Experiencing IICD support in Mali

The shea butter project

On arriving in Mali, we travelled to a place halfway between the capital, Bamako, and the second city of Mali, Sikasso, to visit the co-operative Coprakazan, in which fifteen groups of women, amounting to around 256 members, collect Karite nuts. With an improved chain of production, mostly by female workers, Coprakazan presently produces Karite butter (local word for ‘shea butter’) and honey, and a number of other products, such as soap and cream. The production of the Karite butter is divided into premium quality and good quality butter. Concentration of collection and production allows them to produce a higher quantity and more constant and predictable service-delivery. Improved demand has become possible through ICT-support in the form of a website and email access. One noticeable outcome from this is improved levels of supply and demand.

The secret of its success

Of the six co-operatives active in butter production in Karite, this co-operative is one of the largest. IICD-support has lead to significantly higher incomes for the female Karite nut-collectors. This permits the women to re-invest some of their income into the purchasing of a goat or cow: to diversify the methods they use to generate an income and improve overall their food security. With these small but significant improvements, their outlook changes dramatically. The secret to the success of this project is the combination of good leadership by the female president of the women’s group, the education and logistical support of a youth group (AMPJ) and the small ICT investment from IICD, permitting the development of a database that holds information about the women collectors and the quantities they deliver. It is amazing to somebody who has become used to full ADSL connectivity to see how simply having email access can change opportunities significantly.

Challenges

Challenges for the cooperative remain: once purchasers of Karite buttter have been reached, the demand tends to become larger than supply can feed. And the logistics of transport to foreign markets are daunting. Local demand in Mali is small. The image of Karite butter and other products suffers from a negative perception of an unwanted 'odor' from the use of cream. This has since been overcome via the production process. Another challenge is that of low connectivity experienced by Coprakazan. This is due to low debit telephone line connection.

ICT for mangos

In Sikasso, we saw one of the six units of the Fruilema group. The Sikasso chapter of Fruilema produces high-quality mangos for export to Europe. The ICT support of IICD permits the group to maintain an information system that helps them qualify for the very high quality and phytosanitary regulations of the EU. The system follows the steps that lead to obligatory certification. Improving data collection in advance of certification and visits by European experts results in considerable reduced costs. Before the ICT solution was implemented, the high cost European ‘experts’ would need to spend a lot more time on-site to conduct their analysis. The database has allowed them to follow the whole collection and production chain of mangos. Box by box, the computer system provides detailed information on the origin of the mangos, identifiable by their bar codes. This leads to feedback from the individual suppliers to Fruilema, which in turn helps them to improve the original quality of their supply. The positive incentives help them improve the fields on which their mango trees stand. Improving means that they maintain the field so that pests and insects are diminished. 

Accessing European markets

The IICD support has opened up a channel to European and Dutch consumers, improving employment opportunities and increasing incomes. Again, these increases are perhaps small to someone from Europe, but they are significant for producers in Mali.

Challenges

Challenges for this project remain due to the complex economic environment of a LDC: now that access to European markets has been secured, production and delivery can increase at high speed.

The Sikasso chapter of Fruilema expects to be able to increase supply of high quality products from 500 tonnes in 2007, to 2000 tonnes in 2008. However, this supply has to be packaged in carton boxes of sturdy quality and the boxes have to be available at the start of the harvest, and furthermore are being produced in Spain. This means that one has to invest from a credit-line and there aren’t many financers available to provide credit. Moreover, local banks tend to be very conservative in these operations setting interest rates at around 26%. One solution has been to source outside credit lines.

This case demonstrates that development remains a complex process. Although ICT can help considerably to improve matters, there are a whole host of complex factors that play an important role in the opportunities or obstacles that follow. This is why IICD’s support in the subsequent phases is crucial.

National agriculture law

Again in Sikasso, we visited a unit of the Regional Committee for Coordination of Rural People (CRCR). This is a local group of farmers and women who discuss the political and legal aspects of agricultural policies at national level, and significant matters of international trade, and the changes and problems resulting from the current European Partnership Agreements. ICT applications improve CRCR’s collection of many aspects of empirical nature, enabling CRCR to actually position themselves on many issues, informed by sound data. This has improved credibility for CRCR in such a way that they could muster no less than 50 amendments to a new national law on agriculture! Important aspects added to this law are: the consideration of land use issues; the role of women producers and seed variety improvements. The external effects of free trade issues are not forgotten: the group actively lobbies for an increased tax on rice imports into Mali.

International trade

Presently, rice from Thailand is taxed at only 5%. This variety of rice is consumed by elite consumers and hotels: the taste which was acquired after years of local production failure. Since then, rice production has increased and allowed Mali to become even a regional rice exporter. Local farmers could at present supply high quality demand but are crippled by the current low tariffs. CRCR pleads for 50% tariffs on imported rice but finds itself at odds with the EU, who is pushing for completely open markets.

