Photo Credit Goes Here Integrating Nutrition in Value Chains Project: Achievements and Lessons Learnt Presented by Lourdes Martinez during IITA Workshop June, 2016 Lilongwe, Malawi

OUTLINE Project overview Key achievements Challenges Lessons learnt

THE PROJECT INVC is multi-year project awarded in 2012 running until October 2016 Sustainably reduce rural poverty through achieving inclusive growth of the agriculture sector Improve nutritional status and outcomes for our beneficiaries.

THE PROJECT Zone of influence 7 districts agriculture and value chains Nutrition in 5 districts Target population Poor with asset for ag/vc Whole community concept for nutrition

Household Poor Landholding Maize production Legume production Improved food supply With asset Able to Diversify into Able to

STRUCTURE Initial value chains: dairy, soy, and groundnuts. Dairy dropped in Emphasis on Forward/Local Solutions approach Implementation through local partners Project extension in December 2014 Emphasis on Value Chains development More integration with Nutrition

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Directly assisting 299,551 rural households 18.4% are vulnerable. Farmer-to-Farmer trainings reached 179,365 farmers 73% applied at least 1 productivity enhancing technology. Soybean yield increased by 63% on demonstration plots

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Nutrition assistance through Care Groups 139,701 < 5 children Distribution of seed to care group parents and nutrition promoters 10,800 beneficiaries received certified soy and groundnut seed Distribution of OFSP to care group parents 513 in 2015; 1,255 in 2016

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Renovated Village Financial Platforms 44 million kwacha (USD 62,000) in 6 months Loans invested in income generating Focus on women’s empowerment 2,293 participants in women’s empowerment through GALS 675 adult learners (80% female) Leading 3-C integration

During the INVC made great strides to integrate nutrition in value chains VALUE CHAIN AND NUTRITION

SEED DISTRIBUTION Target –Nutrition groups –Farmers groups in Dedza –More than 80% women from both groups Objectives –Certified seed –Subsidized, not free –Conditional

RESULTS 10,800 beneficiaries accessed seed Sense of ownership and seriousness Use of community structures Collaboration with stakeholders Helped promote consumption of more nutritious food

AG AND NUTRITION FIELD DAYS Nutrition activities Marketing messages BCC messages – Gender – Using community theater

Partner No. of Field Days Attendance Total Attendance MaleFemale CADECOM ,043 FUM209381,1492,087 Care Groups234971,6512,148 Total511,9313,3475,278

End Market Analysis Constraints “Buyer’s Tour” Commercial Transactions Marketing Innovations BRINGING FARMERS CLOSER TO MARKETS

BRINGING FARMERS CLOSER TO FARMERS End Market Analysis (EMA): – Demand for soybeans and groundnuts. – 15 private companies in Lilongwe and Blantyre. – 70,000 MT of soybeans. – 9,720 MT of groundnuts

BRINGING FARMERS CLOSER TO FARMERS Buyers Tours 1,725 farmers and 30 processors/buyers Facilitated Access to Markets Aflatoxin control and management Food Safety Training

BRINGING FARMERS CLOSER TO FARMERS In 2016, INVC worked with 6 DADOS 41 AEDCs 15 processors, buyers and service providers 583 marketing committee leaders in Dedza and Mchinji. 488 lead parents in Balaka, Machinga and Mangochi.

RESULTS Collective marketing Lilongwe: In a day, care groups collected 5.5 MT of soybean and sold it directly to a poultry facility in the community Mangochi: farmers collected 50 MT and are ready to sell Mchinji: care groups (12 people) are able to collect at least 12 bags of 50kg Dedza: Lifidzi association is ready to collect 10MT per week

RESULTS The buyer’s tour is useful Sort your groundnuts, collection The buyer’s tour can work really well if organized with buyers What the project paid vs what the buyers provided The buyer’s tour is not needed Example from Ntchisi

CHALLENGES

AGRICULTURE Yields of soybeans and groundnuts Value of incremental sales- groundnuts Exports of targeted commodities Private sector investment

CLIMATE CHANGE Rapid impacts of climate change affecting crop performance

INVC ZONE OF INFLUENCE Balaka Experienced 3 dry spells this season 50-75% farming households unable to harvest, mainly maize Soy and groundnuts harvest down around 25% Dedza Harvest 45% lower in 8 EPAs Chafumbwa and Kanyama down 10% Mangochi and Machinga Down 40% due to severe dry spells. Mchinji expected to increase 15%

PRICES Prices have move sharply from the beginning of the season Soybean it started at 180 MKW per kg, within a week it increased to MKW 280 per kg and reaching 370 MKW per Kg. Now the price is down again to about 300 MKW per kg Almost all soy supply has already moved from farmers to traders or processors. Collusion

OTHER CHALLENGES Food crisis Increasing costs of maize and other foods Implementers with differing approaches Humanitarian vs market-driven Sense of entitlement

LESSONS LEARNT Integrating nutrition in value chains works

LESSONS LEARNT Things don’t happen naturally Increasing yield Collaboration Collective marketing Financing But some natural things do happen El Nino/La Nina Floods and drought

LESSONS LEARNT Consolidate initiatives to work together This past season everyone gave something to farmers

LESSONS LEARNT Farmers are resourceful Adoption Listen to the farmer Gap analysis What is really needed is support the farmers Bringing financing Capacity building Cooperatives and associations

LESSONS LEARNT Careful what you wish for Boom in the soybean markets  price driven or productivity driven? Expansion of groundnuts  without aflatoxin control?