Learning Briefs | December 9, 2024
Bolstering the Soy Value Chain to Address Malnutrition
This brief documents the Budikadidi RFSA’s soybean pilot intervention and offers early lessons learned and recommendations.
Between 2017 and 2023, a CRS-led consortium implemented the USAID-funded Budikadidi Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in the DRC’s Kasaï Oriental Province to sustainably improve household nutrition, food security, and economic well-being. The Budikadidi baseline evaluation revealed that families consumed less than four food groups, only 33% of women consumed animal-source protein, and only 10% of farmers (predominantly men) were participating in value chain activities. To address these challenges, the original project design focused on small livestock value chains; however, a goat epidemic severely weakened this intervention, and the intended dietary impact was not visible. Knowledge of dietary diversity had increased, but protein availability and accessibility remained a challenge for most households. In response, CRS pivoted and launched a soybean pilot in 2020 and captured early learning during a 2022 study consisting of staff interviews, participant feedback, and a desk review.