Cereal Banks - At Your Service?: The story of Toundeu-Patar: A village somewhere in the Sahel

8/7/2019 Cereal Banks - At Your Service?: The story of Toundeu-Patar: A village somewhere in the Sahel

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Cereal Banks-At Your Service?The Story of Toundeu-Patar: A village so m ew here in th e Sah el


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ContentsIntroduction IVChapter 1 The villagers of Toundeu-Patar and nearby

villages meet to discuss their prob lems. Theyhear about how a cereal bank could help them,and ask Assane to explain. 1

Cha pter 2 The villagers meet again and talk about how toget the grain to stock the cereal bank, and howto store it. 5

Chap ter 3 The meeting continues and the villagers find outthat they must ha ve a strong and skilful man age-ment comm ittee to mak e the cereal bank work. 11

Chap ter 4 The villagers discuss buyin g and selling grain,and how the cereal bank can be used to help thepoo rest families in the village. 15

Chap ter 5 Two week s later, Assane brings a visitor to meetthe villagers, and they find out all the things th atcan go wrong. They are rather depressed, butAssane tells them that if they know whatproblem s they mig ht meet, they will be able to avoidthem. The meeting ends, and the villagers go hometo think abou t all they have heard. 19

AnnexesAnnexe 1

Annexe 2Annexe 3aAnnexe 3bAnnexe 4Annexe 5Annexe 6

Case Studiesi Poye Cereal Bank (Dou entza District, Mali)ii Cook sin Cereal Bank (Yako Region, Burkina Faso)iii Loumboul Samba Abdoul Cereal Bank,

(Ferlo, Senegal)Calculation of the cost priceSimple accounting systemsSome accounting operationsBibliographyUseful contactsQuestionnaire

23232628303137434551


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IntroductionSince t ime immemorial , food security has been a majorpreoccupation of African people.Cereal banks have, in recent years, become a widespread and

popular response to the problem, especially in the Sahel, and to alesser extent in East Africa.Their popularity is understandable. They allow those whose lives

are most affected by food shortage to take control over their ownfood supply. They are managed by the people who depend on them,not by outside agencies or officials. They give whole villagesindependence from traders and the uncertainties of the market.This little book presents, in the form of a story, some of the main

questions and issues surrounding the setting up and running of acereal bank. It is based on the actual experience of several cerealbanks in West Africa. Some of these are described in more detail inAnnexe 1. Practical guidance on price setting and accountingsystems is given in Annexes 2 and 3. At the end of the book is aquestionnaire which we hope you will detach and return to us sothat we can find out if you found the book useful.Because the book is based on West African experiences, thecurrency used throughout is the franc CFA. One do llar is equivalent

to approximately 300 CFA.Now let's join the villagers of Toundeu-Patar as they gather under

the meeting tree....ALIN

Casier Postal 3Dakar-FANN

Senegal

IV


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Chapter 1The villagers of Toundeu-Patar and nearby villagesmeet to discuss their problems. They hear abouthow a cereal bank could help them, and askAssane to explain.Today the village of Toundeu is filled with an unusual buzz.Since dawn, carts filled with men and women have beenthronging the streets. Everyone is heading for the Great Baobabunder which important meetings are held.

Representatives from other villages in the area are also there,under the burning sun. By midday they have all gathered, and thetalk is all of the daily problem of survival - a problem which seemsto be getting w orse.They have invited Assane to the meeting. Assane works as a

trainer and animator for a local non-governmental organisation(NGO).Many important and absorbing matters are discussed. The talk is

of food supply in the hungry season, the price of food on themarket, the recent poor harvests and lack of rainfall.

"Life used to be easy in our village," said one of the visitors fromnearby Ndiouloup. "There was plenty of rain, the harvests weregood and the grain stores were always full. We had plenty of feastsin those days. Now we harvest less and less. We work ou r fingers tothe bone, but the soil is tired and the rains don't come. We can't

even feed ourselves through theyear."

"Our problem is qui tedifferent," said another visitorfrom Bakhoy. "We are luckyenough to have irrigation, so wecan grow rice and millet all yearround and our grain stores arealways full. But we are so faraway from the market that ourgrain often rots when the rainsstart. And since we can't get ourgrain to the market, we end upselling it at very low prices tothe travelling traders. We can'teven buy the essentials withwhat they give us."


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A third visitor spoke. "Two years ago, a couple of strangers cameto our village. They called a meeting and told us that a cereal bankwas the solution to all our problems. A few months later they cameback with masons who built a large building at the entrance to thevillage. Several months after that, they came back with a lorry filledwith sacks of millet. They told us, This millet belongs to you. Sell itto the villagers during the hungry season, and we will come backlater to tell you what to do next. We were amazed and delighted tohave so much to eat that year. We shared the millet out amongstourselves, and right up to now the strangers have not reappeared.We have got no idea what their game is, but maybe Assane couldhelp us to understa nd what this cereal bank thing is."Assane stood up, and thanked the assembled company for inviting

him."You have all come here today to talk about your problems, and

from listening to you, it seems that you all share the same problem.For one reason or another, at certain times of the year you do nothave enough to eat. At Ndiouloup the drought has burned up yourfields and you cannot produce enough. At Bakhoy you cannot sellyour grain at a good price. Some of you have heard that a cerealbank could be a solution to the problems b ut are not su re how. Let'sstart at the beginning. Before we can decide if a cereal bank couldhelp , we need to know more about it, and to find out whatproblems you have that you think a cereal bank would solve."

What is a cereal bank?A cereal bank is a community-based institution run by a village or a group of

villages. It is managed by a com mittee elected by the community.How does a cereal bank work?A cereal bank can work in several different ways, depending on the food

situation in the area. It can buy, store and sell grain to people at prices they canafford. Sometimes it sells other supplies as well. The community has to decidewhat sort of cereal bank wou ld best answ er its needs.

Assane went on. "I'm sure you will tell me that you want manydifferent things from a cereal bank, or that you want any help youcan get. Some of our visitors here today have already had someexperience of a cereal bank in their villages. Let's ask them how ithas helped them."At this invitation, one of the visitors stood up and introduced

himself. "I am the Chairman of the cereal bank in the village ofBagnam. We have been very pleased with our cereal bank, becauseit has really improved our food situation in the hungry season. Webuy millet and rice from the cereal bank and it saves us both time

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and money: the prices are far more reasonable than in the market,and we don't have to take up a whole day in getting there andback."

He sat down, and another visitor took his place. "I come fromFagnoum. We have been run ning a cereal bank for two seasons nowand we would agree with what our friend from Bagnam has said.We used to be at the mercy of the traders. They would come to thevillage after the harvest and buy our millet and rice at very lowprices. We had to sell then because we needed the money. The sametraders would come a few months later when we needed food, andsell us back the same rice and millet for several times as much. Butnow all that is in the past and we can control our own food supply."A visitor from Dekhe agreed. "Our income used to be very low

and w e needed a lot of money for taxes and family ceremonies. Ouronly way of getting money was to sell grain to the traders, and theyreally cheated us on the price. We didn't even make enough to buytea and sugar. Life is much easier now that we don't have to sell tothem."Assane stood up again. "We all know how tough the hungry

Your turn to think !From wh at these three visitors have said, what do you think is the main function of acereal bank?

season can be," he said. "The grain stores are empty and the crop inthe fields needs a lot of work before it will fill them again. Well, acereal bank can help. This is how.

"In areas where there is not enough grain to last from harvest to3


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harvest, and also where there is enough grain to feed the village butsome of it has to be sold to buy supplies, a cereal bank can be reallyuseful. Grain is bought either from the village, or from elsewherewhen the prices are low, just after the harvest; it is stored until it isneeded, and then it is sold to the villagers at a reasonable price.Everyone benefits. The villagers are paid a better price for theirgrain when the market prices are low, and they then have money intheir pockets to pay their taxes, school fees and other expenses.When the market prices are high and the granaries are empty, theycan buy grain from the cereal bank at a price they can afford."

