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

It is served by 2 great rivers: Senegal and Niger and their tributaries

Population: 13 MillionsClimate: 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

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.

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 …)

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.

a. Study Participants

A. Criteria of sites selection:

Village with high access to

water

Intermediary

villages

Village with low access to water

Tamaro

N'goalani

Nesso

Bambara 

Sourountouna Peulh

Sourountouna Bambara

Niasso

Sourountouna Bambara

Bogossoni

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)

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

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

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

Villages Market-oriented vegetable Vegetable for home consumption

Tamaro Tomatoes, Lettuce //

Sourountouna Peulh Tomato, Lettuce Onion, Okra

Sourountouna Bambara Tomatoes cabbage lettuce Onion, Okra

Dasso Cabbage Hot pepper Onion, Okra

N’goalani Tomatoes, Cabbage, Hot pepper Papaya Lettuce CarrotMelon

Onion, Okra Sweet potato

Nesso Bambarara Tomato, melon, hot pepper Okra, Onion

Niasso Eggplants Onion, Okra

Bogossoni Onion, Okra

Comprison between Home- based vegetable and exotic vegetable

Home based vegetable Exotic vegetable

-Use in the local diet (leafy sauce)-Do not require enough water -Less time to grow (short cycle)-Do not require much labor, -Use fertilizer (animal dung)-Do not attract pest - Grow in year-round basis-Conserve easily: traditional post harverst methods (dried up on sun or open space and sell/exchange against other food)

-Exclusively for income to supplement food crops (school fee, health services or ustansils)-Low veggies consumption-Motivativation (proximity to market such as Tamaro)-Long cycle veggies-Water demanding crops-High capital investment to purchase imported seeds-Use of modern fertilizer (urea)

Comparison of average incomes for home-based crops grown by village women's groups

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

S.Bambara S.Peulh Diasso N'Goalani Nesso Niasso Bogosoni

Village women's groups

Av

era

ge

in

co

me

in

CF

As

Onion

Potato

Okra

Assessment of home based vegetable income

2. Assessment of exotic vegetable income

Comparison of average incomes for market -oriented crops by village women's groups

0

30,000

60,000

90,000

120,000

150,000

180,000

210,000

Crops

Inco

mes

Tamaro SB N'goalani Nesso B Niasso Dasso

3. Constraints and opportunities of women’s access to resources. Summary of Land and Water Constraints Regarding the

Number of Group Members

Groups size Traditional wells

Improved wells

Tamaro 20 2 0

Souoruntouna Bambara

30 1 1

Sourountouna Peulh

60 3 1

Dasso 110 3 1

Nesso Bambara

105 3 0

N’goalani 60 2 1

Niasso 20 2 0

Bogossoni 110 3 0

Constraints/Opportunities related to Land and Water (cont)

• Land: Mode of acquisition

a. Allocated by the traditional autority

b. Borrow land

c. Voluntary community members• Adhesion fee is 500-1000 CFA/plot/person• Wells

a. Women contribute to pay fee to dig well

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.Access to credit N %No credit 27 50Own credit 16 30Revolving funds 8 14

Total number 51 100

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)

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.

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)

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 plotAs a result, they have a relatively higher

purchasing power comparing to other villages.

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?

Study Recommendation

Social cultural: 1. 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 Technical1. Reinforce capacity of groups to better organize the international

structure of their organizations2. Promote the drip irrigation for water conservation and preserve soil

moisture 3. Promote research of cropping systems for year- round vegetable

production and availability4. Improve rural infrastructures (transport, roads) and adresse the

software aspects of maintaining water equipments. 5. Develop post harvest technologies: consevation, storage6. Disseminate information or advocacy for consumption of vegetables

on health.

THANK YOU!

QUESTIONS?

Hadji Diakite hadji_d@yahoo.fr