The Plus FINAL_SBM_121911

the Plus! Newsletter
A newsletter for the PSNP Plus Pilot Project (2008-11), implemented in Ethiopia by a
consortium of International and National NGOs, led by CARE and funded by USAID.
Volume 1, Issue IV
December 2011
Message from Chief of Party Jay Banjade
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
MESSAGE FROM CHIEF OF
PARTY
1
PSNP PLUS:
BEYOND HOUSEHOLDS
1
EDITORIAL
2
GENDER IMPACT:
SHOCK PROOF ASSET
2
PRIVATE SECTOR
INTERVIEW: LUNA EXPORT
3
CASE STUDY:
FARMER CLAIMS
DOCTOR STATUS
5
MULTIPURPOSE FARMERS
COOPERATIVE
6
The PSNP Plus consortium is pleased to welcome you to this final issue of ―The Plus‖.
In this message, I would
like to give you a brief update of the project, and
then direct you to our various publications that present evidence on the project achievements and key
lessons learned in technical as well as management and leadership areas. These lessons will be
very useful to improve the
performance of the Government of Ethiopia’s
Household Asset Building
(HAB) program, USAID
Ethiopia’s several food
security initiatives (such as
GRAD, LGP, AGP), and
various food security programs being implemented
around the world under
President Obama’s Feed
the Future initiative. I will
also introduce you to another of USAID’s
innovative programs, Graduation
with Resilience
and Development (GRAD)
program, that
will build on the
efforts and lessons of the PSNP
Plus pilot project.
PSNP Plus is a
USAID project de-
signed to assist food aid
recipients graduate out of
the government’s safety
net program by improving
their access to financial
services and functioning
markets. The program also
places strong emphasis on
learning and dissemination
of the lessons that work in
lifting households out of
extreme poverty.
The project has
been able to
achieve all of its
activity targets as well
as make considerable
achievements towards
outcomes and intended
impacts. For example,
the Multi-Stakeholder
(continued, page 4)
STAFF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 7
FACES OF CHANGE:
STORIES IN BRIEF
8
For more information
contact:
CARE Ethiopia
PO Box 4710,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 618 3294
Fax: +251 11 618 3295
Email:
[email protected]
www.care.org.et
PSNP Plus: Going Beyond Households
Mustafa Gemal is the chairperson of Ifa Gemchu, meaning ―light for Gemchu‖, a primary cooperative in the Gemchu Dusse kebele of the
Meta woreda. The cooperative distributes cereal and
white pea bean seeds and
honey supplies for PSNP
Plus participants in those
respective value chains.
Mustafa explains that the
cooperative was established
by volunteers about six years
ago; however, following its
involvement in the PSNP
Plus project, the cooperative
formally organized and got a
license and government recognition as a legal entity. This
change in status provided the
cooperative the opportunity to
be linked to a union and to
work closely with the woreda
and zonal cooperative promotion offices.
With the aim of expanding
and improving the services
that Ifa Gemchu offers, cooperative members received
training from the PSNP Plus
project. For example, the cooperative has benefited from
a project-organized
workshop on warehouse management
and have been
trained on how to
manage the quality
of white pea beans
in order to meet
exporter demands.
Members also had
the opportunity to
Anna Koob
go on an exposure visit to
Melkassa Agricultural Research Center in Nazaret to
learn about new white pea
bean seed varieties.
Mustafa appreciates PSNP
Plus’ contribution to building
members’ capacities through
trainings, exposure visits to
research centers, and other
related support. He describes the
outcome of
their learning,
―Initially, CRS,
the partner
implementing
the project in
the woreda,
brought im(continued, page 4)
THE
PLUS!
E DITORIAL
Melat Getahun, KM Advisor, SNV
Finally we have come to the end our PSNP Plus
journey together! PSNP plus has been the bond
that brought our experiences and expertise together to dare and try a new approach that has
never been attempted in addressing the challenges of food insecurity. I can say that, as a
consortium of diverse backgrounds and expertise, we have managed to put together what we
have in order to change lives. We have learned a
lot about partnerships and the different approaches adopted by consortium members and
have capitalized on our lessons to excel. We’ve
been sharing and learning from one another and
from other external partners and have managed
to bring our project to a higher level.
