Creating new economic opportunities and empowering women
This ambitious project in the the South-Eastern part of the country aims to boost and promote the fonio sector, a native Sahelian cereal that is resistant to drought and is key to the population’s food security.
The three targeted regions record the highest poverty rates in the country, with unemployment rates in rural areas at 16% for youth and 24.1% for women. By strengthening and modernizing the fonio value chain, the project will meet smallholder farmers’ ability to improve household income and food security as well as foster economic opportunities for women and youth.
REGION
Senegal - Kedougou, Kolda and Tambacounda regions
Duration
3 YEARS
BY INVESTING IN THIS PROJECT YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE SDGS:
OUR APPROACH
By 2024, the project objectives are to restore 1,200 ha of degraded land, train 1,200 producers to increase their production skills, and increase fonio production by 900 tons. In addition, this project aims to structure the processing and marketing chains for this traditional cereal by creating agricultural service centers for producers, providing access to technical training and supporting labeling and certification of crops for export. Fonio, which is rich in protein and gluten-free, has a strong nutritive and commercial potential with growing demand in the United States and Europe.
At the close of this project, 200 jobs will be created in the region, including 175 for women who are traditionally very involved in the cultivation and processing of fonio.
FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT
BY INVESTING
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you will support the fonio sector at all levels of its value chain in one of the targeted regions