Digital solutions for efficient management of rice commercialisation in Senegal

Challenges

The Fédération des Producteurs du Bassin de l'Anambé (FEPROBA), which has been working with Rikolto since 2015, has steadily increased its production from around 15,000 tonnes in 2015 to 20,000 tonnes in 2017, but has also faced significant challenges in effectively marketing its members' rice production. Collaborating with other technical and financial partners from the Naatal Mbay/USAID project, the Casamance development pole project, and SODAGRI, Rikolto introduced an Integrated Financing Model (IFM). This model led to a promising partnership between FEPROBA and the Société de Développement et des Filières Textiles (SODEFITEX). Under this partnership, FEPROBA supplied paddy to SODEFITEX through a third-party holding system, that enabled FEPROBA to repay the campaign loan acquired from the Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole du Sénégal (CNCAS).

However, the partnership faced obstacles due to FEPROBA's inability to provide reliable production data and manage the supply effectively. These challenges included the slow collection of paddy, inadequate planning, and non-compliance with deadlines for delivering the product.

FEPROBA's key challenges includes:

• Collective management of rice commercialisation
• Better structure their offerings to negotiate successfully with customers and stakeholders in the rice market.
• Enhance the quality of farmers' paddy and rice to meet market requirements.

These challenges are rooted in the absence of reliable data for effective negotiations with business partners. The situation not only hinders FEPROBA's ability to formulate a clear market strategy but also resultes in both the federation and its members engaging in mass production without considering the specific demands of the rice market in terms of variety and grading.

Strategy

FEPROBA plans to develop a digital solution to overcome its constraints and promote the marketing of its members' production. On the other hand, it plans to have a guaranteed quality process for rice to meet market requirements. This will be achieved through the following strategy:

• Supporting the creation of a digital database for the reliable management of information on production and commercialisation.
• Supporting the operationalisation of a quality approach within FEPROBA, using the SRP (Sustainable Rice Platform Standard) to guarantee the quality of rice in line with consumer requirements.
• .Supporting the search for a working capital loan to purchase paddy from FEPROBA union members.

Results

1. Online Platform and Database: FEPROBA now offers an online platform where they publish paddy and seed offerings. Production data is collected, analyzed, and stored in a database, enabling FEPROBA to negotiate with traders based on accurate information and secure competitive prices for their products, including white and parboiled rice.
2. Formal Business Relationships: FEPROBA has successfully established formal business relationships with the collective of traders in the region and has signed and fulfilled 9 out of 10 formal contracts with processors and traders targeted by the project. This achievement not only facilitated a stronger connection with private and public buyers but also validated the Integrated Financing Model (IFM). Workshops were organised to share and harmonize specifications for paddy and white rice, simplifying the contracting process and ensuring a seamless partnership among all stakeholders.
3. Improved and increased supply: FEPROBA has made significant progress in improving the quality and doubling the quantity of its white rice supply, reaching a total of 5,618 tonnes in 2021, including seeds. The quality standards for this rice were established in collaboration with the Senegalese Standards Association (Association Sénégalaise de Normalisation ASN). 100% of the rice marketed met these quality specifications, reflecting a substantial success. This outcome was achieved through diligent training of producers in quality certification and clear consensus among stakeholders regarding the essential criteria such as impurity rate, variety uniformity, and moisture content.
4. Good Agricultural Practices: Rikolto's support enabled FEPROBA to implement the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard, resulting in improved quality and sustainability of rice produced by its members. The project introduced SRP standards and practices to 1,500 farmers who collectively cultivated 2,025 hectares, with an average area of 1.35 hectares per farmer. These farmers achieved a remarkable production of 7,331 tonnes of rice, with an average yield of 3.62 tonnes per hectare.

The project's results have been shared with stakeholders. FEPROBA engaged in discussions with one of Senegal's national companies, the Société de Développement Agricole et Industrielle, SODAGRI, which has expressed a keen interest in expanding the database to cover its entire intervention zone. Furthermore, the outcomes of the project have been communicated to other initiatives, including the Rice Value Chain Development Project (PDCVR) funded by the Islamic Development Bank, the Tiers Sud project supported by AFD and the European Union, and the Femmes Agriculture Résiliente (FAR) project financed by Canadian cooperation. The FAR project is exploring the possibility of assisting facilitators in collecting data for the database, enhancing the reach and impact of the project.

Figures

The project benefited a total of 3,576 producers, 11 processors, 6 traders, 58,589 consumers and 2 institutions, the Assane Seck University in Ziguinchorand the NGO Guney as institutional purchasers.