First name: Soumah

Last name: OUSMANE KOLÈAH

Country: Guinea

Responsibilities: National Project Coordinator in the FSCA Programme in Guinea

I was inspired to work in a development project, specifically this food security programme in the Kindia region, for basic reasons: my perfect knowledge of the project area, having worked there for over 20 years, but also my knowledge of the project stakeholders; the opportunity provided to me by the Department of Agriculture to support the formulation mission of this project, both on the field and at different meetings with rural development actors, during its consultations. Further, during my past duties, I gained specific know-how on transferring research innovations to the rural environment of the project area, which has allowed me to share these experiences for the benefit of rural development.

From the professional experience that I have acquired during these last twenty years in a research institute, as well as my other experiences in other development projects with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and even producer organizations working in the development of Kindia, it has emerged that there is a need for a strong involvement of beneficiaries in order to create a synergy of efforts in the implementation of development projects.
In Kindia, by setting up the Cadre de concertation des organisations de producteurs (CCOPK, Consultation Framework of Producer Organizations) – which does not exclude the other development actors (state services, local and foreign NGOs, and development projects), the rural development actors were convinced that the development of an area is not decided in place of the beneficiaries, and even less so, without involving them.

This is an inspiring example for me in implementing this project, and therefore a privilege to grant to the partnership with the other local projects, the NGOs Réseau Guinéen pour la Traction Animale et Développement Intégré (Guineas Network for Animal Traction and Integrated Development), Association pour la Promotion Economique de Kindia (Association for the Economic Promotion of Kindia), Structure d’Appui au Réseau d’Agricultrice et Agriculteurs (Support Structures to the Men and Women Farmer’s Network) and the state services.

My first mission was to share the contents of the project during encounters with all these partners as well as with the beneficiaries themselves through information and awareness-raising meetings. These meetings led to a better understanding of the activities and of the project’s implementation approach aimed at ownership by the beneficiary producers.
Our project has a considerable advantage: the strong motivation of the beneficiaries organized in groups, unions and cooperatives throughout the five project sites, with a strong involvement of women both as members and even as heads of these umbrella organizations.

The women are not only involved in agricultural production: they dominate in the agri-food processing sector, such as  Groupement féminin pour la promotion des fruits et légumes (GFPFL, Women’s Group for the Promotion of Fruits and Vegetables), known through the brand “KANYA NEMA”, the Groupement féminin Limanya (GFL, Limanya Women’s Group), Réseau guinéen pour la transformation et la commercialisation des céréales et légumes (RGTCCL, Guinean Network for the Processing and Marketing of Cereals and Vegetables), Kindianaise de distribution (KiDis, Kindia Distribution) and Kanya Donsé Fanyi, all of which aim to become true agri-food enterprises in the Kindia region.

I am optimistic that the project will achieve the objectives as a result of the opportunities multiplied by the local officials’ will to support the project at the start-up of field activities.