Dakar, Senegal
3 December 2015
Action for Enterprise (AFE), the Argidius Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), have partnered for a new initiative to make it easier for Senegal’s smallholder farmers to access quality seed, complementary inputs and agricultural advice.
Through the partnership, AGRA and AFE will work directly with local seed companies and agribusinesses to develop, refine and test business strategies to help expand distribution networks in remote areas.
Over 7500 farmers are expected to benefit from the initiative, which has been funded by the Argidius Foundation and AGRA through the USAID-funded Scaling Seeds and Technologies Partnership (SSTP).
Chief of Party for SSTP, Dr. Richard Jones, says the initiative will help overcome some of the challenges holding back smallholder farm productivity in Senegal.
“Farmers in Senegal have indicated that lack of access to inputs including seed and fertilizer and a low uptake of good agronomic practices are the key factors holding back farm productivity.
“This initiative will expand the networks of distributors, traders, rural agents and agro-dealers throughout Senegal, helping increase smallholder farmer access to quality farm inputs and advice,” Dr. Jones said.
The new initiative will be implemented by AFE, a US-based non-profit organization that focuses on implementing private sector development programs in developing countries.
AFE’s Executive Director, Frank Lusby, says the organization will work directly with at least five seed companies who will implement initiatives to build the capacity of 75 small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) working in their distribution networks.
The SMEs will gain commercial access to improved quality seed as well as technical knowledge, which they share with thousands of farmers.
“There is a real opportunity for these agribusinesses to expand their operations into the remote parts of Senegal.
“What this initiative will do is support the seed companies to assess, implement, and scale-up business models for expansion,” Mr. Lusby said.
“But the project will more than up-skill these businesses, it will also support commercially viable relationships between the seed companies, the SMEs, and the farmers thereby generating a sustainable impact that will last well beyond the life of the project,” Mr. Lusby added.
About AGRA
AGRA is an African-led alliance focused on putting farmers at the center of our continent’s growing economy.
AGRA advances uniquely African solutions to sustainably raise farmers’ productivity and connect them to a growing marketplace.
Together with its partners—including researchers, donors, African governments, the private sector, and civil society—AGRA seeks to create an environment where Africa feeds itself.
AGRA works across 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and maintains a head office in Nairobi, Kenya and country offices in Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania. Learn more at www.agra.org.
About SSTP
On July 1, 2013 USAID and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) announced the Scaling Seeds and Technologies Partnership (SSTP) in Africa, a $47 million, four-year partnership intended to accelerate smallholder farmer access to transformative agricultural technologies.
SSTP is accelerating the adoption of high-yield crop varieties and complementary technologies by smallholder farmers in Africa in support of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, a shared commitment of African leaders, private sector partners, and donor governments to lift millions out of poverty over the next decade.
SSTP is working in six countries - Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal and Tanzania - that have joined the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition where we will help governments strengthen their seed sectors and promote the commercialization, distribution and adoption of quality seeds of superior varieties and complementary technologies including blended fertilizers and rhizobium inoculation. SSTP aims to increase production of quality seeds by 45 percent in four years and ensure that 40 percent more farmers gain access to innovative agricultural technologies.
About Action for Enterprise
Action for Enterprise (AFE) is a U.S based, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, also registered as a private voluntary organization with the U.S Agency for International Development. AFE has over twenty-five years’ experience implementing economic and private sector development programs in developing countries.
Using a facilitation approach, AFE promotes the initiatives of private firms (inclusive businesses) and their networks of SME intermediaries to integrate low-income producers into their supply chains and distribution networks – resulting in sustainable impacts for producers and greater competitiveness of value chains.
About The Argidius Foundation
The Argidius Foundation is a Swiss-Registered private foundation founded in 1966. Since 1992 the foundation has explicitly followed a strategy of support for international, market-driven, business development initiatives to alleviate poverty, and has historically focused on three areas: microfinance; business development services, and entrepreneurial education.
The Foundation’s current strategy seeks to help build sustainable capacity building intermediaries that provide innovative and effective services to support small growth businesses.
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