Presentation of End-of-Term Evaluation Results for the Africare-Mozambique Manica Oil Seed Food Security Initiative

1. Presentation of End-of-TermEvaluation Results for theAfricare-MozambiqueManica Oil Seed Food Security Initiative Tristi Nichols, Ph.D With Manitou, Inc

2. Objectives of the Evaluation Process The End-of-Term Evaluation had the dual objective of: • Investigating whether the MOSFI goals and objectives were achieved and factors influencing the staff’s ability meet targets; and • Exploring the lessons learned for future program activities.

3. Evaluation Methodology • Field Staff interviews working in all five districts; • Interviews with program senior staff; • Interviews with Provincial and District level officials; • Discussions with private sector representatives; • Interviews and observations of program participants/partners who include: • Farmers; • Press owners; • Model mothers and fathers and CASA group members; • ATCs and old activists; and • Health clinic personnel (midwives and nurses).

4. Evaluation Methodology • Three Districts • visited include: • Gondola; • Sussundenga; • Manica.

5. Oil Seed Promotion Objective To develop a sustainable, small scale oil seed production and processing industry in each of the five districts. Nutrition Component Objective To increase awareness and application of improved nutrition and health practices in corresponding communities. Program Components

6. Oil Seed Promotion General Program Services to Create the Industry • Create demand and links for Sunflower and Sesame seeds distribution among: • Large-scale seed distributors; • Store owners; • Press owners; and • Farmers. • Create links and promote the press used to fabricate the edible oils among distributors (stores) and individuals (including farmers); • Create commercial links to purchase seed output among: • Large-scale oil manufactures; and • Press owners.

7. Creating the Industry – Starting With the Seeds • Africare uses various methods to create a demand for seeds including: • Initially subsidizing the cost of the seeds in stores; and • Providing the seeds to press owners at cost to distribute to local farmers. • Africare also provided technical assistance to farmers about how to cultivate the crop, which included: • Planting techniques; • Creating lines properly; • Appropriate intercropping alternatives; • Harvesting practices; and • Storing the seeds in a manner that would be least susceptible to pest infestation.

8. Securing Seed Demand and Production • Africare staff worked with the local community structure to identify individuals who could assist others to cultivate the crop. They are called Farmer Leaders (FLs); • The staff trained the FLs to provide others with a ‘theoretical’ overview at a “demonstration site”; and • The FLs then visited the farmers individually to assist with practicing the cultivation for 1-2 hours.

9. Creating a Demand for Seed Presses • Africare works with community leaders to conduct demonstrations to promote the press; • Individuals were assisted, so that they could acquire presses by: • Providing a guarantee to stores for those who could only pay for the press in installments over 4-6 months; and • Indicating individuals what stores sold the press. • Africare’s Business Promoter facilitated commercial links, so that presses were made available locally through stores in smaller centers (usually stores selling agricultural inputs); and • Specialists from Zimbabwe and Tanzania trained a few artisans how to fix the presses in the event that they needed repairs (1998).

10. Seed Production and Sales The crop’s entire time-frame takes roughly 4 months – Late January through May Seed Output Click to see pictures of small press owners Selling Price is practically identical Press Owners Large Scale Oil Producers

11. Barriers That Prevent the System From Functioning Effectively Seed Distribution • Semoc/Seed-co – the Mozambican/Zimbabwean seed distributor – has difficulties delivering seeds to stores, which are attributed to recovering their merchandise and costs; and • Pannar – A South African seed distributor – is actively cornering the seed market in Manica, but their seed variety has potentially harmful repercussions if the farmer is not informed of the differences in seed varieties. This is a hybrid which must be purchased every year unlike that which Semoc produces – replacement every three years.

12. Barriers That Prevent the System From Functioning Effectively Press Sales and Spare Parts • Enacomo – A Mozambican-Indian Distributor – orders the seed presses from Maputo. This store may have risky business practices which could impede this partner from serving the role as press distributor in Chimoio; • Other partners exist, but they too have unconventional business practices which could impede them from supplying presses consistently over the long-term; and • The supply of spare parts is irregular in rural parts, thereby obliging the press owner to travel to Chimoio personally to purchase what he needs.

13. Barriers That Prevent the System From Functioning Effectively Increasing Marginalization of Press Owners • Many press owners lack working capital to build an inventory of seeds, thereby causing oil supply to become inconstant at the community level. Possibilities of working with CARE’s program – Cresce exist, but this alternative must be re-explored; • Press owners must compete with oil manufactures for seed output which limits their ability to operate full time (at least 10 months of one calendar year).

14. Barriers That Prevent the System From Functioning Effectively Revisions of Seed Purchase Price Needed • The price of the Pannar seed is significantly higher than than that of Semoc (Mts. 36-60 compared to Mts. 15), while the selling price per kilo has not been altered. • While only 1.5 kilos is needed to produce 1 liter of oil with Pannar as compared with 4 kilos with Black Record, the farmer does not reap any rewards from using a technologically more advanced and more expensive seed.

15. Barriers That Prevent the System From Functioning Effectively Extraneous Factors • The crop has a very bad history – which has left many farmers hesitant and suspicious. Should Africare explore working intensely with associations, they would have to permeate their past bad experiences with the crop. • The distances between many communities creates bottlenecks in transporting: • Planting seeds to commercial outlets; • Seed output to press owners; • Value-added goods to larger markets for quick sales; • The profits accrued at every level are considerably low. Thus, there is a need to promote additional business opportunities.

16. Nutrition Component