• About
  • Our Work
  • Join
  • Partner
  • Media
EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Sign-up for monthly updates on Winrock's work around the world.

Volunteer Blog

VOLUNTEER BLOG

Strengthening Cotton Cooperatives in Senegal

  • SHARE:
  • Copy

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Andy Lohof, Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer

The Senegalese textile company SODEFITEX plays an important role in rural development. Founded in 1974, the company sources cotton from smallholder farmers in Senegal to produce textiles. SODEFITEX collaborates with a Senegalese financial institution to offer farmers inputs (cotton seeds and fertilizer) on credit and provides advice to farmers on how to improve cotton yield. After the harvest, SODEFITEX purchases the cotton at the farm level at a market price agreed upon before the planting season. After deducting a portion of the value of the harvested cotton to reimburse the input credit, SODEFITEX pays the remainder to the farmer.

These cotton farmers belong to the National Federation of Cotton Producers (FNPC) and are organized in village-level cooperatives to interact with SODEFITEX. Approximately 24,000 farmers in different regions of Senegal currently supply cotton to SODEFITEX. By facilitating input credit, offering farming advice, and purchasing the farmers’ cotton at a price set in advance, SODEFITEX offers valuable services that are often lacking in Senegal.

Unfortunately, cotton yields and production in Senegal have fallen in recent years. Adverse weather has contributed to the decline, but another factor has been lack of management and leadership at the farmer cooperative level. Production declines negatively impact both the farmers and SODEFITEX. Since farmers have not produced enough cotton to meet demand, SODEFITEX has had to turn away customers.

In September, Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Andy Lohof spent two weeks in Senegal working with SODEFITEX and FNPC officials on training in management and leadership of farmer cooperatives. The training was held in Tambacounda, site of the main SODEFITEX production facility and the largest city in eastern Senegal, located approximately 400km from the capital city of Dakar.

In interactive training sessions with numerous group exercises, Mr. Lohof addressed questions such as how to convince farmers to participate actively in their cooperatives, how to set cooperative priorities, how to define and delegate cooperative responsibilities, and how to estimate the profitability of different crops to make informed planting decisions. At the end of the workshop, Mr. Lohof discussed how to replicate the training topics to the cooperatives at the village level.

In Senegal, per capita income is only $1,000 (less than 2% of that of the United States). Better management of the cotton cooperatives can result in more cotton for SODEFITEX and better lives for Senegalese farmers and their families.

 

Posted in AET, Senegal, Volunteer Feedback | Tagged agriculture, Farmer-to-Farmer, knowledge transfer
ABOUT FARMER-TO-FARMER WINROCK VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE

SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS

Loading

ARCHIVE

  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011

CATEGORIES

  • AET
  • Africa
    • Ghana
    • Senegal
  • Asia
  • Bangladesh
  • Cuba
  • El Salvador
  • Ethiopia
  • Field Staff
  • Guinea
  • Kenya
  • Latin America
  • Mali
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • Postharvest
  • Rural Livelihoods
  • Senegal
  • Spotlights
  • Volunteer Feedback
  • Volunteer of the Month
  • Winrock Staff
WinrockIntl
Tweets by @WinrockIntl
Follow @WinrockIntl

204 E 4th Street | North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114

ph +1 501 280 3000 | fx +1 501 280 3090

2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 700 | Arlington, Virginia 22202

ph +1 703 302 6500 | fx +1 703 302 6512

  • Contact
  • E-News Signup
  • Low Bandwidth
  • Code of Conduct
  • Winrock Privacy Statement
  • Site Map
  • Terms of Use
Copyright © 2015- Winrock International
DEV ENVIRONMENT