SCOOPAPS goes well with rice
Local service providers take a big step forward in Senegal
The rice sector in the Senegal River Valley has reached an important milestone in the professionalization of young people. Community-based service providers have set up a Simplified Cooperative Company. Support comes from our Foundation.
The valley accounts for nearly 75% of total Senegalese rice production. Good structuring of the value chain here can contribute significantly to food sovereignty and job creation. As part of this process, 32 service providers have jointly created a Simplified Cooperative Company, abbreviated in French to “SCOOPS”. The umbrella organizations for such companies is called SCOOPAPS.
The recently elected SCOOPAPS Chairman Mamadou Ndiaye says: “We know the rice value chain in great depth. It's a sector that generates income and jobs. Young people don’t need to migrate in search of ‘El Dorado’. If they’re determined, and prepared to work hard, they can earn good money here.”
The recent SCOOPAPS General Assembly showed the organization’s importance. It was co-chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture, and attracted participants such as IPAR, AfricaRice, SAED and several rice-growing organizations from the Senegal River Valley.
At the meeting, our local team member Moussa Sene highlighted the significant contribution of community-based service providers (CBSP) to the rice value chain. “The creation of this cooperative society is the culmination of a long coaching process supported by our Foundation”, he explained. Moussa pointed to our long-standing involvement in rice programs such as PEJERIZ and RAP. “This cooperative society will enable us to better structure and formalize CBSP advice to producer organizations on best practices and services. The SCOOPS aims to promote the employability and social integration of young men and women, as well as the sustainability of CBSP activities”, he commented.
The SCOOPS’ young shareholders were initially recruited and trained as part of PEJERIZ. This Foundation project ran from 2018-2020 in partnership with CTA/ACP-EU and AfricaRice to promote youth employment. It focused on the use of digital tools in agricultural extension and mechanization in the Senegal River Valley. During the COVID pandemic, RAP drew on CBSP services to give some 8000 farmers access to advice on good agricultural practices, farm mechanization and inputs. RAP was funded by the Mastercard Foundation via AfricaRice.
SCOOPAPS aims to build on these successes. “As part of creating a profitable business, the idea is to expand the range of services available” says Moussa Sene. “Seed certification is one of the new activities we’d like to see included”.
