The cooperative has enabled some of its 126 members, including 36 women, to take part in multiple training sessions organised by the Selling Quality Rice for a better income (QUALIRIZ) project.
QUALIRIZ is a project implemented by a consortium comprising Rikolto, Trias, the Union Nationale des Producteurs de Riz du Burkina (the umbrella organization of cooperative rice producers), the consulting firm SICAREX and the Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles du Burkina Faso (INERA). It aims to strengthen and support a competitive and inclusive rice value chain to help increase the incomes of 50,000 small-scale producers in the Centre-East region of Burkina Faso. Rikolto is the consortium leader.
Market access for small-scale producers is one of its specific objectives. "Rikolto's role in the QUALIRIZ project is to strengthen the relationship between producer organisations and processors in order to supply quality paddy to processing units. "says Moussa Ouedraogo, the QUALIRIZ Coordinator. To this end, the project's experts are organising training sessions, some of which are on Contract Farming.
Ousséni Welgo, President of the Mitiiri Cooperative, was able to take part in training sessions on the Contract Farming approach. At the end of the training, he convinced the Management Board of his cooperative to adopt production and marketing strategies in line with a Contract Farming approach.