Results achieved as of the end of the project (February 2013), at least 1,178 female and 1,117 male members of seven cooperatives in Fon Batis and Délis have participated in activities to build agricultural infrastructure, distribute improved seed varieties, and improve the skills and knowledge of the population of participating communities. In total, 4,758 women, 2,387 young girls, 4,422 men, and 2,203 young boys have directly and indirectly benefitted from project activities. Through this project, six crop storage silos and one tool storage building have been constructed and are now being used by the cooperatives and communities who manage them. In addition, over 2,000 cooperative members received improved seed varieties and agricultural tools to help them restart viable agricultural activities. Over the course of one year, a total of 4,168 female and 3,904 male cooperative members participated in training courses to broaden their knowledge and improve their skills in cooperative leadership, the principles of cooperative development, soil conservation and environmental protection, pest management, and grain storage. Though the harvests from crops in 2011 and 2012 were not favourable, due to the drought and natural disasters that affected agriculture heavily all over the country in late 2011 and throughout 2012, the agricultural infrastructure and the increase in community knowledge and skills established through this project are expected to benefit the populations of Fon Batis and Délis for generations. Examples of benefits to the communities include: i) Following training in leadership, 355 more women and 308 more men now have the knowledge and confidence to engage in best management practices and leadership within their cooperatives. Eight times more women received leadership training than expected and women in the project area have acquired the skills and knowledge necessary to take on leadership roles. Since the start of the project, the number of women in elected leadership positions within cooperatives has almost doubled, from 14 to 24. ii) As a result of training they received, five cooperatives now practice fully transparent management techniques and have developed accounting books, minutes books, general ledgers, decision books, and credit books, as compared to only two cooperatives before the project. iii) Six farming cooperatives and one agricultural tool cooperative now have more than twice the storage capacity they had before the project. For three cooperatives, this is the first time they have had access to safe and suitable storage facilities. iv) As a result of receiving improved seeds and other agricultural inputs, about three out of ten cooperative members have experienced an increase in annual income of at least 15% over the course of the project. v) Despite a challenging growing season in the project area, nine out of ten women and men believe that they now have the capacity to grow more food thanks to their participation in the project. vi) The use of environmentally sound agricultural practices, such as composting, has increased exponentially within the communities helped, even among those who did not participate in training sessions. The adoption rate for composting since the training session is 88.1% among women and 92.9% among men. vii) The use of slash-and-burn farming practices has decreased dramatically among those who participated in the training session, with 98.4% of women and 96.1% of men reporting that they no longer use the technique. Social stigma against the use of slash-and-burn has increased considerably in the project area. Some cooperative members have planted trees on their lands and around their homes to begin reversing deforestation.
