Regional Markets

3 Cases
farmers by facilitating their participation in the entire value chain. Overall, the project
involves 960 men and 235 women in seed cultivation. In Taiba Niassene, the processing
and marketing component is fully controlled by women, as they constitute 99% of
members in this GIPA. Enjoying strong group representation at these crucial parts of
the value chain greatly improves the position of women in the region—both in economic
and in social terms.
Food security
Groundnuts are an important staple food in most rural households, contributing up to
28% of the daily calories intake of Senegalese families (Evers 1997). Oil, paste and flour
provide a balanced diet rich in proteins and calories, positively impacting household
food security. Incomes from sales of the products increase purchasing power, enabling
households to complement their dietary and domestic needs. Groundnut by-products,
like cake and hay, are also used to raise livestock, which provides a ready source of proteins
and additional income.
Food quality
One of the major advantages of the adoption of this quality seed lies in the enhanced
caloric and protein content of the groundnuts and the extracted oil. Groundnut oil is
one of the most nutritious oils. Low in saturated fatty acids, it prevents the build up
of cholesterol levels better than other oil products. However, aflatoxin rates (a toxin
produced by fungi that grow well in the local climate and can be found in peanut butter
and oils) remain of concern when it comes to trade and health. While there is more
work to be done, Senegal has already taken important steps to combat this fungus and
to ensure that its groundnuts production is largely aflatoxin-free, a key prerequisite
for obtaining lucrative export contracts (USAID Foreign Agricultural Service, 2010).
Adequate information dissemination and farmers trainings on the prevention and control
the fungus is crucial for achieving this goal.
Infrastructure and governance
The government provided facilities to support groundnut production, like the manufacturing
industries in Kaolack, Diourbel and Ziguinchor that process groundnut
into oil for export, which generates employment for the rural poor. However, with the
groundnut sector reforms, these facilities have been privatised. The government, industrial
oil processors, operators and farmers (CCPA) established a framework for setting
prices and payment of subsidies. Usually the industrial processors offer prices that do
not meet the farmers’ expectations. Therefore, after many roundtable negotiations, the
government decided to introduce a subsidy so that farmers can cover their production
costs. In the 2010 groundnut trade season, the industrial processors offered 120 CFA
franc per kilogram and the government added CFA franc 45, bringing the price up to
CFA franc 165.
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