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Farmers' Initiative ALCD

Soil is the basis of existence
The farmers are well aware of this fact, but unfortunately not all the political decision makers and other international and national aid organizations. Otherwise they would supply more money for soil conservation measures in their action plans for fighting poverty.

 Why a farmers’ initiative?
 Even if the project PATECORE is
 stopped without alternative, the work       amust be continued! That is why this  afarmers’ initiative was founded.

Become active oneself, convince and win new partners!
Following this motto nine farmers got together to form the organization „Association de Lutte contre la Désertification“ ALCD (Farmers’ Organization for Combating
Desertification). They represent about 20.000 farmers in three provinces on the northern Central Plateau.

Vision of the Farmers’ Organization ALCD
Most of the ALCD members are farmer groups that had a cooperation with PATECORE. They would like to continue their work despite the fact that PATECORE had to stop its activities. Their basic aim is to build contour stone walls on all of their agricultural land and to increase soil fertility by intensifying the use of manure as fertilizer.

This farmer family wants to invest in soil and water conservation measures

The statutes of the farmers’ organization ALCD are being signed

These are the foundation members of the ALCD

Goal
Up to the year 2025 contour stone walls should be built on another 50.000 ha of farmland. The required amount of stones amounts to more than 2,5 million tons of stones – So plenty has to be moved and organized!

Organizational chart:
Main tasks of the ALCD

The farmers’ organization ALCD needs an implementation unit
The ALCD foundation members have elected a managing board consisting of honorary members. In order to achieve their ambitious goals they delegate the main task to the association’s implementation unit. It will be managed as a non-profit organization (NPO) and the comprehensive work is taken over by employed co-workers. The name of the implementation unit is asso patecore, the core team of which consists of four former PATECORE employees.

Technical and organizational capabilities of the farmers’ organizations
Being able to build contour stone walls and increasing soil fertility by means of organic fertilizers requires a basic training and a continuous support in order to maintain quality standards. Besides the farmers want their ideas to be communicated and implemented more efficiently. This is only possible if their representatives are trained in the sector organizational development and managerial functions. It is an important contribution to strengthen civil society and for decentralization!

Acquisition of grants
The money necessary for the required amount of stones should, if possible,  be supplied via local funds (state, donor organizations). This is the biggest challenge for the ALCD, because only little money is provided for soil conservation measures. Besides lots of bureaucracy is involved and the time between the application and the donation of the money is very long.

Administration and controlling
ALCD is going to cooperate with various partners. Each organization has different means of handling a project and of using the money. Prerequisites for gaining and effectively maintaining the faith of the partners are: quality of the work carried out, punctuality of reports and transparency of finances.

Costs / Financing
Costs for asso patecore personnel, operational costs, and for the transportation of the stones arise. Financing shall be carried out via local funds, international donor organizations and Terra-Verde e.V.

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