CRCR has demanded the postponement of the signing of a bilateral agreement: a demand which is receiving international support from, amongst others, Oxfam/Novib. Here, IICD is providing logistical support through ICTs. Complimenting CRCR is the project of Sene Kunafoni Bulon. Again, IICD support makes a difference in strengthening this organisation and in providing much needed research information on crop variety, market prices etc. In one transaction - of mangos, presented as an example to us - the group was able to increase their prices by some 12%, resulting in an increased income of around 45000 Euros.

ICT for potatoes

In another example, the potato producers were able to obtain crucial information on a potato variety able to be produced under local soil and climate conditions, whereas the currently used variety is failing to provide a positive harvest. The project produced some gains typical for an LDC environment. Because of the creation of an office building with several rooms the collective was able to obtain a fruit drying machine which helped women to produce and package several additional dry-fruit varieties. As in the Karite butter project, ICT equipment allows for the creation and printing of package labels, which would be even more attractive if IICD could provide them with a colour printer! 'Colour sells better.' ICT equipment also allows for the printing of sales posters in exactly the right quantity.

The strength of IICD’s support in Mali

The particular strength of the IICD-approach, in the case of the CRCR and Sene projects, is that it reinforced - through ICT - a process amongst groups that had already a basis in cooperation and some social cohesion. However, as in the Karite butter project, it remained unclear to us to what extent revenue increases made their way back to the principal suppliers and in particular, the female producers. This may have been caused by the language barrier, as many of the participants did not speak French and our interpreters were mainly men, with one exception. In our discussions we tried to directly address the women around the table but with limited success. After the meetings my wife was approached by one of the female leaders, who explained how only this direct address in itself helped them to gain a little more prestige in the group.

ICT for health diagnoses

Another example of IICD projects in Mali is a contribution to increased health provision in the tele-radiology project. We were able to visit an important regional hospital in Sikasso. IICD support has provided ICT applications enabling X-rays to be sent over the internet to be properly diagnosed in Bamako, or even abroad. There are only 12 x-ray specialists in Mali, and they are all located in Bamako. By connecting to them they can interpret the x-rays for local treatment in Sikasso. More complicated cases can be forwarded to specialists abroad.

This significantly increases the chances for patients in Sikasso, and even more the patients at other more remote health centres. Patients can now avoid travelling long distances to the capital over horrendously bad roads. Despite needing care, patients will almost never travel these distances and even in cases where they would make the trip, could only with great difficulty find support for their stay in Bamako. It also avoids using scarce time of doctors to treat patients in Bamako with relatively simple problems.

Challenges within health services

One of the many remaining problems is that maintenance of computers can be challenging and internet connections through telephone lines are often interrupted because of bad service provision by internet suppliers or the state telephone company. The system seems to suffer a lot of ‘downtime’. Furthermore, health services and hospitals are under pressure due to the enormous demand for patient care and the very few trained staff. Through a system of health reference centres, Mali is offering de-centralised, free, basic health care but patients are not supposed to go directly to the main hospitals without an indication from a reference centre. Nevertheless patients often choose to go to the hospitals because they anticipate that they will not make it in time to treatment if diagnosed by the reference centre, due to the difficulties of travel and road conditions. This seems to be particularly true for pregnant women at the end of their term. Maternal mortality figures are extremely high due to early and frequent pregnancies in combination with almost universal practices of female circumcision and the low status of women in society. With an average of 7 children per mother, and maternal mortality of 1 out of 7 births there is an understandable motivation for women to seek the best care possible and in good time.

We visited a maternal ward in the regional hospital where - under dire hygienic circumstances, involving four delivery tables in one space - on average twelve deliveries were happening everyday. The service is also overrun as a result of incoming demand from women from the neighbouring countries of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. There is an ample supply of doctors but patients are in general demanded to bring their own medical supplies, such as medicines like Oxytocine, used to stop bleeding after birth: one of the main causes of maternal mortality and simply not available.

ICT for culture and art

Finally, we visited an IICD-supported cultural project in Bamako: Soleil d'Afrique. This centre trains a number of artists from various art disciplines in computer-based design. From the first steps in computer use to more sophisticated applications such as art design and the production of videos. There is little support for culture and art in Mali, despite having a long tradition of textiles production, wood-carving and pottery. The various ethnic groups each have distinctive approaches, but there is no real market for cultural products, other than very traditional art.

Of the few notable initiatives, such as the National Museum in Bamako, Soleil d'Afrique is an outstanding example. The Netherlands has invested a lot in the cultural sector of Mali, with architecture, heritage and other projects. The Prince Claus Fund is one of the other visible supporters of culture and art. IICD fits very well in this broader Dutch approach, supporting new technology.

I could say much more about this trip, and intend to report on other aspects in the near future…