CARITAS MONGU

SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT FAME

Farmers Advance through Market Engagement (FAME) project in Western Province Mongu and Senanga districts (2011-2013) Highlight

NICHOLAS MUNDIA

7/23/2014

Farmers Advance through Market Engagement (FAME) project is implemented in eight(8) communities; two in Senanga District while the other six are in Mongu district of Western province of Zambia. The project is being implemented by Catholic Relief services (CRS) and its partner Catholic Diocese of Mongu (CDOM) for a period of 3 years (2011-2014). The project is jointly funded by CRS and Foods Resource Bank of the United States. Caritas Mongu has previously supported interventions in these sites under the Scottish Government-funded Promotion of Rural Food Security project (PRFSP) and FRB-funded Multiplication of Cassava and Sweet Potatoes (MOSCAP) project.

Farmers Advance through Market Engagement (FAME) project in Western Province Mongu and Senanga districts (2011-2013) Highlights

This article will outline the FAME’s strategy, positive outcomes, challenges presented and lessons drawn on best practice.

Introduction

Farmers Advance through Market Engagement (FAME) project is implemented in eight(8) communities; two in Senanga District while the other six are in Mongu district of Western province of Zambia. The project is being implemented by Catholic Relief services (CRS) and its partner Catholic Diocese of Mongu (CDOM) for a period of 3 years (2011-2014). The project is jointly funded by CRS and Foods Resource Bank of the United States. Caritas Mongu has previously supported interventions in these sites under the Scottish Government-funded Promotion of Rural Food Security project (PRFSP) and FRB-funded Multiplication of Cassava and Sweet Potatoes (MOSCAP) project.

FAME began with SILC, which was the main focus of Year 1. FAME conducted the initial, more intensive SILC trainings during the dry season and activities focused on production took place during the growing season.

SILC secretary filling in a ledge book during a SILC meeting

In Years 2&3, FAME focused more on Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) members and small holder farmers increase household assets and incomes activities, working with transformed SILC into producer groups on the skills and linkages requires for

them to engage with markets and achieve food security.

The long-term goal of FAME

To contribute to increasing food security for vulnerable small scale famers in the selected communities through two strategic objectives;

a) Small holder farmers sustainably increase production of diverse nutritious food.

b) Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) members and small holder farmers increase household assets and incomes.

Project site identification

The project selected Mweeke, ILundu, Limulunga, Namushakende and Kataba in Mongu and Senanga respectively as the FAME implementation areas. Currently the project has 58 SILC producer groups formed.FAME project sites were selected based on the high levels of chronic food insecurity, characterized with high seasonal variation in food availability. Most small holder farmers have low crop productivity due to the infertile Kalahari sands, rendering crops susceptible to untimely water deficits and require the addition of external nutrients and organic matter to improve the soil’s capacity to hold water and nutrients. Furthermore the communities have high reliance on maize monoculture, which compounds their food insecurity due to low productivity and accelerated soil degradation processes. The reliance on maize as a staple food has contributed to poor nutrition as a diet comprised mainly of maize is low in protein, fats and micronutrients, resulting in alarmingly high malnutrition rates.These communities have inadequate resources (financial, draft power, improved seeds and fertilizer and labor) to invest adequately in production as well as not being well organized hindering farmers’ full engagement in markets.

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Target Project participants were drawn from current CRS-led food-security programming, with existing farmers as SILC groups. These groups are formed on a voluntary basis by qualifying households, where vulnerability was determined using standard criteria such as households being headed by a woman, lack of productive labour, large numbers of children, long-term or chronic illness and disability.

Steps in implementation

Caritas Mongu experience shows that SILC is a crucial step in ensuring food security for poor farmers, SILC provides them with a small but vital measure of security against shocks such as illness, protects their productive assets (e.g. paying school fees rather than selling an asset), and builds social cohesion and mutual support among rural women. SILC also provides small capital investments that can be used to improve food production or start a small agro-enterprise.

