain development and strengthening the disaster risk reduction (DRR) capacity of communities. These interventions cut across all value chains and intervention areas, targeting policies, regulations, governance, gender, and other factors external to the target value chains affecting their inclusiveness and competitiveness. Interventions under this component are therefore designed to complement value chain development efforts carried out in the project Component 2. As such, they focus on analyzing the enabling environment, identifying issues affecting value chain competitiveness and inclusiveness (including governance and gender-related issues), identifying appropriate actors to collaborate with for addressing the issues identified, providing training in advocacy when necessary, linking actors together in advocacy efforts, strengthening governance, addressing gender issues, and providing follow-up and oversight.

During Q1FY20, REGIS-AG carry out the following two (03) activities: (i) supporting the implementation of the Burkina Faso and Niger seed sub-sector development action plan; (ii) mainstreaming gender in project activities; and (iii) monitoring the implementation of action plans POs developed to improve their governance. The project planned to support the implementation of the national seed sub-sector action plan of Niger and that of Burkina Faso (Activity 1 in the approved FY20 work plan) through a study trip of appropriate government representatives to Malawi. The objective of this trip was to learn from Malawi public-private partnership (PPP) experience in the production of foundation seeds and the conduct of field inspections during seed production. Project efforts to establish a formal contact with the Ministry in charge of agriculture in Malawi were unsuccessful. Consequently, Activity 1 was not implemented.

Activity 2: Mainstream gender in project activities REGIS-AG’s approach to integrating gender focuses on addressing women’s specific needs in all project activities. Key areas are effective participation in activities, and access to productive resources, credit, and training. The starting point for achieving this is the review of terms of reference of all project activities by the gender and governance specialists before they are finalized. The review focuses on making sure that vulnerable groups are not excluded from the activity either because of its timing, its location, the beneficiaries targeted, or the methodology used.

The gender and governance specialists also look at the extent to which the organization of vulnerable groups, the technical capability of its members, prevailing attitudes and behaviors are likely to limit their ability to benefit from the activity or prevent men and women from fully participating in the activity. Key issues often look at including land ownership rights that limit women access to land, access to literacy, gender-based labor division that prevents women from generating income, access to markets, as well as gender-based obstacles to improving product quality, increasing production/marketing and to making effective and informed decisions.

Based on this analysis, gender integration will consist of minor adjustments and/or specific complementary interventions are discussed and agreed upon with component leaders to address the issues identified in each activity. To this end, entry points, approaches, and activities to be implemented will be identified so that women can increasingly participate in value chains and reap greater benefits. The minor adjustments usually include the following: 45 • Making sure that women participating in an activity also benefit from the project literacy activity, • Changing the timing or location of an activity to allow the full participation of women, • Improving the list of beneficiaries of an activity to ensure adequate representation of women, • Reviewing the frequency of the intervention to ensure effective learning, • Reviewing the activity report to ensure that recommendations made are gender-sensitive.

In Q1FY20, the Gender Specialists in Niger and in Burkina Faso continued to review the few project activities to ensure gender integration. Unlike in previous quarters, REGIS-AG did not initiate new gender- specific interventions in Q1FY20 given that the project was winding down; instead, the project monitored activities of participants in two trainings conducted in FY19 in Niger: Empowerment training and Model Woman training.

Monitoring participants from the Empowerment training34 in Niger Monitoring of the implementation of IGAs outlined in Personal Action Plans: As a part of the Empowerment training in Niger (conducted from July 26 - August 3, 2019), each of the 10 participants developed a Personal Action Plan focusing on an income generating activity (IGA).35 In October, project conducted monitoring by telephone to determine the level of the implementation of these plans and to find out challenges that beneficiaries are facing. The follow-ups showed that several participants changed their IGA project when they went back to their home after the training and after re-assessing the situation on the ground.

Table 20 : Implementation of IGAs from Personal Action Plans, Niger

Name of participant in the IGA selected by Region Current IGA / status Challenges Empowerment the participant training Maimouna Amadani Tillabéri Installation and Storage and sale of millet Insecurity in the Tillabéri operation of a area limits mobility. grain mill Ramatou Zamnaou Tillabéri Installation and Sale of PICS bags Flooding affected the site operation of a intended to house the sewing workshop sewing workshop. Slow purchase of PICS bags due to a poor cowpea harvest. Ramatou Idé Tillabéri Installation and Installation and operation of Closure of the border with operation of a a sewing workshop Nigeria, affecting the import sewing workshop of sewing items Salmey Neino Maradi Sheep fattening Sheep fattening n/a

34 This was a 9-day training on personal development to enhance the Empowerment of Women. The training put the individual at the center of the training, as an individual with her own story and skills to put forward, and dreams to realize through the development of an Individual Action Plan to encourage her to develop small IGAs for the goal of self-empowerment. Each woman selected an IGA idea to implement and developed a Personal Action Plan which she presented at the end of the workshop. Each workshop participant was required to train 10 other women in their POs during the coming months.

35 This IGA did not have to be in one of the 3 REGIS-AG value chains; however, the proceeds from this IGA could be invested in the future into activity in the cowpea / poultry / small ruminant value chains. 46 Name of participant in the IGA selected by Region Current IGA / status Challenges Empowerment the participant training Rahila Ali Maradi Establishment of a Establishment of a shop for Closure of the border with shop for selling selling items for women and Nigeria affecting certain items for women children / Boutique is orders and children almost complete. Mariama Mahamane Maradi Installation and Installation and operation of n/a operation of a a poultry feed shop. She has poultry feed shop acquired a shop Mariama Harouna Maradi Sheep fattening Purchase and sale of Closure of the border with women's clothing and shoes Nigeria is affecting the import of goods; she is now purchasing goods from Maradi. Limited time to focus on her business due to health education she started. Fassouma Moussa Zinder Manufacture and Manufacture and sale of salt n/a sale of salt licks licks. With the proceeds from her salt licks, she was able to purchase bull her son uses to pull a cart to transport his garden produce to market. Koursia Hassan Zinder Installation and Installation and operation of Rise in price for used oil operation of a a large grain mill canisters due to the closure small grain mill of the border with Nigeria Rabi Djibo Zinder Sale of cereals Sale of cereals n/a

Monitoring of the Empowerment replica trainings: Each of the 10 participants in the original Empowerment training committed to train 10 additional women in their POs. All 10 began conducting replica trainings in Q4FY19. During Q1FY20, the project followed up the replica training to verify the number of POs members trained and who had developed their own Personal Action Plan. By the end of the quarter, 125 women had participated in replica training. Three of the 10 initial beneficiaries trained more women than planned because the intervention attracted more interest than anticipated. The 10 initial beneficiaries encountered several constraints during the implementation of their Personal Action Plans. These included: (i) poor access to credit including the delay of warrantage credit, (ii) insufficient agricultural equipment, (iii) departure of certain major partners (LAHIA, SAWKI, etc.), and (iv) an insufficient number of literacy centers.

Table 21 : Number of women trained in the Empowerment replica trainings during Q1FY20, Niger

Name of participant in the Number of PO members Number Location Empowerment training trained 1 Maimouna Amadani Tagantassou 10 2 Ramatou Zamnaou Toukounouss 10 3 Ramatou Idé Torodi 10 4 Salmey Neino Guidan Dawey 20 5 Rahila Ali Kotaré 20

47 Name of participant in the Number of PO members Number Location Empowerment training trained 6 Mariama Mahamane Tarin Barewa 10 7 Mariama Harouna Danja 15 8 Fassouma Moussa Kaba Dan Koraou 10 9 Koursia Hassan Angoual Gao 10 10 Rabi Djibo Hotoro Haoussa 10 Total 125

Several participants shared their satisfaction about the training and the IGAs they started as a result.

• Testimony of Mrs. Indo (from the village of Kotaré, in the Mayahi commune of Maradi; participant in the replica training conducted by Rahila Ali): "I am a resident of Kotaré. I am 60 years old. The training that Rahila Ali gave us after her training in Tillabéri opened my eyes. I acquired a grain mill which I am proud of. I keep my account book, and I record income and expenses. Thank God I can help my husband with household expenses. I thank REGIS for everything”.

• Testimony of Koursiya Hassan (from the village of Angoual Gao in the Dogo commune of Zinder; participant in the original Empowerment training): “I own the only mill in my village which I bought after the training in Mrs. Indo with her grain mill in Tillabéri. With my savings, this month I was able to acquire a machine Maradi for extracting peanut oil, the fourth of its kind in the village. I bought peanut that I will store and sell during periods of high demand….I currently have about 67,000 FCFA [$124] that I put aside and I plan to buy two sheep for my daughter who was just born."

• Testimony of Hassiya Moussa (from Angoual Gao village in the Dogo commune in Zinder; participant in replica training conducted by Koursiya Hassan): “I was trained and sensitized by Koursiya after she was trained in Tillabéri. I sell porridge in the village. Before I was trained, I spent everything I earned and the next day I had to look for credit. But after, I have changed - and thank God - because currently I have at my disposal two bags of millet. My daughter is going to marry very soon and with my savings, I bought her a bed, a mattress, sheets, cups etc. that I couldn't buy before. In any case, my prayer is a long life to this project, to the bosses of the project so that the advancement of women may continue”.

48 Monitoring of participants in the Model Woman training36 in Niger In Niger, monitoring for the Model Woman training (held in June 2019) aimed to determine the number of replica trainings conducted, and to see what changes had resulted in the lives of participants. Monitoring was conducted from December 2 – 6 in Zinder (3 villages) and from December 7 – 11 in Maradi (8 villages). Monitoring was not conducted in Tillabéri due to insecurity.

