Farmers Clubs Cashew Processing & Marketing January - December Submitted to. U-landshjelp fra Folk til Folk, Norge Norway

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1 Farmers Clubs Cashew Processing & Marketing January - December 2016 Submitted to U-landshjelp fra Folk til Folk, Norge Norway

2 Name of the project: Farmers Clubs in Oio: Cashew Processing & Marketing Organization: ADPP Guinea-Bissau Report period: January - December 2016 INTRODUCTION The Farmers Clubs Cashew project is in its first year of implementation activities. The project is working with 31 communities in Bissorã sector, 23 of which are the communities where the Energy Project has been operating over the last five years. There are 52 clubs referred to as productive groups. The productive groups are organized into groups of 52 members each, and those are subdivided further into core groups of 10 to 11 members. The step-up farmers as well as the focal point farmers are the key drivers in the implementation of the project activities. The project is benefiting farmers directly and around farmers indirectly. The project will work in two areas: the farming production of alternate crops within cashew plantations; and processing and marketing of cashew nuts and cashew fruits. The project leaders will guide the farmers in using the correct methods of cashew production and processing, and will assist in finding better markets for the processed cashew nuts. PROJECT ACTIVITIES The project organized the year calendar into the following production periods, in accordance to the project activities: Nº Period title Months 1 Start-Up, orchard management September, October, November, December 2 Crop management and new harvesting January, February, March, April methods 3 Land preparation and planting May, June, July, August The project started on the 1 st of August 2016 when preparation for the implementation of project activities started. During the first year of its implementation the project carried out the following activities of the first period September December: 1. Recruitment of the project staff 2. Preparation and planning for the action 3. Creation of the productive groups 4. Baseline study 5. Organization of the training materials 6. Meetings with partners and local leaders 7. Mobilization and recruitment of the agricultural students 8. Training of the project staff 2

3 In addition to the above activities, the project leaders also conducted several sessions on sexual and reproductive health in 4 areas of the project operation. Organization The Farmers Clubs Cashew project is organized in 4 productive units. 2 Productive Unit Leaders (PULs) work directly with farmers in two productive units of 1360 farmers each. Each PUL is responsible for the farmers to reach their production goals. The traditional teacher role of the PUL for the farmers is largely taken over by the step-up farmers. The production facility has two productive units: one for cashew nut processing and one for cashew fruit processing. Each PUL is responsible that his section reaches the production goals and together the two PULs are responsible for the overall processing facility. a. The farmers The farmers continue their organization in clubs of 50 farmers with 5 farmers in the management committee. Within the club the farmers are organized in 5 core groups and each core group has a step-up farmer. Each club selects a focal point farmer who will be technically trained alongside with the PUL and who will represent the farmers in later stages of processing and organized sales. 26 clubs with 1360 farmers and a PUL makes up a productive unit. b. The step-up farmer The step-up farmer continues his work in the core group. He is allied with the PUL and a focal point farmer. The step-up farmers, on rotation, hold two monthly lessons in their clubs and lead the 3 x 12 agricultural activities with the core group. c. The focal point farmer The focal point farmer is a farmer in each club with a propensity for organizing the community. The focal point farmer is trained in organizational structures and processing along with the PUL and will represent his club in matters of organizing processing and sales. d. The PULs The PUL is fully responsible that each farmer realizes his potential and achieves the goals. He is the organizer, the teacher and the problem solver. He has a bike and moves around from farmer to farmer, delivering guidance on the spot. He gathers groups of step-up farmers and focal point farmers for training sessions, field checks and work in the demonstration orchard. He carries out model productions and experiments and instigates actions in order to constantly raise the quality of the project. The PUL co-operates closely with the local leaders and authorities. e. The processing PULs The processing PULs are responsible for the production in the processing centers and the maintenance of the equipment. They are responsible for reaching production goals with products of high quality. The two processing PULs organize according to responsibility for a specialized 3

