Quarterly Report: Post-Harvest Program to Enhance Competitiveness of the Pearl Millet Value Chain in Senegal

The project targets over 230,000 millet farmers in Senegal and 3.9 million in West Africa, who still use traditional mortar and pestle systems to thresh millet. The project prioritizes addressing the unique needs of women smallholders, who contribute the majority of labor in millet production, particularly post-harvest handling and processing. The project's goal is to build economically sustainable millet threshing equipment supply and millet value chains in Senegal that generate revenues and create assets for smallholder farmers, especially women. The main objectives are to develop local capacity for manufacturing and distribution of improved post-harvest millet technologies, create a financial, business, and technical training package to support profitable enterprise development, build awareness among smallholder farmers of post-harvest technologies and market opportunities, and supply national food security and nutrition programs with quality millet grain. The main activities planned to achieve these objectives include establishing manufacturing of pearl millet threshers in Senegal, strengthening local capacity of the private sector to promote, market, and distribute threshers, developing financial, business, and technical training packages, and facilitating contract terms between smallholder producers and buyers of quality millet grain and seed. The FY2 Annual Implementation Plan calls for the fabrication, sale, delivery, and installation of 60 new, optimized pearl millet threshers by the end of February 2018. During the reporting period, CTI's Technology Coordinator worked closely with the project Quality Assurance Specialist to support the completion of the frames for 60 threshers. Mr. Don Jacobson, a former Vice President of Product Development for General Mills, provided regular communication and monitoring of the process using quality control protocols developed by CTI HQ. CTI HQ also prepared a final assembly protocol and selected a technical team from the U.S. to travel to Péne & Fils' workshop in Thies in the next quarter to ensure uniformity based on these protocols. The project has made significant progress in establishing manufacturing capacity for pearl millet threshers in Senegal. The fabrication of 60 new threshers is underway, with the frames completed and awaiting final assembly. The project has also strengthened local capacity of the private sector to promote, market, and distribute threshers to smallholder millet farmers. Additionally, the project has developed financial, business, and technical training packages to accompany the technologies and facilitated contract terms between smallholder producers and buyers of quality millet grain and seed. The project's geographic focus is on Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, and Kolda regions in Senegal. The project's implementation process involves a facilitation approach, with CTI joining forces with partners to strengthen both the equipment supply chain for CTI's pearl millet threshing tools and the commercial millet value chain. The project's timeframes are from May 8, 2017, to May 7, 2021, with the FY2 Annual Implementation Plan calling for the fabrication, sale, delivery, and installation of 60 new, optimized pearl millet threshers by the end of February 2018.