Sanihan lives in Baramadougou village, north of Ségou in Mali, with 13 members of her family. A few weeks before the harvest when their food supply is almost exhausted, she explains: “My husband is working in the field and it‘s up to us, women, to look for money to nourish our family in this period. Sometimes we go to river Bani, 20 kms from here, to pick up plants to make incense that we then sell in local markets»

Every year, the lean season is a challenge for Sanihan. Last year, she even thought to move to Bamako because of the difficulties she faced. "However I thought of my children, who are still young, and I decided to stay. Today, I'm not worried anymore, because by investing in new activities, we will be better able to react to difficult moments."

Sanihan is now one of the beneficiaries of the FAO Resilience Fund program, which aims to improve the food and nutrition security of vulnerable populations in Burkina Faso and Mali, by strengthening the resilience of their livelihoods.

During the lean season, FAO provided seeds and cash transfers to poor people in the area. The programme brought radical change to Sanihan’s life, compared to previous years when repeated droughts had undermined their seed stock. For the first time in five years, her family can cultivate the entire plot of land: "The harvest will certainly be enough for us to have food reserves for months."

"With the 50,000 FCFA received, I was able to buy millet and I will also buy goats. Once they give birth, I could resell them to face unforeseen expenses. Children also need clothes, which I will be able to buy now" she says proudly. "I am sure that that if we manage well the help that we received, we will have a better future."

Sanihan is also ready to catch new opportunities. Like the other 2 500 vulnerable families part of the Caisses de Resilience program in the Segou and Mopti regions, she has been trained in good agricultural and pastoral practices to cope with climate change, thanks to her integration into one of the 100 Farmer Field Schools (FFS) set up in Mali thanks to FAO’s support. She is also part of a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). Both FFS and VSLA aim to enable their members to improve their management capacities and strengthen their financial capacities.

Le projet Réduire la vulnérabilité des moyens d’existence agricole à travers l’approche «Caisses de Résilience» au Sahel, financé par la Belgique et mis en œuvre avec les Gouvernements du Mali et du Burkina Faso et différentes ONG, bénéficie à 5 000 familles (soit près de 25 000 personnes) vulnérables au Burkina Faso et au Mali, à travers le renforcement de la résilience de leurs moyens d’existence. L’approche est basée sur l’appui simultané aux capacités productives, financières et sociales des ménages vulnérables et de leurs institutions communautaires.

These activities are part of the project “Reducing the vulnerability of agricultural livelihoods through the Caisses de Résilience approach in the Sahel”, financed by Belgium and implemented with the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso as well as various NGOs. So far, it benefitted around 5 000 vulnerable families (about 25 000 people) in Burkina Faso and Mali, strengthening the resilience of their livelihoods. The approach is based on simultaneous development of the productive, financial and social capacities of vulnerable households and their community institutions.

More information on FAO's worok on Social Protection in the Sahel and West Africa