A major challenge that the Nigerien potato sector is currently facing is the poor performance of farms mainly due to lack of agricultural mechanization systems for plowing, irrigation or fertilization. Farmers only get 30 tons per hectare with varieties that yield up to 40-50 tons per hectare.
In order to help mitigate these challenges and enhance local production, the company CCPHN (Confédération Coopérative Paysanne Horticole du Niger) and 2SCALE are engaged in a public-private partnership with the 'ambition to increase the number of smallholder potato farmers up to 10,000 by 2023 and make this product available and accessible to 40,000 low-income consumers in Niger. Within 3 years, the intention is to promote potato consumption especially to BoP consumers who currently see it as a luxury product.
The CCPHN initiative called "Concept of the Future'' aims to train farmers on all technical aspects of production and post-production in order to produce high quality potatoes. At the start of the last farming season, CCPHN introduced the mechanization system of potato production. Through a demonstration on its own eight hectare land, the cooperative aims to draw the attention of farmers on the benefits of mechanizing potato cultivation.
The CCPHN / 2SCALE partnership took on the mission to install agribusiness clusters in the region of Tillabery and around Niamey. This approach aims to gradually involve smallholder farmers and other actors in production, marketing and the supply of agricultural and non-agricultural inputs and services.
This increase in the number of farmers will help to boost the quantity of production. Hence the need for significant investment in storage infrastructure for CCPHN, whose current storage capacity is 450 tons. Its ambitions at this level are just as big: to increase storage capacity up to 3,000 tons, and to power the installation with solar energy.
The support from the local banking sector to mobilize resources, including Sonibank and Bagri, enables the CCPHN to import potato plants and purchase consumption potatoes for storage.
To scale CCPHN's business idea, the 2SCALE program is supporting the establishment of agricultural business clusters. This has increased the level of productivity from 24 tons per hectare up to 28 tons through the introduction of eco-efficient agricultural technologies and practices. 2SCALE is also supporting the development of storage facilities and improving the distribution and processing component by integrating more women and youth.
