Food and income security for Rural Women

Food insecurity and low income levels of rural women in Mabonkaya section in Thala Munu Chiefdom has been a perennial problem that has left the households living in abject poverty.These communities are endowed with enough fertile land that will be used to produce cassava on an intensive and extensive basis, process the cassava into"Gari" and market. This intervention will surely provide enough food for the households and increase their income levels by marketing the gari in a readily available market where the demand for gari is on the high side in a local  weekly International market attended by traders and customers from neighbouring countries of the Republic of Guinea, Ivory Coast and Liberia.This intervention will make a positive change in their lives and will be scaled up to other sections in the chiefdom , Districts to alleviate them from abject poverty. Thus creating employment for these women and unemployed youth.

The group strives to help address the socio-economic problems faced by women farmers through engagement in food crops production.Women produce over 60% of the food crop required and handle the processing of food crops such as maize, rice, cassava and groundnut.

Cassava is the second most important food crop after rice in Sierra Leone but recent international developments and the production advantages of cassava over rice, for example, have made cassava a viable cash crop for poor subsistence farmers such as Mabonkaya section to fight poverty in their community.Cassava can be utilized in various forms including the root, leaves, gari, flour, starch, animal feed, wet foo-foo, odorless foo-foo flour, etc.as a result of the enormous use of the cassava crop, the Mabonkaya section women therefore thought it wise to embark on large scale production. To increase their household incomes, reduce food insecurity and reduce poverty, the group intends to add value to the cassava roots by processing them into gari, cassava flour and starch for a start. In the subsequent years, the group plans to increase its cassava production and increase the number of bi-products.

The project will involve 2000 women in ten villages within the chiefdom using appropriate technology.

The women of Mabonkaya Section of ten villages of Thala Munu Chiefdom in Kambia District that are peasant farmers will be the target population and will directly benefit from the project. These communities depend on small scale farming for their livelihoods and eat they produce especially rice and cassava for their up keep is not enough to feed them all year round.In a needs assessment carried out in collaboration with the Kambia District Council, food security , water and sanitation stood out as their priorities. As the women suffers most in providing food for the homes, they resort to planting other crops like groundnut, cassava, potato and vegetables to address the food security in the house holds.The project will organise these rural women into groups of twenty five each across the ten villages.  Their husbands  will provide the land at free of cost  to produce the cassava.Rural youth will be employed to provide labour. The women will be trained to use simple appropriate machines to process the cassava tubers into gari. They will also be trained in simple financial management to easily calculate their profits after marketing. The marketing of the gari will improve their food security and income levels.

The challenge will address food and income security of less privileged rural women by empowering them to produce cassava on a large scale, process it into "gari" and market it to realize income that will improve their social and economic lives of their households.The  population have enough fertile land and favourable climate for the cultivation of cassava on an intensive and extensive scale. The processing will use simple appropriate technology machines to process the cassava into" gari" through value addition. The "gari" product  will be branded in the package bags  for marketing.Thus to sustaining  food systems to address poverty.

Our solution is innovative as it aligns with the Sustainable Food Systems of the 2020 Challenge of the call. Our Solution  is unique as it is improving on an existing means of livelihoods to achieve food security and the improve the income levels of poor rural women farmers and the  destitute communities as a whole.

Secondly, the solution creates employment for the youth as many of the unemployed youth will engaged to provide intensive labour for the activities of the solution in the production, processing and marketing. This opportunity will also render  the youth self reliant , useful and productive in society.

The Solution will reduce the dependency of destitute rural women on their equally poor husbands, hand outs by making us of their fertile abundant land endowed to them . This will enable them provide for the selves and will eventually restore their human dignity.

The destitute rural women will contribute to the national drive of the Government's " Free and Quality Education" by supporting the school feeding programme that will ensure their children and siblings access quality for the posterity and prosperity of their families.

The Solution will make use  locally  produced appropriate machines in the cultivation of the cassava, processing of the cassava tuber into gari form grating, de-watering, gritting , drying, branding ,  packaging, transportation and marketing .

Finally, the use of appropriate technology in the processing of cassava has never  existed in the district.

The mature cassava tubers are uprooted from the farm. Pilled manually by women , children and youth.The pilled are washed and put into a simple grater machine that crushes them into mash.The mash is collected in a clean bowl and poured into a clean polythene. 

