Build trust, build lives…
- From
-
Published on
19.02.21
- Impact Area
-
Funders
United States of America

“Farmers thought we were coming to steal their money!” Microfinance specialist Lamine Sountoura remembers the first time he tried convincing farmers in Mali to warehouse their produce a decade ago. Sountoura and his colleagues from Soroyiriwaso Microfinance Institute were trekking through villages and hamlets in Sikasso region on a mission to help farmers understand that well-stored, quality grain can be used as collateral for loans. The personal approach worked. Farmers increasingly began storing their grain in warehouses, got much needed access to credit for income-generating activities, repaid their loans on time, and ploughed the proceeds back into farming.
Warrantage system helps farmers
“By the end of the trainings when the first credits were issued, farmers understood that the warrantage system was designed to help them avoid selling off their product at a low price. They understood that their grain stock is more valuable if well-maintained and properly stored,” says Sountoura.
The mission started in 2011 with Soroyiriwaso and NGO EUCORD partnering to train farmers and organizations to improve crop storage, marketing, and access to credit and inputs. A new opportunity emerged in 2018 through partnership with Malian NGO Malimark to establish Innovation Platforms as part Africa RISING’s large-scale Diffusion of Technologies for Sorghum and Millet Systems (ARDT_SMS) funded by Feed the Future through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Related news
-
CGIAR scientist takes leadership role in global antimicrobial resistance response
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)19.06.25-
Health
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has appointed Arshnee Moodley, lead of the CGIAR…
Read more -
-
Breakthrough at ICRISAT: World’s First Extreme Heat-Tolerant Pigeonpea Developed via Speed Breeding
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)09.06.25-
Food security
-
Nutrition
Breakthrough cultivar ICPV 25444, developed through speed breeding, tolerates temperatures of 45°C …
Read more -
-
Vietnam marks World Food Safety Day 2025
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)09.06.25-
Health
The Vietnam National Institute of Animal Science, with technical support from the Food and Agricultu…
Read more -