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Background Information on Mali

Increasing Women’s livelihood Activities through Sustained Vegetable Production in San Segou, MALI Sponsored by CIIFAD (Cornell University). Background Information on Mali. Size: 1,241,238 square kilometers; 65% is desert or semi desert

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Background Information on Mali

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  1. Increasing Women’s livelihood Activities through Sustained Vegetable Production in San Segou, MALISponsored by CIIFAD (Cornell University)

  2. Background Information on Mali • Size: 1,241,238 square kilometers; 65% is desert or semi desert • It is served by 2 great rivers: Senegal and Niger and their tributaries • Population: 13 Millions Climate: a. The Sudanic zone: 900 to 1,100 mn of annual precipitations b. The Sahelian Zone: 200 to 500 mn of precipations c. Saharan Zone: little or no rain 3 Seasons: Rainy Season: June-October Cool dry: November-February Hot Dry Season: March-May Temperature:About 16 degree Celcius in January; 40 degrees celcius in April • Subsistence crops: millet, maize, sorghum • Cash crops: Cotton, rice, peanuts, tabacco, tree crops

  3. A. Study Context • In Mali low precipitation, drought, desertification and deforestation are factors which undermine agricultural production • Increase periode of food shortages • Women engaged in veg. Production to suplement food crops and for income generation to satisfy other basic needs • Despiste their contribution, Women are constrained to have access to productive assets • West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) adresses both hard and soft components of water.

  4. B.Study objectives • To determine the social and economic characteristics of female veg.producers • To identify and assess the sources of water and women’s access to water and other livelihoods in San • To determine the relationship between women’s vegetable production and their households access to food • To identify the constraints and opportunities related to women’s access to productive resources: water, land, credit, market …)

  5. C.Methodology • Focus groups were involved in semi-structured interview; • Questionnaires were used to determine individual women’s socioconomic characteristics and to assess their income • Observational methods and visual aids were used to assess water sources, plot size and technology used.

  6. a. Study Participants • A. Criteria of sites selection:

  7. Study Participants (Cont) b. Criteria for Women’s groups selection • Groups initiated by women’s themselves • Groups initiated by external organizations such as World Vision) assuming that those initiated by external organizations has a strong internal structure and good bargaining power. • 150 women participated in the study (54 for income assessment)

  8. Women’s livelihood activities in San a.Raining Season: Farming activities: farm laborers in growing cash crops, grow their own fields of cash crops, Collection of wild herbs, fruits and woods. b.Dry and cool season: Vegetable production c.Year Round: petty trades, servants for urban households NB: Women’s engagement in different activities prove their vulnerability to ecologic and socioeconomic factors and show their coping strategy to meet household food security

  9. This chart explains interrelation among socio, natural, financial, physical capitals to achieve sustainability. Source: Department For International Development D) Diagram 1. Sustainable Livelihood Guidance Sheets

  10. Vegetable production as Major livelihoodin San: Market oriented and home based Vegetable accross villages

  11. Comprison between Home- based vegetable and exotic vegetable

  12. Assessment of home based vegetable income

  13. 2. Assessment of exotic vegetable income

  14. 3. Constraints and opportunities of women’s access to resources. Summary of Land and Water Constraints Regarding theNumber of Group Members

  15. Constraints/Opportunities related to Land and Water (cont) • Land: Mode of acquisition • Allocated by the traditional autority • Borrow land • Voluntary community members • Adhesion fee is 500-1000 CFA/plot/person • Wells • Women contribute to pay fee to dig well

  16. Opportunities/constraints • Credit: • Existence of micro-credits implemented by PDR, and SDV • Women are cautious on engaging in credit because of lack of collateral • The negative connotation related to it. It means ‘juru’ or ‘puting a rock round the neck’ in local language.

  17. Contraints/opportunities • Market • Distant market and lack of adequate means of transport • Unability of market to absob all veggies because they are grown and ripe the same time and sell in the same markets (San)

  18. b. Women’s household level of Consumption No production: 14.80% Consume all: 3.70% Consume half and sell half: 55.60% Sell all: 26% This show that women tend to sell more than they consume directly at home. NB:This does not imply households do not benefit from veg, they indirectly benefit from income to buy other food, drugs and school materials.

  19. Consequences of ressources constraints on Vegetable producers 1.Health: Water scarcity and long feching hours require lot of energy for those who kept on working: backache, loss weight, fatigue. San women are poorly nourished, they eat whatever left after men and children. This negatively affect health of pregnant and lactating women. 2.Partipation: It depends on water availability. eg: Women in N’Goalani have more yield/income than those of SB Women’s age: A retired from household chores devoted much time to those responsible for household chores 3.Plot size New adhesion progressively reduced plot size of others (Tamaro)

  20. c. Women vegetable Production and Food security. • All sample villages are food insecured because they lack assets to produce food and low income to purchase food. • except N’Goalani because of existence of rich irrigated rich soil favorable for rice, cotton and peanuts cultivation which represent the source of income for men • Groups’ organisation level • Existence of boutique villageois, • Existence of cereal banks to be used during food shortages • Large size of garden plot As a result, they have a relatively higher purchasing power comparing to other villages.

  21. Conclusion • Women’s household consumption increases as their production decreases. The lower the women’s yields, the more vegetable they consume. Conversely, the higher production, the greater they likely for bringing to market • How would women consume if productive assets were made effectively available to them to get higher production? Or Does higher production necessarily translate into household vegetable production?

  22. Study Recommendation Social cultural: • Improve men and women’s educational level so that men could be flexible in the application of cultural norms regarding distribution of resources Economic and Technical • Reinforce capacity of groups to better organize the international structure of their organizations • Promote the drip irrigation for water conservation and preserve soil moisture • Promote research of cropping systems for year- round vegetable production and availability • Improve rural infrastructures (transport, roads) and adresse the software aspects of maintaining water equipments. • Develop post harvest technologies: consevation, storage • Disseminate information or advocacy for consumption of vegetables on health.

  23. THANK YOU! • QUESTIONS? • Hadji Diakite • hadji_d@yahoo.fr

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