Sierra Leone

Project Title: Micro Finance Program

The general objective of the project is to develop a cooperative credit facility in association with the sorghum project activities. EUCORD’s key partner is a national micro finance organization, Finance Salone. Finance Salone will (a) provide seasonal credit to groups of farming families (10-15 households per group) that will enable them to increase their agricultural productivity and cash incomes, (b) train credit groups and assure members are familiar with the principles of mutual guarantees, (c) assist credit groups in building a credit track record that based on timely repayment of previous loans as well as the building of a modest guarantee sum (10% of the loan being requested), and (d) train credit group leaders and help them to liaison with credit providers on behalf of their group members.

Funders: Rabobank Foundation

Period: 2007-present

Project Title: West African Sorghum Value Chain Development

The overall objective of the project is to implement a public-private-partnership project that will substantially enhance the sorghum supply chain in both Ghana and Sierra Leone. The project will enable sorghum farmers to meet market specifications by adopting technology in areas where private sector stakeholders (agricultural processors as well as input providers) have a clearly vested interest in facilitating farmers’ access to information, skills and market-linked inputs. The beverage industries in both countries (i.e. Heineken, Guinness and their subsidiaries) are committed to purchase locally produced sorghum to be able to substitute a portion of the raw material presently being imported. As an outcome of the project, sorghum farmers will be able to improve productivity and increase their net incomes through greater access to improved inputs, processing technologies, and marketing options provided through commercial agribusinesses and producer associations. Sorghum seed farmers should be able to supply high yielding varieties and private input suppliers and marketing entrepreneurs will improve the quality of their services to their client farmer groups.

In Sierra Leone the project is implemented  in close collaboration with the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI).

Funders: Common Fund for Commodities, Diageo, Heineken International

Period:2006-2011

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