First year, FAME opened up participation to vulnerable households through the introduction of SILC, the project trained SILC Field Agents (FAs) who informed interested community members about SILC, and invite them to form a SILC group if they find that they meet the self-selection criteria. FAME has also ensured that at every level both men and women have equal access to information through the dissemination of messages in both Lozi and English during community meetings and trainings. FAs provide the new groups with training and support through their first cycle, with a diminishing level of support as the groups gain confidence.

Second year, after completing the initial SILC training, interested groups entered a second phase of intensive training, with a focus on sustainable production and agro-enterprise

The picture below shows Mbuyoti SILC group (ILundu) under-going saving

-development facilitated by Livelihood Extension Agents (LEAs) former FAs. The agro-enterprise process includes several sub-steps: (i) market-opportunity identification, (ii) product selection, (iii) business planning,

(iv) Collective marketing, and (v) profit analysis. The first three sub-steps are undertaken before crop production, and the collective marketing and profit analysis are completed after harvest.

Participating Farmers during business plan exercise using canvas model

Caritas Mongu is using a tool that allows the groups to develop a sound business plan and calculate expected and actual profits known as Farm book.

Farm book

FAME team comprised of CRS, Caritas and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock staff participated in the CRS Southern Africa Regional Office’s Agro Enterprise learning Alliance (SARO-AELA) training in Farm-book, Natural Resource management and innovation.

Production coordinator in his vegetable garden in Limulunga

The purpose of the Farm-book is to

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a) Enable the registration of project

participants into producer groups, b) Enable producer groups to develop

business plans,c) Enable farmers to run profitability

analyses in the field, d) Supports crop production scheduling,e) Allows field agents to record farm visits,

training given and assets transferred, f) The process will also support mapping

for farmer groups.

Community Based Monitoring & Evaluation (CBM&E)

CbM&E is a process through which community members define the changes they want to see through participation in the project, while also defining indicators for measuring those changes. CRS and Caritas Mongu conducted a community-based monitoring and evaluation (CbM&E) exercise within the FAME communities. CBM&E is more of an approach rather than a specific technique to involve communities in gathering evidence of project performance. The approach does not merely use the communities for data but also encourages them to voice and express their concerns; realities and the extent to which the project has impacted and improved their lives. CBM&E enhances community ownership of the project and ensure communities monitor change that they expect in relation to the indicators they developed.

Participating farmers participating in CBME process

Benefits of CBM&E

CBME recognizes the community’s right to participate in Programme development, implementation and evaluation, thereby fostering a rights-based orientation.

The process of undertaking CBME provides a deeper understanding of the community’s concerns, so that it can increase the evaluation’s authenticity, credibility, legitimacy and accuracy.

The results of CBME provide a sound basis for programming and capacity development.

The process of CBME enables co-learning among development workers and communities.

CBME fosters the practice of participation by community members, not just in evaluation but also in Programme use, thereby directly impacting on project success.

Participating Farmer in Nan`oko Limulunga preparing vegetables for processing

Activities

Trainings

1. Natural Resource Management and Innovation

2. Selection of products for marketing3. Monitoring and report writing 4. Vegetable production5. Conservation Agriculture technologies 6. Rice Production skills 7. Nutrition and Health talks 8. Food processing and Preservation9. Canvas walk

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10. Business plan11. Training of Livelihood Extension Agents

in Finance (SILC),12. Selection of Livelihood Extension

agents13. Introduction to marketing14. Farm book Business Planning15. Farm book Profitability16. Setting up of demo plots17. Verification of farmers practicing

conservation agriculture18. The election of marketing and

production coordinators19. Introduction of the project and its

objectives to newly formed groups

Project site visitations/studies

Researchers at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia and Bunda University in Malawi visited FAME project to study the impact of the skill sets and the PSP model. The research was originally specified for Malawi and Zimbabwe. However, the projects in Zimbabwe that were earlier using the skill sets have closed as such Zimbabwe was replaced by Zambia.