The 160 women who participated in the original Model Woman training conducted replica training for the rest of the members of their POs who did not attend. The number of members in each PO varies between 25 – 30 people each; therefore, the estimated number of women having participated in the replica trainings in Q1FY20 at least 560 women from 24 POs.

Table 22 : Number of women participating in replica trainings based on the "Women Models" workshop, Niger

Number of Number of Number of POs participants women estimated Value Department/ represented at Location in the Model to have Chain commune the Model Woman participated in woman training training replica trainings Madarounfa Djirataoua 28 4 Aguié Aguié 20 4 Small Mayahi Mayahi 20 2 301 ruminants Guidan Roumdji Guidan Roumdji 21 3 Sub-total 89 13 Aguié Aguié 15 3 Poultry Guidan Roumdji Guidan Roumdji 12 2 123 Sub-total 27 5 Madarounfa Maradi 12 2 Aguié Tchadoua 5 1 Cowpea Mayahi Mayahi 20 2 136 Guidan Roumdji Guidan Sorry 7 1 Sub-total 44 6 Grand total 160 24 560

Several participants also shared testimonies about how this training has positively affected their own lives and household. • Testimony of Amina de Guidan Atchali (from the village of Guidan Atchali in the commune of Chadakori in Maradi; participant in the Model Woman training): “We are a poultry PO. This year, with REGIS support, we had a triple advantage. First, we were invited to the Model Woman training where most of us were for the first time. Second, we understood that there are

36 The model woman training focused on sharing the experiences of female role models to build the capacity of 159 participants (4 men, 155 women) from 24 POs in advocacy, communication and leadership. Participants discussed attitudes, behaviors, and effective strategies that have allowed a Model Woman to flourish and become a true agent for strengthening the resilience of her household. They also developed 24 PO Action Plans (one for each PO) to internalize and nurture identified attitudes, behaviors and strategies. 49 several improved varieties of cowpea…..third, we learned how to keep an operating account. Now we have become cowpea producers.”

• Testimony of Amina Tanko (from the village of Dan Amaria in the commune of Mayahi in Maradi; participant in the replica training conducted by ReCom Hima): "I'm extracting peanut oil. This year with my savings, I was able to enroll two of my children in a private health school in Maradi. I do not intend to stop insha'Allah!”.

Activity 3: Monitor the implementation of action plans POs in business clusters developed to strengthen their governance In FY17, project-supported POs developed roadmaps or action plans for strengthening their governance by selecting governance aspects they want to apply in their respective groups based on REGIS-AG training modules. Governance training was conducted with their ReCom (focal point) who also serve as facilitators for roadmap implementation. Regional Coordinators and the Governance Specialist use these roadmaps to monitor governance activities and to assess the performance of POs and ReComs. Through this self-learning process, many POs have experienced greater accountability, commitment, participation, equity, transparency, and trust. Women and young people are also more represented qualitatively and quantitatively in management bodies.

To ensure a greater impact of project interventions, priority was given to training POs that are involved in business clusters. Using the training of trainers model (ToT), only members of 311 POs (151 in Niger and 142 in Burkina Faso) are involved. The training did not reach all 430 POs involved in the market linkage development activities.

During Q1FY20, REGIS-AG continued monitoring how POs are implementing their plans and provide necessary coaching. In Niger, REGIS-AG conducted a field mission from November 30 – December 10 in Zinder and Maradi to meet with 12 GIEs supported by REGIS-AG (7 in Zinder, 5 in Maradi). The purpose of the visit was: i) to evaluate the implementation of annual activity action plans; ii) to monitor the implementation of road maps for improving governance by the POs of the 12 GIE, and; iii) follow-up on the status of recommendations made during the last monitoring mission.

Monitoring the implementation of the 2019 GIEs annual activities action plans in Niger Out of the 12 GIEs visited in Niger, only 2 had annual activities action plan for 2019 available and written down on paper: CIN ANFANIN TIRKA in the Zinder region, and Cingaban Kasuwancin Mata Makiyaya (CK2M) in Maradi. These GIEs had implementation 83% and 63% of their action plans, respectively.

The 10 other GIE’s reported on their activities verbally but did not have any written documentation to prove that they conducted the planned activities (except for those directly organized by REGIS-AG).37 The lack of written documentation made it impossible to assess their implementation of their annual action plans for 2019. GIE members expressed that they found the action plans useful; however, the GIEs need a more intense ongoing follow up than the project has provided thus far to be able to fully implement them.

37 These activities include, but are not limited to, small ruminants and cowpea fairs, fattening training, and study trips.

50 Monitoring the implementation of POs road maps for governance strengthening in Niger

In addition to their annual activities action plans, each of the 12 GIE in Niger also developed a roadmap for strengthening its governance by selecting governance aspects they want to apply in their respective groups based on the 8 REGIS-AG training modules38 their representatives were trained on in FY19. The project monitored how many training modules on good governance the GIE replicated internally and how many of the tools the project gave them they were able to use. After reviewing the tools, the project discussed the level of application of its content.

The project team noted that all 12 GIE had replicated the 8 modules. However, certain modules have been adopted better than others have. • The most applied modules: The most well applied modules for the 12 GIEs visited were: i) how to conduct a meeting, and ii) decision making process in an organization. However, minutes are not always being taken at every meeting (internal or with partners), which is an important weakness that needs to be corrected. • Moderately adopted modules: The evaluation found that the following modules were moderately adopted and applied: i) essential elements the statute and by-laws of an organization and; ii) governance bodies / Roles and Responsibilities of elected members/ Rights and Obligations of members. On the ground, the mission noted a positive change in terms of knowledge of and familiarity with GIE statutes and by-laws. At the start of the project, many POs did not even have established statutes and by-laws. • Regarding adoption of the module on governance bodies / Roles and Responsibilities of elected members/ Rights and Obligations of members, weaknesses were noted in the separation of administration responsibilities. It was not uncommon for one individual (e.g. General Secretary, President) to maintain all the accounting documents, which are supposed to be held by the Treasurer. In some instances, the President retained all documentation for the GIE. Theoretically, GIE members understand their unique roles and responsibilities, but illiteracy makes it difficult to implement this type of administrative separation. As such, GIE leadership would benefit from functional literacy training.

Status of recommendations made during the last GIE monitoring and supervision mission in Niger

In Niger, the previous monitoring mission (May 2018), made the following recommendations to improve communication and packaging: i) GIEs should meet with municipalities, technical services, projects working in similar fields39; ii) those responsible for external relations should be more active in seeking information and marketing opportunities through several channels; and iii) cowpea GIEs should seek support to definitively resolve their packaging problems.

The table below presents the results and lessons learned based on these recommendations: (i) three (3) out of 12 POs (25%) shared annual action plans with municipal governments, government technical services, and

38 Module 1 - Values and Principles of an organization; Module 2 - Governance bodies / Roles and Responsibilities of elected members/ Rights and Obligations of members; Module 3 - Essential elements the statute and by-laws of an organization; Module 4 - How to conduct a meeting?; Module 5 - How to draft a meeting report and an internal audit report?; Module 6 - How to develop an action plan?; Module 7 - Decision making process in an organization; and Module 8 - Importance of providing feedback to members and archiving. 39 The municipality can help the GIE by putting them into contact partners since the municipality is the gateway to all partners; the technical services can help them in their technical areas; projects working in the same field can provide potential support. 51 other projects in the area, (ii) 0 out of 12 POs established relationships with another partner thanks to the external relations officers, and (iii) each of the four (4) cowpea GIEs that faced challenges with packaging resolved their problem (100%).

Table 23 : Status of recommendations made to the 12 GIEs for improving communication and packaging and lessons learned from the monitoring, Niger

Recommendation Results Lessons Learned Share the Annual Action Plan with the municipalities 3/12 Invite a member of the local government to to capitalize on possible opportunities for participate during the development of the GIE coordination or collaboration. Annual Action Plan so that they are aware of the GIE and can support when the time is right. Share the Annual Action Plan with the government 3/12 Seek the support of the relevant technical technical services (livestock for small ruminants and service agent during the development of the agriculture for cowpeas) to capitalize on possible GIE's Annual Action Plan to improve the opportunities for coordination or collaboration. technical quality of the document. Sharing of the annual Action Plan with projects and 0/12 The projects intervening in the same zones programs to capitalize on possible opportunities for should meet often in order to inform coordination or collaboration. themselves and to harmonize the interventions. Form relationships between GIE and partners thanks 0/12 Build the capacities of marketing sub- to external relations officers/marketing sub- committees and external relations officers so committees that they can better play their roles (i.e. be more proactive in looking for information and marketing opportunities). Solving the packaging problem (relevant to only 4 4/12 The process should continue with support and cowpea GIEs which have started the process) monitoring during RISE phase 2.

