Monthly Feed the Future Report Mali Cereal Value Chain Project (AID-688-C-13-00002)

The project's primary objective is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Mali by enhancing their access to markets, credit, and inputs. The project focuses on the cereal value chain, with a particular emphasis on rice, millet, and millet/sorghum. The project's implementation is led by ACDI/VOCA, in partnership with local partners, including the Office Riz Mopti (ORM) and the Institut National de Gestion et de Formation (INAGEF). The project's activities are designed to address the constraints faced by smallholder farmers, including limited access to markets, credit, and inputs. The project's interventions include training of trainers, infrastructure development, and facilitation of market linkages between northern and southern regions. The project has made significant progress in its first year, with over 2,500 farmers receiving training in sustainable agriculture techniques. The project has also established a network of suppliers and buyers, with a commercial transaction follow-up committee established to facilitate trade. The project's baseline study is underway, with data collectors trained to collect information on the cereal value chain. The project has also made progress in its gender and vulnerable groups component, with a four-day training of trainers conducted for 32 youth (12 of whom were women) on literacy, numeracy, and leadership skills. The project's objective is to empower women and vulnerable groups to participate in the cereal value chain. The project has also made progress in its security component, with a visit by ACDI/VOCA's Director of Security to assess the security situation in the project implementation zones. The visit revealed that the project can be carried out without major security concerns in the intervention areas, except in the Timbuktu region. The project has also made progress in its financial services component, with a financial services manager on board to provide support to value chain actors. The manager will work to strengthen individuals and institutions interested in financial intermediation as a profession. The project has also made progress in its infrastructure development component, with a focus on improving the cereal value chain. The project has also made progress in its capacity building component, with a training of trainers conducted for field-based trainers on the diagnosis tool M4 (Membership, Marketing, Money, Management). The training aimed to initiate the trainers on the tool and equip them with the skills to conduct a self-evaluation of cooperatives, identify weaknesses and strengths, and develop a plan for capacity strengthening. The project has also made progress in its revolving fund component, with a field mission conducted to examine the situation of the revolving fund established by the Institute for Conservation and Management (IICEM) in the areas of Bankass and Koro. The mission revealed that the revolving fund is acceptable and has been used to support smallholder farmers. The project has also made progress in its agricultural credit component, with a visit by the CVC project's staff to discuss the last agricultural credit situation with BNDA's management. The visit revealed that some cooperatives have reimbursed their loans, while others are still outstanding. The project has also made progress in its administrative and financial management component, with a two-week STTA assignment completed by the CVC project's coordinator to provide administrative and financial support to the Bamako-based staff. The assignment included finalizing the first advance of local subcontractors, drafting the subcontract with the Service for the Development of Agriculture (SDA), and preparing a plan for the CVC project launch.