He went on. "Cereal banks have other advantages. Because thebank is right there in the village, no one has to travel long distancesto buy grain and then transport it back home. So time is saved aswell as money. Also, as the village learns to manage its cereal bank,it can gain the experience needed to run other types of developmentproject - a village shop, for example, or a health project. Assistanceto the vil lage can be channelled through the cereal bankmanagement committee and they will become skilled at dealingwith ou tsiders."

Assane brought the meeting to a close. "We have all had a chanceto talk and to listen. Why not go back to your villages now anddiscuss what you have learnt? I have to return to my office inDossou, but I am ready to come back any time you would like totalk further. Thank you all for com ing - and travel safely."

Your turn to think !Can you think of any other advantages of a cereal bank which Assane has notmentioned?

But remember! A CEREAL BANK IS NOT A SOLUTION TO ALL YOURPROBLEMS. It can answer some very specific needs. Make sure that your objectivesare clear and that you know what you w ant the cereal bank to do for you.


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Chapter 2The villagers meet again and talk about how to getthe grain to stock the cereal bank, and how tostore it.

Several days after the Toundeu-Pa ta r mee t ing , tworepresentatives from the village went to visit Assane. They hadbeen sent by the elders to ask him w hen he could come to Toundeu-Patar again in order to go through in detail how a cereal bankworks.When he arrived, the villagers gathered as usual under the bigtree. The elders got there first, and greeted Assane as he roared upon his moped. Soon the whole village was there, and Sekou, thechief, go t up to speak. He welcomed everyone to the meeting,thanked A ssane for coming, and explained why they were there.He told how for twenty years Toundeu-Patar had been afflicted by

drought, and how they had often gone hungry in the long monthsbefore the harvest. The young people had been forced to leave thevillage to try their luck in the town, leaving the young children andelderly people to fend for themselves. A sad state of affairs.

"However," he continued, "last week, we met Assane, and he toldus about something called a cereal bank which might be the answerto our food problems. We wou ld like to try a cereal bank here in ou rvillage, but we are not sure how to go about it. So we have invited

Assane along to help us. Whenwe have talked, we can decidetogether if a cereal bank couldhelp us."A m u r m u r of approval was

heard. People started to discussthe matter among themselvesunti l one of the young men,concerned that the meeting wasbecoming a free-for-all, madethem shut up . He t u rned toAssane expectantly.

Assane got up and thanked thevil lage for invit ing him. "Itseems to me that you alreadyhave a good idea what a cerealbank is. Perhaps you could tell


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me what you think you w ould need to set one up."Aly leaped up. "The first thing we need is something to stock it

with - maize or sorghum which we can sell to the villagers duringthe months when prices are high and food scarce."Mamadou clicked his tongue impatiently. "What do you think we

are going to buy it with? It's money w e need first."But Abdoulaye was already one step ahead. "I think," he said

slowly, "that you will find there is not much point in buying thefood until you have somewhere to store it. Think about it. We willneed huge quantities, and none of our stores are large or secureenough to hold it."Thiemokho looked thoughtful. "We'll need someone to run the

bank," he said.The women, who were sitting together in a group, burst out

laughing. "Well, we all know what will happen if we leave that tothe men."This last comment provoked general uproar. Assane waited until

the insults had stopped flying. "There is truth in everything youhave said, but w e need to go through it step by step. Let's think firstabout the problem which Abdoulaye raised - where to store thegrain. Then we can look at how to start up the cereal bank and howthe bank should be managed."

g r a i n Assane explained carefully that the store would be somethingowned by the whole vil lage and that i t was therefore veryimportant that it should be built in a place where everyone hadeasy access to it. At the same time, the place should be secure andeasy to guard. The whole village should agree on where to place it."What shall we use to build it?" Aly wanted to know.This provoked some discussion. Thiemokho was convinced that a

mud store would be best, since everything necessary was to handand it could be constructed by the villagers themselves. Abdoulayedid not agree. He argued that a permanent store would be bothmore practical and more beautiful. Mamadou had another idea."Since a mud store is not very secure and a permanent one wouldcost us a lot to build, why not ask if we can use that big store builtby the Government five years ago which has never been used? "Assane waited until there was quiet again. "Well done!," he said."In three minutes you have managed to cover three goodpossibil i t ies for stor ing the grain. Of course they al l haveadvantages and disadvantages. You must discuss it thoroughlyamong yourselves and then the final decision can be made by allthe inhabitants of Toundeu, even those who are not here today."


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MUDAdvantagesIt can be built by thevillagers themselves.The materials can befound locally.It is cheap to build.

STOREDisadvantagesIt is not very sturdy.It needs regularrepairs.The losses aregenerally higher thanfrom permanent storesbecause it is not so easyto protect against insectsand vermin.

BORROWED OR RENTED STOREAdvantagesIt may be cheaper thanbuilding your own store.

DisadvantagesThe owner may oneday w ant it back!

P E R M A N E N T S T O R E(made from blocks and cem ent)AdvantagesIt is a solidconstruction which canlast a long time.It needs littlemaintenance.There will be fewerlosses due to insects andvermin.

DisadvantagesIt is very expensive tobuild.The building materials(cement, wood etc.) arenot normally available inthe village. They usuallyhave to be brought fromthe town.

Rem emb er the se th ings when you are stor ing your grain! The sacks must be stacked in such a way that the air can circulate, so itis important not to fill the store too full, and to leave spaces between the

stacks and also between the walls of the store and the stacks. It is also impor tant to treat the grain against the insects which can infest

it when it is stored, by using either modern insectides or more traditionalmethods. The long-term upkee p and cleanliness of the store must be considered.

When a new delivery of grain arrives, the store should be well swept to getrid of all the old grains which could cause the new ones to rot, and thesacks should be fumigated before putting new grain into them. Theseprecautions m ust be taken seriously - your wealth and m oney are at stake!

The store should be securely locked and guarded, and all stocktransactions should be properly checked to avoid thefts.


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Stocking thecereal bank

Loansfromoutside

Gifts

The wholecommunity cancontribute

"How do we start the cereal bank?" w as the next question.Assane spoke again. "This is an important question which needs

some careful thought. In order to start the cereal bank, you need tohave a stock of grain. Unless someone gives you that grain, you willneed money to buy it with. Another way is for each family to givesome of their harvest to stock the cereal bank. Getting the initialstock can be done in several different ways, and the right way foryour village will depend on your own needs and circumstances."

"Someone might come along and give us a stock of grain, likethose visitors in Fagnoum we heard about," said Aly hopefully.Mamadou said, "But it is not good to be always asking others forloans or gifts. Why couldn't we work together on a communal fieldand sell the crop, or else each make a contribution?"Assane continued, "It seems that there are three possible ways of

getting the grain to start you r cereal bank: a loan, a gift (or food aid)or donations from the community. Of course, these three differentmethods could be combined, and this might make the task easier.Listen and I will explain what I mean." And this is what he toldthem.

"Loans can be either of money or of grain, and sometimes acombination of both. A loan of money is very common and comeswith varying conditions. It could be a medium term loan (e.g. 5years) with or without interest, or a short-term loan (annual orseasonal) with or without interest. It is important that the villageshould understand on what conditions it is given."

"Sometimes an outright gift is given by an outside organisation.This is not paid back, but is used as a rolling fund to continue theoperation of the cereal bank into the next year. This means that themoney earned from the sale of grain in the first year is used to buythe next year's stock. If the cereal bank w orks well, then there is nomore need for outside assistance.

