Overview
Improved production, productivity, processing, and marketing of cereals provides significant opportunity for income and food security for the majority of Mali’s rural population.
The general types of cereal-based product end-markets to be addressed by IICEM include:
“improved” coarse dry cereal for domestic and sub-regional markets;
quality cereal raw material intermediate markets for livestock feed;
quality raw materials for intermediate value-added markets for human consumption such as flour;
high quality raw material for high quality intermediate markets (grits, composite flour), and in addition to cereals;
a cross-cutting category of emerging high value-added product markets in collaboration with existing and expanding agribusiness partners across targeted value. Initially activities will focus on domestic markets, except in the case of “clean” grain markets, where sub-regional exports will also be targeted.
In addition to facilitating and supporting the organization of supply chains and developing an effective mechanism for their management and quality assurance, IICEM will collaborate with agribusiness partners to explore improved cost-effective supply chain management systems; improve processing efficiencies and related raw material outsourcing criteria and mechanisms; improve product presentation and marketing; and explore opportunities to diversify final product markets for existing products, as well as diversifying into new market segments.