I believe our innovations and the strong collaboration we established between government, private sector, research, and other key institutions
will continue beyond the project and give other
food security programs the strong institutional
backing they deserve.
In this last issue, we have PSNP Plus stories going beyond households to working with and
through cooperatives and unions as development
partners. We also have a follow-up story on ―Dr.
Paulos‖, our colony multiplier extraordinaire from
Doba. The successful market linkage created
between the Luna Export meat processor and
the producers in Dale and Loka Abaya area also
included. To learn how the private sector perceives business engagement with food insecure
households, we have an interview with Dr. Retta
Negatu, the general manager of Luna Export
meat processing plant. Lastly, we give a final
view of the project’s contribution towards
women’s empowerment and livelihood improvement.
As this is the last issue of our newsletter, I would
like to take this opportunity to thank you all for
sharing not only your expertise and passion but
also the lessons you picked up along the way.
We look forward to the opportunity to apply the
PSNP Plus lessons as we transition into a new
phase with our new project, GRAD, in the ongoing effort to graduate PSNP households. With
best wishes for continued learning, sharing, and
success as we strive to link poor, rural households to microfinance and markets…enjoy!
2
“PSNP Plus Has Given Me A Shock
Proof Asset”
Meron Kelemework, Project Officer- CARE/CCU
―In my experience, I think women can think and do as
good as men but lack access to resources and knowledge. But if we are given these opportunities, I believe
women can go further than men,‖ says a female PSNP
Plus participant from Sidama. In a patriarchal society,
even among the educated and the rich, a woman is often
seen as being subordinate to a man. Yet, among the illiterate and the poorest of the poor, the PSNP Plus project
has proven that this can change, and knowledge is the
key in making it happen.
Preliminary findings of the gender impact study conducted for the PSNP Plus showed that, after the establishment of VSLAs, women have reported a significant increase in self-confidence and self-esteem. Through entrepreneurship and business skills training, women have
learned to choose, think and act for themselves. They
make their own decisions as to what income generating
activity they would like to pursue, how much they would
like to borrow, and how to manage their own businesses.
―Before my involvement in the project through VSLA, I
was practically my first husband’s servant. I could not
even leave the house; I had to stay home and cook. I had
no rights. He controlled everything. He would even go to
the market to get what we needed for household consumption. I was very shy and could not express myself.
Ever since my involvement in the project, my life has
changed. I now go everywhere. I make decisions in the
household, I am confident now. I have started 16 VSLAs!‖
claims a married female PSNP Plus participant.
This is true for a significant number of women who participate in PSNP Plus. Most female project participants
now have increased incomes and productive assets.
Their capacity to lead, speak out, and bargain power over
household resource allocation and other decisions has
changed drastically.
Their husbands are now taking on more gender equitable attitudes, accepting women’s decisions to join VSLAs,
and recognizing and respecting their economic and social
contributions. In supporting this claim, a VSLA member’s
husband stated, ―Before my wife joined the VSLA and
proved that she can save and support the family efficiently, I hid it all my money; managed it on my own.
Now, I give all the money to my wife. I’ve learned from
PSNP Plus that it is important to save. My wife saves
better than me, so now I’ve given her the full responsibility
of managing the family’s resources‖.
Armed with PSNP Plus tools and directions for changing
their lives, and with support from their husbands, women
are educating themselves, one another, and the future
generation. Men are proudly stating and advising other
men to work hard together with their wives. Realizing the
value of education, parents are now enrolling their daughters in school, aspiring to send them to college.
―I am surprised at how this project helped us change
our minds and how that has helped us change our lives.
The project has given us knowledge and that is a shock
proof asset!‖ - Alia Abraham, a beneficiary from Kurfachelle.
