Think Creative Fall 2023

Left: The Trade Hub co-invests with local agribusinesses to increase domestic production and import substitution to create greater food security in West Africa.

increase white rice production in Senegal’s Ross Bethio region and reduce the country’s dependence on rice imports. EAG supports producers by facilitating access to an interest-free credit line of up to approxi mately $3,072 and by distributing agricultural inputs as in-kind contributions that are repaid at harvest time. Paddy rice producers have sig nificantly improved food security in Senegal. The co-investment helped EAG to purchase machinery, cultivate an additional 375 hectares of land, increase agricultural production and integrate 375 farmers into its current network of 1,545 paddy rice producers. EAG is raising approximately $5.3 million in private capital as part of its three-year partnership with the Trade Hub, which ended in February. The results are significant. Sales of white rice and other by-products amounted to more than $7 million (equivalent to 15,627 metric tons) compared to $1.87 million and 4,993 metric tons at the beginning of the partnership. Finally, given the growth in revenue, EAG intends to change its legal status from a sole proprietorship to a limited liability company to facilitate the access of more financing from banks. These results not only indicate the success, but also the level of sustainability that enables enterprises to positively impact food security for the long-term. For a smallholder like Arame, the effects of participation with EAG are life changing. When EAG signed a contract with Arame to buy all her paddy rice, it allowed her to repay her cred

The war in Ukraine has disrupted the shipment of critical grain supplies, making sustainable agricultural enterprises in West Africa more critical than ever.

The Trade Hub promotes measures to ensure access to healthy, safe, and nutritious foods.

I no longer have paddies growing moldy or being wasted because of the lack of buyers .” - Arame Mbaye, Rice Farmer “

food security, though the challenges they face threaten their sustainability. To respond to global food security crisis and local challenges, the USAID-fundedWest Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) and its co-investment partners are reducing dependence on imports by supporting greater domestic production. The Trade Hub co-invests with local agribusinesses to increase domestic production and engages the private sector to support food security efforts. “The Trade Hub is part of building the region so that in challenging times like these people inWest Africa will have the infrastructure and tools to sustain their communities, conduct business and to keep their livelihoods intact,” says RobinWheeler, the Trade Hub’s Chief of Party. One Trade Hub co-investment partner, woman owned Entreprise Aïssatou Gaye (EAG), is

working to reduce the nation’s dependence on imported rice, a key food source for the Senegalese people. Smallholder farmer Arame heard about EAG and its founder and owner, Aïssatou Gaye, and was drawn to her unique, almost revolutionary reputation as a female entrepreneur who buys paddy rice from producers to process it into white rice. In 2021, EAG received a $450,842 co- investment grant through the Trade Hub’s COVID-19 Rapid Response program to

it on time—and make a profit—a trend that she is likely to maintain in the future. “I no longer have paddies growing moldy or being wasted because of the lack of buyers,” Arame says. As part of that network of 2,961 paddy producers supported by EAG and the Trade Hub, Arame was able to access funds through a third party holding with La Banque Agricole for several harvest seasons, allowing her to achieve a level of success that better reflects her experience, knowledge and hard work. n

Photos by Deleba Nomo Serge Kadel for USAID

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