CARE INTERNATIONAL IN MALI CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE PROJECT (ECOFERME) Funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation FINAL REPORT February 1, 2009 to January 31, 2012 Contact: Priya Sampath Jane Iredale Senior Director of Development Program Director CARE USA CARE International in Mali 151 Ellis St. NE Rue 110, Porte 368 Korofina Nord, P.O. Box Atlanta, GA 30303 1766, Bamako, Mali 404-979-9468 223 76 24 36 36 [email protected] [email protected] 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary 3 2. Goals and Objectives 7 3. Achieved Outcomes 7 4. Challenges Encountered 21 5. Lessons Learned 22 6. Budget Summary 23 7. Completed Project Work Plan 24 I. Executive summary 2 The final report to the Howard G Buffett Foundation covers three years of implemented activities of the ECOFERME conservation agriculture project from February 2009 to January 2012. As an agro- pastoralist and forestry-oriented country, nearly 90 percent of Mali’s population relies on agriculture. A sector that is highly dependent on increasingly variable and unpredictable climatic conditions. To address these challenges to agricultural development, CARE International in Mali received financial and technical support from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to improve agricultural production without increasing dependence on external inputs. The project focused on teaching the three conservation agriculture (CA) principles of no tillage, crop rotation, and mulching to farmers. To compliment these principles a package of complementary strategies including: micro-dosage with fertilizer; intercropping millet, sorghum, maize, and cowpea; producing compost; encouraging soil regeneration; establishing food banks; and establishing trees as hedges and windbreaks was also included. ECOFERME was implemented by CARE Mali in partnership with two local NGOs – the Association for the Promotion of Women “YAM-GIRIBOLO-TUMO” (YAGTU) in Mopti and the Malian Association for the Promotion of the Sahel (AMAPROS) in Ségou – in ten communes in the districts of Ségou, Macina, and Bandiagara. Significant progress toward the project’s objectives was made during the life of the project. Realized outcomes include: 1. 18,502 against a target of 12,000 households adopted conservation agriculture techniques for staple food production; 2. 646,28 ha against a target of 400 ha of degraded land was rehabilitated under agro-silvo- pastoral production; 3. 633 out of a target of 180 community-based trainers (CBT) and 12,907 out of a target of 2,100 local community-based resource persons are recognized as key community resources for their knowledge and training skills in conservation agriculture and in monitoring and improving child nutritional status; 4. 219 (including 50 newly formed groups and 169 existing groups) out of a target of 300 women’s savings and loans associations are operational and provide financial intermediation services to their members, allowing them to improve their livelihood security and capacity to negotiate public and private investment in their income generating activities (IGAs); 5. 156 out of a target of 80 producer groups (2,400 members – mainly women and youth) have acquired land resources for their conservation agriculture based micro projects and 136 out of a target of 80 have acquired secured long-term user rights over those land resources. 6. Reaching the target, 10 communes have established policies and operational action plans for the sustainable and equitable management of agriculture and natural resources, including land tenure by-laws that reconcile customary and state legal frameworks and address the specific needs of different interest groups – including women and youth. The support of the Howard G Buffett Foundation allowed CARE Mali to test and consolidate its vision of CA and use it as an area of change in its Food Security and Climate Changes Program. As a result, CARE Mali is implementing CA in its PADIN (Irrigation Program in the Inner Delta of Niger River) project. All partners involved in the implementation of this CA project, such as Government technical services, research institutions, municipal, and communities, are adopting CA as a sustainable, low cost technology to improve the fertility of soils and crop yields. The Pathways project, recently funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is also incorporating a full package of CA and ECOFERME technologies to address agricultural production. Specific progress toward project objectives and results are summarized in Table 1 below and discussed in detail throughout the report. 