Benin soya nutrition project no. 680-0207

CRS will implement the project"s extensive training, demonstration, and information dissemination activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development. Initial training on soya cultivation, preparation, and nutritional value will be provided to core project staff (the project manager, 4 mobile unit team leaders, and several Centre d"Action Regionale pour le Developpement Rural (CARDER - the agricultural extension service) agents; team leaders will also receive training at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture. Short-term training to increase awareness of soya and its nutritional value will then be provided to some 2,140 policymakers, agriculturalists, doctors, teachers, nurses, and other influential persons through conferences at the provincial, district, and village levels. Four mobile teams will give soya planting and preparation demonstrations at some 500 schools, preschool centers, health centers, youth and agriculture clubs, and church groups. Seeds (a total of about 10,120 kilos) will be distributed to an estimated half of the farmers and to about 300 of the schools reached through demonstrations; schools will be expected to plant a soya section in their gardens for consumption in school and for dissemination to area families. These efforts will be complemented by the distribution of posters and information sheets (a total of 9,000 of the former and 150,000 of the latter) at each demonstration and through public offices throughout the country. Complementary activities, to be conducted by CARDER and by agencies of the Ministries of Higher Education, of Secondary Education, and of Public Health, will include: seed multiplication and special training of CARDER agents; varietal field trials and nutritional analyses; cooking experiments; and nutrition surveys.