VOLUME
1,
ISSUE
1V
The Private Sector Perspective on Working with the Food Insecure
AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. RETTA NEGATU BY SELAMAWIT HAILEMICHAEL, SNV
GENERAL MANAGER, LUNA EXPORT SLAUGHTER HOUSE
Luna Export Slaughter House is the leading meat exporter in Ethiopia, with eight years of exporting experience as
well as local market experience with shoat (sheep and goat) meat. The objective of the organization is to produce
export quality meat, such as cattle, goat, sheep, and camel meat for human consumption. The company’s holding
ground can accommodate 300 cattle and 10,000 sheep and goats; includes a feeding pen, quarantine area, veterinary service, animal feed production and animal receiving and weighing area. The company is exporting its products
to different countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Yemen, Bahrain and Egypt.
Currently, Luna is working with producers in the Dale and Loka Abaya woredas of Sidama through a market linkage
facilitated by PSNP Plus. The Plus! had a brief interview with Dr. Retta Negatu, the general manager of Luna, on
how this market linkage was initiated, the lessons learned during the process and the way forward.
The Plus! How did you start the
business engagement with the
PSNP Plus households in
Sidama?
Dr. Retta: The way our company
started businesses engagement
with producers in Sidama was different from the business engagements we had in other areas. One
of the reasons for this was the fact
that the Sidama producers are
smallholder farmers located in
food insecure areas. The other
difference is that the market linkage between our company and
the Sidama producers was a successful linkage facilitated within a
short period of time.
For the past eight years, we’ve
been trying to establish sustainable and reliable business linkages with producers in different
localities. Unfortunately, we were
not successful. We had meetings
and agreements in different areas
through the help of so many
NGOs, like VOCA, AGAFARI,
ELAMTU, JACARANDA, CARE,
ACORD, and ELRI, but were not
successful in creating sustainable
linkages. Several months ago, an
opportunity presented itself when
we participated in a PSNP Plus
organized Multi-Stakeholder Platform meeting and learned that
market linkage is possible with
producers in Loka Abaya and
Dale.
SNV facilitated the market linkage
between our company and the
Sidama producers. This opened
our eyes in terms of the sources
of shoats for processing. Our
company has never seen food
insecure woredas as potential areas for possible market linkages,
but the PSNP Plus project proved
us wrong. Currently, we are getting shoats that meet export requirements from the Sidama producers, and the results are fantastic.
The Plus!: What were the major
lessons taken from your engagement with food insecure households?
Dr. Retta: For business engagements to work there
must be strong facilitators
like SNV. Facilitators must
be knowledgeable and
should be ready to support the two parties.
We have learned that,
for a sustainable market
linkage, the two parties
have to learn about
each other through
trainings, tours,
and meetings. We
have also learned
that working with
the poor requires understanding
their specific context and needs.
The Plus!: What are the possibilities for you continuing to work
with these food insecure woredas?
Dr. Retta: As our company is satisfied with the results of the business arrangements so far, we
would like to continue working
with these producers. For this to
happen, however, facilitation of
the market linkages has to continue through a strong intermediary, especially for new negotiations that take place after this experience.
3
THE
PLUS!
Message from Chief of Party (continued from cover)
Platforms initiated through the project have proven
to be an innovative and effective means to enhance
Business-2-Business (B2B) relationships and improve the enabling environment.
The microfinance activities have shown that credit
can be delivered to the poorest both profitably and
sustainably. Village Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs) promoted by the project have proven
to be an excellent foundation to deliver various social services including education, HIV /AIDS, nutrition, health and livelihoods education.
VSLAs have also demonstrated to improve resiliency in the face of recurring droughts in Ethiopia.
Evidence shows that participation in PSNP Plus has
allowed many beneficiaries to diversify their livelihoods, increase income and accumulate assets
over a relatively short period of two to three years.
Another area of significant achievement and learning has been the building of the consortium and its
management to ensure accountability, motivation,
active participation, and effectiveness. These are
just a few examples; for details on the achievements and lessons of PSNP Plus we invite you to
consult the articles of this newsletter as well as our
numerous publications (Longitudinal Impact Study
reports, Case Study reports, Gender Study, Combination and Sequence of Interventions Study,
Graduation Study Report, etc.).
