Molobala is a typical village in the Koutiala region of Southern Mali near the Burkina Faso border. You reach it by taking a poorly maintained dirt road, 25 miles from Koutiala town. The village itself consists of 300 houses, mainly built of mud bricks. Villagers live mainly off the land, cultivating maize, sorghum, millet, groundnuts and vegetables. Most also cultivate some form of dairy and livestock. Life in this area of uncertain rainfall can be hard for both people and animals. At the end of the dry season the animals are often weak from poor grazing and internal and external parasites. That means that they are not in top condition for plowing the land and that they will not fetch the best price in the cattle market.
Mr. Bakan Koroma and his wife started a small shop selling daily necessities such as matches, candles and soap a few years ago. One day they were asked by their fellow villagers to bring some veterinary products from Koutiala to treat common cattle diseases such as internal and external parasites. Since then, mostly due to the ever-increasing demand, Mr. Koroma started selling veterinary products to villagers, often one pill at a time. For small communities such as Molobala, where the nearest veterinary service is 45 kilometers away, small agro-input suppliers like Mr. Koroma provide a vital service.
CNFA’s West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA) facilitates the training of small agrodealers to increase their technical skills and product knowledge. Mr. Koroma, along with 13 other agrodealers, was invited to participate in a technical training session on product knowledge provided by a local manufacturer of veterinary products.
The training covered safe use and handling of veterinary products, the major diseases and parasites and how to administer the products. For instance, Mr. Koroma learned that for effective treatment of internal parasites three pills need to be administered to cows rather than just one.
After the training Mr. Koroma received samples, literature and a certificate. WASA visited Mr. Koroma a few weeks after his training and discovered that he is now recognized by the farmers as the village expert on cattle treatment and in the case of 20 farmers he is now not only asked to supply the veterinary product but also to administer the medicines to the livestock himself.
A little training goes a long way for people like Mr. Koroma. They gain confidence in their day-to-day activities. In addition, veterinary products and pesticides handled in a safe and responsible way reduce risks to the environment and human and animal health and help farmers benefit from healthier livestock. Mr. Koroma is looking forward to other WASA-sponsored technical trainings, including a business management skills course.