De-watering and fermenting complete the process of removing cyanide from the cassava mash. This is done traditionally by using stones or logs as weights to press excess water out of the bags of cassava mash using a hydraulic press The bags are then left to drain and ferment for a few days. 

Load the bags directly on to a hydraulic press. Lift and press the jack handle up and down until it becomes hard to move. Repeat the process several times each day until no more water comes out of the bag to produce a firm wet cake. 

Gari is made by sieving the wet cake into small pieces – known as grits – and then roasting or frying the grits in a hot frying tray or pan to form the final dry and crispy product. Gari is normally white or cream, but will be yellow when made from yellow cassava roots or when fried with palm oil. 

Our solution will meet the objective of WURI by empowering the "Missing Middle" specifically the informal sector that has been socio - economically affected by the COVID 19 by rebuilding their social insurance in a long term manner. The Solution will ensure that the women of the target Community/ Section / Chiefdom will engage them selves in the production of cassava, processing it into gari, and marketing it to realize enough income and thus gain their social insurance . This opportunity will create a safety net , protection system , enable them to participate and contribute to the rebuilding of their livelihoods through the use of simple technologies of home made machines to produce and process the product for a ready market. This solution is quite appropriate and can be scaled up for posterity. It is quite feasible as the production of cassava has been a traditional farming practice of these rural communities, the solution will be innovative enough to encourage exponential production of the cassava, processing it to gari and market.The solution is targeting unemployed women, youth girls that constitutes the Missing Middle.

Social Protection which leads to Social Insurance is a challenge for the informal sector in Africa as the access to resources is little or non existing. Our Solution is a user friendly one that will incorporate Social protection and delivery service as the production, processing and marketing chains are not new to the women and beneficiaries of the solution.

On the production of the cassava , the planting of cassava has been part of the farming systems of the communities as women traditionally plant cassava for food needs and income. This has been practiced on a small scale due to the lack of adequate financial and technical resources . The solution will extend and intensify the production of the cassava with the introduction of improved cultivars and use of tractors for ploughing and ridging.

On the processing of cassava to gari, this has also been practiced by rural women using traditional methods. The solution will introduce the use of simple and light machines manufactured locally to fast track the processing in an environmentally friendly manner and reduce the drudgery of the past approach.

On the marketing stage, the women has been using locally available means of transport like motor cycles , bicycles and toting to transport the gari and other products like starch to the market. The intensive production will attract vehicles to transport the products with ease  and cost effective. Holistically the increase in income will render the women socially insured against poverty and  become financially independent.

Our Solution which involves the production, processing and marketing of the cassava product 'gari" is really interoperable with existing technologies and open standards. This is justified by the fact that the production of cassava is practiced with the incorporation of improved varieties that are high yielding and more suitable for the production of Gari. The processing will involve the use of appropriate technology of simple , light and locally manufactured machines that are in line with existing technologies in our communities. The technology to process the cassava into gari is currently practiced in the Southern parts of the Country that has a recognition for producing quality gari called "Bo Gari". This gari is demanded  by foreigners in the international weekly market. The women will ensure they add value to the gari product by branding it to their own organisation's name by labeling the bags with their brand name. This will be in tandem with open standards and in the market for a competitive and comparative advantage. 

These missing middle will be empowered to interact with other international traders of the market to share and learn form each other to meet open standards.The women , girls and youth will be gainfully employed and will expose to modern techniques of the day to improve their enterprise.

The Solution will account for low connectivity environments by ensuring that the missing middle especially women , girls and youth that never have effective connections with the outside markets will have the opportunity to expand their connections with bigger markets and people.This will be achieved by the expanded production and added value to the gari product for marketing in the near by International weekly market at Bormoi. This market is well attended by traders from the Republic of Guinea, Liberia , Ivory Coast and the wide parts of Sierra Leone. It will give an opportunity to share business and strategies for more profit making and value addition.

In Sierra Loene the literacy level is 25%, this implies that 75% of the population are in the low literacy and numeracy levels , especially those in the rural areas that has little or no access to formal and adult education opportunities.The target beneficiaries are rural women , girls and youth that are illiterate . The project will ensure that these people access to financial and technical support to create employment for them and sources of livelihoods. The solution will eventually transform their lives to productive people that will contribute and participate in the economic transformation of the country. 