Monitoring POs that participated in the study trip to Bermo in Niger In Niger, in Q4FY19 (August 15-26, 2019) REGIS-AG supported 80 participants from the 16 women's GIEs (5 from each) set up by the project to visit two (02) well-performing GIEs: GIE KLD de Bermo and GIE KOMI DA LOCACI in Matamey. A total of 8 GIEs (small ruminant value chain) visited Bermo and the other 8 GIEs (cowpea value chain) visited Matamey. The visits focused on technical aspects, organization and functioning of the GIEs, and their achievements. The representatives of the GIEs participating in the trip committed to share what they learned upon their return. In Q1FY20, several GIEs followed through on this commitment and the REGIS-AG team monitored their progress. • In Diota: the GIE BUNKASSA TURKA DA NONO re-established its milk collection center. The GIE raised awareness among female dairy producers about the collection center and promoted the concept of bringing their milk directly to the aggregation center to attract customers and long-term business. The GIE is planning to improve the center in the image of the Bermo dairy. They also plan to purchase sheep valued at 800,000 CFA ($1,481) to distribute to women as habanayé. • In Marké: the GIE CIN ANFANIN TIRKA was impressed by the collaboration between the GIE Bermo and the municipality. As a result, the GIE now invites municipal advisers, as well as the village chief to participate in their general assembly meetings. The village chief offered the GIE a plot on which to construct a headquarters and an input storage warehouse (construction to be funded by the GIE). The GIE has been able to diversify its activities to include the processing of milk after several women experienced in processing joined the group. The GIE also expanded its scope by aggregating and selling peanut oil processed by a women’s group in the area. 52 • In Zagawa: the GIE (CIN GABAN MASU TURKA) initiated a contribution in kind (2 measures of millet ) to strengthen the capital of the GIE. The millet is stored and sold when prices rise. In addition, the GIE was able to buy 7 sheep from its own funds to distribute to 7 members for fattening. The GIE also made loans to members for petty trade activities at a rate of 10% every two months. • In Maradi: the cowpea processing GIE (KAWJAM), has linked cowpea production and sheep fattening. They can feed their sheep using the by-products from their cowpea processing (cowpea pods, etc.).

Monitoring of the transformation of POs into cooperative societies in Burkina Faso In Burkina Faso, REGIS-AG is supporting POs to transform into cooperative societies (Sociétés Coopérative) in compliance with standards outlined in the Organization for the Harmonization of Corporate Law in Africa (OHADA40) system. At the end of Q4FY19, a total of 80 of the 369 REGIS-AG beneficiary POs were transformed into cooperative societies with the support of partner projects. By the end of Q1FY20, the number increased by 62 to 142 POs partner projects transformed into cooperative societies. REGIS-AG role was limited to sensitization while the partner projects focused on support to POs for the submission of their applications. There were 121 REGIS-AG-supported POs that were not engaged in the process of transformation into cooperative societies. State agents will provide technical support to these POs if and when they express interest in doing so.

The first step in this process took place in Q4FY19 with a technical capacity building workshop in Kaya for relevant government stakeholders that provide support to POs, including regional agents of the Ministry of Agriculture and livestock agents from all three regions. During Q1FY20, government agents, as well as other projects, provided support to POs interested in and pursuing transformation into cooperative societies.

Monitoring of livestock market management committees in Burkina Faso After the workshop41 held in Kaya during Q4FY19 for livestock market management committees, participants defined key actions to continue improving governance and functioning of the committees in action plans. During Q1FY20, REGIS-AG Value Chain Coordinators monitored the implementation of these key actions and noted the following progress: • Committees continued their tax collection activities every market day; • Improvement was noted in the conduct of meetings, communication on the intended use of tax revenues, and improved relations with municipal authorities.

However, continued issues of insecurity in Sahel and East prevented the implementation of several important parts of the action plans: • Construction and/or development of infrastructure planned by certain committees (shade structures, construction/rehabilitation of boreholes); • The construction of a new market at Barsalogho; • Capacity building of committee members and board members;

40 The Organization for the Harmonization of Business Rights (OHADA) is a regional (African) regulatory framework that governs the activity of economic actors in its member countries. It aims to promote the economic development of cooperatives in the OHADA area, through the standardization and adaptation of their legal status to the provisions governing the organization of economic activity as defined by the Regional Organization. 41 Livestock market management committees were trained in two sessions in July 22 -24 and July 25 - 27 on issues related to good governance, gender, and simplified accounting. 53 • Revising/updating the conventions in Dori and Sampèlga; • Renovation of the committee office in Haaba; • Recruitment of security guards at certain markets; • Plan for marketing of by-products such as fodder.

54 PART 4 - PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management activities focused on ensuring adequate project staffing, meaningful reporting, effective communication, and adequate planning and monitoring. This part of the report presents activities REGIS-AG carried out in these areas during the reporting period (Q1FY20).

4.1. Project staff count

4.1.1. The looming end of REGIS-AG negatively affected staffing stability REGIS-AG started the FY20 with 75 employees distributed in the seven (07) project offices as detailed in the following table.

Table 24 : REGIS-AG staffing and geographic distribution at the beginning of the FY20

Number of staff Co-location with Project offices Technical Admin & Finance Total REGIS-ER In Burkina Faso: 20 9 29 - • Ouagadougou 6 6 12 Yes • Dori 10 2 12 No • Fada 4 1 5 No In Niger: 35 11 46 - • Niamey 15 8 25 No • Maradi 5 0 5 No • Tillabéri 6 0 5 Yes • Zinder 9 3 11 No Burkina Faso + Niger 55 20 75

The main staffing challenge anticipated was to keep staff onboard while REGIS-AG is winding down to its close, and donors were launching new projects. Building on its success in keeping the turnover as low as possible during the last two years, the project management continued its policy of open dialogue with staff as well as a continuous dialogue between the team and the leadership of the organizations that constitute the REGIS-AG consortium. These efforts notwithstanding, 24 project employees left REGIS-AG for various reasons during the reporting period:

• Seven (07) CNFA employees resigned for personal reasons The following table lists the five CNFA employees that resigned and presents measures the project management took to fill the vacancy.

Table 25 : REGIS-AG employees that resigned during Q1FY20 Post location Name, Position Date resigned Adjustment made (organization) Marankane Harouna October 31, 2019 Zinder, Niger Yacouba (CNFA) Lompo Clement, Poultry October 31, 2019 Fada, Burkina Value Chain Specialist Faso Mahamane Sani Ousseini, November 4, Zinder, Niger Cowpea Market Access 2019 (CNFA) Specialist 55 Post location Name, Position Date resigned Adjustment made (organization) Arsène F. Kientega, Senior November 29, Ouagadougou, No replacement sought. Based on Arsène’s MEL Specialist 2019 Burkina Faso recommendation, the project management (CNFA) designated the Fada MEL Assistant to lead the Burkina Faso MEL team Ramatou M. Guéro, December 4, Niamey, Niger Given the remaining short REGIS-AG activity Communication Specialist 2019 (CNFA) implementation period (3 months) and the limited number of activities planned, the project management felt that her replacement was not necessary. Ibrahim Yaou, Senior December 20, Niamey, Niger The project hired an accounting firm to Accountant 2019 (CNFA) support operations in Niger. The Senior account worked with the firm accountant over a period of 10 days before disengaging. Tidjani Diarra, MEL December 31, Niamey, Niger No replacement sought. Based on Tidjani’s Specialist 2019 (CNFA) recommendation, the project management designated the Maradi MEL Assistant to lead the Niger MEL team.

• Three (03) international subcontractors positions were terminated as part of the project close out plan As planned and presented in the FY20 work plan, CNFA terminated the international subcontractors’ (VSF and CRS) contracts on 31 October 2019. The immediate implication was that the eight (08) positions they filled in the project became vacant. The CNFA leadership and the project management assessed the situation with the technical leadership team and decided to terminate three (03) positions42 and to continue five (05) during part of the remaining period of implementation as STTA. REGIS-AG published a vacancy announcement in the local newspaper for those positions and the former employees applied. At the end of the interviews, CNFA rehired them as consultants and their candidacies submitted to USAID for approval. The following table list the positions, the names of the staff involved, and USAID approval date for their rehiring as STTA.

Table 26 : REGIS-AG subcontractors’ employees rehired as STTA in Q1FY20 for the remaining of the implementation period

Name, Position Post location (Organization) USAID approval date Saley Tiambou, Poultry VC Lead Niamey, Niger (VSF) October 11, 2019 Seyni Issifou, Cowpea VC Lead Niamey, Niger (CRS) November 5, 2019 Nana Mariama Amadou, Governance Specialist Niamey, Niger (CRS) November 6, 2019 Emmanuel Kabore, Cowpea VC Specialist Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (CRS) December 12, 2019 Justin Zoma, Poultry VC Specialist Dori, Burkina Faso, (VSF) November 3, 2019

42 They are the following: Attahirou Garba Barthe, Resilience/DRR Specialist - Niamey, Niger (CRS); Mahamadou Yacouba, Animal Health Specialist - Zinder, Niger (VSF); and Souleymane Guiro, Animal Health Specialist - Dori, Burkina Faso (VSF).

56 • Fourteen (14) CNFA employees’ contracts were terminated as part of the project close out plan After REGIS-AG contract modification No Seven (7) extended the period of performance by 90 days from February 2020 to 30 April 2020 at no cost, staff demobilization was reorganized to start at the end of Q1FY20 to allow for the implementation of activities on the ground of which the USAID granted the extension. The table below list the first set of employees whose contracts CNFA terminated accordingly in accord with the project management team. Contract terminations will continue in Q2FY20 as indicated in the close out plan.

