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Input value chain/Senegal - New partnership to strengthen the private seed and agricultural inputs sector

10 January 2016

Action for Enterprise (AFE), Argidius Foundation and 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. According to the Chief of Party for SSTP farmers in Senegal have indicated that, lack of access to inputs including seed, fertilizer and 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. The new initiative will be implemented by AFE, a non-profit organization that focuses on implementing private sector development programs in developing countries. According to AFE’s Executive Director, the organization will work directly with at least five seed companies to implement initiatives to build capacity of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) working in their distribution networks. Nevertheless, the SMEs will gain commercial access to improved quality seed as well as technical knowledge, which they share with thousands of farmers in the remote parts of Senegal. The initiative will support seed production and processing companies to assess, implement, and scale-up business models for expansion, while supporting commercial viable relationships between the seed companies, SMEs, and farmers thereby generating a sustainable impact that will last well beyond the life of the project.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201512041849.html
http://ejournal.icrisat.org/mpii/v2i1/v2i1compartive.pdf

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