Cassava production, processing in to gari for marketing has been a traditional source of livelihoods for rural communities especially women. Our organisation has been supporting rural women of Mabonkaya section with cassava sticks to produce cassava and process into gari using manual and traditional means . At present we are supporting 240 women of four groups in four villages. The intention intends to introduce simple and appropriate machines to carry out the grating, de-watering, drying, frying , grinning , bagging and transporting to markets.

The new innovation will encourage 1000 rural women in ten villages to plant cassava on an intensive and extensive acreage and support them with appropriate technology of simple and locally produces machines to process the cassava into gari for marketing at the weekly international market.

With the success made and lessons learnt, the project will ramp up or scale up to other villages by extending to the neighbouring  10 chiefdom in the first year, and will be targeting 1000 rural women. With an average household of seven members this will benefit  7000 .In  the next five years, the project would have scaled up to other Districts that grows cassava . The will increase the beneficiaries to over 2000000 people , this will include youth , producers and marketers. 

Our solution;s impact goal is to alleviate poverty, improve on the food and income security of over 2000000 people in several Districts in Sierra Leone within the next five years.The dependency of these people on rice will be reduced as gari can be transformed to several dishes and edible forms.It will also reduce the dependency of the women on men for their daily survival. The proceeds generated by the beneficiaries will be used to cater for the other social needs of their families including medical, schooling , housing , clothing and well being.The solution will create employment for the women and youth there by rendering them useful and productive, hence enable them to contribute to the national development of the Country. 

By the expected success and replication of the solution  to other District of the Country, over 2000000 people will benefit as so many stakeholders will be involved in the production, processing and marketing of the product. The off takers will also benefit their families after making profits. To ease the replication and scale-up we intend to work and cooperate with Community Based Organisations(CBOs) operating in other District to achieve our impact goal. The solution will be implemented in these rural communities that has the suitable soil for cassava production. 

The barriers that currently exist for us to accomplish our goals in the next year and in the next five year  are as follows:

Firstly the main one is the availability of the financial resources to purchase the cassava cuttings, hire the tractors for the ridge making and planting of the cassava to produce the tubers. Also the procurement of the simple appropriate machines including the graters, de-watering machines, grinders, to process the cassava into gari.

Another barrier is the availability to the simple appropriate machines that are produced locally. As we intend to replicate the solution, we will require more of these machines.

Thirdly, the continued prevalence of the COVID 19 in the country. This situation has brought inter district  lockdowns in the country. This will some how affect the scaling up of the solution to other District.

Fourthly, as the weekly international market has been temporarily closed due to the PANDEMIC of the COVID 19, the marketing will be constrained as the internal purchasers  and those from neighbouring countries will not access the market.

On the financial one, we shall encourage rural women to continue using their traditional ways to continue the production, processing  and marketing of the product. Again we will continue to engage other potential donors and partners to support the intervention.

On the technical side the local producer of the simple and appropriate machines to process the cassava into gari will be informed in advance to ensure the availability of the machines during the scale up for replication to other District.

As the country is grappling with the PANDEMIC by instituting stringent measures including 'lockdown' that will affect the scale up by replication of the solution in other Districts, we shall obtain 'Passes' from the National Emergency Operational Center established to manage the affairs of the PANDEMIC in the Country. This will enable us have free movements within the Country to implement the solution in collaboration with other residents Community Based Organisations.

On the access to the markets, we  shall lobby the Government to open the markets with a commitment to sensitive buyers and sellers to observe social distancing, wearing of face masks and hand washing. Another option is to secure "Passes" for the women to transport the produce of gari to the markets as there is a provision for the agile movements of essential items to big cities within and out side the country.

Our Organisation ha five full-time staff, 10 part - time staff and 27 volunteers locally resident in our operational area of Kambia District.

As the organization’s name goes the: “Care Against Rural Poverty” (CARP), our unique position is clearly accentuated in the wider objective of the MIT- SOLVE. In particular, as we are concerned with tacking the causes and ripple effects of rural poverty; our organization’s broad-based objectives, mission, vision and core values are directly correlated to both the generic and specific objectives of MIT-SOLVE. 

Our team members/ project management staff comprise of Development , Administrative, Financial management expert. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has over 30 years of experience in implementing Development projects in the public and private sectors. He has done series of consultancies for UNDP, EU, OECD, ODI, DfID, World Bank but to name few.