Table 27 : REGIS-AG CNFA employees terminated in Q1FY20 as part of the project close out plan Name, Position Post location (organization) Date terminated Haboubacar Issaka Sabo, Financial Services Specialist Zinder, Niger (CNFA) December 17, 2019 Fati Amadou, Regional Office Manager Zinder, Niger (CNFA) December 17, 2019 Alassane Garba, Accountant/Adm/Logistics Zinder, Niger (CNFA) December 17, 2019 Issoufou Mamane, Driver Niamey, Niger (CNFA) December 31, 2019 Safiatou Amadou Kountché, Administrative Assistant Niamey, Niger (CNFA) December 31, 2019 Ali Touré Abdourahamane, Program Manager Niamey, Niger (CNFA) December 31, 2019 Abdou Amadou, BDS/Innovation Advisor Niamey, Niger (CNFA) October 31, 2019 Zongo Ambroise, Driver Ouagadougou December 23, 2019 Tiendrebeogo Antoinette, Accountant/Adm/Logistics Fada December 23, 2019 Rockyatou Derra, BDS/Innovation Advisor Ouagadougou December 33, 2019 Thiombiano Isabelle, Communication Specialist Ouagadougou December 23, 2019 Rouamba Joséphine, Gender Specialist Ouagadougou December 23, 2019 Dieudonné Ouédraogo, MEL Coordinator Fada November 31, 2019

4.1.2. Staff mobility The project continued to operate with 7 vehicles and 14 motorcycles distributed as described in the table below. Staff mobility using motorcycles continued to be a challenge due to long distances to cover, road condition (quality) especially during the raining season, and the growing insecurity situation. Staff have been using hired vehicles.

Table 28 : Number and status of REGIS-AG vehicles and motorcycles at the end of FY18

Number Type Make Location Condition Burkina Niger Total Toyota Land Burkina: 1 in Ouaga and 2 in Dori All in good Vehicle 3 4 7 cruiser Niger: 3 in Niamey and 1 in Zinder condition Burkina: 1 in Ouaga and 1 in Dori All in good Toyota Land Motor 2 12 14 condition cruiser Niger: 4 in Maradi, 4 in Tillabéri, 4 in Zinder

Staff mobility using motorcycles continues to be a challenge due to long distances to cover, road condition (quality) especially during the raining season, and the growing insecurity situation. The project management instructed employees to use vehicles hired through the REGIS-AG procurement procedure.

57 4.2. Administration of offices As shown in Table 24 above, the project staff operated from seven (07) offices during the reporting period: the overall project is coordination located in Niamey, the Burkina-level coordination in Ouagadougou, two Regional offices in Burkina Faso (Dori, and Fada) and three in Niger (Maradi, Tillabéri, and Zinder). During the reporting period,

• In Niger, the project closed the three regional offices at the end of the reporting period in December and notified public sector service REGIS-AG collaborated with partners (Communes, Governor, and decentralized technical services). The project equipment in Zinder are safely stored in the Karkara office in Zinder and the vehicle relocated in the Niamey office. The project equipment in Maradi are safely stored in the AREN office in Maradi. • In Burkina Faso, REGIS-AG will close its two regional offices in January 2020.

4.3. Management activities During the reporting period, the project COP provided the overall leadership of the project management. However, for each of the project components, specific staff members were formally assigned the leadership responsibility for the day-to-day management of activities under a component. Key management activities carried out during the quarter are the following: a) The COP, DFO, and HR Manager held many meetings with the project lawyer to ensure that the project complies with the legal requirements when terminating staff contracts during the closeout. b) The DFO and HR Manager held many meetings labor inspector to ensure that the project complies with the labor law requirements when terminating staff contracts during the closeout. c) The COP and DCOP held weekly project planning/review meetings with staff in Niamey and in Burkina Faso, respectively; d) The COP, DCOP and DFO held skype-based meetings43at least twice a month with CNFA backstopping team in Washington DC (in addition to routine day-to-day multiple email exchanges on issues related to REGIS-AG); e) The COP and the DCOP, and CP and Project Manager held multiple face-to-face meetings to develop a common understanding of various strategic orientations and discuss activity implementation; f) The Project Manager held multiple meetings with staff in field offices in Niger and DCOP held similar meetings in Burkina Faso during which they discussed activities implemented and challenges. g) The field team and CNFA support team drafted a closeout plan that was submitted to the COR for review October 31, 2019 (six months prior to the project end date).

43 These are meetings that bring together REGIS-AG management team (i.e., COP, DCOP, Program Manager, Value Chain Advisor, and DFO) and the CNFA backstopping team based in Washington DC (Program Manager, Program Coordinator, Finance Officer, and Vice President for Programs) to discuss updates on activities and administrative issues. They are led by the DC-based Program Manager who sends an agreed upon agenda before each meeting. This platform informs the Washington DC team guidance and support to the COP. 58 4.4. Project Reporting and Public Communication During FY19, project reporting focused on the following: • Finalized the project FY20 work plan by integrating USAID comments and suggestions. It was first approved on October 23. • Drafted a detailed FY19 annual report CNFA submitted to USAID on December 3 for approval. • Submitted three monthly reports to USAID (October, November, and December). • Finalized and share 8 REGIS-AG videos (4 in English, 4 in French) with USAID. • Planning the end of project event to be held in March 2020 including researching venues, preparing a budget, and initiating the development of communication materials to be used at the event (posters, banners, handouts, etc.). • Preparing/revising 6 success stories (4 for Niger and 2 for Burkina Faso) which were shared with CNFA HQ for review. This involved a field visit by the Communication Specialist in Burkina Faso to Kaya in November to interview and photograph a poultry processor for the preparation of a success story. o Success story on the livestock market in Tchadoua, Niger o Success story on a Model Woman trainee in Burkina Faso o Success story on a small ruminant export Omorau Daouda, Niger o Success story on the refinancing of the MFI KOKARI by OIKOCREDIT, Niger o Success story on the governance of a small ruminants GIE in Matame, Niger o Success story on a processor in the Song Venessé cluster in Burkina Faso

In terms of major meetings and visits, the following occurred during the reporting period: • The Program Manager participated at the "West Africa R&I Culmination Workshop" workshop hosted by USAID from December 2 – 6 in Niamey. • REGIS-AG hosted the COP of the SHIGA project and two of the project’s team members.

4.5. Security The security situation in the ZOI continued to be a major concern during Q1FY20, especially in Burkina Faso in the Saleh and east regions. Through the ReComs, the security officer of CNFA at the home office, and contacts with the governors, the project team continuously monitored the security situation. No employee was attached and no project vehicle either. But, staff mobility using motorcycles continues to be a challenge due to long distances to cover, road condition (quality) especially during the raining season, and the growing insecurity situation. So far, we have not noted any displacement of our beneficiaries in Burkina Faso and in Niger. Market places have been safe until recently in Burkina Faso when they became a target for terrorists attacks (Nagraogo village market in Barsalogho commune and the Lamdamol village market in the Bani that are both in our ZOI; our collectors no longer go to these markets). As presented in the technical sessions of the report, the growing insecurity has nevertheless affected project interventions, especially in Burkina Faso: • In the East region, the security situation varies from one province to another: In the Komondjari province, activities were concentrated in the capital of the province (Gayeri) due to the delicate situation of the commune of Foutouri. As a precautionary measure, we avoided going to our second commune Bartiébougou. Consequently, the trainings the BDS providers organized for POs in these two municipalities were held in Gayeri. In the Gnagna province, the municipalities of Bogandé and Manni have not seen their security situation deteriorate. 59 • In the Center North region, among the project 9 ZOI communes, Barsalogho is the most affected. The province of Namentenga (Boulsa) remains relatively calm and activities have experienced no disturbance in this area. As a precautionary measure, field visits in the Bouroum and Nagbingou communes were limited. • Although the security challenge affects the Sahel region, REGIS-AG interventions in this region have not been affected. However, activities are carried out with caution and only after approval of the local authorities. • The project team monitoring visits of the BDSPs coaching of beneficiaries in the small ruminant value chain business clusters in Niger was limited to 66 of the 97 POs due to the growing insecurity, especially in Tillabéri.

60 PART 5 - PROJECT PERFORMANCE - Level of Achievement in FY19 Expected Outcomes and Performance Indicators

5.1. Overview of REGIS-AG MEL System A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system is intended to meet three types of objectives: • Operational objectives: when answering the question of how program or project managers can track and improve implementation of activities. • Strategic objectives: when addressing the issue of whether the project is achieving its goals; hence the use of output/result, outcome indicators or progress markers, impacts, etc. • Learning objectives: when drawing and sharing of lessons learned from the program or project.

Under the REGIS-AG project, the focus of the MEL system is primarily on the operational and strategic objectives, and on the supervision and management functions. However, in support to the project communication efforts and SAREL activities under the RISE program, REGIS-AG MEL efforts are devoted to the learning function as well, especially the documentation and sharing of success stories. The system is designed to ensure the efficient tracking of the activity implementation process and to facilitate critical discussions to allow for informed decision making towards project objectives and implementation.

To this end, the specific objectives of REGIS-AG MEL system are therefore threefold: • To organize in a systematic way the collection of data, analysis and reporting procedures allowing for the prompt dissemination of reliable project information on its performance results based on the list of approved indicators; • To assess and document progress towards the project’s outputs and outcomes as stated in the logical framework and annual work plans to allow sound management decisions; • To document and share the project’s success stories and best practices within the project and externally within the RISE and non-RISE community.

In general, REGIS-AG's MEL system is built on the elements described in its USAID-approved Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP). Data collection focuses on field trips to either monitor and collect data or assess the quality of data already collected. Data are collected either by project managers during the implementation of activities or through surveys.

5.2. Activities carried out during Q1FY20

In FY19, the Monitoring and Evaluation team i) worked on the new database under construction, ii) updated the database with data collected from the activities implemented in the field, iii) trained 417 ReComs on the data collection tools for indicators 2.2 and 4.1, iv) began working on a survey for the results related to increases in beneficiaries’ income as a result of fairs and business market linkage development.

