Support to participative management of forest resources, based on wildlife and forest products - GCP/MLI/018/CEH
Objective 2: Building entrepreneurial capacity and marketing skills for pro-poor tree products enterprises development in Mali
Background
Mali is among the poorest countries in the world. The majority of the population lives in rural areas and is heavily dependent on agriculture and highly vulnerable to seasonal food shortages and crop failure due to an increasingly erratic climate, with few opportunities to diversify the rural economy. Rural communities suffer from their geographical isolation from markets and poor transport and communications infrastructure, and as a result, market chains are poorly coordinated and producers are not well-organized to negotiate a better deal in the marketplace.
Though there are still significant forest resources in Mali, they are under pressure from unsustainable land uses that threaten environmental security. Most commonly used are the Non Wood Forest Products (NWFP), which are found back in indigenous trees/shrubs in parkland agroforests. With population increases and agricultural intensification, these forest resources are becoming increasingly depleted. To reverse this trend, rural communities need clear incentives to invest in sustainable forest management. They also need to establish the right to manage the forest resources upon which they depend.
The GCP/MLI/018/CEH project is meant to improve the poor linkages of producers with urban markets and help in coordinating the multiple actors along the product chains.
Association "Sabali", Village Kokelé Objective and expected results
The primary objective of the project is to assist the Government of Mali in the promotion of sustainable management of the natural resources and the integration of rural population for the mitigation of poverty.
The expected results for this component of the project are as follows:
Result 2.1. - Provide rural producers, traders and processors with the necessary skills to protect, coordinate, finance and organize their small scale enterprises based on sustainable use of forest resources.
Result 2.2. - Ensure that rural producers, traders and processors are well informed on the access to markets, professional and financial services.
Result 2.3. - Better understanding of SMFEs among NGOs, public and private sectors.
Result 2.4. - Government action to improve the institutional environment, so that SMFEs have higher chances of survival.
Result 2.5. - Document best practices to support the future development of SMFEs within the region.
Target groups
The beneficiaries of the project are:Duration and budget
The project was launched in 2007 and is for a period of three years. It has been funded by the Czech Republic, with a donation of CZK 11 000 000 (equivalent to $500 000 when the LoA was signed).
Implementation
To address the component on enhancing small forest enterprises, FAO joined forces with the government agency, Direction Nationale de la Conservation de la Nature (DNCN), Sahel Eco an NGO with experience on supporting small forest enterprises and three local NGOs (Mara, Pacindha and AJE-Mali) to launch a pilot for promotion of community-based enterprises based on NWFPs. Additionally, 2 other local NGO’s and ICRAF West Africa are attending the specific trainings providing on the Market Analysis and Development (MA&D) approach, developed by FAO, and used as framework methodology in this project .
The project identified first its zones of intervention and the respective local partner organizations; the pilot areas are situated in the regions of Sikasso and Koulikoro.
After one year of project activities most of the activities foreseen for year 1 under objective 2 were completed. The MA&D trainings from phase 1 to phase 3 where completed. Phases 1 and 2 were implemented in the pilot areas and implementation of Phase 3 (working out the Enterprises Development Plans and the work plans for the first year of the enterprises) will take place from September onwards, after the planting season, which is currently ongoing.
The project works in close collaboration with an EC project coordinated by Tree Aid and executed in Mali by Sahel Eco. The regions of intervention of the EC project are Ségou and Mopti.
Bags with SABAN fruits waiting to be transported to the markets in Senegal