But there is no need to rely on outside assistance. You can do it byyourselves."

"You could cultivate a communal field, and when the crop is sold,put the money into the cereal bank.You could cultivate other crops like vegetables and sell them.You could each make a contribution of grain after the harvest."So, my friends," finished Assane, "there you have the main

methods of finding the grain to start a cereal bank. You must choosethe one w hich best suits the conditions of life in your village."Maimouna, one of the women, said, "I think the last idea is the

best. It wou ld be better to start the cereal bank off with grain whichwe produced ourselves. It is hard enough to find enough money tobuy soap and clothes for the children.""I know it can be a problem," sa id Assane , "but there areadvantages and disadvantages both to starting with grain and withmoney.


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Starting withmoney

Starting with grain

"In areas where there is a surplus of grain production, or wherethere is exactly the right amount produced to meet people's needs,it is useful to start the cereal bank with money. This enables thecereal bank to pay a good price to the farmers for their grain,certainly better than they would get from the merchants. Since thereis plenty of grain around, all the cash can be used up, and thismeans that there is a good chance that the cereal bank will be ableto buy all the grain it needs locally.In areas where not enough grain is produced to meet the local

needs, starting the cereal bank with cash will certainly be able togive the farmers a better price than they would get from themerchants. But the problem here is that the bank will not be able tofind enough local grain to stock up . The result will be either that thebank will not be able to spend all of its capital, or that it will have togo farther afield to find enough grain, and will then have to pay theresulting transport costs. This is possible, but it needs goodorganisation and a good knowledge of the grain markets in orderthat the bank can buy at the right time in the right place.In any case, dealing with money will force the managementcommittee of the cereal bank to face up to the realities of the grainmarket and the com petition from traders right from the beginning.

It will also allow the management committee to learn how theformal banking system works, because they will have to open anaccount in a real bank in the nearest town, manage the accounts ofthe cereal bank m embers, and invest the profits.

All of this seems to suggest that this is the way to start a cerealbank. But there is a risk that the village may receive a large sum ofmoney to finance the cereal bank, and then be tempted to use it forother purposes."

"OK," said Assane, "Now let me tell you about starting with astock of grain.

"The main advantage of starting with a stock of grain is forvillages which do not produce enough, even in a good year, to

Advantages of starting with moneyLocally produced grain can be bought for cash:good for the local farmers because it cuts out thetraders; good for the cereal bank because thereare no transport costs involved.Management committee becomes familiar withmarketing.Management committee becomes familiar withthe formal banking system.In areas which produce enough overall, grainneeds can be met from local production.

Disdvantages of start ing with m oneyIn areas which do not produce enough grain tocover needs , it may be necessary to traveloutside the area.Cap i t a l may not be fully used up if it isdifficult to find enough grain to buy. There is a risk that the village will use themoney for other purposes.


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cover all their food needs. Having a stock of grain given to thevillage will ensure that no one goes hungry. It may even mean thatthere is more food in the village than is needed, and the price ofgrain will remain low throughout the year. But, if the cereal bankhas no money, it will not be able to buy grain from within thevillage, so no one will be able to earn the money to cover otheressentials like taxes and school fees.Another problem for the Management Committee is that if they

only handle grain, they will never have the chance to learn how tohandle money and understand how the cereal market works. Andthere is always the risk that the village will look on the cereal bankas simply a source of food aid."

AdvantagesDeficit zones need not w orry abou t their grainneeds being covered.

DisadvantagesProdu ction does not generate any income.Managem ent comm ittee never becomesfamiliar w ith the workings of the cereal market.Risk that the grain capital may be simply usedas food aid.

Aly spoke up. "Perhaps it is not so good for us to start the cerealbank with only grain and no cash, but some of us are too poor to beable to contribute money and all we have is something from ourharvest."

"That's quite right, Aly," said Assane. "And of course, in placeswhere the problems are the worst, there is not enough food to goround, and people also need cash to buy all the other necessities,and there isn't any of that either! It may be better to start the cerealbank with both cash and grain."

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Chapter 3

The Ce real B ankM e m b e r s

The ManagementCo mmi t te e

The meeting continues and the villagers find outthat they must have a strong and skilfulmanagement committee to make the cereal bankwork.A ssane began. "Thiemokho, at the beginning of our discussionyou were saying that there would be a need for some people totake on the organisation of the cereal bank - the managementcommittee. But there is an even more important group of people -everyone who is committed to the idea of a cereal bank and whowill benefit from it. They are the cereal bank m embers."Old Baro wanted to know what these members had to do with

running the cereal bank and Assane told him, "The cereal bankmembers should do three things: they should decide on the purposeof the cereal bank; they should make all the major decisions abouthow it should be run (for example, whether it should be there toserve the interests of the community alone, or to make a profit);they should supervise all its activities.

"The cereal bank members normally meet at the beginning andend of each season, but they can be called together at any time tosort out any problems which may have arisen."

Abdoulaye now wanted to know more about the managementcommittee, its responsibilities and tasks, how it was made up, andhow it was to be elected. Assane answered these sensible questionsone by one.

"The management committee is responsible for three main things.These are:

managing the day-to-day activities of thebank suggesting to the m embers a sensible social

and commercial policy taking stock each year of the cereal bank's

activities.""What are the jobs of those on the management

committee?" Thiemokho asked."Well ," said Assane, "Usually there is a

cha i rpe r son , a secretary, a store keeper, atreasurer, a purchasing officer, and sometimesthere is also an auditor. There can also be depu tiesfor the different posts, in case of sickness orabsence.


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But don't forget! Thecereal bank membersare the ones who ownthe cereal bank. The

managementcommittee mustalways answer to the

members.

The chairperson's job is to be responsible for and oversee theactivities of the bank. S/he is also the main point of contactwith the outside world.

The secretary's job is to record all the admin is t r a t ive andaccounting operations of the cereal bank.

The store keeper takes in the grain which has been been bough t forthe bank and sells it. S/he is responsible for the upkeep of thestore and the condition of the grain in it.

The treasurer is in charge of the m oney.The buyers arrange for the bank to buy grain at the best possible

price, sometimes travelling long distances and arrangingtransport for the grain back to the village."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes. The success of the cerealbank would depend so much on the competence and commitmentof the management committee. Maimouna spoke everyone'sthoughts.

"So, Assane, we are going to need people who are honest, upright,dynamic, good at reading and writing and dedicated to the well-being of the village! Who should we choose?"

"You have listed some of the qualities necessary," said Assane."But the members should choose the committee very carefully, andsome of the jobs will need different qualities from others. For


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example, the chairperson must be open-minded, able to get peopletogether, good at negotiating. The secretary must be literate andalways available. The treasurer must be honest and able to do somemaths. It is easy to check up on some of the requirements, likeliteracy for example, but much less easy to be certain about otherslike honesty and dedication."Mamadou did not like Maimouna's boldness. (The reason was

actually that on another occasion she had refused his advances andtold him to go back to his wife, and he had not yet forgiven her!) Hesaid crossly, "I don't think that the management committee shouldconcern women and children. It is something for us, the adults, tosort out."This comment caused murmurs of agreement from the men and

whistles of scorn from the women! Luckily, Thiemokho wassensible enough to realise that if the cereal bank was to succeed inhelping them to solve their problems, they must rise above oldquarrels and divisions and work together. He said thoughtfully,"Our women are used to managing. They manage our families, andthey often do it on their own w hen w e are away working in the dryseason. They manage their small businesses, their fields, theirtrading. I think we should use their knowledge and work togetherfor the good of the village ."The women cheered at these words, and the men could not find a

quick answer. Aly said, "Thank you Thiemokho. You have spokenwell. Our management committee should be made up of men andwomen, from all sections, classes and ages."

