The “Milk Without Borders” project aims to improve the food and nutritional security of pastoral and agro-pastoral households in the SKBo region: Sikasso in Mali, Korhogo in Ivory Coast and Bobo Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. Its goal is to promote sustainable livestock farming practices, while strengthening social cohesion and economic development.
Pastoral and agro-pastoral households in the SKBo region average between seven and ten people. Income levels are modest, and the food and nutrition situation is worrying. Around a third of households are highly food insecure, and almost half are at risk of becoming severely food insecure. Data indicate an unbalanced diet among the population in all three countries, and the supply of dairy products is below average (Global Nutrition Report, 2019). This situation poses a threat to health, particularly for mothers and children.
Additionally, there is an increased prevalence of zoonotic diseases such as brucellosis and tuberculosis, which are transmitted through the consumption of poor-quality milk. There are also conflicts over the use of pastoral resources, exacerbated by episodes of drought and insecurity in the northern and central regions of Mali and in Burkina Faso. This has led to a massive displacement of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities towards the SKBo area.
The SKBo project: “Milk Without Borders “
It is against this backdrop that VSF-Suisse and its partners CAB Demeso in Mali and SAGRASY in Burkina Faso are implementing the SKBo “Milk Without Borders” project, funded by the Cantons of Berne, Zurich and Basel as well as Stiftung Nord-Sud. The 36-month project is being implemented in the SKBo tri-border area, more specifically in the Cascades, Kadiolo and Korhogo regions. These regions are linked economically, culturally and linguistically, and livestock farming is a unifying element.
The “Milk Without Borders” project supports vulnerable populations with the aim of improving their livelihoods by strengthening, in a sustainable and structural manner, their resilience to food and nutritional insecurity, and to climate change.
The project provides training courses on animal health, food safety, and fodder production, among others. They have led to significant improvements in animal feed, boosted milk production and reduced costs, and ensured food and nutritional security, economic recovery and the resilience of the participants.
The story of Tiefary Koné
Tiefary Koné, 62, is a dairy farmer from Kadiolo and the President of the Kadiolo Milk Producers’ Union. He explains: “I’ve been involved in livestock farming since I was a child. During the dry season, all my animals would go on transhumance to the Ivorian border in search of pastoral resources such as water and pasture. In recent years, the adverse effects of climate change such as drought, exacerbated by insecurity, have led to the over-exploitation of pastoral resources. This can lead to conflicts between herders and between farmers and herders around cashew nut fields. This situation has led to losses among my animals”.
“The SKBo project has enabled us to acquire new skills, particularly in the technical production of fodder crops, silage production techniques, rationing techniques for dairy cows and the creation of dairy nuclei to make breeding more profitable. We also had easier access to forage seeds such as elephant grass, panicum, bracharia and Angole weight.”
Tiefary Koné started growing panicum because it is resistant to water scarcity. He planted two hectares of panicum with an irrigation system – a borehole equipped with a solar system and a water tower. The fodder produced from his plot is used fresh or after ensiling to feed a dairy herd of thirty cows, seven of which are lactating, with a daily production of 38 litres. The milk is consumed by his children, guaranteeing them better nutrition. The surplus benefits the community, and this income helps to meet the needs of his family.
According to Tiefary Koné, “The introduction of fodder crops enables sustainable management of pastoral resources, reduces conflicts between farmers and promotes social cohesion”. “My animals didn’t go on transhumance this year. That means less pressure on the pastures”, he says. His dream is to secure the fodder production plot and fully meet the water needs of the plants.