SENEGAL- The Senegalese government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have signed a financial agreement worth €27.8 million (US$30.3 million) to improve the country’s food security and enhance farmers’ resilience to external shocks.
The funds will be utilized via the Food System Resilience Program (FSRP). The program is intended to enhance farmer resilience to external shocks like inflation, trade restrictions and price volatility in the international market.
IFAD stated the program targets 600,000 participants including smallholder processors and producers, members of producer organization and Senegalese SMEs in the agriculture sector.
The funds will provide access to climate-smart technologies and machinery as well as training on appropriate land management techniques. It will also provide access to credit facilities and other forms of access to capital, which are expected to enhance the country’s competitiveness in the market.
This competitiveness will be enhanced via integration of smallholder farmers through their respective associations and groups into well-organized value chains and the development of processing strategies.
IFAD and the Senegalese government will invest in smart, climate-sensitive irrigation systems, providing good quality seeds and other farm implements. This is intended to help mitigate the challenge of inadequate rainfall caused by climate change and soil degradation caused by poor farming practices.
The technical support, training and extension services provided via the funds will help in inspiring a necessary shift from traditional farming techniques to modern farming techniques among participants that will enhance their production.
Mateo Marchisio, IFAD’s Country Director for Senegal, said, “The FSRP is a holistic program that addresses all the dimensions of resilience to external shocks and various aspects of food insecurity, agricultural production, research, commercialization, public policy, and financing. This is an important project for the government of Senegal because addressing the different dimensions targets the underlying causes of the food crises, helping to prevent food insecurity on a regional scale.”
The financing agreement is expected to empower and improve smallholder farming, in a country which imports 70% of its food, 60% of its population is actively engaged in farming and 6% of its population suffering from food insecurity.
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