Assane was very pleased with this outcome and said, "Well done,my friends! I think you will make a good decision. Where villageshave had real problems it has often been because the managementcommittee is made up of a minority group, or is dominated by onepersonality, or for other reasons they are always arguing amongthemselves or with the members. Remember these things when youchoose your managem ent comm ittee, and choose wisely."

T r a i n i n g Maimouna spoke again. "Assane," she said, "it seems that some ofthe tasks of the committee are quite difficult. We may not findanyone in the village who could do the job of treasurer or buyer.""If you cannot find anyone with the skills, you must find someonewith other qualities who is willing to learn," said Assane. "It isoften possible to find someone from outside who could come andtrain the managemen t committee in some of their tasks."1

1 See annexe 3 for suggestions on how accounts for a cereal bank can be kept.13


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neighbouring villages, but it must be equal to or more than the cost price."It is also important that the cereal bank sells the grain in both

large and small amounts, since not every one can afford to buy largeamounts at a time."

Buying: just after the harvest, preferably from the cereal bank m embers. The price can be higher thanthe market is offering.S a l e s : usually take place in the hungry season, at lower prices than the market is demanding for thecereal bank mem bers and those who are needy. If there is enough grain, it can be sold to non-mem bers,but at a higher price.

Helping thepoorest

Fixing quotas

Selling small andlarge measuresCredit

Maimouna said, "How can we help the poorer people in thevillage to get enough to eat? And how can we make sure that thegrain in the cereal bank is not just bought by those who have a lot ofmoney? They could take it away from the village and re-sell it for aprofit."

"This is certainly a problem, Maimouna," said Assane. "Whenthere is enough grain for everyone, the cereal bank can simplydecide to keep some grain aside for the poorest. But when there isnot enough, everyone wants to buy from the bank, and since somepeople are richer than others, the rich could easily buy up all thegrain and not leave any for the rest. In this case, the bank must beclear about what its policy is and have a system for regulatingbuying and selling, otherwise the poorest will never benefit fromthe existence of the bank."3Aly wan ted to know what sort of system should be used."There are several things that you can do," said Assane."You can fix quotas. This means that you work out how much

grain the cereal bank has and then allow each member to buy acertain amount. Or you could do it the other way round - see howmuch grain a family needs to buy. For example, you might decidethat each head of family can only buy 100kg. every 15 days. Thisalso prevents ind ividuals buying large quantities to resell at a profit.

"You can allow people to buy in small as well as larger quantities,then people have the flexibility to buy from the bank w henever theylike, according to how m uch money they have available.

"You can allow people to buy on credit. But if you do, make surethat you first ask:

How many people are likely to need credit? How much of the grain in the store can it afford to sell on

credit? How will it deal with people who do not pay their debts?3 see chapter 4

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S o c i a l f l i n d "You can set up a social fund. For example, you can make eachperson who buys grain from the bank contribute a small amount toa social fund to assist the poorest in the community."

Sekou, the chief, spoke up. "This cereal bank seems to havesomething good in it for everyone. The social policy will allow eventhe poorest to benefit along with everyone else. But the rules haveto be followed by everyone - no exceptions, not even me!"Assane answered. "You all seem to have understood how to set up

and run a cereal bank, and what it can be used for. Unfortunately,that is not always enough to make it succeed. All sorts of p roblemscan crop up once it is running, but you will find the solutions tothem if you think about them as a group."

By now it was getting late and everyone wanted to get homebefore nightfall. The chief closed the meeting, thanking Assane, andfixing another for two weeks' time, after the market. Assanepromised to try to bring along someone who had been involved inrunning a cereal bank for some time. Everyone thought this was agood idea, and they all went hom e in good spirits.

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Chapter 5Two weeks later, Assane brings a visitor to meetthe villagers, and they find out all the things thatcan go wrong. They are rather depressed, butAssane tells them that if they know what problemsthey might meet, they will be able to avoid them.The meeting ends, and the villagers go home tothink about all they have heard.

Two weeks later, everyone again made their way to the meetingtree. They had seen their visitor arrive earlier - he had come onthe fast bus with Assane and they had eaten with the chief. Nowthey were waiting for everyone to arrive so that he could beintroduced. The chief opened the meeting once more andintroduced the visitor. Assane then invited him to tell them aboutthe cereal bank in his village.

"Mr Traore, the chairman of the Mekhe cereal bank, has agreed tocome here today and to talk to us about the problems which theyhave encountered. Let's listen carefully."Mr Traore greeted the villagers and thanked them for theirwelcome. Then he began, "Although it is rather painful for me, I

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am going to tell you about all the problems we faced and themistakes we m ade, in the hope that you will be able to avoid them .

"We set up our cereal bank in 1985 with a loan from an NGO. Withit, we bought millet at 70CFA a kilo and rice at 150CFA. This loanwas to be repaid the following year without interest. We sold themillet to the cereal bank members at these prices. But there wasstrong competition from the travelling traders, who were able tobuy cheap rice in another area for 130 - 140CFA a kilo and so wereable to undercut the cereal bank. We could not sell our rice at150CFA. The grain had not been well stored and there were manylosses. The remaining rice was distributed among the members oncredit, but they saw it as a free gift of food aid and refused to pay itback."

Mr Traore continued. "The cereal bank was started up again withmoney which had been collected by the Union of Peasants 'Associations of Mekhe. But in 1986-87 we met with worseproblems. Because of the locust damage to the crops, we had to goall the way to Bamba Thialene, more than 400km away, to buy ourmillet. This put all our costs up - hiring a lorry, costs of loading andunloading, subsistence for the buyer. In the end, although webought the millet for 70CFA a kilo, we had to sell it at between 85and 90CFA a kilo in order to cover our costs. But by this time,traders were bringing millet to the weekly market in Mekhe andselling it for 80CFA a kilo! We lost more money. Meanwhile thestorage had been even worse than the previous year and eventuallya lot of the m illet was used to feed the animals."When Mr Traore had finished this sad story, Assane asked themeeting what they thought of it.

W ha t do you think w en t w rong?Write your ideas below:

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What can go wrong Some types of cereal are a bad choice for a cereal bank in some countries,

because their price is officially fixed and hardly varies through the year. A cereal bank committee needs some experience of marketing. Poor storage causes losses. The members of the cereal bank must understand how the cereal bank is

supposed to work. If they do not, they will not repay their debts. In an area which does not normally produce enough g rain, it can be a problem

finding enough grain for the cereal bank to buy. The rolling fund can be too small to buy enough grain, so that the cereal bank

does not really do any good. If the money is being received from an outside agency, it sometimes arrives

too late to buy grain at low prices. If there is a bumper harvest throughout the country, the prices of grain will

remain very low throughout the year, even in the hung ry season, so the cerealbank will not be able to make any money. Sometimes there is dishonesty in the managem ent committee, which can leadto the cereal bank losing money.

The villagers were shocked. There were murmurs of worriedsounding voices in the meeting. Poor Mr Traore! Did he have anevil eye on him? How could they have had so many disasters in arow? Dangerous things, cereal banks. We don't want that kind oftrouble....Mr Traore's story had not been very encouraging. In fact, the

difficulties which he had listed had frightened some of theinhabi tants of Toundeu-Patar . Before hearing about all theproblems of Mekhe, they had become very excited about the seasonof plenty which was about to begin as soon as the cereal bank hadbeen set up . But it is just as well that they were warned before theyset out on this big adventure. This discussion had helped them tounderstand the problems which they m ight face.

It is far better to see a few people undertakingsomething they understand than a whole villagerushing headlong into disaster.

Assane let the villagers discuss things among themselves for awhile. Then he said, "I hope that these three meetings have helpedyou to think about things clearly and that you have not been toopu t off by hearing about all the things which can go wrong. I can'tsay too often that all these problems can be avoided if you can seethem coming!"