5.3. Status of achievement of performance indicators at the end of FY19

61 Table 29 : Project performance and progress towards achieving project performance results

Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) 0.1 - Value (US $) of US $ by Country: Incremental sales − Total 4,210,000 $467,390 $1,800,000 -$315,155 -18% $152,235 4% This indicator’s results (collected at farm level) − Niger 2,133,142 $424,612 $912,032 -$859,301 -94% -$434,689 -20% are sales that are made attributed to program − Burkina Faso 2,076,858 $178,408 $887,968 $286,359 32% $464,767 22% throughout the year but 44 implementation US $ by VC: producers do not record the sales data. − Total 4,210,000 467,390 1,800,000 -315,155 -18% 152,235 4% Generally, producers − Cowpea 1,919,265 $333,366 $820,588 -$489,979 -60% -$156,613 -8% tend to sell only when − S. ruminants 1,423,971 -$205,832) $608,824 -$3,253 -1% -$209,085 -15% the household needs − Poultry 866,765 $339,856 $370,588 $178,077 48% $517,933 60% money. Consequently, US $ by Sex: this indicator is not − Total 4,210,000 396,677 1,800,000 -$1,611,482 -90% $566,282 13% good to measure the − Men 1,241,180 $116,147 $530,671 -$2, 061,617 -388% $116,147 9% resilience of producers. − Women 2,968,820 $280,530 $1,269,329 $450,135 35% $450,135 15% 0.2a - Gross margins (US US $ by Country: 45 $) per hectare for − Total $158 $129 $158 $90 57% $129 81% cowpeas − Niger $109 $140 $109 $94 86% $140 129% − Burkina Faso $157 $115 $157 $92 59% $115 73% US $ by Sex: − Men $139 $126 $139 $87 63% $136 98% − Women $124 $113 $124 $59 48% $123 99% US $ by Country: 0.2b - Gross margins − Total $25.11 $21.74 $25.11 $12.79 51% $21.74 87% The project under (US $ per adult animal) − Niger $21.85 $18.92 $21.85 $14.40 66% $18.92 87% performed compared to for small ruminants: − Burkina Faso $33.80 $29.26 $33.80 $11.59 34% $29.26 87% last year because US $ by Sex: producers sold their animals at lower prices a) Goat − Men $24.36 $21.09 $24.36 $14.48 59% $21.09 87% due to the growing − Women $25.58 $22.15 $25.58 $12.31 48% $22.15 87%

44 As stated in the USAID Feed the Future Indicator Handbook, this indicator has been archived, and it was replaced by “Value of annual sales of farmers and firms receiving USD assistance”. 45 As stated in the USAID Feed the Future Indicator Handbook, this indicator (Gross margin) has also been archived, it was replaced by “Yield of targeted agricultural commodities among program participants with USG assistance”.

62

Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) b) Sheep US $ by Country: insecurity in Burkina − Total $64.95 $56.23 $64.95 $47.96 74% $56.23 87% Faso and a reaction to increased thefts from − Niger $62.65 $54.24 $62.65 $42.05 67% $54.24 87% people coming from the − Burkina Faso $69.23 $59.94 $69.23 $51.69 75% $59.94 87% neighboring countries in US $ by Sex: Niger. − Men $61.70 $53.42 $61.70 $36.65 59% $53.42 87% − Women $67.14 $58.13 $67.14 $54.34 81% $58.13 87% US $ by Country: 0.2c - Gross margins (US − Total $3.31 $2.87 $3.31 $2.52 76% $2.87 87% The 87% performance $) for poultry : − Niger $3.35 $2.90 $3.35 $2.89 86% $2.90 87% to date is because when − Burkina Faso $3.22 $2.79 $3.22 $2.26 70% $2.79 87% revising the new target, a) Chicken US $ by Sex: the LOP was set assuming that the FY17 − Male $3.29 $2.85 $3.29 $2.03 62% $2.85 87% performance recorded − Female $3.41 $2.95 $3.41 $3.07 90% $3.07 90% was at 87% of LOP. b) Guinea fowl US $ by Country: Unfortunately, the − Total $5.69 $4.93 $5.69 $4.02 71% $4.93 87% project has not been − Niger $5.84 $5.06 $5.84 $4.21 72% $5.06 87% able to exceed the − Burkina Faso $4.90 $4.24 $4.90 $3.76 77% $4.24 87% performance recorded US $ by Sex: in FY17. − Male $4.38 $3.79 $4.38 $3.06 70% $3.79 87% − Female $7.40 $6.41 $7.40 $4.75 64% $6.41 87% 2.1 - # of food security # by Country/VC: private enterprises, − Total 753 753 0 0 753 100% producer, water user or − Burkina Faso 369 369 0 0 369 100% community-based • Cowpea 180 180 0 0 180 100% organizations, women’s • S. Ruminant 129 129 0 0 129 100% groups, trade and • Poultry 60 60 0 0 60 100% business associations − Niger 384 384 0 0 384 100% receiving USG-funded assistance • Cowpea 164 164 0 0 164 100% • S. Ruminant 124 124 0 0 124 100% • Poultry 96 96 0 0 96 100%

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) # by

New/Continuing: − Total 753 753 0 0 753 100% − New 753 0 0 0 0 − Continuing 0 753 0 0 753 # by 2.2 - Number of for- profit private New/Continuing: enterprises, producers’ − Total 52,105 38,161 52,105 42,658 82% 42,658 82% The poor performance organizations, water − New - - 4,000 834 21% 834 of the project for this users’ associations, trade − Continuing 52,105 38,161 48,105 41,824 41,824 indicator is attributable and business to a change of strategy # by Country & associations, women’s New/Continuing described for the light groups, and community- − Total 52,105 38,161 52,105 42,658 82% 42,658 82% support group below. based organizations − Niger 41,006 31,088 41,006 34,254 84% 34,254 84% (CBOs) receiving USG • New - - 3,000 340 11% 340 food security-related • Continuing 41,006 31,849 38,006 33,914 33,914 organizational − Burkina Faso 11,099 7,073 11,098 8,404 76% 8,404 76% development assistance • New - - 1,000 494 49% 494

• Continuing 11,099 7,073 10,098 7,91 7,91 71% a) Combined # by Location &

New/Continuing: − Total 52,105 38,161 52,105 42,658 82% 42,658 82% − Rural 52,105 38,161 52,105 42,658 82% 42,658 82% • New - - 4,000 834 834 • Continuing 52,105 38,161 48,105 41,824 41,824 80% − Urban/Peri urban 0 0 0 0 0 # by b) Heavy/Intense support New/Continuing: − Total 20,184 20,292 20,184 20,292 101% 20,292 101% Heavy/intense support − New - - 0 0 0 relates to activities − Continuing 20,184 20,292 20,184 20,292 20,292 carried out or project # by Country & beneficiaries that have

New/Continuing: support plan. In the − Total 20,184 20,292 20,184 20,292 101% 20,292 101% project strategy, no new − Niger 12,248 12,382 12,248 12,382 101% 12,382 101%

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) • New 0 0 0 0 0 beneficiaries were added • Continuing 12,248 12,382 12,248 12,382 12,382 in FY19. − Burkina Faso 7,936 7,91 7,936 7,91 100% 7,91 100% • New 0 0 0 0 0 • Continuing 7,936 7,91 7,936 7,91 7,91 # by Location &

New/Continuing: − Total 20,184 20,292 20,184 20,292 101% 20,292 101% − Rural 20,184 20,292 20,184 20,292 101% 20,292 101% • New - - 0 0 0 • Continuing 20,184 20,292 20,184 20,292 20,292 − Urban/Peri urban 0 0 0 0 0 c) Light support # by New/Continuing: − Total 35,532 21,532 35,532 22,366 63% 22,366 63% The project − New - - 4,000 834 21% 834 performance is below − Continuing 35,532 21,532 31,532 21,532 - 21,532 expectation because the # by Country & vaccination activity that

New/Continuing: would have provided − Total 35,532 21,532 35,532 22,366 63% 22,366 63% the data needed has not − Niger 31,532 21,532 31,532 21,872 69% 21,872 69% yet been implemented. • New - - 3,000 340 11% 340 Indeed, the number targeted for project light • Continuing 31,532 21,532 28,532 21,532 21,532 support in FY19 was − Burkina Faso 4 - 4,000 494 12% 494 12% largely going to be new • New - - 1,000 494 49% 494 beneficiaries of • Continuing 4 - 3,000 0 0 - vaccination campaign # by Location & supported by REGIS- New/Continuing: AG. This is scheduled in − Total 35,532 21,532 35,532 22,366 63% 22,366 63% FY19. After vaccination, − Rural 35,532 21,532 35,532 22,366 63% 22,366 63% the team believes that • New - - 4,000 834 21% 834 the performance • Continuing 35,532 21,532 31,532 21,532 21,532 indicator will improve. − Urban/Peri urban 0 0 0 0 0 0 Note also that, the project was already

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) under performing for this indicator because there was no vaccination activity done in Burkina Faso in FY16 and FY17. 2.3 – Percentage (%) of % by Country: The data reported is households in which a − Total 25% 11% 20% 14% 56% 14% 54% from the FY19 annual woman has benefited − Niger 25% 10% 15% 15% 58% survey. The project is directly from ownership − Burkina Faso 25% 14% 12% 12% 50% underperforming for this of personal fields, new % by VC: indicator because the ownership of small intervention REGIS-AG − Total 25% 14% 14% 54% ruminants or poultry, or has that contributes to − Cowpea 17% 17% involvement in a this indicator is the savings/loan program − S. ruminants 8% 8% improvement in the − Poultry 13% 13% usage conditions of land reclaimed by REGIS-ER. Very few of the project beneficiaries benefitted. Savings/loan programs are the VSLA that were being promoted by REGIS-ER and the DFAP. 2.4 – Percentage (%) of % by Country: households engaged in a − Total 40% 11% 35% 14% 41% 14% 36% The data reported is new income-generating − Niger 40% 12% 35% 16% 46% 16% 40% from the FY19 annual micro-enterprise as a − Burkina Faso 40% 8% 35% 13% 36% 13% 31% survey. The project is result of USG under performing for interventions this indicator because REGIS-AG has no intervention does not actively promote new income-generating micro-enterprise.

