The project “Safe locally-produced vegetables for West Africa’s consumers” (SAFEVEG), funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, aims to promote the supply and demand of safely produced vegetables in West Africa with the objective of sustainably improving livelihoods and nutrition. It is based on the recognition that just increasing the supply of vegetables is not enough to increase consumption. Vegetables should also be made more affordable, accessible and acceptable to consumers.

SAFEVEG is implementing the so-called Vegetable Business Networks (VBN) approach, which connects individual farmers, aggregators, processors, traders, and service providers to build and strengthen trust and enable sustainable and inclusive relationships. About 220 VBNs will be set up across Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali, the three partner countries of SAFEVEG.

The first batch of 20 VBNs was set up in September 2021 in Benin, and ten business coaches were selected to strengthen the business networks. A consortium of three NGOs is implementing the coaching and mentoring process aimed at strengthening technical as well as social learning capacities.

The process started with the selection of 20 business champions who expressed their interest in expanding their vegetable business. A detailed diagnosis was conducted to map the challenges and opportunities of business development. Through the diagnostic, an impact trajectory with relevant indicators was designed to track change over time.

After the mapping, a Diagnosis and Design (D&D) workshop was organized with the key partners of each business network. The D&D workshop is a critical step of the process during which project team members interact with the business networks and help to design a portfolio of interventions that address the key business challenges.

During the D&D, partners define a vision for their business and design desired business model together with an action plan and capacity development agenda. The capacity strengthening process comprises four Action-Learning Cycles and covers diverse topics, including best farming practices, post-harvest techniques, access to finance, and many more (management, marketing). The first Learning Cycle dealt with inclusive and trustful relationships and business negotiation to stimulate long-term partnerships. The second cycle focused on business financing, and a joint module was designed with the support of the GIZ project – PROFINA.

After the first year of operation, the project team reflected on lessons learned to optimize the VBN process.

Although the scope of the VBN interventions was set with principles of the D&D workshop, some Champions showed interest in more tangible support, such as credit and subsidies, which are not part of the SAFEVEG project agenda.

“A year after the implementation of the VBN approach in Benin, we see the need to keep the process flexible to accommodate changes and  address emerging needs in the network. It is also important for the support team to be proactive in building strategic alliances to meet expectations,” explains Edmond Totin, the SAFEVEG project coordinator.

“Coaches play a brokerage role in supporting the business network. Therefore, engaging experienced external coaches is valuable. Coaching differs slightly from a classical extension programme in which predefined capacity development modules are deployed. The coaching calls for a demand-driven capacity development agenda with the flexibility to include what the network needs and values. Such coaching support needs soft skills and proven experience in facilitation and mediation,” explains Toon Defoer, the VBN consultant.

The sustainability of the process is another critical element that needs careful planning right from the early stages of the process. In SAFEVEG, the external coaches work closely with internal coaches who are members of the business network members is to strengthen the capacity of internal coaches so that, gradually, they can take the lead in supporting the network.