Our Prgramme Coordinator has a vast knowledge and experience in Legal issues and International relations. He is lawyer of reputable standing. He has also served as an Ambassador of Sierra Leone to the Republic of Guinea , Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations. He has a vast knowledge in Policy and project implementation  in tandem with the Sustainable Development Goals of the Untied Nations.

Our Financial Manager,holds a Master Degree Public Financial Management and has worked in reputable business institution in United Kingdom and in Sierra Leone. Our Procurement Officer and Project Officers are well qualified and experienced in following procedures and best practices in the implementation of development projects. With all theses capacities, we are confident that we are well positioned to deliver this solution and solve the problem.

CARP is currently partnering with the Kambia District Council charged with the responsibility as a sub -national Government to provide the much needed services for the people of the jurisdiction.As a Community Based Organisation, we are complementing the efforts of the Council to meet the needs of the people especially in terms of poverty alleviation. In tandem with the Development Plan o the Kambia District Council, the Agricultural Sector needs assessment indicates the production,processing and marketing of agricultural products including cassava to address their poverty constraint.

The project if funded will be presented to the Kambia District Council and they will provide quality assurance in the implementation and provide supervision and oversight. They will mandate the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry devolved to them to provide technical services including training of the rural women in value chain addition in the production, processing and marketing of the product.

Though the CARP will be reporting periodically to MIT-SOLVE, We shall also be reporting to the Council on the progress of the implementation of the project for visibility, transparency , accountability and participation.

Our Business Model involves our beneficiaries that will plant the cassava, process it into gari and sell in the international weekly market .There will be  social and customer proposition of meeting their satisfaction through buying and selling of the product. The women farmers will realise enough financial resources that will address their social and economic needs of their families. There by becoming self sufficient in food and income .They will be empowered to educate their children and provide the health needs of their families.The measure of impact is the provision of food for their families, provision of at most three meals for the day for their families, improve on their social needs and improve their social lives.

The proceeds realised by the women from the sale of the gari will be reinvested in the production of cassva and production of more gari to sell again in the market.Part of the proceeds will be used to scale up to to other communities to benefit more rural women , thereby multiplying the benefits for more people.

Our path to financial sustainability will be a combination of sources. The primary one is to source funds that are grants  from MIT-SOLVE by this proposal. Solicit donations form well wishers . After the first investment of the project, proceeds generated from the sale of the gari will be used to reinvest or plogh back into the production , processing and marketing of the gari on an intensive and extensive basis to other communities in the district. 

The project will ensure that more women from other District access the support to scale up the project .

We have not yet raised financial resources for the solution but secured enough land from the land owning families for intensive and extensive planting of cassava that will be processed and marketed to make more income for the rural women.Our hope is the support from MIT-SOLVE to provide the inputs of the project like the cassava cuttings, rental funds for ploughing, and ridging, training of the women in improved agronomic practices in cassava production. 

Training of the women in the use of simple and appropriate machines for the processing of the cassava into gari. The gari will be marketed to increase income and food security of the rural women.

to kick-start the project, our solution requires $100,000 . This could be raised through a grant form MIT Solve.

Our estimate expenses for 2020 is $232000

We are applying to solve the perennial poverty situation of the rural women of Kambia District through empowerment that will enable them to make use of their God given land and sufficient rainfall. With the advent of the PANDEMIC associated with several lockdowns , it has increased the poverty level of these rural women. 

The intervention will address the extreme poverty of these rural women and also benefit the youth of communities by creating employment for them.

The buyers of the gari marketed will also make substantial profit and also benefit their families by providing form them their social and economic needs.

Our partnership goals with the SOLVE -MIT will enable us achieve our mission as a Community Based Organisation that is poised to address poverty in our District and by extension in our Country.

We shall also partner with the Kambia District Council to provide oversight  in the implementation of the project. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry whose functions have been devolved to the Kambia District Local Council  will provide technical support to the cassava women growers . The FINIC company that will  manufacture and supply the machines for the processing of the cassava into gari will provide training for the women in the operation and maintenance of these machines to ensure the efficient use of the machines and sustained use.

We hope to partner with the Kambia District Council, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to provide oversight and technical support in the production of the cassava and the processing of the cassava into gari.

We also intend to partner with any MIT-SOLVE faculty or initiative that could be of assistance to peruse our proposal by giving technical advice.