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W h a t h a v e W e O b j e c t i v e s : these should be fixed in relation to the situation inl e a i " l l t ? your area and the needs of your community.I n f o r m a t i o n : assemble all the information you need beforeyou start your cereal bank.C r e d i t : Work out in advance what your policy on credit is goingto be, and stick to it.C o m m u n i t y p a r t i c i p a t i o n : make sure that the wholecommunity plays a full and effective part in your cereal bank.Realise that there is no such thing as acereal bank blueprint - it is up to you!Sekou, the chief, thanked Assane warmly for his time and effort,

and Mr Traore for having come to speak to them as honestly as abrother about all the problems they had faced in Mekhe.

"We have a lot to think about," he said, "and before we start ourown cereal bank we must discuss it fully with the whole village.And we will send some people to visit other cereal banks and findout how they run."

After more words of thanks and farewells, the meeting broke upand people returned to their homes with much to think and dreamabout.


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1 . Background

2 . Commercia ltransactions

Poye Cereal Bank, Douentza Distr ict ,Mal iThis case study show s us how, with good participation from thecommunity, a cereal bank can make a success of its commercialtransactions in a grain-deficit area.Douentza District is an area which has a deficit in millet. The

hungry season can last for nine or ten m onths in a bad year. In 1986the Near East Foundation (NEF) and the Centre for Support to Co-operatives (CAC) started up a cereal bank programme in the hopeof alleviating this situation. The programm e started with ten banks,each of which was given a loan of 400,000 CFA, repayable withoutinterest after five years.

The Poye cereal bank was part of this programme. Towards theend of 1989, Poye had capital worth nearly 1,200,000 CFA and hadrepaid 60% of their loan to NEF.a) 1987 purchases

Because of the overall millet deficit in Douentza, the bank senttwo representatives to Bankass region in the south of the country,which is a surplus area. The bank had already obtained informationabout the price and quality of the millet in Bankass. The tworepresentatives stayed there for two weeks and came back with6100kg of millet. The table below shows the costs of this exercise.(All m oney is in CFA)

Millet - / / ' / \Bagging < s f eTransport rtf^s^

Loading/ flr^ ^\unloading I j ^ ^ r - ^

Board & Lodging for j k2 people fo r 2 weeks 9


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Notice that the cost of the millet was only 54% of the total, and thattransport accounted for about 34%. Even so, it was worthwhile,because the cost price of millet went up to 65CFA per kilo, while onthe open market it went up to 75CFA per kilo.b) SalesThese took place from the end of July up to October. The resale

price was 85CFA a kilo, while the open market price was 110 CFA akilo. All sales were to members of the cereal bank and were for cash.The total income from sales was 518,500 CFA, which meant a profitof 126,325 CFA for the cereal bank.

T h e S e c r e t O f Cereal banks work best when there is a grain shortage, i.e. in grain-P o y e ' S S U C C e S S deficit areas, if the population has some income from other sourceswith which to buy it. The village of Poye fulfilled both theseconditions.

The vil lage community had a good sense of solidarity andunde rstandin g. The members took sensible decisions and then stuckto them. There were no differences in outlook worth mentioning,and the decisions taken were based on consensus and weredemocratically arrived at by the whole village.

A vil lage association aleady exis ted, which had built up acommunity fund through the buying and selling of salt. Poyetherefore had an association with a strong foundation in savingsand management.The village was lucky enough to have several people in it who

were honest and dedicated and who already had the respect of thepeople. These people played key roles in the cereal bank: the chief,who brought the village to consensus on the activities of the cerealbank and other community projects; the treasurer, who managedlarge sums of money honestly; and the main buyer, who managedthe cereal bank's activities, as well as many others, skilfully andaccurately. Without such people, people who are honest, available,comm itted and shrewd, a cereal bank does not work well.If you would like to know more about NEF's cerealbank programme, you can write to :Mike Winter and Yacouba DemNear East FoundationCercle de DouentzaRegion de M optiMali

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The vil lage ch iefdiscusses the operat ionof the cereal bank

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Case Study Cooksin Ce real Bank, Yako Region,Burkina Faso

(This is taken from Cereal Banks in Burkina Faso: A case study by C.Roche, Liverpool Papers in H um an G eography No.18)

T he results of this case study show that a cereal bank can favourthe rich unless there is a well worked-out social policy. Thetransactions between the cereal bank and the different social classesbetween 1981 and 1984 are shown in the table below.

Percentage of purchases,

RichAveragePoor

sales andto social class between 19 81Purchases74%17%9%

Sales68%30%2%

credit in relationand 1984Credit20%63%17%

The table shows that in relation to:Purchases: the families w ho were m ost needy w ere only able to buya very small amount of the available grain (9% in the case of thepoorest), while the rich families took the lion's share, 74%.Sales: the rich families sold the most grain to the cereal bank (68%),while the poor families sold only 2%.Credit: more credit went to the families of average wealth than tothe poorest.It is clear that overall the rich families benefited most from the

activities of the cereal bank: they both sold and bought more grain.This is easily explained. The rich families had a surplus of grainfrom their fields and also some cash. This enabled them to sell toand buy from the bank at the most opportune m oments. Four out ofthe six people on the management committee were from richfamilies, and they clearly influenced the decisions taken. Thepoorest families were very little involved in the cereal bank'sactivities, and they were made to pay 20% interest on any creditwhich they took!!This case study shows how crucial it is to have a well thought outsocial policy. In spite of this, it is often notably absent in cereal bank

projects, even though it is far more important to think of the needsof the poorest than to worry only about economic results.

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Purchasingmillet atYakoCerealBank,BurkinaFaso


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i;: Lam boul Sa m ba Abdou l C ere al Ba nk,Fer lo, Sene galThis case study shows us how if the initial funds are delayedthey may be underuti l ised and not enough grain bought.However, it also shows how it is possible to convert a cereal bankinto a village shop so that the money is kept w orking.

B a c k g r o u n d Lomboul is an isolated village in the Sahel in Senegal's Ferloregion. It does not get more than 300mm of rain a year and thehung ry season lasts at least 5 months. The nearest large market is atOurossogui, 55km away. Lomboul often has a deficit in millet.

2. Setting up thecereal bank a) Decision-makingA s ix-person ma nagem ent comm it tee was elected by thepopulation. This committee did not have any training, but some ofits members had visited cereal banks in Matam district.b) CapitalThe initial capital of 1,870,000 CFA was provided by Oxfam,

355,000 CFA of which was intended to be used for a literacyprogram me. The remainder was an interest-free loan repayable over4 years.c) The store

The members themselves constructed the store, each making acontribution of 1000 CFA.

Millet beingsold from a

store andtransportedby donkey

cart.


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Millet

Bagging

Transport

Miscellaneous

Total

Capital not used: 310 ,300 (20%)

16,600 tonnes @ 66.2 CFA/Kgl,

17 empty sacks & string

6 tonnes @ 5,480 a tonne

100,000

60,800

35,050

8,850

1,204,700

3. Operation

If you would like moreinformation about theLomboul cere al bank, orabout Oxfam's cerealbank programme inSenega l, write to:Abdou SarrOxfam BP 3476DakarSenegal

a) Availabil ity of fundsThe bank didn't receive the funds until January 1989, when the

price of millet had already risen to 75 CFA a kilo. The bank hadestimated a post-harvest price of 60 CFA and had calculated that aquantity of 20 tonnes would take the population through thehungry season.b) BuyingThe bank only bought millet , and purchases were made in

different villages. The villagers transported all the millet themselvesby horse and cart, except for 6 tonnes which cost 30,050 CFA totransport.c) Sales

Sales began in June, when family food stocks were exhausted. Thesale price of a 100kg sack at the beginning of the period was 9,000CFA for non-members and 8,500 CFA for members. Later the pricewent up to 10,000 CFA for non-members and 9,000 CFA formembers. A sack of millet on the open market cost 12,000 CFA.