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) # by Country & 2.5 - Full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs created with New/Continuing: USG assistance − Total 275 245 275 282 103% 282 103% During the reporting • New 0 0 30 37 123% 37 period, the project • Continuing 275 245 245 245 245 added 37 new AEs (35 − Niger 170 140 170 177 104% 177 104% men and 2 women). • New 0 0 30 37 123% 37 • Continuing 170 140 140 140 140 − Burkina Faso 105 105 105 105 105 100% • New 0 0 0 0 0 • Continuing 105 105 105 105 105 100% # by VC: − Total 275 245 275 282 103% 282 103% − Cowpea 0 0 0 0 0 − S. ruminants 0 0 0 0 0 − Poultry 275 245 275 282 103% 282 103% # by Sex: − Total 275 245 275 282 103% 282 103% − Male 252 222 247 257 102% 257 102% − Female 23 23 28 25 109% 25 109% 2.6 - Number of people # by Country : using climate − Total 19,355 17,291 7,266 4,190 58% 20,135 104% The data reported is information or − Niger 12,743 10,939 4,784 1,758 37% 11,351 89% from the FY19 annual implementing risk- − Burkina Faso 6,612 6,352 2,482 2,432 98% 8,784 133% survey. Risk-reduction reducing actions to # by Sex: actions considered in improve resilience to the survey include the − Total 19,355 17,291 7,266 4,190 48% 20,135 89% climate change as following: abandonment − Male 6,185 6,573 2,495 1.042 42% 7,614 supported by USG of flood zone, respect of assistance − Female 11,823 9,371 4,771 3,148 66% 12,521 vaccination schedule, − Disaggregates not 1,347 1,347 use of improved seeds, available use of organic manure, use PICS bags, strategic destocking, and

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) establishment of anti- erosive installations. 2.7 – Number of market # by Country : The data reported exchanges (bourses) and − Total 111 114 10 13 130% 127 114% captures the number of fairs linking sellers and − Niger 63 86 5 10 200% 96 152% fairs organized the buyers − Burkina Faso 48 27 5 3 60% 30 63% project facilitated in both countries. The − International 1 1 project over performed # by VC: because the team − Total 111 114 10 13 90% 127 114% changed its strategy in − Cowpea 40 25 4 29 73% facilitating the − S ruminants 38 67 8 75 197% participation of − Poultry 33 22 1 23 70% beneficiaries at international fairs. Up to FY18, producers participated themselves at the regional fairs (FIARA and Tabaski) organized in Senegal for small ruminants. But the team quickly realized that they were not market-ready enough to operate in such a market. As a result, the team decided to organize many local fairs where traders who were more market- ready and interested in selling at those fairs would buy animals from project beneficiary producers. This increased the number of fairs, especially in Niger,

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) a country with local breeds that are highly demanded in Senegal. 2.8 - Number of # by Country : The project women’s groups − Total 40 41 10 1 10% 42 105% performance in Burkina transformed into GIEs − Niger 15 41 5 1 20% 42 280% Faso and Niger was − Burkina Faso 25 0 5 0 0% 0 0% dictated by the fact that # by VC: POs in Burkina were being transformed into − Total 40 41 10 0 42 103% cooperatives as required − Cowpea 20 21 5 1 22 105% by the government. − S ruminants 20 20 5 0 20 100% Consequently, no PO − Poultry 0 0 0 0 0 was transformed into GIE in Burkina Faso and the project entire focus for this indicator was shifted to Niger and this allowed the team to more than double the number of POs transformed into GIE in an effort to achieve the overall LOP target. 3.2 - EG.3.2-24 Number # by Country : of individuals in the − Total 21,152 22,202 21,152 22,083 104% 22,202 105% The data reported for agriculture system who − Niger 13,170 15,093 13,170 12.504 95% 15,093 115% FY19 achievement is have applied improved − Burkina Faso 7,982 7,109 7,982 9,579 120% 7,109 89% from the FY19 annual management practices # by Sex: survey. or technologies with − Total 21,152 22,202 21,152 22,083 104% 22,202 105% USG assistance − Male 6,800 6,312 6,800 7.772 6,312 93% − Female 13,005 14,543 13,005 14,311 14,543 112% − not available 1,347 1,347 1,347 1,347 3.3 - Number of agro- # by Country : dealers trained in − Total 250 243 32 5 16% 248 99% − Niger 126 125 16 2 13% 127 101%

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) business management − Burkina Faso 124 118 16 3 19% 121 98% and technical skills # by Sex: − Total 250 243 32 5 248 98% − Male 223 216 28 4 220 99% − Female 27 27 4 1 28 104%

# by Country : 3.4 - Number of private − Total 10 9 1 1 100% 10 100% veterinarian outreach − Niger 5 4 1 1 100% 5 100% services (SVPPs) created − Burkina Faso 5 5 0 0 5 100% 3.5 - Number of for- # by Country : The project target up to profit private − Total 546 742 548 710 129% 742 135% FY19 was set based on enterprises, producers’ − Niger 263 381 259 361 135% 381 145% 61% achieved in FY17 organizations, water − Burkina Faso 283 361 290 349 125% 361 127% with an assumption of users’ associations, trade additional 8% in FY18, # by Organization and business type: 4% in FY19 and 0% in associations, women’s − Total 546 742 548 710 129% 742 135% FY20. But, the annual groups, and community- − Women groups 269 354 225 422 188% 354 131% survey results for FY18 based organizations yielded 98% in Burkina − Men groups 34 35 30 8 27% 35 103% (CBOs) that applied Faso and 99% in Niger, − Mixed groups 242 353 243 280 115% 353 146% improved organization- which is well above the level technologies or # by VC: projected adoption rate management practices − Total 546 742 548 710 129% 742 135% used to determine the with USG assistance. − Cowpea 283 379 250 329 132% 379 134% annual target − Small ruminants 169 222 185 231 125% 222 131% This is larger than − Poultry 95 141 112 150 133% 141 148% projected performance because we considered governance activities as a management practice. Because all beneficiaries support plans included the need to improve the PO governance, the project ended up working with them

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) through governance action plans. This ended up exploded the project achievement because it was not anticipated when setting the target. 3.6 - Number of for- # by Country : No new organization profit private − Total 480 260 220 128 54% 260 54% received the project enterprises, producers’ − Burkina Faso 231 125 106 27 54% 125 54% organizational organizations, water − Niger 249 135 114 101+46 54% 282 115% development assistance users’ associations, trade # by VC 0 in FY19. This happened and business because, to be more − Total 480 260 220 128 54% 260 54% associations, women’s effective and achieve − Cowpea 229 124 105 11+22 54% 124 54% groups, and community- greater impact, the based organizations − Small ruminant 198 107 91 43+8 54% 107 54% REGIS-AG team focused (CBOs) receiving USG − Poultry 54 29 25 74+26 54% 29 54% on finalizing their # by food security-related governance roadmap of organizational New/Continuing: 0 the POs that have development assistance − Total 480 260 220 128 54% 388 54% support plans, and on − New 0 0 0 128 128 coaching them where necessary and − Continuing 480 260 260 monitoring their 220 implementation. 4.1 - Value(US $) of new US$ by Country : As written in the private sector capital − Total $167,629 $0 $167,629 $426,660 255% $426,660 255% Q2FY19 report, the investment in the − Burkina Faso $ 62,778 $0 $ 62,778 $137,739 219% $137,739 219% ReCom training made it agricultural sector or − Niger $104,851 $0 $104,851 $288,921 276% $288,921 276% possible to collect data food chain leveraged by on this indicator. In Feed the Future project addition, the MEL team implementation conducted a survey in US$ by VC Q1FY20 that captured − Total $167,629 $0 $167,629 $426,660 255% $426,660 255% total investment made − Cowpea $32,971 $0 $32,971 $134,780 409% $134,780 409% to date. The strong project performance − Small ruminant $59,548 $0 $59,548 $192,785 324% $192,785 324% indicates that the target − Poultry $75,110 $0 $75,110 $99,095 132% $99,095 132%

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) US$ by set during the PMP New/Continuing: revision was too low. − Total $167,629 $0 $167,692 $426,660 255% $426,660 255% These results show that

− New $ - $0 $167,692 $0 project beneficiaries do − Continuing $167,629 $0 0 $426,660 $426,660 invest substantial amounts in their businesses. 4.2 - Value (US $) of US$ by Country: The project is under agriculture and rural − Total $3,585,594 $341,341 $2,197,484 $513,149 23% $854,490 24% performing because the loans made as a result of − Niger $1,454,042 $84,987 $889,115 $294,846 33% $379,833 26% MFI have liquidity USG assistance problem, especially in − Burkina Faso $2,131,552 $256,354 $1,308,369 $218,303 17% $474,657 22% Niger. See details in US $ by VC: section 3.4.2. The − Total $3,585,594 $341,341 $2,197,485 $513,149 23% $854,489 24% project is worked with − Cowpea $1,934,838 $256,605 $1,165,762 $447,546 38% $704,151 36% some of the MFI to − Small ruminant $929,497 $ 25,556 $580,936 $38,361 7% $63,917 7% identify refinancing − Poultry $721,259 $59,180 $450,787 $27,241 6% $86,421 12% opportunities. For US $ by Sex: example, the project is − Total $3,585,59 $ 341,341 $513,149 $854,489 24% facilitating the − Male $ 138,182 $319,170 $457,352 refinancing of − Female $ 139,893 $23,899 $163,792 microfinance institution − Disaggregation $ 63,266 $170,079 $233,345 KOKARI by not available OIKOCREDIT resulted in OIKOCREDIT sending a letter of intent notifying KOKARI of the possibility of receiving $925,926 in refinancing. OIKOCREDIT Bank agreed to refinance COOPEC KOKARI for up to $462,963 after completion of due diligence. # by New

