A solution used to the weevil problem in Nigeria, a triple-layer bag that protects cowpeas during storage without the use of pesticides. |
Surveying his
village's stocks of rice, sesame, millet and other food in a storehouse
piled high with bags, Amadou Hassane is satisfied - but still a little
anxious about the oversupply of baobab leaves.
With the rainy
season set to start soon in Niger, Hassane and his fellow farmers need
buyers for their leaves before the rains come, driving the prices down
as fresh leaves sprout and supply surges across the western region of
Tillabery.
"Life is hard
because it is difficult to know when the first rains will come," Hassane
told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, holding a list of each farmer's
contribution to the village's stockpile.
"But we are lucky
to have this warrantage system in place, because it means we can sell
when the price is good, rather than being forced to do so right away
after harvest," he added.
Because of a lack
of storage facilities, many farmers across the developing world have no
choice but to sell their produce after harvest, usually at low prices
because supplies are plentiful at that time.
Later in the year,
they then need to buy food for their families - but during this "lean
season", before the next harvest, prices for grain and other food are at
their highest.
To add to their
problems, in countries like Niger, in Africa's Sahel region,
increasingly erratic weather patterns and unpredictable climate shocks -
such as floods and droughts - are hitting harvests.
That has left many of the West Africa nation's 20 million people struggling to grow or afford enough food.
But a rural credit
scheme that lets farmers store their harvest and obtain loans against it
- with the money paid back in the dry season when crop prices and sales
income are higher - is boosting resilience to climate change, experts
say.
The warrantage
system is part of a project launched in 2015, funded by the U.K.
Department for International Development (DFID) and led by CARE
International, to help farming communities in Niger access loans, and
encourage them to diversify the crops and products they store.
"Warrantage builds
resilience because by selling produce for higher profit, you can absorb
climate shocks better ... and avoid resorting to negative coping
strategies like eating fewer meals," said Penda Diallo, a senior
resilience adviser at CARE.
DIVERSIFICATION KEY
The warrantage
effort is part of the Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate
Extremes and Disasters (BRACED) programme, which aims to help 450,000
people in western Niger become better prepared for weather shocks by
improving their access to climate and weather information, strengthening
village savings and loans associations (VSLAs), and introducing
warrantage.
As part of the
initiative more than 500 people in several communities in the Tillabery
region have begun storing dozens of tonnes of cereal, vegetables and
forest products such as edible moringa tree and baobab leaves.
Users - most of
them women - turn in part of their harvest and are given a loan by a
local microfinance institution working with BRACED.
The loan tends to
be around 70-80 percent of the value of their crops, with the seasonal
price difference meant to cover the costs of credit and storage.
Given the
increasingly threat of poor harvests due to the impact of climate
change, farmers are being encouraged to broaden the range of crops and
products they grow and store, to better protect them against price
fluctations and to give them stock to sell throughout the year.
"Varying and
expanding warrantage beyond one crop makes the collective fund stronger,
and encourages people to also turn to non-agriculture ventures like
making soap, oils and jewellery," said Ali Badara of Mooriben, a local
partner of CARE in Niger.
Improved weather
forecasts - broadcast over the radio and via text messages - and a drive
to strengthen local savings groups both have resulted in more reliable
harvests, which is now making warrantage a viable option for more
people, according to agriculture experts."They all link together," Badara said.
For Fati Boubacar
and many other women in her village, being part of savings groups has
allowed them to access loans. That has let them not only focus on new
ways to earn cash - such as making health and beauty products - but also
invest in improving their farming.
"Without access to
the money through our VSLAs, we wouldn't have been able to increase our
crop yield to the extent to be part of warrantage," said Boubacar, head
of a union of 90 women.
BRINGING IN BANKS
One of the main
obstacles to encouraging more people to get involved with warrantage in
Niger, and across West Africa, is the increasingly erratic nature of the
seasons, said Catherine Simonet of the Overseas Development Insitute
(ODI), a London-based thinktank.
"It's tough to
build trust ... there is a lot of uncertanity to manage," said the
researcher. "You will often hear farmers say: 'Last year it didn't work,
this year it is going well, but I am not sure what to do next year'."
Storing the harvest
is another challenge in a region where up to 40 percent of food
harvested is lost before reaching the market due to a lack of proper
facilities for storage, processing or transport, according to the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
"Storage infrastructure is generally poor across the region, and this should be addressed quickly," Simonet said.
The BRACED
project's success in helping hundreds of farmers in Tillabery build
increasing financial resilience should encourage banks and microfinance
institutions to step in and help other farmers as well, project
officials say.
Warrantage is often the first step towards rural farming communities accessing formal banking services, experts say.
At the end of their
first season, new warrantage groups in Tillabery should have a bank
account with enough savings to enable them to take out a loan or limit
how much they need to borrow for the next harvest, project officials
said.
Adamou Soumana, a
farmer and warrantage leader in Kubio village, couldn't hide his delight
as he tallied the numbers for his warrange group, which is heading into
its third season.
"Our stock's value went up from 730,000 CFA francs ($1,215) to 840,000 CFA ($1,400) in one year. We were so happy," he said.
"We now have a
range of different products in storage, and are confident we can handle
whatever surprises come our way," he said.
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