PRF 103

Lead University:  Purdue University 

Project Title:  Development of Input and Product Markets in West Africa for Sorghum and Millet

U.S. PI:  John H. Sanders, Purdue University, Dept. of Ag Economics, West Lafayette, IN 47907

Collaborating Scientists: 

U.S.:
Lloyd Rooney, Texas A&M, College Station, Texas, 77843, USA
Joe Hancock, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA
Felix Baquedano, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.

Niger:       
Botorou Ouendeba, Production-Marketing Project, Niamey, Niger
Nouri Maman, INRAN, Maradi, Niger
Kaka Saley, INRAN, Niamey, Niger

Mali:
Mamourou Diourte, IER, Bamako, Mali

Summary:

Over the next two years the focus will be on documenting the technology-marketing project effects and scaling them up principally in Mali and Niger. The project now includes 11mature farmers’ associations and 1,704 ha in new technologies in three Sahelian countries. An important objective now is increasing the proportion of farmers’ production sold by the farmers’ association. This will undoubtedly require expanding the availability of inventory credit for the mature farmers’ association. So we will facilitate contacts between the banks and the mature farmers’ associations. We will evaluate the differential effects of the project by gender and design measures to increase the impact of the project on the welfare of women and children. We will initiate project activities in Burkina Faso and expand moderately in Niger. In the summer of 2009 we will negotiate with Mali-AID the strategy for expansion there. We have been collaborating with IICEM in Mali, a much larger project focused on expanding financing for agricultural activities.

Objectives:

In the last two years we have expanded rapidly the area covered in this project. In the next two years we will consolidate our gains and concentrate on better documentation of project effects. Specifically in Mali we will focus on the evaluation reports for 2008-2010 and on the differential welfare effects from the program on farmers by gender and region. We also need to identify training capabilities of various NGOs and make contacts with banks and saving and loan associations. We need to train the farmers’ associations to obtain bank loans sooner in the process of institutional development. We are collaborating with INTSORMIL and IER entomologists to educate farmers more on storage practices and insect control. After circulars are produced in French, we will get them translated into Barbara and made available to the farmers’ associations.

As we rapidly expanded the area in new technology we have been doing workshops for food processors of millet products in Senegal and Mali. We also surveyed the intensive chicken producers of Mali and Burkina Faso. We need to do more systematic work to accelerate the use of sorghum in the chicken ration. Our bulletin in Senegal on intensive poultry production was very well received there. We will be updating it and finishing bulletins on national intensive chicken production in Burkina Faso and Mali.

We will also continue our area expansion during 2010 in Niger and begin operation in Burkina Faso. We are applying for McKnight foundation funds to accelerate the expansion in these two countries. With our experience to date we should be able to progress more rapidly in developing mature farmers’ associations and attain even higher yields and incomes quicker (see Benchmarks). We will be consulting with USAID-Mali about the extent of area expansion in 2010 there.