Monthly Report – January 2018: Feed the Future Mali Cereal Value Chain Project

The project focuses on the cereal value chain in Mali, with a specific emphasis on millet production and trade. In January 2018, producers training on hygiene and sanitation related to irrigation water was conducted, targeting irrigated and dryland systems. The training aimed to improve agricultural productivity and reduce the risk of water-borne diseases. Additionally, cereal stocks aggregation for marketing was implemented, allowing producers to consolidate their millet production and sell it to wholesalers in bulk. The project also focused on expanding markets and trade, with a total of 82 sales contracts signed between Producers Organizations and wholesalers for 1,050.30 MT of millet. The sales contracts were distributed as follows: 42 contracts signed for 446.10 MT of millet in Bankass and 40 contracts signed for 604.20 MT of millet in Koro. The collection of millet for credit reimbursement is underway, with producers consolidating their volume of millet necessary to reimburse the credit before starting any other sales. The project also prioritized the resilience of vulnerable communities and households, although no activities were undertaken during the reporting period. However, a capacity building workshop on the use of the TOM²PRO software was organized by the USAID Cereal Value Chain project, strengthening the capacity of implementing partner finance departments on the use of the software. The project also emphasized the importance of gender, with the participation of processing units in the Agricultural Fair (FOKAYES) in Kayes. CVC Sikasso assisted six processing units to participate in the fair, providing them with an opportunity to meet and discuss with various stakeholders, including ICCO, ADP, and FLEXARE. Additionally, a coaching and mentoring trip was conducted to male/female POs and female cereal processors in Mopti and Sikasso, promoting women's participation in cereal value chains activities and developing female entrepreneurship. The project also prioritized monitoring and evaluation, with a review and validation of data collection sheets in Mopti. The meeting allowed the CVC Monitoring and Evaluation team to revise and validate all project data collection sheets, including those capturing information on low performing indicators. The team also discussed the need to reorganize the SharePoint database to capture information on participation in training of non-members of CVC partner organizations in CVC targeted villages. Finally, the project emphasized coordination and collaboration, with a meeting between USAID and COFRN (Coopérative feminine de Nièna) to assess the level of achievement of the cooperative's activities and sustainable support provided by the CVC project. The meeting involved 58 COFRN women members, in addition to the village chief, the mayor, and the sub-prefect and seven people from CVC.