The millet was sold either in sacks of 100kg or in sacks of 50kg.The revenue from sales was 1,428,750 CFA, resulting in a profit for

the cereal bank of 224,050 CFA.The whole stock was sold by the end of August. The bank then

started up a village shop with the capital which had not been usedfor buying millet, and stocked it with various basic items: soap, oil,sugar, tea, batteries. This stock had to be sold before the harvest sothat the money could be used again for buying m illet.

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The cost price is made up of the price at which the grain wasbought, plus all the other expenses. The cost price is theminim um price at which the bank can sell the grain to break even. Itis therefore very important to calculate it carefully before decidingon the resale price.The expenses which are included in the cost price are all the

direct or indirect costs incurred from the time of buying the grainto the time of sellin g it.

PurchasesTransportBaggingLoading/UnloadingCosts incurred by the buyersTotal costs for 1 0 tonnesTotal price per tonne

10 tonnes @ 70,000 CFA/tonne10 tonnes @ 5,000 CFA/tonneSacks, string

(board & lodging)

CFA700,000

50,00012,50030,00015,000

807,50080,750

If the cereal bank has taken out a loan, the repayment must alsobe taken into account.

If, for example, the loan is 1,000,000 CFA repayable over 5 yearswith a fixed interest of 8%, the repayment in the first year is madeup of:

a) the capital to be reimbursed 200,000b) the interest 80,000TOTAL 280,000

In order to calculate the cost price, and thus the minimum priceat which the grain can be resold, you must add the total price forthe ten tonnes to the loan repayment. In other words:Total price (807,500) + loan repayment (280,000) 1,087,500Cost price of the stock (10 tonnes) 1,087,500Cost price per tonne 108,875Cost price per 100kg sack 10,875THEREFORE, the m i n i m u m resale price of the grainis 109CFA per kilo.

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Why have anaccount ingsystem?

An appropriateaccount ing system

A sys tem of fourbooks and doubleentr ies

The main objectives of any accounting system for villageassociations (VAs) which are involved in selling and buying(e.g. in operating a cereal bank) are:

To ensure that expenses and receipts are recorded.To enable the VA to know its profits and where they came

from.To enable the VA to have an overall account of all its financial

activities.To enable the VA to prepare its annual balance sheet and itsoperating account.

An accounting system is not a system of control. It can, of course,be used as such, but that is not its main objective. Accounting is amanagement tool to help the VA improve the way it works .Nevertheless, accounting in itself is not managemen t.

An accounting system for village associations should be as simpleas possible, without losing the possibility of financial analysis.Simplicity is needed for two reasons:

Very few members of VAs are literate, and those who can readand write do not have a high level of skill.

Accounting is not a traditional activity. People, of course, areable to calculate figures, but not on a formal, written basis.

Furthermore, village associations with commercial activities, suchas cereal banks, generally operate on the basis of a rolling fund.These associations need an accounting system which is continuousand which allows them to analyse their financial situation at anygiven time.The accounting system described here is based on how to keep

four account books:(1) The book of the Treasurer.The Treasurer is the person who keeps the funds of the VA.

Records of all money coming in or going out of the VA are recordedin this book.(2) The book of the Purchasing Officer.The Purchasing Officer is the person who buys items for the VA

(cereals, tea, sugar, etc.). Records of all money received from theTreasurer and the costs of purchases made for the VA are recordedin this book. In general, most of the expenses of the VA are kept inthis book.

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How does thesystem work?

figure 1

(3) The book of the Secretary.The Secretary is the central person in this accounting system. Allexpenses and expected receipts as well as receipts already obtained

are recorded in this book. It is from this book that the VA can workout its profits.(4) The book of the Storekeeper.The Storekeeper is the person who is responsible for selling the

stock (cereals, tea, sugar, etc.). The value of all the sales, theremaining goods, and any perished stock are recorded in this book.

Each of these books has four columns. One for the date of thetransaction, one for the type of transaction, one for recordingreceipts, and one for recording paym ents.This four-book accounting system is a "closed system." This means

a payment m ade in one book is registered as an entry in another. So,for example, when the Treasurer gives money to the PurchasingOfficer, this transaction is recorded as a payment in her book and asa receipt in the book of the Purchasing Officer. This is the reasonwhy this system is called a "double entry system" - every financialtransaction requires two records.(1) The book of the Treasurer.This book is simple to use. In the example given (see figure 1), the

first entry is the cash balance brought forward from theprevious month, October - a cash sum of 500,000 CFA. On 7

November the Treasurer gives the Purchasing Officer400,000 CFA. This transaction is recorded in the book of

the Treasurer as a payment. On his return, the PurchasingOfficer gives the Treasurer a balance of 30,000 CFA,

which is noted as a receipt in her book. On the 25November the Storekeeper gives the Treasurer170,000 CFA, and this is recorded as a receipt. At the

end of the month, the Storekeeper pays 260,000CFA to the Treasurer, which is another receipt.

It is important to note that only the sums paidby the Treasurer to other persons or by other

persons to her are recorded in this book, withthe source or des t inat ion of each sum.Expenses are not recorded in the Treasurer's

book.At the end of the month the Treasurer checks her

cash. This is how she does it: she subtracts the totalpayments from the total receipts. The result is the balance, and

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this amount should be the same as the cash she is holding. Thisbalance is then recorded in the column of paym ents tobe brought forward to the next page of herbook (see figure 2).

figure 2

figure 3

(2) The book of the Purchasing Officer.This book is also very simple to operate. The Purchasing officer

receives 400,000 CFA from the Treasurer. This is an advance for theitems to be purchased. This transaction is noted as a receipt in hisbook (but as a payment in the Treasurer's book). With this money,the Purchasing Officer leaves the village to buy items needed bythe VA. He records each expense made in the payment column ofhis book.

When he returns, the Purchasing Officer calculates how muchmoney he has left from the fund given to him. In the examplegiven (see figure 3), the Purchasing Officer received 400,000

CFA and spent 370,000 CFA. This leaves him with 30,000CFA, which he returns to the Treasurer. This transaction iswritten as a payment in his book and as a receipt in the

Treasurer's book.When the buying operation is over, the Purchasing Officershould have a zero balance in his book. The total receipts (advances

from the Treasurer) should be the same as the total payments(expenses made and sums repaid to the Treasurer).

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THE TREASURER ewes MONEY TO r^eO F F I C E R WMO NOTES THE A M O U N TI N THE S O O KE THEN COES TO GUY GOODS

THE SUPPLIER GIVES HIM RECEIPTSA W O HE WRITES EVERYTHING IN HIS B O O H

HIS RETURN, tit C,OE: To see. THE

AFTER TH E SALES, THE STORE-KEEPER WANDS OVER TH E MOWEYTO THE TREASURER

THE STOREKEEPER110 HIS BOOK TH E VALUE OFTHE GOODS HE HASR E C E I V E D

A F T E R T H A T . THE PURCHASING OFFLCER DELIVERS THECOOOS TO THE STOREUEPER AND HANDS BFLCX TO THETKEASVFTR THE M 0 W Y HE HAS NOT SPENT PLUS ALLTHE SILLS

AND THE SC/?eTAHy WRITES ALL l-tIS TRAUSACT10r-JSIN HIS BOOK,

The accounting system has several advantages:It makes it possible to identify the specific responsibilities ofeach person.The double entries system ensures that the managementcommittee work together, since each transaction demands tworecords.The system enables the VA to estimate profits and to confirmthem at the end of the financial year.I t is a system which makes it possible to have an overall viewof the VA's financial activities.

