In Guidimakha, Mauritania, food and nutrition crises are recurrent. Despite strong agricultural potential, the area is struggling to meet its basic food needs and the vulnerability of the population to climatic shocks, natural disasters and conflicts continues to grow. Strengthening the resilience of poor populations involves improving their capacity to overcome these crises that have become structural and prevent their impact, in particular on food and nutritional security.

Faced with these difficulties, the municipalities of Arr, Ajar and Ould M’Bonny have joined forces to initiate sustainable actions to combat food insecurity. In early 2013, they met GRET, present in Mauritania since 1990 and strongly committed to an infant nutrition program in Brakna for 3 years. A common program has been drawn up, in which AGIRabcd, a French association already supporting several agricultural cooperatives in Guidimakha, has been associated.

The Résanut project aims to improve the food and nutritional security of vulnerable households in the communes of Arr, Ajar and Ould M’Bonny, as well as their ability to withstand difficult periods. To achieve this objective, GRET and its partners will:

• Strengthen the production capacities of the poorest families and preserve their access to food during lean periods, through social transfers (monetary or food) and funds to revive agricultural activities;
• Strengthen and secure livelihoods from agriculture to develop food production and ensure the availability of a diversified diet throughout the year, by supporting producers and groups to adopt improved cultivation techniques and systems, by diversifying food production and by developing new economic activities;
• Improve nutritional practices to prevent malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children, through awareness-raising actions on good nutrition, care and hygiene practices and the provision of a complementary food suitable for children. young children.

The Résanut project is based on an integrated approach between agriculture and nutrition and on complementarity between one-off and targeted actions during the lean season and long-term programmed development actions.

The main expected results are as follows:

• Different social safety net systems are being tested at the municipal level and help improve the resilience of the most vulnerable households, mainly during the lean season;
• Livelihoods from agriculture are strengthened and secured for poor households through the increase and diversification of production, as well as the management of cereal stocks;
• The nutritional practices of women and children under 5 are improved and a food supplement to breast milk for children from 6 to 23 months and available locally;
• A monitoring and evaluation system is put in place and reports and recommendations are produced in order to better protect the most vulnerable populations.