The PSNP Plus project will be followed by
USAID’s GRAD project, which will be implemented
by a consortium of various local and international
NGOs (CARE, SNV, REST, Tufts, ORDA and CRS)
and led by CARE. GRAD builds on the lessons of
PSNP Plus and foresees to work more closely with
the Government’s HAB Program and USAID’s AGP,
LGP and other Programs as well as with various
microfinance institutions, insurance agencies and
the private sector in general. If things go according
to plan, we will welcome you in our first issue of
―The GRAD‖ as early as the first quarter of the New
Year 2012.
PSNP Plus: Going Beyond Households (continued from cover)
The cooperative began distributing
the white pea bean seed last year
and has quickly become involved in
helping farmers build market access
for this product. Furthermore, representatives of Ifa Gemchu cooperative
have participated in quarterly white
pea bean Multi-Stakeholder Platforms
(MSPs), events which bring all the
key actors together.
Related to the benefits of these activities, Mustafa stated, ―We appreciated
the opportunity [MSPs] because we
were able to talk to other stakeholders in the government and in the
private sector. It motivated us to improve the quality of the white pea
beans we had been producing. We
also were able to visit the warehouse
of ACOS, one of the biggest white
pea bean exporter companies. Right
now, we are focused on upgrading
the skills and knowledge of the community to improve the quality of the
white pea beans that come to our
warehouse.‖
Cooperative members engaged in the
honey value chain have received
training on beehive management,
colony multiplication, and colony
transfer practices, which Mustafa
says has been very helpful in expanding that value chain in the ke4
bele. The PNSP Plus project also
provided building materials and hired
masons, a contribution which allowed
the community to build a new warehouse two years ago.
According to Mustafa, the cooperative has experienced two significant
successes because of PSNP Plus.
First is an expanded service area:
“Before the project we didn’t have a
vision for the future. After being attached to PSNP Plus and receiving
trainings, we have indentified areas
we can expand into and other actors
that we can work with.
Initially we were confined
to this village, but now
our range of services extends to seven other kebeles.‖
Second, Mustafa attributes the relationships that
the cooperative has been
able to develop to PSNP
Plus. ―Now we’ve built
relationships with other
market stakeholders.
Even if the project
phases out, we know
where to find improved seed varieties
and where to sell our products, and
we’ve established trusted relationships with top-level actors such as
unions and exporters.‖
Finally, Mustafa mentions a PSNP
Plus contribution to WASH that often
gets overlooked. Under the WASH
component, Mustafa’s community is
in the process of developing a spring,
including a five-kilometer pipeline, so
that clean water is easily accessible
to those living in the village. Mustafa
expects the benefits from WASH to
be a vast improvement over the current system, ―My community has
been suffering from poor water supply. We’ve been fetching our water
from a pond from
which both humans
and livestock get their
water.‖ Such an arrangement has made
many people in the
community sick. So,
concerning the new
spring development,
the initial survey process has recently been
completed and now the
community is mobilizing labor in order to
build the infrastructure.
“We think the project will be completed soon,‖ says Mustafa, ―but the
motivation of the community triggered
by the project will go on.‖
VOLUME
1,
ISSUE
1V
“Dr.” Paulos: A Humble Farmer Who Claimed Doctoral Status Nicholas Nyathi, SNV
Paulos, 43, who comes from the Urji
kebele, completed his elementary
education in Asebe Teferi but could
not complete 9th grade because of a
lack of funding. He was among the
community members who were unable to feed their families due land
shortage and fragmentation issues
which caused low production rates.
Prior to 2005, Paulos, his wife, Elsa,
and their children led a very difficult
life. The only animals they owned
were two chickens. They barely had
clothes to wear or food to eat. Paulos
was forced to engage in daily labor in
order to earn additional income, while
his wife managed their small farm.
He and his seven member family
were fully dependent on his parents
until the kebele administration gave
him a small piece of farming land.
