Food prices vary during the year from the low price just after harvest to a double or triple cost during the difficult dry season. A cereal bank purchases grain at its lowest price in quantity to provide a supply of food for a constant price. It is stored at each community to eliminate the long trip by donkey or camel to the nearest market. The millet is purchased in quantity right after the harvest when it is least expensive. It is then stocked and sold throughout the year at a constant price with a small profit cushion to provide funds to restock the following year. Once the initial investment is made the banks are self sustaining.
We have created 26 cereal banks.