Évaluation des entrepreneurs semenciers du Mali

Johann Bonnand, Marthe Diallo Goita, Eva Huet, Hassane Zakari, Filipé Djire, Thiemo Buisman, Falaq Tidjani, Walter S. de Boef

Research output: Book/ReportReportProfessional

Abstract

The Integrated Seed Sector Development project in the Sahel, ISSD/Sahel, is a four-year project (2020-2024) in Mali and Niger financed by the Embassies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bamako and Niamey. One of the objectives is to ensure the availability and use of quality seed through the establishment of a commercially viable and autonomous seed sector. With this in mind, ISSD/Sahel conducted a seed entrepreneur assessment in Mali and Niger between December 2022 and March 2023. The main objectives are to 1) professionalize seed trade associations, 2) facilitate business-to-business (B2B) with international companies, 3) encourage reflection and awareness among Sahelian seed entrepreneurs on their functioning and 4) guide the development and capacity building of seed entrepreneurs by ISSD/Sahel. The identification of Malian seed entrepreneurs led to the selection of 17 entrepreneurs including three seed entrepreneurs that also engage in seed production, 11 seed traders and three cooperatives. The selection process was carried out by an evaluation committee based on eligibility criteria developed by the ISSD/Sahel team. Seed traders are the category of entrepreneurs with the highest seed sales revenues of the three. In terms of partnerships, only seed traders, except Doun Ka Fa, as well as SODIAF (which is considered as seed entrepreneur also engaged in seed production) benefit from partnerships with international companies. However, there are numerous partnerships in Mali and the West African sub-region. No cooperative has notified partnerships. All entrepreneurs selected and evaluated produce and commercialize, apart from Agrisem which only markets, seed of key crops for the ISSD/Sahel project including maize, rice, sorghum, millet, groundnut, cowpea, tomato, onion, other vegetables and potato. The analysis of the information collected led to the evaluation of the performance of seed entrepreneurs. Seed traders generally perform the best according to the established evaluation criteria. The weak points of the three categories of seed entrepreneurs appear to be common, including the lack of strategic connections, commercial orientation and long-term vision. This is partly explained by the lack of planning and forecasting in the production and marketing of seed, the significant importance of institutional markets in the volumes of seed sold, the difficult access in quantity and at the right time to early generation seeds and finally the absence of development and monitoring of a business plan. The exchange of information between farmer clients and seed entrepreneurs is still limited by the limited involvement in promotional activities, notably demonstration plots, and the absence of a system of feedback loops and handling of client complaints. This is partly due to the importance of institutional markets to those entrepreneurs. Finally, although the financial viability of these seed entrepreneurs seems satisfactory, access to financing is difficult, limiting investments and therefore the growth of these entrepreneurs. As a result, access to equipment and technologies for seed production and processing is limited. Thus, considering the identified challenges, recommendations have been established on different themes. The development of strong marketing strategies, the improvement of customer relations services and the improvement of financial management to facilitate access to financing are recommendations made to seed entrepreneurs. In addition, recommendations were also made for ASSEMA and ISSD/Sahel respectively to support these entrepreneurs, particularly for technical training, coaching and their representation to public institutions.
Original languageFrench
Place of PublicationWageningen
PublisherLe Centre du Développement et de l'Innovation de Wageningen
Number of pages34
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Publication series

NameRapport / Centre du Développement et de l'Innovation de Wageningen, Wageningen University & Research
No.WCDI-23-279

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