Then in 2004/2005, the Productive
Safety Net Program (PSNP) started
in the area for those who had little or
no means of income. Paulos was
one of the chosen farmers. He
started getting food items, cooking
oil, and nutritious food for the children. He also participated in other
projects such as HIBRET and HIWOT. These projects enabled the
family to start engaging in a Village
Savings and Loans Association
(VSLA), where they were trained on
savings and credit. Elsa specifically
mentioned that the training she received on saving and family planning
was a turning point for her whole family. They immediately became more
cautious about limiting their family
size. Paulos, meanwhile, was able to
take a brief theoretical training about
modern beekeeping provided by
CARE for the safety net program.
Therefore, when the PSNP Plus
was launched in 2008, Paulos was
selected to start business activities in
the honey value chain. In 2010, Paulos received technical training on beekeeping. He and 28 other participants
were trained for 21 days in the Hades
kebele by Dr. Nuru, a renowned apiculture expert. The intensive training
covered both theoretical and practical
aspects, from learning queen rearing
techniques to making transitional bee
hives. This time around, Paulos was
able to fully grasp all critical knowledge.
After the training, Paulos managed
to multiply colonies from one hive into
three. He then applied his skills to
teach his neighbors about colony
multiplication. He demonstrated how
to transfer the bees from his old traditional hive to the modern hive he obtained through the project. After seeing how Paulos multiplied the bee
colonies, his neighbors were motivated to engage in colony multiplication. Paulos then helped nine of his
neighbors make 15 transitional bee
hives, which are easier to manage
than traditional hives, more accessible for women, and yield an average
15 more kilograms (kgs) of honey
than the traditional bee hive. Paulos
continued helping the people in his
kebele, making 155 more transitional
bee hives, and sharing his training
knowledge with residents of 10 other
kebeles. Even though many people
took the training, only two people
(one of them being Paulos) excelled
at putting what they learned into practice.
Seeing his substantial achievements after the training, the project
continued to support Paulos. He participated in a ten day training in Dire
Dawa, led by Ato Ayalew, another
renowned honey expert. This experience helped him solidify his previous
learning and receive new technical
skills on colony multiplication. He also
received a manual for further reference. After completing this training,
Paulos was identified as a model
beekeeper and PSNP Plus provided
20 bee hives, 50 nuclei boxes, 75 kgs
of sugar (which is used as bee food),
protective cloth, and other supplementary materials. He started multiplying again in July 2011 and has
multiplied 30 colonies so far. He also
began selling colonies to his
neighbors at more than 600 ETB per
colony, thus creating a new livelihood
option for himself.
Paulos is one of the farmers who
participate at Multi-Stakeholders Platforms (MSPs), interacting with government, cooperative, and processor
representatives, research centers
experts and others, higher officials,
and academics, to name few. He
gained confidence through participation in such events. In one of the
MSPs when he was sharing his experiences, Ato Paulos claimed that he
equipped other farmers with skills
using the same process and producing the same quality as the doctor
(―Dr.‖) who provided him with the
skills during a training. He then asked
the audience whether it was
not honorable for them to
also call him a ―Dr.‖. Following this remark, he is now
known as ―Dr.‖ Paulos.
―Dr.‖ Paulos plans to sell
colonies so that his income
will increase to 30,000 –
50,000 birr per year from the
colony multiplication business. ―Dr.‖ Paulos has managed to build livelihood assets, transforming himself
from a food insecure individual to an entrepreneur. The
family now owns 3 cows, 6
oxen, 3 young bulls and 10
chickens.
In addition to the knowledge he acquired through the trainings, the
credit-based material support, and
the proposed money he hopes to obtain from selling his colonies, ―Dr.‖
Paulos has also learned a big lesson
because of the entire experience. By
observing the bees, he has learned
the value of hard work and dedication. Seeing how hard they work has
been a great inspiration for him to try
even harder and achieve better results because he now knows that if
one works hard success is inevitable.
Though Paulos and Elsa have been
married for many years, through the
project, they are now able to work
together and listen to and support
each other on every aspect. ―Dr.‖
Paulos mentioned that his wife has
been an inspiration to not only him
but also to the women who live in the
neighborhood. According to him, Elsa
is a hard working woman who has
taught her peers about the value of
hard work. Therefore, together with
his wife, ―Dr.‖ Paulos believes that
they will change their lives for
the better.
