Nebnooma Provincial Union of Small Ruminant Breeders Capitalizes on USAID Yidgiri’s Support and Wins Two Institutional Contracts Worth $33,659 

Small ruminants such as sheep are integral to agricultural unions’ market-driven sales in Burkina Faso. One of the unions supported by the Feed the Future-funded USAID Yidgiri Activity in Kaya, the Nebnooma Provincial Union of Small Ruminant Breeders, has sought to enhance the productivity of the small ruminant value chain. Nebnooma currently has 39 simplified cooperatives societies and a total of 809 members, including 752 women. Although the union is nationally registered, its members have experienced challenges generating profits from its products.  

Based on findings from a market assessment undertaken by USAID Yidgiri in 2022, Nebnooma experienced challenges with accessing credit, holding statutory meetings for its members, and marketing its products at commercial outlets. Union leaders were also unfamiliar with the tendering process and strategies for developing offers in response to tenders from institutional market players. To increase the capacity of unions to access profitable regional markets, union leaders participated in two-fold training sessions up until early 2023. One training session focused on governance principles, whereas the second training taught union leaders how to work within the competitive market and procurement landscape, identify calls for tenders, and navigate the tendering process.   

In April, Nebnooma union leaders bid for and won a contract from the NGO Save Africa to develop a tender for the supply of 267 sheep in three lots (117 in Pissila, 60 in Boussouma, and 90 in Kaya). The contract, worth a total value of $26,961 (16 million FCFA), successfully met quality criteria and delivery deadlines.   

The president of the Nebnooma Union, Mady SAWADOGO, expressed his satisfaction with the bid outcome, “We have applied what we have learned and we can see that things are changing for the better. For example, the Union has just acquired a 400 m2 plot of land to build its headquarters.” Additionally, the union saved $841 (500,000 FCFA) from this successful bid to invest in its operations.  

Galvanized by this success, Nebnooma Union took part in another call for tenders launched by the same NGO for the supply of 18 tons of cattle feed. Union Nebnooma was awarded a contract valued at $7,270 (4.3 million FCFA). The Nebnooma Union’s successful bids point to USAID Yidgiri’s broader impact on increasing the institutional capacity of unions, acting as a valuable source of income for small ruminant producers.