Our STARS program finds innovative ways to continue its activities. Here are some examples from Rwanda and Burkina Faso.
Rwanda
The STARS country teams are currently adapting their 2020 country plans, taking into account the new Covid-19 restrictions and realities. For example in Rwanda, to make sure that microfinance institutions (MFIs) can continue to provide loans to farmers thus managing risks arising such as shortage of liquidity, the STARS team is advocating towards large investors such as Rabobank Foundation, to loosen the repayment conditions for the MFIs. In value chain development, STARS is working in securing markets for the harvested maize and is planning activities around the marketing of rice in the next season.
Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, where STARS works with six MFIs and 18 producer organizations in the shea and sesame value chains, the country team is using digital tools to strengthen the capacities of producer organizations. During a Google Hangouts meeting, STARS advised to strictly apply the COVID-19 restrictions to protect themselves and prevent contamination of their products. In addition, shea producer organizations would like to inform their members on hygiene and social distance measures when collecting shea nuts. Therefore, STARS Burkina Faso will develop a digital flyer that explains to farmers how they can collect nuts safely and hygienically.
In addition, sesame producer organizations expressed the need to continue the already planned training on best agricultural practices (especially during harvesting and post harvesting operations) for their member farmers to prepare themselves for the next planting season in July. But since movements are restricted, the STARS team is currently developing a training mechanism, using digital tools.
“The STARS team in Burkina Faso can’t physically leave our capital city Ouagadougou, since the whole country is in lockdown. So we link producer organizations to local capacity builders in every intervention area we work in. The local capacity builders will be coached through STARS, using video calls. Those local capacity builders will then train animators. Animators will then train farmers in small groups in their villages, while respecting the social distance rules,” Karim Zone, STARS Value Chain Advisor of ICCO Cooperation explains.