5
THE
PLUS
!
Interview with Medhin Mekonnen Anna Koob
Manager of Dire Multipurpose Farmers’ Cooperative Union
Made up of 38 primary cooperatives and representing 6,000 individuals, Dire
Multipurpose Farmers’ Cooperative Union delivers credit and farm inputs to
PSNP Plus participants in the region and has been working with HCS
(Hararghe Catholic Services), the implementing partner, for the past year.
Two years ago, a coalition of primary cooperatives formed the union in order
to solve market and financing problems that their members were experiencing. Shares in the union sold for 1,000 ETB and, at the end of the year, the
union’s profits were divided among stakeholders with the amount disbursed
based on ownership shares and patronage. The union is careful to prioritize
patronage to avoid adopting a corporate set-up in which large shareholders
have inordinate power over the organization. The union structure is also designed to ensure that it represents its members. Each of the 38 cooperatives
elects one person to serve in the union’s General Assembly. In turn, the General Assembly elects nine people
to serve on the Board of Directors. The board then elects a manager.
In an area where chronic drought means interventions involving improved seed will not be very successful, the
small ruminant fattening value chain is especially popular. In the past year, DMFCU has delivered four million
ETB through primary cooperatives to allow PSNP Plus households to purchase livestock. Interest rates
through DMFCU are 8.5% and are semi-annually compounding. This rate is often more generous than local
MFIs which can charge more than 13%. Of this interest, the primary cooperatives receive 20% as a commission. Through the Dire Dawa cooperative system, the small ruminant fattening value chain has reached more
than 1,000 beneficiaries, each receiving a minimum of three shoats. 500 beneficiaries have received oxen, for
which a 10% down payment is required.
While many beneficiaries organized under VSLAs have received trainings on savings and credit repayment
and generally have very high repayment rates, there has been a tendency among those not involved with
VSLAs to treat the livestock loan as a grant. In order to improve repayment rates, DMFCU has employed a
number of tactics. First, they have tried to create a stronger sense of ownership among individual farmers,
clearly articulating that the union belongs to and acts on behalf of its members and is severely weakened by
continuous non-payment. Second, the union has created a competition among primary cooperatives. Each
year, the union selects the three best cooperatives, based on measures of good performance, such as capital
and repayment history. The union then invites well-known government officials to present awards to these unions and rewards the winning cooperatives with exposure visits to successful cooperatives in other regions. As
a result of these efforts, the repayment rates have increased. The general lesson of this approach is that, while
such incentives help, building a sense of ownership among members was vital to the success of the union.
The union and its primary cooperative members have also been involved with PSNP Plus’ honey value chain.
One difficulty that honey producers face is that traders are more interested in collecting a large volume of the
product at one time than they are in working with individual farmers. This point is where the cooperative system can help. DMFCU recently collected 250 kilograms of honey from beekeepers.
The union then semi-processed, labeled, and sold the honey to larger market actors
that individual producers do not have access to. The benefits to farmers were twofold: not only did the union come directly to them for honey collection, but, by selling
in bulk after the union contributed value-added efforts, they hope to have sustained
access to a reliable market. In the next five years, the cooperative union plans to
invest in a honey processing plant to improve the quality of their clients’ honey. This
plan has boosted farmers’ confidence in the honey market and encourages them to
produce more.
Finally, under PSNP Plus, DMFCU is beginning to provide loans to VSLA members
for larger amounts than they are able to receive through their groups. As Medhin sees it, “VSLAs are very
strong. They are very bonded, financially literate, and are not afraid of the risks of credit. They have a positive
view towards loans.” He has been incredibly impressed with the success of VSLAs, noting an instance where a
6
VOLUME
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When asked to explain the union’s success, Medhin
returns to the sense of ownership among members.