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(1) Loss of stock -piL 1'he loss of stock is unavoidab le. So how can it be recorded? If theloss of stock is not the fault of the Storekeeper, then it isnecessary to reduce his financial responsibility towards the centralfund. To do this the Storekeeper should note the value of the loststocks (i.e. their value had they been sold) in the paym ent column ofhis book. By doing this he will no longer be indebted to the centralfund. See the example in table 1 below.

Table 1Book of th eDate11/1111/1111/1111/1125/1130/1130/11

StorekeeperTransactionTaking delivery of 5 tonnes of milletTaking delivery of 100kg of sugarTaking delivery of 10kg of teaTaking delivery of 20 bags of saltPayment made to the TreasurerPayment made to the TreasurerLoss of stock: l kg of sugar, 300 g of tea

Receipt300,000

35,00035,00080,000

Payment

170,000260,000

1,400

(2) Stocks kept instore

(3) Sales on credit

The loss of stock should also be recorded in the book of theSecretary as an expenditure (noted in the receipt column), since theloss of stock will affect the profit estimate. See table 2 (right).It is highly possible that a VA might purchase goods withoutselling them immediately. This is particularly true for cereal banks

which may decide to wait before selling their grain. In this case, theSecretary notes the expenses made in his book (in the receiptcolumn), but he should not write down the estimated income. It isonly when the resale price is fixed and given to the Storekeeper thatthe Secretary writes the estimated income (in the payment column)in his book.Accounting systems, s tr ict ly speaking, do not allow for the

possibility of sales on credit. However, the reality is that m any VAssell their goods on credit. So how can they reflect this in theiraccounting system?The principle which must be adopted is simple. The value of sales

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Table 2Book of theDate9/119/119/119/119/1110/1111/1111/1111/1111/1130/11

SecretaryTransactionTransportation to MoptiPurchase of 5 tonnes of milletPurchase of 100kg of sugarPurchase of 20 bags of saltPurchase of 10kg of teaTravel costs (food/lodging)5 tonnes of millet given tothe Storekeeper10kg of tea given to the Storekeeper100kg of sugar given to the Storekeeper20 bags of salt given to theStorekeeperLoss of stock: l kg of sugar, 300g of tea

Receipt2,000

250.00020,00040,00025,0008,000

1,400

Payment

300,00035,00035,00080,000

on credit is kept "invisibly" in the book of the Storekeeper.Whenever the Storekeeper makes a sale on credit he does not noteanything in his book. He pretends the goods are still there. See theexample given below in table 3.

Table 3Book of theDate11/1111/1111/1111/1125/1130/1130/11

StorekeeperTransactionTaking delivery of 5 tonnes of milletTaking delivery of 100kg of sugarTaking delivery of 10kg of teaTaking delivery of 20 bags of saltPayment made to the TreasurerPayment made to the TreasurerLoss of stock: l kg of sugar, 300g of teaEnd of monthBalance

Receipt300,000

35,00035,00080,000

170,000260,000

1,400450,000

Payment

431,40018,600

In this example, the Storekeeper takes delivery of a stock with atotal value of 450,000 CFA. He sells goods to the value of 430,000CFA which he gives to the Treasurer after noting a stock loss of1,400 CFA. Thus, at the end of the month, he has a balance of 18,600

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CFA which he still owes to the central fund. This sum shouldrepresent the value of the goods remaining in his store. But, let usimagine that he has sold on credit (with the authorisation of themembers of the bureau) 2 bags of millet (valued at 12,000 CFA), 1.3bags of salt (valued at 5.200 CFA), 200 g of tea (valued at 700 CFA)and 2 kg of sugar (valued at 700 CFA). A total value 18,600 CFA.

In practice his store is empty, but he still owes the fund 18,600CFA! In such a case, the Storekeeper should pay the Treasurer asand when people repay their credits.What is important to note is that sales on credit should be settled

with the Storekeeper, because the sales on credit are recorded in hisbook. The debtors should not make payments directly to theTreasurer.

( 4 ) S u b s c r i p t i o n s . VAs may sometimes benefit from the subscriptions of its membersclIlCl o r grants from an external source. In these cases the income is not

recorded according to the double entry principle. The income isnoted as follows. See table 4.

TableBookDate1/117/1111/1125/11

30/1130/1130/1130/11

4of the Treasurer

TransactionsBrought forwardPayment made to the Purchasing OfficerPayment made by the Purchasing OfficerPayment made by the StorekeeperPayment made by the StorekeeperSubscriptions of the members of the VALoan from BankLoan repayment to funder

Receipt500,000

30,000170,000260,00020,000100,000

Payment

400,000

40,000

The reason why subscriptions/grants are not recorded in the bookof the Secretary is because they do not constitute income derivedfrom the activities of the VA. They are paid into the fund of the VAbut they do not contribute to the operating account of the VA.However , if the VA repays a loan to an external funder, thetransaction should be recorded in the book of the Treasurer (as apayment) and in the book of the Secretary (as a receipt). See table 5.

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Table 5Book of theDate9/119/119/119/119/1110/1111/1111/1111/1111/1130/1130/11

SecretaryTransactionTransportation to townPurchase of 5 tonnes of milletPurchase of 100kg of sugarPurchase of 20 bags of saltPurchase of 10kg of teaTravel allowance5 tonnes of millet given to Storekeeper10kg of tea given to the Storekeeper20 bags of salt given to the Storekeeper100kg of sugar given to the StorekeeperLoss of stock: l kg of sugar, 300g of teaRepayment of loan to funder

Receipt2,000

250,00020,00040,00025,0008,000

1,40040,000

Payment

300,00035,00080,00035,000

(5) Salaries If the VA pay s some p eop le for the w ork they do (e.g. theStorekeeper) the payment is simply recorded in the book of theTreasurer as a payment, and in the book of the Secretary as anexpenditure (ie. in the receipt column). See the tables 6 below and 7over the page.

TableBookDate1/117/1111/1125/1130/1130/1130/1130/1130/11

6of th e Treasurer

TransactionsBrought forwardPayment made to the Purchasing OfficerPayment made by the Purchasing OfficerPayment made by the StorekeeperPayment made by the StorekeeperSubscriptions of the members of the VALoan from BankLoan repayment to funderNovember salary of the Storekeeper

Receipt500,000

30,000170,000260,00020,000

100,000

Payment

400,000

40,0007,500

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Table 7Book of theDate9/112/119/119/119/1110/1111/1111/1111/1111/1130/1130/1130/11

SecretaryTransactionTransportation to townPurchase of 5 tonnes of milletPurchase of 100kg of sugarPurchase of 20 bags of saltPurchase of 10kg of teaTravel allowance5 tonnes of millet given to Storekeeper10kg of tea given to the Storekeeper20 bags of salt given to the Storekeeper100kg of sugar given to the StorekeeperLoss of stock: lk g of sugar, 300g of teaRepayment of loan to funderNovember salary of the Storekeeper

Receipt2,000

250,00020,00040,00025,0008,000

1,40040,000

7,500

Payment

300,00035,00080,00035,000

We thank the Near East Foundation (Mali) for making it possiblefor us to use the material in Annexe 3, which is based on theirpract ica l guidebook "An Accounting System for VillageAssociations."

Copies of this guidebook are available in English and French at:ALIN, Casier Postal 3, Dakar-FANN, Senegal, and Near EastFoundation, Cercle de D ouentza, Region de M opti, Mali.

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Cereal bank committeemem bers inspect themillet stocks.