/Continuing:

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) − Total 12 9 3 3 100% 12 100% During FY19, REGIS-AG introduced artificial 4.3 - Number of new − New 0 4 3 3 7 incubation for guinea and/or innovative − Continuing 12 5 0 0 5 fowl production, as well services (including # by Country: as guinea fowl breed insurance) and − Total 12 9 3 3 100% 12 100% Galor and solar energy technologies available to − Niger 7 5 2 technology for VC actors as a result of producers to be able to USG assistance − Burkina Faso 5 4 1 produce eggs throughout the year. 4.4 - Number of micro, # by Country: small, and medium − Total 6,512 2,642 2,127 876 41% 3,518 54% Same as in indicator 4.2. enterprises (MSMEs), − Niger 2,973 691 945 0 0% 691 23% including farmers, − Burkina Faso 3,539 1,951 1,182 876 74% 2,827 55% Note that many people receiving agricultural- # by Sex: received credit in FY19 related credit as a result as a result of the project − Total 6,512 2,642 2,127 876 41% 3,518 54% of USG assistance assistance, but because − Male 1,333 638 390 141 36% 779 58% they had all received − Female 5,179 2,004 1,737 735 42% 2,739 53% credit before with # by Size: project support, they − Total 6,512 2,642 2,127 876 41% 3,518 54% were not counted. − Micro (1-10 6,512 2,642 2,127 876 41% 3,518 54% employees) − Small (11-50 - 0 employees) − w Medium (51- - 0 100 employees) − Disaggregates Not Available

4.5 – Number of # by Country: The use of the 3S fund Strategic Services Sub- 1,180 begun with the signing of − Total 20 0 5 59 59 295% awards (3S) awarded % contracts with 9 BDSPs − Niger 36 in Niger and 15 in − Burkina Faso 23 Burkina Faso to facilitate the implementation of

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) support plans developed for business clusters’ members. The numbers reported are the service contracts signed with those service providers for a bundle of services to be delivered to a group of beneficiaries. All services required in all the supported plans were grouped into bundles or lots of manageable sizes and calls for proposals for service provision were made for each bundle. As a result, based on the quality of their applications, the project awarded more than one service contract to some BDSPs. 4.6 - Number of business # by country: The project is over plans developed with − Total 416 39 163 426 261% 465 112% performing because the USG assistance − Niger 224 11 101 267 264% 278 124% team considers − Burkina Faso 192 28 62 159 256% 187 97% beneficiary support plans as business plans and these are accepted in loan applications. They were not envisaged when setting the targets. 4.8 - Number of public- # by Country: private partnerships − Total 27 25 2 0 0% 25 93% This indicator captures − Niger 16 15 1 0 0% 15 the PPP established in

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) formed as a result of FtF − Burkina Faso 11 10 1 0 0% 10 the livestock market assistance management reforms. # by Partnership focus: − Total 27 25 2 0% 25 93% − Ag. Production 2 0 2 0% 0 0% − Ag. marketing 25 25 0 25 100% − Ag. 0 0 0 0 transformation − Nutrition 0 0 0 0 − Multi-focus 0 0 0 0 5.1 – Number of laws or # by Country: Several laws were regulatory actions − Total 10 0 10 0 0% 0 0% reviewed in workshop advocated by − Niger 6 0 6 0 0 0% platforms in Niger associations of value − Burkina Faso 4 0 4 0 0 0% (FY16) and in Burkina chain actors (e.g., Faso (FY17) to advocate farmers, agro- necessary reforms. pastoralists, Other advocacy cooperatives, traders, intervention also processor, exporter emerged from the seed associations) and and fertilizer accepted by host conferences the project government is organizing with host countries. However, there is a limited chance that these will result in the adoption of laws or regulatory actions by the end of the project due to the intrinsically lengthy process of their adoption. 5.2 - Number of multi- # by Country: Although there was no stakeholder workshops − Total 57 55 0 23 78 137% target set for this organized − Niger 26 29 0 10 39 150% indicator in FY19, multi- − Burkina Faso 31 26 0 13 39 126% stakeholder workshops

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) # by VC: were conducted in − Total 57 55 0 23 78 137% Burkina Faso and Niger − Cowpea 24 19 0 9 28 117% when evaluating the − S. ruminant 13 13 0 8 21 161% implementation of − Poultry 20 23 0 6 29 145% business support plans. This was not envisaged when setting the targets. 5.3 - Number of # by Country: livestock markets − Total 25 25 0 0 25 100% revitalized through − Niger 15 15 0 0 15 100% community − Burkina Faso 10 10 0 0 10 100% management # by New/Continuing: − Total 25 25 0 0 25 100% − New 25 0 0 0 − Continuing 0 25 0 0 5.4 - Number of trade # by Country: associations / profession − Total 34 35 2 0% 35 103% groups supported with − Niger 23 35 1 0 0% 35 152% advocacy skills and − Burkina Faso 11 0 1 0 0% 0 0% strategic plans # by

New/Continuing: − Total 34 35 2 0% 35 103% − New 34 2 0 0% 33 − Continuing 0 35 0 0 2 5.5 - Number of quarterly # by Country: The project is under learning meetings & − Total 20 15 6 0 0% 15 75% performing because the project wide learning − Niger 10 7 3 0 0% 7 70% quarterly learning summits − Burkina Faso 10 8 3 0 0% 8 80% meetings that were considered when setting the target for FY19 were the project quarterly review and planning meetings; these were canceled to allow

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Target achieved Target achieved to date Unit by Target FY19+Q1FY20 (FY15-20) Justifications and Indicator Disaggregation LOP Target achieved Target FY19 (31/12/2020) observations category FY15-18 Rate Unit Unit Rate (%) (%) the team to focus on last year implementation

77

ANNEXES

Annex 1. Distribution of relationships in REGIS-AG business clusters by region and partner projects

a) Cowpea value chain

Table A1-1: Distribution of cowpea beneficiary support plans by region and partner projects in Burkina

Partner projects whose beneficiaries are involved in REGIS-AG business linkages Region REGIS-ER ViM PROFIL FASO Other partners Total Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to traders or processors • Center − 1 PO linked − 31 PO − None None None − 32 PO in 32 market North to 1 trader linked to linkages with 7 A 7 traders traders A-G • East − 1 PO linked − None − None − 16 PO − None − 17 PO in 17 market to 1 trader linked to 3 linkages with 3 H traders H-J traders • Sahel − None − None − None − None − 2 PO linked − 2 PO in 2 market to 1 trader K linkages with 1 trader Total − 2 PO linked − 31 PO − None − 16 PO − 2 PO linked − 51 PO in 51 market achieved in to 2 traders linked to linked to 3 to 1 trader linkages with 11 FY17 + 7 traders traders traders. FY18 Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s butchers/processors linked to traders • Center − na − na − na − na − 2 processors − 2 processors A&B in North A&B linked 2 markets linkages to 7 traders (above) with 7 A-G traders • East − Na − Na − Na − Na − 2 processors − 2 processors C&D in C&D linked 4 markets linkages to 3 traders (above) with 3 H-J traders • Sahel − na − na − na − na − 3 processors − 3 processors EF&G EF&G linked in 3 market linkages to 1 trader K (above) with 1 trader Total − Na − Na − Na − Na − 7 other − 7 processors in 5 achieved in processors market linkages FY17 + linked to 11 (above) with 11 FY18 traders traders

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Table A1-2: Distribution of cowpea beneficiary support plans by region and partner projects in Niger

Partner projects whose beneficiaries are involved in REGIS-AG business linkages Region REGIS-ER LAHIA SAWKI PASAM-TAI Other partner Total Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to traders • Maradi − 8 PO linked − 12 PO − 2 PO − 10 PO − 7 PO linked − 39 PO in 39 to trader A linked to linked to linked to to trader A market linkages trader A trader A trader A with 1 trader A • Tillabéri − 13 PO linked − none46 − none − none − 6 PO linked − 19 PO in 19 to 2 traders to trader B market linkages B&C − 4 PO above with 2 traders − 1 PO above linked to 1 B&C linked to 1 seed trader − 5 PO above in 5 seed trader D market linkage D with 1 seed trader D • Zinder − 8 PO linked − none − 4 PO − 6 PO − 6 PO linked − 24 PO in 24 to 2 traders linked to 1 linked to to 1 trader F market linkages E&G trader E trader E with 3 traders − 2 PO EF&G linked to 1 − 2 PO in 2 market processor linkages with 1 J processor J Total − 29 PO linked − 12 PO − 6 PO − 16 PO − 19 PO linked − 82 PO in 82 achieved in to 5 traders linked to linked to 2 linked to 2 to 4 traders market linkages FY17 + 1 trader traders traders with 7 traders FY18 − 2 PO − 2 PO in 2 market linked to 1 linkages with 1 processor processor F F Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s processors linked to traders • Maradi − na47 − 1 LAHIA − 2 SAWKI − 1 PASAM- − 1 other − 5 processors processor processors TAI processor C ABCF&G in 5 A linked F&G linked processor linked to market linkage to trader to trader B linked to trader A (above) with 1 A A trader A trader A • Tillabéri − na − none − none − none − 3 other − 3 processors processors DH&I in 3 market DH&I linked linkage (above) to trader B with1trader B

