Agricultural cooperatives in Senegal: Driving the sector's modernization
The West Africa Competitiveness Programme in Senegal (PACAO-Senegal) serves as a relevant model as it supported the creation or compliance of 29 cooperative societies as well as strengthened their managerial and organizational capacities. Together, these cooperatives bring together over 545 producer organizations active in the mango and onion value chains.
Among these 29 cooperatives, the Cooperative Society for Support to Production, Processing, and Marketing (SCAPTC) of Pout (Thiès) perfectly illustrates the impact of this support.
Created in 2021, the Cooperative SCAPTC covers four municipalities in the Thiès region (Pout, Diander, Keur Moussa, and Moroland) and brings together almost 2,940 members, including 20 producer organizations and over 20 individuals. Specializing in onion production, the cooperative was born from an urgent need to structure and professionalize producers who previously worked in a scattered manner, without coordination or appropriate management tools.
Doudou Diop, President of the Board of Directors of the SCAPTC, recalls the difficult beginnings: 'Before our cooperative society was born, our groups were not even structured. We didn't have statutes or internal regulations. We each worked on our own, without a common strategy.'
With support from PACAO-Senegal, SCAPTC benefited from training in financial management, leadership, conflict resolution, and strategic planning, which enabled its members to transform an informal structure into a high-performing, sustainable organization.
Mamadou Lèye, a doctoral student in applied physics at Cheikh Anta Diop University committed to agriculture, combines his studies with farm work and serves as the Secretary General of SCAPTC. He says: 'We learned to manage our cooperative like a business. We now organize our meetings efficiently, manage our finances rigorously, and resolve internal conflicts constructively. All these skills, acquired through PACAO-Senegal's support, are key to our success.'
Today, SCAPTC is cited as an example in the region for its rigorous management and effective organization. 'Other cooperatives and even the supervising ministry send experts to study our model and draw inspiration from it,' adds Mamadou Lèye proudly.
Amy Ndiaye, hired by PACAO-Senegal as a community development officer, confirms this transformation: 'Meetings are held regularly, the General Assembly is organized every year, and members have become autonomous in managing their activities. SCAPTC has become a benchmark model in the region.'
The members of SCAPTC have improved their yields and incomes. 'Today, we have full control of our activity from A to Z, from production to marketing. It has changed our lives,' says Doudou Diop.
From informal to a benchmark model, SCAPTC illustrates the transformative potential of cooperative societies. Thanks to targeted support, they become frameworks for structuring, formalizing, and strengthening agricultural value chains, thereby contributing to achieving the goals of Senegal Vision 2050.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.
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