Malawi Livestock for Resilience Quarterly Report, July 2015 – September 2015

The project aims to build the resilience of disaster-prone communities by expanding and maintaining livestock assets, increasing access to animal health services, and enhancing their capacity to save and mitigate risks. The project targets 6,000 households in ten communities of Dowa and Ntchisi districts in central Malawi. During the July-September 2015 reporting period, the project achieved several milestones. A total of 13,108 people benefited from livestock activities, including training, livestock distribution, and access to animal health services. Direct beneficiaries included 240 farmers who received and used livestock vouchers to grow their herd or flock, 6,167 farmers who accessed improved animal health services, and 4,285 farmers who participated in training in improved animal husbandry practices. The project also constructed 367 animal housing structures under the goat value chain and 584 animal housing structures under the poultry value chain. Supervised Livestock Lead Farmers (LLFs) provided animal health treatment to 38,293 animals, with 28,353 or 74% being new to the project. Additionally, facilitated savings of $72,096 were recorded for Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) members, with loans totaling $53,676.88 being disbursed to group members. The project's livestock distribution has been delayed due to slow deliveries from contracted vendors, but it is expected to be completed in the next quarter. The project will also continue to build the capacity of LLFs to improve their efficiency in providing animal health services to target beneficiaries. Furthermore, the project will strengthen the capacity of producer groups, improve access to market information, train producer group members in household enterprises, and facilitate continued savings and loan among targeted beneficiaries. The project's administration and operations are managed through a national office in Lilongwe, a field operations office at Mponela, and sub-field offices in Ntchisi and Dowa district centers. The L4R team is comprised of a Chief of Party, Business and Marketing Specialists, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Livestock Specialists, Project Accountant, Administrative Assistant, and Drivers. The team receives technical support from Land O'Lakes Global and Regional teams. The project's livestock asset base has been expanded through the distribution of 384 local goats and 255 chickens to 189 and 51 farmer beneficiaries, respectively. The selection criteria for beneficiaries include households' level of engagement with the program, dedication to advancing their livestock enterprise, and vulnerability level. The use of these diverse selection criteria has led to a transparent process that allows farmers to improve their own situation. The project has also increased the capacity of vulnerable households to maintain their asset base through training of Livestock farmers in animal husbandry. To date, Land O'Lakes-supported LLFs have trained a cumulative total of 5,146 farmers in improved animal husbandry practices against a project life target of 6,000. The trainings offered covered modules such as animal breeding, animal health and disease control, feeds and feeding, and improved housing. These trainings assist farmers to improve management of their livestock to maintain and increase their livestock asset base, contributing towards building their resilience to climatic and economic shocks. The project has also constructed improved animal housing structures, which are designed to reduce the spread of respiratory disease among small ruminants. During the period under review, project beneficiaries constructed 367 animal housing structures on their homesteads in the project districts.