“Like many young people, I thought about leaving the country and sailing away on a pirogue... But my father taught me farming and showed me that you can make a living from it. That changed my perspective. I decided to commit to agriculture, aiming to become a great producer – one who starts from nothing and eventually creates jobs for others. The new structure of FEPROBA, which encourages young people to get involved and facilitates access to land, fills me with pride and makes me feel free.”
Meet Abdoulaye Diallo, a 33-year-old father and president of the Youth business unit within the Federation of Producers in the Anambé Basin (FEPROBA). He also runs the Federation’s urea granulation centre, part of an effort to modernise agricultural practices and empower a new generation of farmers.
Did you know that rice is the primary source of food energy in West Africa and crucial for food security in the region? As the population grows, demand for rice has been climbing more than 6% annually – outpacing all other staples1. In Senegal, local rice production has surged nearly tenfold in the past decade. In 2023 alone, the country’s paddy rice production hit 1.1 million tonnes, up from just 120,000 tonnes in 2012, according to Papa Malick Ndao, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock2.
Despite the growth opportunities that the rice sector appears to offer, fewer young people are pursuing careers in agriculture. While agriculture still employs the largest share of the workforce, many young people are drawn to cities like Dakar in search of better opportunities. Every year, between 200,000 and 300,000 new young people enter Senegal’s job market, while the formal economy can only create about 30,000 new jobs3. In the cities, these young people often end up in precarious jobs or attempt illegal migration to other continents.
Farming in rural areas, meanwhile, is largely left in the hands of the elderly. Young people shy away from agriculture not only because agribusinesses are generally considered a poor career choice but also because of outdated practices and limited access to modern equipment. Young people are attracted by innovation but even when modern techniques are promoted, farmers struggle to implement them effectively because they do not have the necessary equipment. How can these barriers be overcome, and how can we make young people interested in agriculture again?
1. AfricaRice
2. https://french.xinhuanet.com/20240427/b61283943daa4ff79ef7c2b2ade48c61/c.html
3. https://www.undp.org/fr/senegal/blog/la-jeunesse-au-senegal-de-la-necessite-dadopter-une-approche-de-transformation-systemique
To reverse rural exodus and foster agricultural entrepreneurship, Senegal’s government, with support from partners like Rikolto, is promoting policies to boost youth employment in key value chains such as rice. FEPROBA, one of Rikolto’s long-standing partners, has taken bold steps to invest in its young members, believing they are essential for the future of sustainable agriculture.
The collaboration with FEPROBA started more than 10 years ago. Since then, Rikolto has engaged with FEPROBA to disseminate sustainable production techniques among 2,500 farmers but also to strengthen its organisational structure and management. Now a trusted business partner, FEPROBA is investing in a new generation of farmers to drive change and innovation. With support from Rikolto, FEPROBA developed a Urea Granulation Unit, which is “the only processing unit of its kind in Senegal” according to Bassoum Mansour, FEPROBA’s coordinator.
In 2023, 20 young people were trained in urea granulation techniques, facility management and the development of a business unit to oversee the production of agricultural inputs. Today, the unit employs 18 young people, including six seasonal workers. It has also fostered strong ties with local cereal growers and market gardeners, who now rely on their two input shops to access high-quality inputs, such as granulated urea, especially during the winter season.
With granulated urea, we’ve managed to reduce urea use from 250 kilograms per hectare to 113 kilograms per hectare. The combination of granulated urea and the SRP [Sustainable Rice Platform] standard allows us to reduce production costs by an average of 23%
The unit, which produces a branded super-granular urea, has already generated a turnover of more than 69 million CFA francs (about €106,000) in 2024, compared to around 32 million CFA (about €49,000) when it started in 2022. “With granulated urea, we’ve managed to reduce urea use from 250 kilograms per hectare to 113 kilograms per hectare. The combination of granulated urea and the SRP [Sustainable Rice Platform] standard allows us to reduce production costs by an average of 23%,” said Bassoum, adding that FEPROBA plans to increase the unit’s production capacity.
With climate change, rainfall has become less frequent, dropping from six to four months per year. The farmer field schools gave me a space to exchange ideas with my peers on how best to adopt new techniques to address common challenges.
“Working for FEPROBA is a learning experience – that is what motivated me to join. I’m a member of the board and I’m also an outreach facilitator, which means I communicate the board’s decisions to all the units within FEPROBA and share the knowledge I’ve gained through the farmer field schools,” said Pathé Baldé.
Pathé is one of 260 young people among the 665 producers who received training in good agricultural practices in 2023. The training covered certified seed production, Sustainable Rice Platform compliance practices and rice processing. “With climate change,rainfall has become less frequent, dropping from six to four months per year,” Abdoulaye explains. “The farmer field schools gave me a space to exchange ideas with my peers on how best to adopt new techniques to address common challenges.”
Specialised training in transformation processes has also been provided to young women who have organised themselves into a specific business unit to process both the paddy they grow and the paddy they buy from FEPROBA members. They produce a range of products including parboiled rice, broken rice, rice flour, white rice and rice couscous (thiakry), catering to every palate, taste and need. They share the proceeds among themselves, with some going towards working capital and a fund for future investments.
“We’ve tried many businesses before, but rice processing works,” said Fatoumata Komba Madiang, a member of the women’s group. “We have so much demand that we can’t always keep up. But we’re happy to work together as women and run our own business. We hope this facility will become a hub for future generations of women who want to learn how to process and sell rice.”
Some young entrepreneurs have also received financial literacy training to manage the profitability of their agricultural ventures. They are now more familiar with budgeting, saving and accessing credit through decentralised financial services.
We have so much demand that we can’t always keep up. But we’re happy to work together as women and run our own business. We hope this facility will become a hub for future generations of women who want to learn how to process and sell rice.
FEPROBA’s success is more than just a compelling story – it’s a blueprint for others to follow. In the north of Senegal, some training courses have already been held for young people by our partner farmer organisation FPA. The development of value-added services tailored to local needs has benefited FEPROBA members, who now have access to a more resilient and local market for inputs, and will eventually lead to greater adoption of sustainable agricultural innovations. When youth and women are empowered, they can unleash new waves of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in local value chains.
Another key focus of Rikolto’s work is facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues and strengthening local institutions such as CIRIZ, the rice inter-professional body, to advocate for enabling policies and interventions, such as the higher government subsidies they have secured for rice farmers. The outcomes of FEBROPA’s initiatives provide valuable insights that can enrich these dialogues and foster new synergies among food system actors who want a rice value chain that is more inclusive of young people and women.
“When we harvested, my father kept some for the household and gave the rest to the poor,” Abdoulaye recalls from his childhood. Although the context has changed, his goal remains the same as his father’s: to help to feed his country. If his father was an example to him, Abdoulaye now hopes to be an example to other young people – proving that agriculture can provide not just a livelihood, but a more resilient future for all.
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