Overview

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.