DCG organized workshops on their Ecofarm and plant establishment projects in Mali from the 22nd to the 28th of January 2009.
The workshops took place in Sévaré, Ségou and Bamako. NGOs participating in these projects as well as local authorities attended the decentralized workshops. Representatives of the ministries of agriculture, environment and livestock production as well as members of DCG Mali, DCG Norway and Noragric attended the workshop in Bamako.
The main objective of these workshops was to present the results obtained from the two projects over the last 3-4 years and to discuss how the technologies tested in these projects can be applied on a larger scale. The governmental officials were very interested in the results presented and saw possibilities of integrating these results in their programs. The participating NGOs also explained how the results of the projects were being used in their own projects and programs.
Field visits were also organized in order for the involved farmers to explain the technologies they have been working on, present the results obtained, and share their experiences and concerns for the future. The main concern raised by the farmers was the price of fertilizer which is constantly increasing and which is out of their reach. The issue of transporting their produce to the market was also mentioned as an important challenge.
Presentations made during these workshops can be accessed here (in French).