Since 2019, The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemens have joined forces with APAF Senegal to develop a local production chain for reproducible farmers’ seeds. This project was launched at the Diokhar farm near Mbour. Since 2021, a second farm in the nearby village of Nobandane has added to the project’s production capacity.
Thanks to the digging of a well connected to a solar pump financed by The Ivory Foundation in 2019, the farm has become a small oasis in the middle of the desert. The entire area is cultivated using agroforestry principles.
A second greenhouse tunnel was installed during the summer of 2021 by The Ivory Foundation on the Nobadane farm, located 10km from Diokhar. This is a village in the commune of Loul Sesséne in the Fatick region, on the border with the department of Mbour. The two farms are run by two farmers who are members of the APAF network and are supported by the APAF technician, Ndeye Fatou Ndiaye, who is responsible for monitoring seed production.In 2023, The Ivory Foundation is supporting a new APAF market garden in Sandiara.
On this perimeter, a 200m2 greenhouse has been set up, dedicated to seed production.
The aim of these actions is to set up a vegetable seed production chain adapted to Senegal’s territorial and socio-economic context. There is no structured quality farmers’ seed production chain in the country.In 2021, a new production protocol was drawn up with APAF and Agrosemens.
The varieties to be grown have been chosen for their a priori adaptation to the soil and climate conditions of West Africa, as well as to local needs in terms of taste quality. A double test will be carried out:A varietal test on 50% of the plants: the varieties will be studied for their vegetable production, according to specific criteria.
And seed production on the remainder: plants will be selected to be grown to maturity and harvested as seeds according to a technical itinerary defined by Agrosemens. The seeds will be threshed and dried on site, and the batches will be traced with specific identification.