Reviewing progress to date with partners on the project to strengthen vegetable and seed supply systems in West Africa.

World Vegetable Center Director General Marco Wopereis and a team from WorldVeg West and Central Africa Coastal & Humid Regions visited the offices of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Cotonou, Benin and Benin’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries on 5 August 2021 to take stock of SAFEVEG and other ongoing projects in the country.

First Secretary of the Embassy, Sigrid Meijer, received the delegation and was pleased to be updated by Marco and the team. SAFEVEG Project Manager Edmond Totin outlined the components of SAFEVEG West Africa, which features six work packages in three countries – Benin, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

SAFEVEG trials innovative interventions with a focus on food safety and quality to make vegetables more accessible, affordable, and acceptable to consumers. “We are developing, testing, and scaling technologies that help farmers increase their productivity while ensuring products are safe from contamination,” Edmond said.

SAFEVEG is setting up networks of market gardeners (VBNs) and strengthening the skills of network participants through coaching and capacity building. These networks aim to link producers and consumers and reduce postharvest losses by aligning supply and demand.

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission provide financial support for SAFEVEG.

A steady supply of quality seeds of locally adapted varieties of vegetables is the basis for the future growth of horticulture in West Africa. Making sure farmers can access good-performing varieties is one part of the challenge; another is involving local seed companies in the testing of new varieties bred by WorldVeg and research partners. While meeting with Francois Assogba Komlan, Secretary-General of Benin’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Marco suggested that Benin host a large national workshop to disseminate the results of a recent study on vegetable seed in Africa and also take actions to unblock the bottlenecks hampering the development of a strong seed sector in Benin.

SAFEVEG aims to improve the diets of 75,000 West African consumers. The project seeks to have an estimated 200,000 small-scale farmers adopt improved vegetable seed, and at least 10,000 farmers adopt sustainable, climate-smart practices. A further 5,500 vegetable producers connected to 220 SAFEVEG vegetable business networks will be able to increase their productivity and incomes.