We started with field trials and learning-and-demonstration plots, conducted by women farmers on their own fields. Another partner, AMASSA Afrique Verte, provided training on good agricultural practices and entrepreneurial skills. The producers were then linked with seed and fertilizer retailer Guina Agricole and onion buyer Madougou SA. The onions – mostly produced by women – are resold to Baara Muso, as an ingredient in Mali’s most popular brand of spicy broth.
The adoption of technologies (improved seeds, fertilizer, good agricultural practices) promoted by this partnership has enabled women to increase onion yields from 16 tons to 25 tons per hectare. Better storage practices have extended shelf life from 2 months to 6 months. Producers’ incomes have increased substantially, and Guina Agricole became more confident about selling inputs on credit. In 2016, reassured by the performance of the producers and the existence of a lucrative market (Madougou), the company provided farmers with seeds and fertilizers worth over 100 million FCFA, on credit. Before this partnership, credit was barely 5 million FCFA. By December 2017, 98% of the credit had been repaid – a clear sign of increased confidence and trust between farmers and the Guina Agricole.
In December 2017, as 2SCALE support was phasing out, a new challenge appeared: how to ensure the continuity of technical assistance from AMASSA Afrique Verte, which was vital to the successes achieved? At the start of the partnership, 2SCALE paid about 25,000 FCFA per day to AMASSA for its technical support services: production training, inventory of input needs, linkage with Madougou, phytosanitary services and intermediation with local microfinance institutions.
This was the center of discussions at a review and capitalization workshop facilitated by 2SCALE. Madougou, which participated in the meeting, announced that it needed more than 13,000 tons of onions. To seize this new opportunity, we needed to expand to more areas, replicate the technical training program, and strengthen the financial capacity of Guina Agricole to service new producers.
said Mamadu Tamaba, CEO of Madougou.
Demba Cissé, coordinator of AMASSA, said: "Some time ago, we said that 2SCALE funding could not fully cover our services. Now, even these modest resources will no longer be available. But that should not be a problem, because producers who want our services will continue to pay for them."
This surprising attitude of Demba reminded me a
bambara proverb I heard my father using, when I was a child:
During the 2017 season, Madougou signed a purchase contract for 779 tons, at a price of 200 FCFA/kg, compared with 175 FCFA/kg on open markets. At this price, producers could make enough money to pay for tech support, offered by a team of 5 young interns, all fresh out of the Agricultural University of Ségou, hired by AMASSA Afrique Verte.
Was Demba dreaming with open eyes? Why would a small-scale producer pay 8,000 FCFA francs per season for technical support? So far, this was exclusively the role of donors. But the gamble worked. As many as 485 producers (including 255 women) have paid their tech-support fee, and many more are interested.
For decades, development experts believed (often correctly) that the African producer was the weakest link in value chains. Small farmers usually have small plots, half-hectare on average; they do not use best practices; they are vulnerable to the vagaries of the rain; they rarely meet banks’ lending criteria; they have little negotiating power and are often forced to sell the crop to intermediaries who pocket most of the profits.
These vulnerabilities are real, and must be taken into account. But by highlighting these vulnerabilities, we (development experts) in fact victimize the small producer, by overprotecting her, and sometimes by feeding her more than necessary. In other words, we encourage a dependence mentality that prevents development and entrepreneurship.
Our experience in Ségou shows that great things can happen when we stop treating small-scale producers like children, who cannot take responsibility for their own development unless there is a donor providing funding. Development experts should stop spoon-feeding small producers.
As I look back over my experience over the last 20 years, I realize that sometimes I, too, have fallen into this trap of unwittingly victimizing small producers. But as the Bambara proverb goes: "The one who has already fallen is more reliable than the one who has never stumbled".