4 section of processing: one for cashew fruits, the product development and the production, and the other for the production of cashew nuts. They have the daily leadership of their respective units. f. Vocational School The Vocational School is responsible for the training of 40 students, with two teachers dedicated to the task. This is a service function from the Vocational School to the Farmers Clubs Cashew project. Students are selected step-up farmers from existing core groups. During the first year (2017), 20 students will spend 20 days at the school and 10 days in the community, creating Self-Help Groups and being active in the 7 Community Associations created in the previous Farmers Clubs Energy project. In 2018, the 2017-team will intern at the production facility. The new team of 20 at the school in 2018 will intern at the production facility in EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES! The project staff was recruited and started carrying out their activities;! 260 step-up farmers were organized in 52 clubs and are able to handle their responsibilities;! 120 interested farmers were mobilized for the Vocational School training in cashew production and processing, 83 of them attended the admission exam;! The processing centre is being constructed;! The equipment for the processing centre is being bought;! The first meetings with the Partners (Fundei, INPA and Vocational School) was conducted, and areas of interaction were agreed;! 52 productive groups were created and informed about the project;! 104 farmers were interviewed to understand the situation of cashew production in the area;! 52 focal point farmers were recruited and know about their contribution to the project;! The detailed plan for the first year was made and secured;! Farmers received information about sexual and reproductive health and are aware about the measures to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Nr Expected results Plan Results Difference 1. 6 project staff members have done the initial training Baseline study has been carried out The project has started training for 2720 farmers in cashew production Farmers have been organized in 52 Production Groups Training for 260 farmers in cashew production and management has started The establishment of cashew tree nurseries has started 1 nursery 0-1 4

5 7. Training for 20 Vocational School students in cashew production and processing has started 8. Establishment of the 2 processing centres has started 9. Expanding of the 2 existing processing centres has started 10. Training of 2 groups of 30 people for managing the processing centres has started 11. Training in 32 villages on recycling cashew processing waste has started 20 students centres centres groups villages 0-32 Comments to the differences: The goals of the 6 th, 8 th, 9 th, 10 th and 11 th lines were not reached due to the postponement of the project start. The project was launched in August, instead of in April, as was planned initially. The goals of these activities will be reached during the first semester of the next year. 5

6 ATTACHMENT 2: PHOTOS FROM THE PROJECT Cashew trees in the project area operation Project introduction to the community people 6

7 Project leader mobilizing the farmers Project presentation to the community leaders from 31 villages of project operation 7

8 Visit of the project by grant administrator After the training provided to the farmers the families start cleaning the orchards to ensure better harvest of the cashew nuts 8

9 ATTACHMENT 3: DOCUMENTATION 9

10 Case story My name is Abibo Seide, I am a farmer, the resident of Iador community. I am very satisfied with the support from the ADPP Farmers Clubs project, which brought us knowledge about the agricultural calendar, personal hygiene, cleanliness in our houses, nutritional food, etc. We also have greatly benefitted from the irrigation system provided by the project. ADPP has recently started a new FC Cashew project, which brought us a lot of new knowledge. Previously we were planting cashew trees without considering planting distance, pruning, cleaning and treating our cashew trees properly. However, with the arrival of the EU Ainda Caju project, we learned about proper cashew planting techniques, about proper care for the trees and orchards, about the post-harvest treatment of the nuts, as well as about how to utilize the cashew fruits for juices, where before we would throw the fruits out. We will also be processing our cashew nuts, which will result in a stronger position in the market. Buyers will not be able to lower the prices, and this will help us a lot, having the experience of how to treat our cashew nuts and fruits in an organized way. This will also benefit the communities. We thank the ADPP project for the support it has already given to our community and we wish the continuation of the project in the year Farmer: Abibo Seide 10

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12 Letter from the Unfarim community Case story I have lived in this community since my early childhood. Our community has always faced a lot of difficulties in the area of agriculture, adult education, health and hygiene, pre-school education, processing of agricultural products, mobile phone charging, potable water, etc., however, with the arrival of the Farmers Clubs project, many things have changed in the community of Unfarim. The project installed a lot of infrastructure facilities in our community, such as: an irrigation system in the community garden, electricity in the mosque, processing machines in the processing center, solar panels at the community center, solar panels for the classrooms for evening classes, a community shop for selling our products and the well with solar panels, bringing us safe drinking water. We want to express our gratitude to the ADPP project and its partner European Union for helping the people of Unfarim. As the project is coming to an end, we take responsibility for sustaining the project by establishing management committees for each infrastructural facility, establishing a village association and a youth association in our community. Unfarim, the 6 th of December 2016 The club president Aruna Sisse 12