May 09, 2020

Tasty and empowering: the humble peanut cake

Soy and Oil Seeds

In a small Nigerien village of Guidan Gaba, in the Dosso region, women from the Gani ya kori ji cooperative process peanuts into different by-products. One popular food product is Koulikouli, which means peanut cake in Hausa language, or alternatively Gontalli in Zarma language. The processing of peanut cake is a real income-generating activity for these women and contributes to improving their daily living conditions.

Hajia Dijé Ibrahim is 58 years old. She is the founder of the Gani ya kori ji cooperative. She is one of the most influential women in the village, due to the production, processing and marketing of peanut products. For more than 12 years, Hajia has mobilized the women of her village to practice processing. According to her, marketing of processed products, particularly peanut cake, can lead to the women's economic empowerment. Among the processed by-products, there is also peanut oil and paste. However, peanut cake is still the most popular product for low-income consumers.

In its objective to revive the groundnut sector in Niger, by the inclusion of rural women and young people, the 2SCALE partner from Niger AINOMA works with the women of the Gani ya kori ji cooperative. AINOMA provides improved peanut seed to the cooperative. A contract is established between the two organizations for the multiplication of improved seed and the husking of peanuts after production.

Activities of oil extraction and cake production are carried out collectively in the groundnut processing site belonging to the cooperative. However the cooperative faces a number of ongoing challenges like having a limited financial capacity to source larger quantities of peanuts, at the end of the harvest when peanut prices are lower, a lack of adequate materials for processing, and a range of difficulties in product marketing and packaging. Therefore AINOMA and 2SCALE, along with other peanut producers, will be more involved in the value chain - to improve production practices, market access and supply of potential customers like the STA (Société de transformation alimentaire).

For the women of the Gani ya kori ji cooperative, the main urban market is 245 km from their region. A year ago, the cooperative began supplying a wholesale customer in Niamey, who pays for an average of 1,000 liters of oil per week. The customer intends to increase its demand to more than 5,000 liters per week due to its flourishing market in the urban area of Niamey. This important opportunity is exciting for the cooperative of women, by increasing the amount of oil produced - in turn this will increase the level of production of peanut cake.

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