Original Source: ICCO
In a series of 3 articles, we highlight ICCO’s efforts to improve the productivity of the onion value chain in Senegal. This second article is about a crowdfunding finance product. Part 1 zoomed in on the farmer field schools, and the last article deals with a tool for the mobile market.
Onions have a prominent place in the Senegalese food consumption and a major impact on the country’s economy. Annually 360,000 tons of onions are produced in Senegal, which is basically enough for the needs of the entire population. However, due to insufficient quality and storage options, part of the onion harvest is lost. Consequently onions have to be imported during a four to five months period (October to February).
The STARS (= Strengthening African Rural Smallholders) program of ICCO, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, strengthens the capacity of 8,000 onion smallholders by developing marketing tools and financial products. More productivity and food security for the farmers will support Senegal to become self-sufficient in onion production in the near future.
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