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A. The follow ingdocuments arehighlyrecommended:English1. FAO, Manual on the establishment, operation and m anagement ofcereal banks, FAO Agricultural Service Bulletin, No.64.2. C. Roche, Cereal banks in Burkina Faso: a case study, LiverpoolPapers in Hum an Geography, No.18.3. Mike Winter, Cereal Banks in Douentza: some problems and questions,Nea r East Foundatio n, 1987.4. Mike Winter, Cereal Banks in Douentza 1986-1990: a review, NearEast Foun dation, 1990.5. NOVIB, Cereal Bank Projects, February 1988.6. ALIN, Why don't cereal banks work as they should? in BAOBAB,No.l, ALIN 1989.French7. Mike Winter, Les Banques de cereales de Douentza, Mali: quelquesproblemes et questions, Near East Foundation, 1987.8. RITA, Pourquoi les banques de cereales de Douentza n'ont-elles pasfonctionne comme elles le devraient?, dans BAOBAB No.l, RITA, 1989.9. Ton de Klerk, Document de base de projets de banques de cereales,NOVIB, fevrier 1988.10. Guy Ledoux, Assistance aux banques de cereales des ORD du Sahelet du Y atenga: Projet TCP/BKH 6652 rappor t de miss ion dont lapremiere partie: Inventaire et evaluation des banques de cereales, etla d e u x i e m e : P r o g r a m m e d e f o r m a t i o n e n g e s t i o n e tcommercialisation.11. Denis Dolidon, Evaluation du programme des banques de cereales auBurkina Faso, fevrier 1980.12. Mike Winter, Les Banques de Cereales de Douentza 1986-1990: uncompte rendu, Near East Foundation, 1990.

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Mal i Burkina FasoJacques MOINEAU, Seydou TANGARAand Jean-Marie CAPITAINEAgriculteurs Franqais pour leDeveloppement International (AFDI)BP84BamakoTel: 22 64 29Mike WINTER and Mamadou BILALINear East FoundationCercle de DouentzaRegion de MoptiAssitan COULIBALYOxfamBP209BamakoTel: 22 61 73Cheikh KONATEFond de Developpement Villageoise deSegouBP258BamakoTel: 22 26 06N'Faly DEMBELEInstitut d'Economie Rurale/DETBP258BamakoTel: 22 26 06Yacouba KONEDRSPRBP258BamakoTel: 22 26 06Jean DOLOMission Catholique BandiagaraBO 25BandiagaraTel: 42 00 24

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Oswald OUEDRAOGOFONADESBP523OuagadougouTel: 30 01 46Moussa BOLOGOCRPA/YatengaBP39OuahigouyaTel: 55 02 3 2/1 9Seydou MADIANUnion des Groupements Villageois del'OudalanBP10Gorom GoromTel: 66 01 69 ;Samuel SANDWIDI and BoubacaryOUEDRAOGOABRAAD 01BP865Ouagadougou 01Tel: 30 87 91Youssouf PORGOINADES-Formation01 BP 1022Ouagadougou 01Tel: 30 20 70Moussa OUEDRAOGOFEER01 BP 1950Ouagadougou 01Tel: 30 68 06Leonard SANKARA and SeydouCOPAORECDRYBP29YakoTel: 30 90 56


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Abdoulaye BAInspecteur de la Cooperation326 HLM Grand YoffDakarTel: 25 34 13Fallou DIAGNEPresiden t, Association Villageoise deRissos/c FONGSBP269ThiesTel: 51 12 37Cire THIAMs/c Catholic Relief ServicesBP216DakarTel: 23 66 21; Fax: 23 58 24Entente de BAMBA THIALENEs/c FONGSBP269ThiesTel: 51 12 37Abd ou SARROxfamBP 3476DakarTel: 24 19 00Abdou FALLChez El Hadj M eulo GueyeRue 55 x 70Fann-HockDakarThierno BAProjet Integre de Po dorNDioum via Podor

Aissata Samba SYMaison Familiale Rurale de DimarBP131ThiesTel: 5119 23Badara DIOPMaison Familiale Rurale de GuedeBP131ThiesTel: 5119 23Badara DIAGNE and Thierno GUEYEMaison Familiale Rurale de PekesseBP131ThiesTel: 51 19 23Abdou SARRChu rch World ServiceBP 3822DakarTel: 22 34 40

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Cereal Bank Projects visited in Senegal1. Banque dePEKESSEs/c Maison Familiale Rurale de PekesseContact: Messieurs Badara DIAGNE andThierno GUEYE

4. Banques du Projet Integre de PODOR(PIP)NDIOUMContact: M SIDIBE2. Banques de DIAGNOUM, DIMAR andTHILE BOUBACARs/c Maison Familiale Rurale de DimarContact: Mme Aissata Samba SY3. Banque de AGNAMs/c Maison Familiale Rurale de GuedeContact: M Badara DIOP

5. Banque de LOUMBOUL SAMBAABDOULs/c OxfamDakarContact: M A bdou SARR6. Banque de MEKHEs/c Association des Jeunes Agriculteursde MekheContact: M Fallou DIAGNE

Millet being harvested from a communal field.

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Notes

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Notes

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Notes

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Here is a questionnaire about the book Cereal Banks - At Your Service? which youhave just read. We would be grateful if you would fill it in.Firstly, because this book was written for you and we need to know if it has beenuseful to you, if it helped you better to understand the difficulties and problemsrelated to cereal banks.Also, because we intend to produce other books like this on other project activities,and we must know your opinions on the best way of producing a series of books ifthey are to improve in quality.Please send the completed questionnaire to:

ALIN, CASIER POSTAL 3, DAKAR-FANNT SENEGAL.1 . W h a t is y our w ork? . .. (Please tick one box)

mem ber of the managemen t committee of a cereal bank a project officer with an NGO governmen t agricultural worker coordina tor or leader of an NGO project regional or departm enta l government officer other (please specify)

2 . Do you work on a cereal bank programme? (Please tick one box) Yes No

3. How did you hear about this book? (Tick as many boxes as necessary) from the advertisement in the Baobab magazine? from an advertisement in another magazine? Please state which from the flyer which we sent you? from people who had already seen it? other (please explain)

4. Wh ere d id you ge t the book f rom? (Please tick one box) from END A, Dakar, Senegal from the NOVIB office in the Netherlands from ALIN in Dakar, Senegal other (please specify)

5. Was it dif f icult for you to obtain a copy of this book? (Please tick one box only) No Yes (please explain)

6. What do you particularly l ike in this book? (Please tick as many boxes as you like) the value of the information the idea of using a story to explain about cereal banks the format of the book (explain why) the use of cartoons, pictures and photos, the case studies the bibliographies and useful contacts other (please state what) _ _ _

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7. What do you think of using a story to explain the purpose andmethods of cereal banks? (Please tick one box)

Childish - an insult never to be repeated. An interesting idea, but not suitable for development work. Possibly useful, but needs more work done on it. Am using, effective and something to be done more often.

8. What do you like best in the book? Describe in your own words:

9 . H a s t h i s b o o k . . . (number the boxes in order of importance) aroused your interest in cereal banks; given you useful extra information on cereal banks; started you thinking about setting up a cereal bank project;D given you enough information to start to talk within the villages where you work about the importance of cereal banks as well as their problems;D left you even more confused and perplexed than before about cereal banks.

10. What do you intend to do now? take up w ith your colleagues the possibility of making people more aware ofthe benefitsof cereal banks;D organise a meeting on cereal banks in your area; organise an exchange visit to see how cereal banks work; no follow-up action;D other (please specify)

1 1 . Which audience would you recommend this book to?

12 . Have you anything else to say about the "Cereal Banks" book?

DON'T FILL IN THE FOLLOWING SECTION IF YOU WIS H TO REM AIN ANO NYM OU S.Name:Professional title:Occupation:Address:

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Documents

Cereal Banks - At Your Service?: The story of Toundeu-Patar: A village somewhere in the Sahel