The USAID-funded Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel–Accelerated Growth Project (REGIS-AG) was launched in 2015 as part of USAID’s Resilience in the Sahel Enhanced (RISE) initiative. REGIS-AG is designed to increase the incomes of vulnerable households by increasing the performance and inclusiveness of the cowpea, poultry and small ruminant value chains and thereby increase resilience in selected agro-pastoral and marginal agricultural zones of Niger and Burkina Faso.

REGIS-AG is focused on the Tillabéri-Sud, Maradi and Zinder regions of Niger and three départements of north-eastern Burkina Faso, specifically Dori, Kaya, and Fada (Figure 1). Taking an inclusive value chain approach targeting vulnerable populations, REGIS-AG is working with producer organizations and associations, with priority to women’s associations in collaboration with USAID-funded partner projects. By linking producer organizations with value chain actors - input suppliers, transporters, traders, and processors – REGIS-AG will spur the development of profitable markets for Niger and Burkina Faso’s vulnerable populations.

The work on this cowpea value chain analysis was begun in April 2015, consisting of extensive literature review and participatory field work on the production and marketing systems in Niger and Burkina Faso to understand constraints and opportunities, relationships, governance dynamics, and the enabling environment, with an important focus on understanding the role and constraints affecting vulnerable populations, especially women and children.