Case study Identity Card

Long title:  Improved varieties and seed production techniques for quality groundnuts in Senegal. A survey of the stakeholders on the impact of research
Geographical coverage of the case: Kaolack region (South of the Groundnut Basin, Paoskoto village and other villages : Wak N’Gouma, Keur Baka, Latmingué, NGandé
Case study team: Danièle Clavel (Cirad, Agap), Mateugue Diack (UGB), Khadim Touré (intern UGB)
Years covered: 2003- 2015

Case study description

The innovation under study: Groundnut breeding in Senegal, reorganizing the sector in conjunction with producers

In Senegal, groundnuts have numerous functions, either as crops, as fodder or in industry. But in recent decades the sector has undergone some major changes due to a combination of interconnected pressures, plunging producers into turmoil. The worsening drought, the growing threat of aflatoxin and the liberalisation imposed by structural adjustment programmes in a sector that was once highly integrated and administered by the state (from plant breeding to seed production and oil exports) are the main factors of this upheaval. It was against this complex backdrop that CIRAD, along with the Senegalese research community and the new agricultural development institutions, embarked on an original project, ensuring the timely mobilisation of funds and actors of the new landscape. This was a major undertaking, designed not only to improve seed and production techniques, but also to organise farmers into cooperatives and to improve marketing. The impacts of this programme go beyond the scope of the groundnut sector alone.

In Senegal, groundnuts are still the primary source of income for farmers and, although exports of edible groundnuts are currently negligible, the country remains one of the world’s leading exporters of refined oil. Groundnuts are also the primary fodder crop and, as a legume, are irreplaceable in crop rotation with cereals.

Research to counter the effects of drought

In the early 1980s, the drought worsened, steering research towards the creation of shorter cycle varieties and the development of agricultural practices to limit the risk of aflatoxin contamination, a toxin that is very harmful to human health and for which groundnuts are the preferred substrate. This research resulted in a new varietal map, the creation of very early varieties and new procedures for better aflatoxin control. But research was hampered by state budget restrictions that limited most fields trials sites, resulting in a disconnect between researchers and producers.

A sector destabilised by liberalisation

In 2001, the Société Nationale des Graines d’Arachide (Sonagraines - National Groundnut Seed Company) was dissolved without preparation. Yet this company had bridged the gap between producers and oil manufacturers, distributing seed and organising collection and marketing. The producers subsequently found themselves alone in the sector, both upstream when purchasing seed, and downstream when marketing their products. Faced with this untenable situation, the state began to intervene at regular intervals once more, particularly to subsidise supplies of seed and to determine the annual selling price.

Researchers and producers working together

In this uncertain context, CIRAD took a new approach, working in conjunction with producers in a pilot operation in the village of Paoskoto to rethink a range of technical and organisational factors. To do so, CIRAD, the Senegalese research community and the Agence Nationale de Développement Agricole (ANCAR - National Agricultural Development Agency) negotiated and mobilised European funds left over from the groundnut price stabilisation fund, which were previously intended to offset market price fluctuations and were therefore no longer earmarked for anything specific. This experiment began with an analysis phase of the edible groundnut sector associating CIRAD, the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA - Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute) and the Institut de Technologie Alimentaire (ITA - Food Technology Institute), entailing in particular accreditation of the ITA aflatoxin analysis laboratory.

After this initial phase, researchers joined forces with the groundnut producers’ organisation, ASPRODEB. The approach concerned the whole sector, although at the beginning the operation was located in a single village in the southern part of the groundnut basin, Paoskoto (Kaolack department), where the local producers’ consultation committee was extensively involved. Central to the consultation was the concept of “seed capital”: the availability and quality of groundnut seed was considered to be the main technical bottleneck in the production process, given that the seed of the plant is heavy (meaning more than 1/10 of the harvest needs to be used for seed), bulky and fragile (making storage difficult).

The creation and autonomous organisation of new cooperatives

The pilot operation in Paoskoto, conducted in close collaboration with the farmers’ organisation ASPRODEB, brought together 252 producers from the area, who took part in the research and development activities conducted from 2004 to 2005. This operation entailed field tests to apply and adapt groundnut and seed production techniques, and to train actors in the sector in these techniques.

The partnership between CIRAD and ASPRODEB continued for four years, from 2004 to 2008, leading to the creation of 10 cooperatives in the southern part of the groundnut basin. This collective endeavour produced consultation mechanisms to expand the network of actors initially coordinated by CIRAD and ASPRODEB. In particular, it helped to reorganise marketing of the product based on contract agreements between the cooperatives and the Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole du Sénégal bank.

Following the departure of CIRAD in 2009, ASPRODEB mobilised additional funding to continue the professionalisation of the cooperative sector, working in two key areas: the production of certified seed and the organisation of a groundnut production chain with marketing agreements in order to secure both investments and market outlets.

The determinants of change

During an impact analysis, three factors emerged as determinants of the changes underway: the Paoskoto operation involving researchers, ASPRODEB and producers from the Paoskoto municipality, the place where research findings were transformed into tangible achievements; enhanced cooperation between actors in the groundnut sector and those engaged in seed production; and capacity building leading to the professionalisation of cooperative members. The driving factor was therefore not an end product provided by research, but rather the development of a dynamic partnership between different actors evolving in a very specific context.

The programme thus had impacts at the national level. In particular, it facilitated the growth of the ASPRODEB cooperative seed production system: one “pilot” groundnut seed production cooperative in 2004 in Paoskoto, six in 2008, and 10 in 2012. Today, the national ASPRODEB network is comprised of 29 cooperatives, representing 60 to 65% of all groundnut production.

Women at the heart of groundnut processing

Indirectly, the Paoskoto training programmes for women, the contract agreements and the networks of actors have all given new impetus to small-scale groundnut oil processing. The Senegalese government has taken note and now supports this small-scale production, which was forbidden in the past. microfiltration-detoxification tables developed by ITA are subsidised by the state to guarantee aflatoxin-free local oil. There is high demand from Senegalese consumers, since the main oil producer, Sunéor, reserves refined groundnut oil for export and only distributes lower quality imported oil in Senegal.

Growing credibility for the ASPRODEB producers’ organisation

The work by CIRAD and ASPRODEB on groundnuts has set a precedent: the network of cooperatives initially created for certified groundnut seed production has now been extended to rice, maize and sesame seed.

The creation of cooperatives has been reproduced for maize with the Fédération des Producteurs de Maïs de Paoskoto (Paoskoto Maize Producers’ Federation), supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

ASPRODEB’s legitimacy has been established in the field of certified seed and the organisation is now managing a sub-regional project aimed at supporting the production and distribution of certified seed (PAPROSEM, 2013-2017) in a number of West African countries.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders involved in the innovation process

Value chain stakeholders : groundnut producers and groundnut seed producers, ASPROBEB (Farmer Organization)
Research stakeholders : University Gaston Berger (UGB) of Saint Louis, ISRA(Bambey)
Institutional stakeholders : CORAF

Stakeholders impacted by the innovation process

Value chain stakeholders : groundnut producers and groundnut seed producers