Context

In Côte d’Ivoire, cassava, plantain and vegetables are staple foods crucial to the overall food system. While their plantation has much potential, a lack of investment in research on plantation methods and the development of their value chains, particularly in rural areas, hampers their growth. The stable and sustainable presence of cassava, plantain and vegetables in domestic markets in Côte d’Ivoire, and their potential export to international markets, is important for the food security and resilience to climatic shocks and stresses of the country’s population, decreasing their reliance on imports and increasing the smallholder producers’ livelihoods.  

The plantation of cassava, plantain and vegetables requires significant investment and popularization of efficient methods of plantation, as many innovations are available but remain insufficiently popularized and/or applied. For example, the rate of use of quality seeds and seedlings represents only 10% of the needs of market gardeners and less than 1% for cassava. Moreover, the production, processing and marketing of these products is characterised by a lack of organization and poor governance. 

Therefore, CARE works with a large number of Village Saving Loan Association (VSLA), in which women and girls are represented in the majority and the basic rules of good governance are rigorously respected, to use these VSLAs for horizontal integration and revitalization of the three value chains. 

This project contributes to reducing inequalities between women and men, in particular 1) by increasing the level of knowledge and capacities of women, 2) by modifying social norms related to gender, in particular by targeting men, boys and opinion leaders, and developing women’s entrepreneurial leadership to enable them to take a greater part in decisions affecting their households and communities and 3) facilitating their access to inputs, important information and financial services. Young people are also the privileged targets of the change of social norms and are thus able to change the gender dynamic in an intergenerational way. 

Environmental sustainability is ensured by promoting practices and technologies that 1) respect the environment (for example the use of organic fertilizers, chemical fertilizers adapted to soils and crops, approved pesticides, packaging of plantain bananas avoiding rachis transport), 2) adapted and resilient to climate change (drought-resistant varieties, use of water control techniques) and, 3) allowing a reduction in post-harvest losses. 

Main Activities

• Developing entrepreneurial and management skills of 17,000 women and young people in the three value chains. 
• Develop the leadership of women and young people in 1,500 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and promote networking among members to improve production, processing and marketing linked to the 3 value chains. 
• Facilitate the development of 50 collaboration agreements with various players. 
• Facilitate the cultivation by 500 women and young people from 3 value chains of pilot plots to support the establishment by 50 professional organizations, processing units and the development of 20 marketing initiatives aimed at product standardization. 
• Set up guarantee systems enabling 3,750 actors in the 3 value chains to obtain at least one loan from a microfinance institution. 
• Develop a digital platform enabling 10,000 VLSA network members to group their orders for inputs, equipment and transportation and to join forces to increase their sales volume. 

Participants 

• 15,000 VSLA members implicated in the three value chains 
• 1,600 VSLA members who will work in one of the three chains, and 400 youth 
• 50 ANADER agents 
• 1,500 communal extension workers