NKABIZ - Improving competitiveness, profitability and ability to manage business risks of 50,000 smallholder farmers
Partners
Main goals
This project involves the extension and harmonization of service information and business consultancy called N'Kalo in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, an initiative born 6 years ago. The overall objective of this project is to improve the competitiveness, profitability and ability to manage business risks of 50,000 small farmers and 1,500 actors in value chains in West Africa through an economic intelligence service based on expertise in three sectors with high growth and high added value (shea , cashew and sesame), associated with two important channels for household food security (maize and onion).
Specific objectives
- This project aims the migration of the innovative pilot into economic and methodological validation (confirmation of technical, economic assumptions, impacts)
- This information service is currently operational in the market for cashew nuts, sesame and shea (Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso and to a lesser extent in Senegal and Chad) and combines market analysis, engaged and tailored advices to users (producers, SMEs, institutions) and technological flexibility
Beneficiaries
- 50000 smallholder farmers in Mali, Burkina and Cote d’Ivoire (cashew nut, sesame, shea, maize and onions sectors)
- 1500 leaders of these sectors : commerçants, gestionnaire d’unité de transformation, TPE, coopératives, groupements, union, unité de transformation, banques de céréales…
Results
R1. Training of 3 commercial advisors (Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire) and 1 ICT support officer on information matters
R2. Training of the industries actors (sesame, cashew, shea, maize and onion) to the use of the service and to the participation in its funding
R3. Implementation of ICT tools for broadcasting, subscriptions and payments with mobile network operators
R4. Information and ongoing advice on the markets of agricultural sectors to 50,000 smallholders
R5. Technical and financial autonomy (farmers organizations, utilities, private buyers, telephone operators, users)
Activities
A1. Structuring and empower local supply business intelligence : to develop local skills that can strengthen the capacity of involved sector stakeholders and empower the sub regional business intelligence services
A2. Stimulate local demand for regular information and adapted to a variety of users : provide an extensive and annually renewed training on technical production and marketing of agricultural products that will allow beneficiaries to effectively use the broadcasted information
A3. Promote technical conditions, at a competitive cost, that allows the information dissemination, the collection of subscriptions and the sharing of financial resources generated : the focus will be to use any means available in order to achieve an efficient and inexpensive dissemination over GSM networks
A4. Support the service's growth: the 3 previous activities helps to provide an information dissemination system on markets evolution for the sectors concerned in real time. This is primarily a weekly SMS broadcasting system
A5. Maturation of the market: the project will be designed to rely on a financial model where the intervention of public institutions, private organizations, telephone operators and users, will result in a viable stand-alone service, and possibly profitable. Our first year goal is to generate a turnover of € 30,000 to cover local human resources
Related people
Cheikh Ousmane Loum
Graduated from a Master 2 in Territorial Planning - Decentralization and Local Development from the Faculty of Geography of the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. He also holds an engineering degree (Master 1) in community development and training from the Higher School of Applied Economics in Dakar. He is an expert in agricultural market analysis and in training and supporting producer organizations
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Soungari Sekongo
Engineer in Tropical Agronomy from the CIED, option "plant production", he brings his expertise in agricultural markets analysis, advising-supporting actors, vegetable production and supporting professional agricultural organizations (management, capacity building)
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Pierre Ricau
Holder of a Master Degree in "Agricultural Development and Economic Policies" from the Institute of Development Studies (IEDES), Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne University and AgroParisTech. He brings his expertise in agricultural market analysis (especially cashew, sesame, shea, cocoa, hevea, corn, rice and onion), development of agro-food sectors, training engineering and consultancy on public agricultural/agro-industrial policies
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François Griffon
Holder of a Master's degree in "Sustainable Farming and Agri-food Systems in the South", specialised in "Markets, Organization, Quality and Services" from Montpellier SupAgro - Institut des Régions Chaudes (IRC), he brings his expertise in sector and value chain analysis, market studies, quality management and farmers' organisations services and support
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Serge Kedja
Engineer in Advanced Information Systems (University of Bejaia, Algeria), MSc in Information Technologies (University of Bournemouth, United Kingdom) and Alumni Chevening, he specializes in design, development, management and the capitalization of digital solutions for agriculture in Africa.
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Julien Gonnet
Holder of a Professional Master II in Sustainable Development from the University of Geneva and a Master I in Geography from the University of Jean Moulin, he brings his expertise in project and studies building and management on agricultural markets, the use of ICT within the agriculture sector, the implementation of certification (organic, fair...) and engineering training
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