3 Table 1. Summary indicators Settings Description of Project Results indicator 2009 2010 2011 Changes in The average yield Microdose 2g Micro dosage 2g Micro dosage 2g productivity is the average yield driven from Millet: from 763 Millet: 1,810 kg/ha Millet: 1,429 kg/ha, the yield square kg/ha to 2,840 kg/ha placed on Sorghum: 2,000 kg/ha Sorghum: 1,600 kg/ha different plots by Sorghum: from speculation and 1,200 kg/ha to 3,700 Improved millet The reduction in yield was technology kg/ha (toronion): 3,200 to due to very low rainfall 5,400 kg/ha during the 2011 raining season. Conservation Agriculture Millet : 1,750 kg/ha Conservation Agriculture Millet : 1,750 kg/ha Land area This is the area 453.25 ha cultivated 28.5 ha by CBTs and 97.2 ha by CBTs and groups covered by cultivated or by CBT under micro groups with three CA with three CA principles CA covered under dosage ratio 1/1 and principles Zero tillage, the different micro dosage 2g per Zero tillage, Rotation, technologies planting hole Rotation, Soil cover (Conservation Soil cover Agriculture, with application of micro mulching, etc.) with application of micro dosage dosage Mulching in micro projects Partial mulching areas Rate of CA The ratio 71 VSLA groups and At least 50% of farmers At least 95% of farmers technology between the 75 youth groups from year one villages from year one villages have adoption number of received information have adopted the micro adopted the micro dose producer on ECOFERME dose practice practice households using technologies the technology 4 youth groups and 5 8 youth groups, 4 women over all individual producers groups, 20 CBTs groups and producers and have learned and 48 individual producers expressed in % applied the three have learned and applied principles of the three principles of conservation agriculture. conservation agriculture. 135 kg of seed was grown on 38.33 ha under micro-dosage technology by 70 producers Technologies This indicator Microdose : CA: 3.2 ha land CA: 116.2 ha land (48.5 + tested represents the 453.25ha M 2g : 3,319 ha 48.7+19) area of cultivated Improved seed M 2g : 7,373 ha land under the Zaï: 2.75ha "toronion": 38.33 following: Mulching: 225ha hectares Recovery of land: 0.5 ha fodder Zai: 332.5 ha Conservation 0.4 ha fodder Recovery of land: Stone bunds: 82,062 linear agriculture sorghum Zai: 47.64 ha meters (61,004 +21058)= Microdose Stone bunds: 61,004 196.13 ha 4 2g, linear meters or 154.02 Fodder crops: 32.25 ha Soaking, ha Half moon: 2.5 ha Improved Fodder crops: 17.75 ha Tied ridges: 2.5 ha seed Soil cover : 56.75 ha production Baobab: 1,800 plants Bunds : 23 ha Fodder crops Gliricidia sepium: 821 Fascines : 0.65 ha Recovered plants zai, stone Jujuphus mauritiana: Baobab: 1,967 plants bunds 446 plants (1,800 +167) Half-moon Accacia nilotica: 460 Moringa : 4,700 plants Mulching plants (hedge) (3437+1263) Bunds Gliricidia sepium: 1,016 Fascines plants (835+181) Jujuphus mauritiana: 1,077 For food banks plants (734 +343) and feed it is the Accacia nilotica: 460 plants number of plants (hedge) produced Eucalyptus : 336 plants Acajou Senegalensis : 404 plants Goyava: 252 plants Neem : 569 plants Orange: 7 plans Arbres à étages : 2 plants Changes in Moisture/ N/A At this stage, there are There was no budget line soil property humidity no significant for soil analysis during the Hardness differences in soil last year of the project. pH moisture between However, in 2010, the Temperature control and test plots. analyses did not show any Other Some significant significant difference differences might be between test and control visible after three to five plots. years. The plant nutrient deficiency for the first planting season is low in selected sites Basic VSLA 36 VSLA established 5 VSLA established and 9 VSLA established and 210 activities or conservation 205 enhanced enhanced conservation support farming technologies conservation farming farming technologies / activities and ECOFERME technologies / ECOFERME ECOFERME Sensitization of Seed systems farmers on Improved seeds "toronion" production seed Improved seeds provided to producers who "toronion" provided to replenish inventory for producers who replenish others RAS inventory for others Irrigation Irrigation: 2 solar pumps Irrigation: 2 solar pumps for gardening perimeters for gardening for the benefit of 5 VSLA Sensitization of perimeters for the Post-harvest mulching after benefit of 5 VSLA Post-harvesting technologies harvest technology: two stores Post-harvesting have been built and technology: two stores Moringa powder is being are under construction produced and Moringa powder is Two visits were done 5 being produced during year 3 by 7 producer groups. Advocacy N/A Training of 158 youth Training of 158 youth and and Policy and women groups on women groups on advocacy techniques advocacy techniques Approval of 50 Approval of 82 agreements agreements on natural on natural resources resources management, management, specifically specifically on access to on access to land land 4 acts passed making land 4 acts passed making equaling 4 ha for market land equaling 4 ha for gardens available to 20 market gardens VSLA available to 20 VSLA Producers’ Knowledge 1,179 farmers have 6,177 farmers have 17,134 farmers have knowledge before and after learned about learned about learned about conservation testing the conservation conservation agriculture agriculture technologies technologies agriculture technologies and and ECOFERME.