Farmers tell of immediate benefits from vegetable business networks in Benin

“With the support of our business coach, we have managed to get credit without a guaranteed deposit, collateral or proof of ability to re-pay,” said Athanase Dangbenon from Goulossodji. “We then used part of this loan to build irrigation facilities and increased our off-season production.”

Athanase is just one of the 5000 farmers who have benefitted from the implementation of vegetable business networks in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali – part of the SafeVeg project coordinated by the World Vegetable Center. After its second year of operation, some farmers shared their perspectives on the initiative and how it has impacted them. In Goulossodji, in Zê region, the project responded to farmers wanting to increase their off-season production because they make more profit from vegetables during that period. As part of vegetable business network activities, specialist coaches connected the group to a local bank that provided a loan of 16,808,200 XOF (about €25,000). With this, they were then able to purchase and install irrigation infrastructure that boosted their yields – and profits!

Athanase Dangbenon and Mathias Zannou showing the irrigation system they bought with a bank loan

The coaches also facilitated collective marketing, with participating farmers aggregating their harvests into bulk sales, increasing profits, and spreading costs across the group. Athanase added that they now sell much larger quantities of pepper and tomato. “SafeVeg is a great initiative. Our coaches help us to produce more, get loans so we can invest, and find more remunerative outlets for marketing our harvests.” Mathias Zannou, another farmer from the same vegetable business network, concurred. “SafeVeg has been of great help in this village. When the project started, we expressed our need for finance to invest in increasing our vegetable production. The project coach helped us put together a financial plan, which we submitted to a local bank. And it was fully financed! Today, we produce more to better support our children’s educational needs.”

Mathias Zannou explaining the progress he has made with vegetable production

Vegetable business networks offer a new avenue for producers, as Bienvenue Dayou noted, “Our network champion is constantly looking for new market outlets. And there is great news, that we have just signed a contract with a wholesaler to provide them with 500 kg of green pepper every week.” At Bamè, about 150 km from Cotonou, Thérèse Houessou explained that thanks to the new vegetable business network, farmers could sign agreements with large traders, which ensured them a better deal. Farmers also followed training modules on pest management, allowing them to improve yields through new management techniques. And she concluded that “the project has enabled us to move forward with off-season production”. These are just a few stories from a handful of five producers across the three project countries involved in these new vegetable business networks. And it is clear that the approach is practical and that farmers look forward to more coaching and collective benefits in the coming years.

Farmers from Bamè involved in the vegetable business network

This research was carried out with funding from the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands through the project “Safe locally produced vegetables for West Africa’s consumers (SAFE VEG)” – ID-4000003936, part of the DeSIRA program and implemented by the World Vegetable Center, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement CIRAD and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and national partners, the Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB, Benin), Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA, Burkina Faso), and Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER, Mali).

Adapted from a story in: World Vegetable Center. 2023. SafeVeg. Making more safe and locally produced vegetables available for West African consumers. World Vegetable Center, Shanhua, Taiwan. 54pp.

https://avrdc.org/download/project-support/safeveg/SafeVeg-2023-booklet.pdf

This article can also be found in the World Vegetable Center Annual Report 2023

WorldVeg Annual Report 2023 ! – World Vegetable Center (avrdc.org)