The main questions of the study:

To what extent do the skill sets enable smallholder farmers to engage effectively with markets and

How effective is the PSP model for delivering the skill sets

Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) Program

The FAME project collaborated with a team of students and faculty from Cornell University, University of Zambia (UNZA), and Natural Resources Development College (NRDC) under the Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) Program. The SMART Program conducted participatory field-based research aimed at understanding the underlying factors influencing household agricultural production, food access, and nutrition among smallholder farmers in Mongu District. The focus of the assessment was the linkage between agriculture and nutrition and how these potentially affected the nutritional status of households, particularly of children under five years of age. The team used a conceptual framework developed by a nutritionist at Cornell University to help them

identify key topics to focus on. The framework diagrams linkages among factors that affect a household’s (1) productive assets, (2) agricultural production, (3) food access, (4) child’s dietary intake, and (5) ) child’s nutritional status.

FAME Livelihood Extension Agent in his rice field demo plot in ILundu- December 2013

FRB Board members field visit

The FAME project had a pleasure of hosting Beth Mooy, FRB board member and Fremont Growing Project, Judi Frost, Sleepy Hollow, Illinois and Dianne Eldred, Ithaca, New York. The FRB team visited the FAME project with the following objects:

1. Opportunity for participative discussions with program staff and participants with US growing project participants for mutual learning,

2. Opportunity to see celebrate progress and learn about challenges, and

3. Viewing of financial reporting and back up documentation

The FRB team visited a farmer producer group, SILC meeting and a SILC box being used to offer low interest loans to its members and the resulting increased capacity and heard success stories from project participants.

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Graduations of SILC groups

The table below shows the total number of SILC group graduated by December 2013

S/N Community Name Total SILC Groups

Total Graduated groups

Total Amount shared

1 Namushakende 10 10 218,051.84

2 Kataba 3 2 11,880.00

3 Lyamutinga 8 2 5,297.00

4 Mweeke 4 4 26,095.50

5 ILundu 9 6 14,964.00

6 Limulunga(Nan’oko) 9 4 36,184.50

7 Limulunga (Ikwichi) 7 3 20,218.00

8 Limulunga (Nakalembe) 7 1 3,475.00

57 18 336165.84

Client story 1Share-out and graduation of SILC:

In the village of Nakalembe , Limulunga district of western province Zambia , a group of 26 members started a SILC called Tama Sitenge. On 21th August 2013 shared-out and graduated with K 9,144.00 The Least in the group went away with K 51.35 and the Highest in

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the group went away with K 762.92 , the least member saved K28.00 kwacha and the highest saved K416.00. The share-out ceremony was attended by the Community Development Assistants, Mongu District Farmers Association extension officer and Kataba Livelihood extension agent.The Chairperson, Pumulo Batinguluka, 63 years old woman, encouraged the youth to join SILCs. “I used to go in the plain to sell my local beer (Kachasu or Kachipempe) in order to pay my loans in the box and sustain my family. Today I’m glad of what I have achieved from SILC and the support from my family”. The group has a plan to restart the next cycle soon.

Client Story 2 (March 2013)

Three meals per day:

Akende Mulonga a 46 years old farmer of Moonga village in Namushakende community who was unable to feed his family from January to December and to pay for his school going children. As a result, he was forced

to engage into petty business which was not benefiting his family because the capital was too small to invest in production (agriculture activities) or start a bigger business.

In 2011, Akende joined KOZO SILC/producer group, “My vision as a member is to have my own kraal of cattle, to be able to purchase agriculture inputs and implements and lastly to build a permanent structure (Iron roofed house).With the introduction of SILC in our community has helped me a lot because now I’m able to feed my family three times in a day without problems; my petty business has improved from KR20.00 per day to KR80.00, this increase is due to the SILC loans I get every month and invest in my business. I’m able now to buy my own seed, I have planted half a lima of upper land maize near my home.I’m planning that by the end of the cycle I will invest my savings in Agriculture activities (rice production). My initial saving was KR 5.00 and today I have KR 432.00 SILC

has helped me and my family in many ways. SILC has been an eye opener in my life. I am no longer getting credits from financial institutions or relatives.” He said.

