The applicant for this project, Institut de Sélection Animale B.V. is specialised in parent stock of layer hens. The local partner, Ferme Fadima, of Koubri in Burkina Faso produces eggs at a small scale, poultry and other meat products. Together they want to invest in a joint venture that will produce 880,000 day-old chicks per year for the local market. The one-day-old chicks will be sold to local farmers at a lower price than the imported day-old chicks.Hatched eggs will be imported to create a local parent stock. At the end of the project the parent stock will be able to produce hatched eggs continuously, which will provide day-old chicks after incubation.This project substitutes imports and increases the production of eggs, one of the most affordable sources of protein. The male day-old chicks, which are normally shredded in Europe, will be sold to villages for poultry production but are also a genetic source to improve the local chicken race, as in the villages chicken are kept freely in the open spaces of the village.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The applicant is one of the world leaders in layer hen breeding and also has very high standards on CSR items. Male day-old chicks will not be shredded, but used as a poultry hen.Impact• Employment and working conditionsThe joint venture will encourage the trained personnel to start up a layer business on their own. Salaries will be at least 10% above the minimum wages.• Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe specific conditions to raise and maintain a quality parent stock will be transferred to the employees by training. The employees will learn to handle and work with a computer controlled hatchery.• Chain effectsLocal farmers in the cereal sector will benefit from this project. The maize and soya will be sourced in the South of Mali and the Millet and Sorghum will be sourced from the central plateau of Mali.The lower price of day-old chicks, will replace expensive imports and result in a higher egg production at a lower price. In general this will result in a cheaper protein supply for the urban population.• Impact on the sectorThe male day-old chicks will be sold to local farmers for broiler production. The foundation of the Local Partner has planned to sell the roosters at small prices to women groups in the villages to mix with their actual stock. This will probably have a positive effect on the actual inbred populations of chicken in rural Burkina Faso.• EnvironmentNeutral.• Position of womenThirteen women will be employed in the project, mainly in administrative jobs and at the hatching department. • Impact on food safetyApart from fish, eggs are a very cheap way to get the necessary proteins, because of the high conversion rate of vegetable to animal proteins. The poor population of the urban areas lacks proteins. They eat mainly cereals and root crops like ignam and cassava which mainly contains starch and are not nutritious.

To establish a facility for the production and sales of 880,000 day-old layer hen chicks per year in Koubri, Burkina Faso.