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Leveraging the VSL Concept for Agriculture and Nutrition Outcomes

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Moderator: Paul Sommers, Senior Agriculture Technical Consultant, Mercy Corps

Presenters: Alloys Omolo, Agricultural Programs Coordinator, Food for the Hungry; Inacio Jossitala, STRIVE Manager, Save the Children Mozambique; John Nyirenda, Director, WALA Malawi

Content: The village savings and loan (VSL) concept is becoming an increasingly integral part of development food aid programs. Most projects report VSLs to be a popular and successful activity amongst those participating in their community. Development food aid staff are asking if the VSL concept can move to the next stage of being fully integrated with the other agriculture and nutrition components.

Discussion: To facilitate group dialogue and exchange with presenters, the three presenters sat at separate tables for informal presentations to a subset of participants. After twenty minutes, each group was asked to move to another table and listen to and talk with another presenter. Each presenter discussed successful strategies for leveraging the VSL concept so that it can be strategic in addressing specific agricultural issues within a value chain that has led to improved food security. Successful examples of how to engage and integrate marginalized and vulnerable households into VSLs were examined as well as the barriers to integration and how to overcome them.

After hearing the successful cases, participants agreed they would review their current VSL component and identify ways to modify it so that it would be used to more directly support improved food and nutrition security at the household level.

The Way Forward: Recommendations were made in four areas.

Information Sharing

  • Mechanisms needed for sharing different VSL models, in the context of MYAPs

Tools and Resources

  • Formulate methods and develop guides on how to utilize the savings for nutritional outcomes, perhaps create an integrated training manual or guidelines that can be adapted to context

Processes

  • Carry out a well-defined impact evaluation of the VSL model
  • Explore how to use VSLA as a platform for multiple interventions.

Donor Practice and Policy

  • VSL should be considered a core component of any MYAP as it impacts positively in the economic advancement of the smallholder farmer