Fonio: the Sahel’s super grain

Fostering new economic opportunities and improving the resilience of communities

This project aims to boost the economic development of fonio, an essential cereal for food security strategies of the Malian population, by strengthening its value chain from production through marketing. The Mopti region, targeted by the project, is characterized by precariousness and high food and nutritional insecurity, especially during the agricultural lean season.

This project responds to the needs of the population and aims strengthen food resilience by creating more efficient production and marketing conditions for the Malian fonio sector.

Region

Mali, Mopti region

DURATION

3 YEARS

0 %
increase in production of fonio
0
jobs created of which 75% are for women
0
service centers and 6 professional cooperatives established to support processing and marketing
0
households improved

by investing in this project you will contribute to the sdgs:

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OUR APPROACH

Fonio is a Sahelian cereal that is well suited for degraded soil and climatic hazards, which makes it essential during the agricultural lean season to combat food insecurity. We can count on this crop even when rain is sparse, making it a treasure for arid regions facing climatic hazards. Gluten-free and rich in protein, fonio has important nutritional qualities, which underline its return to the forefront of Sahelian agricultural.

The project’s aims to restructure the fonio sector at all levels by organizing producers into professional groups and providing them with local agricultural services to improve their production volume and income. This project aims to create 12 processing and marketing centers to restructure the sector and increase the value of this product.

More than 10,000 jobs will be created at all levels of the fonio sector, 75% of which will be for women who traditionally play an active role in fonio processing (95%).

Funding for this project...

by investing

$ 147,000
  • convert 75 hectares of land into irrigated perimeters which will cultivated by 300 households

by investing

$ 100,000
  • contribute to the creation of one service center for smallholder fonio farmers

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