• Zinder − na − none − none − none − 1 other − 1 processor E in 1 processor E market linkage linked to (above) with 1 trader E trader E Total − Na − 1 LAHIA − 2 new − 1 PASAM- − 5 other − 9 processors in 9 achieved in processor SAWKI TAI processors market linkages with FY17 + linked to processors processor linked to 3 3 traders FY18 1 trader F&G linked linked to 1 traders to 1 trader trader

46 This means that this type of market linkage did not emerge during the business linkages development workshops. 47 This means that this type of market linkage was not envisaged in the FY18 work plan. 79

b) Poultry value chain

Table A1-3: Distribution of poultry beneficiary support plans by region and partner projects in Burkina

Partner projects whose beneficiaries are involved in REGIS-AG business linkages Region REGIS-ER ViM PROFIL FASO Other partners Total achieved Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to traders 48 49 • Center None 8 PO linked to Na None None 8 PO in 8 market North trader A linkages with 1 trader A • East 4 PO linked to Na Na Na 7 PO linked to 11 PO in 11 market 1 trader B 1 trader C linkages with 2 traders B&C 50 • Sahel Na Na 8 PO linked to Na Na 8 PO in 8 market 1 trader D7 linkages with 1 trader D Total achieved 4 PO linked to 8 PO linked to 8 PO linked to Na 7 PO linked 27 PO in 27 market in FY17 + 1 trader 1 trader 1 trader to 1 trader linkage with 4 traders FY18 Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to processors • Center 11 PO linked 1 PO linked to na None 12 PO in 12 market North to 1 1 processor A linkage with 1 processor A processor A • East None na None na 1 trader C 1 trader C in 2 market linked to 2 linkages (above) with 2 processors processor B&C B&C • Sahel 1 PO linked to na na na 8 others PO 9 PO in 9 market 1 processor D (above) linked linkages with 2 to 1 processor D&E processor E Total achieved 1PO linked to 11PO linked 1 PO linked to na 1 trader 21 PO in 21 market in FY17 + 1processor to 1 1processor linked to 2 linkages with 3 FY18 processor processors processors 8 others PO 1 trader C in 2 market (above) linked linkages (above) with 2 to 1 processor B&C processor E

48 This means that this type of market linkage did not emerge during the business linkages development workshops. 49 This means that this type of market linkage was not envisaged in the work plan. 50 This means that this type of market linkage did not emerge during the workshops organized in FY17. 80

Table A1-4: Distribution of poultry beneficiary support plans by region and partner projects in Niger

Partner projects whose beneficiaries are involved in REGIS-AG business linkages Region PAASAM- REGIS-ER LAHIA SAWKI Other partner Total achieved TAI Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to traders 51 52 • Maradi 10 PO linked none na Na 1 PO linked 11 PO in 11 market to 2 traders to 1 trader C linkages with 3 traders A&B AB&C • Tillabéri 5 PO linked to None Na Na 4 to be linked 9 PO in 9 market 1 trader D to 1 trader E linkages with 2 traders D&E • Zinder None None 5 PO linked to Na Na 5 PO in 5 market 1 trader F linkages with 1 trader F Total achieved 15 PO linked None 5 PO linked to Na 5 PO linked 25 PO in 25 market in FY17 +FY18 to 2 traders 1 trader to 2 traders linkage with 6 traders Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to processors • Maradi 3 PO linked to 5 PO linked Na na 5 other PO 13 PO in 13 linkages 1 processor A to 1 linked to 1 with 2 processors processor B processor A A&B • Tillabéri 8 PO linked to na None na None 8 PO in 8 market 2 processors linkages with 2 D&E processors D&E • Zinder 3 PO linked to na 6 PO linked to na None 9 PO in 9 market 1 processor F 2 processors linkages with 2 (1 new +1old) processors F&G F&G Total achieved 14 PO linked 5 PO linked 6 PO linked to Na 5 PO linked 30 PO in 30 market in FY17 + to 4 to 1 2 processors to 1 linkage with 6 FY18 processors processor processor processors

51 This means that this type of market linkage did not emerge during the business linkages development workshops. 52 This means that this type of market linkage was not envisaged in the work plan. 81

c) Small ruminant value chain

Table A1-5: Distribution of small ruminant beneficiary support plans by region and partner projects in Burkina Faso

Partner projects whose beneficiaries are involved in REGIS-AG business linkages Relationship REGIS-ER ViM PROFIL FASO Other partners Total planned Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to traders • Center none53 none None none 34 PO linked 34 PO in 34 North to 3 traders market linkages AB&C with 3 traders AB&C • East 03 PO linked None None none 18 PO linked 21 PO in 21 to 2 traders to 4 traders market linkages D&C D-G with 4 traders54 D-G • Sahel 4 PO linked None None none 27 linked to 1 31 PO in 31 to 1 trader H trader H market linkages with 1 trader H55 Total achieved 07 PO linked None None none 79 PO linked 86 PO in 86 in FY17 + to 3 traders to 8 traders market linkages FY18 DC&H A-H with 8 traders Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to butchers • Center 02 PO linked Na56 Na Na 06 PO linked 08 PO linked in 6 North to 1 butcher to 1 butcher market linkages 1 A A butcher A • East Na Na Na Na 01 PO linked 01 PO linked in 1 to 1 butcher B market linkage 1 butcher B57 • Sahel Na Na Na Na 08 PO linked 08 PO in 8 market to 1 butcher C linkages with 1 butcher C Total achieved 02 PO linked Na Na Na 15 PO linked 17 PO in 17 in FY17 + to 1 butcher to 3 butchers market linkages FY18 A AB&C with 3 butchers AB&C

53 This means that this type of market linkage did not emerge during the business linkages development workshops. 54 Kabore Alphonse, Mano Domano, Traore Djibril, and Walabri Yarba. 55 Goune Abdou. 56 This means that this type of market linkage was not envisaged in the work plan. 57 Soubeiga Rene. 82

Table A1-6: Distribution of small ruminant beneficiary support plans by region and partner projects in Niger

Partner projects whose beneficiaries are involved in REGIS-AG business linkages Relationship REGIS-ER LAHIA SAWKI PAASAM-TA Other partners Total planned Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to traders • Maradi 2 PO linked na58 3 PO linked 11 PO linked 9 PO linked 25 PO in 25 to 1 trader A to 2 traders to 1 trader A to 2 traders market linkages A&B A&B with 2 traders A&B59 • Tillabéri 9 PO linked Na none60 none 15 PO linked 24 PO in 24 to 2 traders to 2 traders market linkages C&D C&E with 3 traders CD&E61 • Zinder 9 PO linked Na 1 PO linked 6 PO linked 9 PO linked 25 PO in 25 to 2 traders to 1 trader F to 1 trader G to 1 trader F market linkages F&G with 2 traders62 Total achieved 20 PO linked Na 4 PO linked 17 PO linked 33 PO linked 74 PO in 74 in FY17 + to 5 traders to 4 traders to 2 traders to 5 traders market linkages FY18 with 7 traders Plans validated and ready for implementation for partner project’s POs linked to butchers • Maradi none 4 PO linked na na 19 PO linked 23 PO in 21 to 1 butcher to 1 butcher market linkages A A with 1 butcher63 • Tillabéri none Na Na Na none none • Zinder none Na Na Na none none Total achieved none 4 PO linked Na Na 19 PO linked 23 PO in 23 in FY17 + to 1 butcher to 1 butcher market linkages FY18 with 1 butcher

58 This means that this type of market linkage was no envisaged in the FY18 work plan. 59 GIE Zumuntchi Kara and Tatalin Arzikin 60 This means that this type of market linkage did not emerge during the business linkages development workshops. 61 Entreprise ALHERI, trader Abdou Mayaki, and trader Amadou Hassane 62 Trader Elh Hamissou, trader El Hachimou 63 Cooperative of butchers at the Maradi slaughterhouse. 83

Annex 2. List of BDS providers REGIS-AG mobilized in Burkina Faso and Niger

a) BDS providers selected and their respective contracts, Niger

Name of BDS service Number of Contracts provider Cowpea Poultry Small ruminants Total 1. CEFP NAKAURA 0 0 5 5 2. ONG ONDES 0 0 4 4 3. CAVESA 0 0 1 2 4. ONG Sahel Action 1 1 4 6 5. ONG ADC 0 0 2 2 6. CVR PROXIVET 0 0 1 1 7. ECODEL 1 0 0 1 8. GSC NIYYA 2 0 0 2 9. VETO PLUS 0 0 0 4 10. GCA Humbassa 3 0 0 3 11. AD Maraba 1 0 0 1 12. ONG NIGETECH 1 0 0 1 13. UAD-Hindobeye 0 1 0 1 14. CROP 0 1 0 1 15. GSC Bonse 0 2 0 2 Total 9 10 17 36

b) BDS service providers selected and their respective contracts, Burkina Faso

Number of Contracts Name of BDS service provider Cowpea Poultry Small ruminants Total 1. African Management and 5 0 2 7 Development (AMD) 2. What You Need 0 0 2 2 3. Beta Concept 0 1 1 2 4. Segrim 0 1 2 3 5. Horus 0 0 1 1 6. Yempabou 0 2 1 3 7. VA2D 0 0 1 1 8. Afrique Agri Conseils 0 2 0 2 9. Emergence Sahel Consulting 1 1 0 2 Total 6 7 10 23

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