For example, the government used to extend credit
to farmers for farming inputs such as fertilizer, selected seed, and water pumps, but now the cooperative union provides these services. When the government was in charge of disbursing the loans repayment rates were very low, and it failed to collect eight
million ETB. The cooperative union, however, is experiencing more success with repayment rates.
While the cooperative union providing extension services such as repayment training (so that farmers
know exactly how much they owe) is beneficial, the
critical motivator for repayment is the understanding
that the union really is working for them.
As a very new organization that is still building its
capacity and resource base, the union has experienced some challenges in trying to provide all the
services that it would like to. However, working with
PSNP Plus has allowed the union to expand its reach
while providing visible benefits to clients and PSNP
Plus beneficiaries. The conclusion is clear: DMFCU
and PSNP Plus is a winning combination!
Photo: Susana Moreira/ CARE Ethiopia
VSLA even provided a primary cooperative with a
loan of 15,000 ETB. With these results, Medhin forsees a future where the union will use their own funds
to provide these loans—currently HCS and PSNP
Plus are providing the money and using the union to
oversee the disbursement and repayment. ―Formerly
we weren’t even aware of these groups, but thanks
to PSNP Plus we are. We want the VSLAs to be involved in our cooperative structure, not only to support them but because they are good business partners for us.‖
Final Learning Event, Addis Ababa, Dec 12, 2011
Staff Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge the efforts of all
stakeholders in the success of the PSNP Plus
Project.
First and foremost are more than 50,000 PSNP
households the Project worked with to improve income and assets leading to graduation from food
aid.
The staff of the PSNP Plus Project from various
consortium partners (Tufts, SNV, CRS, REST,
SCUK and CARE), from the frontlines to country and
head offices, deserve much appreciation. Without
their tireless efforts we would not have been able to
overachieve almost all targets despite slow start,
droughts, poor rains and other challenges.
We are grateful to various government officials
from federal, regional, woreda and kabele offices.
They worked hand-in-hand with us to achieve these
targets and impact.
USAID deserves much appreciation not only for
the financial resources but for the close engagement
in the implementation of the project and for providing
strategic guidance along the way.
We also would like to thank various partners such
as the private entrepreneurs, trade associations,
other NGOs and donors, research institutions, training organizations, universities and consultancy companies who have been a part of this success.
- PSNP Plus Consortium Coordination
Unit Management
7
Faces of Change: Case Study Snapshot
Zewudu Molla, a 49-year-old married father of five participates in
PSNP Plus on three fronts: shoat fattening, cereals, and VSLA, all
interventions offered by Save the Children-UK in Kobo woreda,
North Wollo. He considers fattening to have been the most helpful
intervention for his family, explaining, ―From a single goat, I’ve
been able to receive a profit of 500 ETB. Recently, Zewudu selfgraduated from PSNP, deciding that he had built up enough
assets and resiliency to withstand modest shocks. ―Before PSNP
Plus I didn’t have a bed, but now I have a very nice bed. This is a
visible impact of the project.‖ When asked about his goals for the
future, Zewudu provides a list: to continue the activities he became involved with under PSNP Plus, repay his loans, see his son
graduate from the technical school, and finally, see his other four
children graduate from university. ―My primary duty is to educating
my children, so they can live better lives,‖ he says.
Final Musings on PSNP Plus
We taught the theory of saving to rural poor households, and they taught us about practical saving. IGAs increased
cash in-flows, and saving boxes decreased cash out-flows. We wrote success stories about project beneficiaries,
and beneficiaries wrote poems about us. We assessed the impact of PSNP Plus, and PSNP Plus assessed our capabilities to implement it. The Amharic proverb ―Problems create solutions‖ holds true for PSNP Plus, as with each
new challenge we encountered during the project, new solutions started to emerge.
Mohammed Kebede,
Save the Children UK
USAID’s PSNP Plus Project was implemented from 2008-2011 by a consortium of international and national NGOs and
technical assistance organizations led by CARE Ethiopia and including Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Relief Society
of Tigray (REST), Save the Children–UK (SC-UK), SNV and Feinstein International Center of Tufts University.
Layout and design: Susana Moreira/ CARE Ethiopia