Client Story 3 (July 2013)

Namushakende is about 15 to 25 Km south away from Mongu town along Mongu- Senanga road.

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Namushakende once a BOMA where most district offices operated making it more less a mini town with a lot of activities taking place around, because of the presence of a lot of NGOs in its community most community members are enlightened of what is happening in the nearby town of Mongu in terms of Micro finance institutions. The project had its roots in this community sometime back in the year 2000 to now, so as the project introduced SILC activities in this place already some groups were in existence for SILC General from Caritas Mongu office making competition among members wanting to join because of the benefits being observed and seen to those saving groups.The project as of date has a total of a 12 SILC groups in operation within the community of Namushakende.One of the groups in operation is Swalisano SILC group where Akatama Mufalo is a member. Ms. Akatama at the start of the first cycle told a story that her vision is to have a set of oxen of her own. From the community meeting which was called by then the SILC agent now Livelihood Extension Agent, the group was born on 3rd

January 2012 and named Swalisano meaning working together. The project team had a chance to talk to her concern what she has seen been in a SILC group as a member. She narrated her story as below;“I started my savings with K2 in the first cycle and graduated with K1156. In the first cycle i got four

times loans, I invested the money in rice and local chicken businesses. From the profits I managed to buy 40 pole at K200 and two iron sheets at K65 each for the grocery. When the group graduated, the money I got I bought one oxen costing K1, 500 where i paid K900 as first installment.” She said.She also bought one pocket of cement marked the floor in her house, she is happy been in group because she has received trainings in vegetable production, marketing, group organization, food processing and nutrition. These trainings are helping in her day to day activities.

“I have a vegetable garden today because of the project training that I’m receiving from our production coordinator and project staff. In this second cycle I

have increased my savings, now am saving K50 on average I want to get more in my savings this time. My aim is to achieve my vision of having a set of oxen’s by the end of this cycle by God’s grace”. Akatama mufalo said.

Akatama Mufalo in her vegetable garden

Positive outcomes

A total of 57 SILC groups were formed with a total cumulative savings of ZMK 394,845.84

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The project conducted Training of Trainers (ToT) training for lead farmers, field agents and SILC

executive members in group management and basic business management. The next level of training was conducted during the first quarter of year 2.

The project facilitated the CbM&E exercise, which will ensure that the communities have a voice in the changes they expect to realize as a result of participation in FAME. This exercise will improve CRS and Caritas Mongu’s ability to monitor and evaluate the success of the project.

The formation of producer groups and close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Officers has put the producer group at an advantage to receive subsidized inputs from the Fertilizer Input Support program (Government supported inputs). One of the Producer groups in Kataba received inputs from the Climate Change program.

The program implementation started with SILC as launch pad to engage in other productive activities like agricultural production and collective marketing. The start of SILC supported farmers to build savings for engagement in productive activities.

Participating farmers are engaged in small business at household level, using their income to buy inputs, implements, food, household assets, school fees and other etc.

Lessons Learnt

There is limited budget to carry out regular farmer trainings. The initial low level of farmer understanding requires that the trainings be conducted for longer periods of time. However the budget is not enough to lengthen them for the number of trainings required.

The FAME communities have previously received hand-outs, especially farming inputs. Farmers expect FAME to provide similar agricultural inputs. This expectation requires the project team to communicate clearly and effectively over extended period of time the intended benefits of SILC on household incomes, as well as the ability of SILC members to use small loans to invest in agricultural inputs and other productive activities. A lot of efforts need to be invested by project facilitators in changing the mind-set of the targeted farmers.

There is need for more collaboration between development agencies to avoid conflict of approaches

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