copyright:WFP/Judith Melby
Afrique Verte, a Malian non-governmental organization that supports 30,000 farmers in marketing agricultural surpluses, is a key partner in P4P Mali. A variety of partners drawn from the government, UN agencies, NGOs, international organizations and donors provide the necessary expertise or complementary resources to ensure farmers get the support they need to benefit from agricultural markets.
Mohamed Haidara, Afrique Verte’s coordinator, says P4P was a concept which had always interested him, as in the past only the big commercial traders could apply for tenders put out by WFP and other large-scale purchasers. What has particularly impressed him is the methodical, steady pace of P4P.
‘We have to take this step by step and accompany our farmers’ organizations all the way. We have to teach them that quality, packaging and delivery on time are extremely important. They have to realize that there are penalties if any of these measures are not met. Once these are well established, then we can start showing them how to negotiate from a position of strength. Educating the farmers about how the market works will ensure their sustainability and their integration into the economy."
Mohamed Makiyou Coulibaly from the Ministry of Agriculture says the Government of Mali has a long, close association with WFP and was closely involved in the elaboration of P4P. He says P4P has tremendous advantages for Mali: ‘our farmers will learn best practices and how best to present themselves to possible purchasers. The more competitive they become, the quicker we will become a producer nation. We have high hopes for P4P, we know it will succeed.’
Dr Marcel Galiba, the regional director for Public Private Partnership in SASKAWA AFRICA ASSOCIATION (SAA) is another enthusiastic partner of P4P.
SG200 is particularly well organized to implement P4P and also has a long history of collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.‘We always dreamed of this partnership. We saw that WFP was buying from the big traders and we have long wanted to be considered as vendors. We are contracted to provide 300 MT and we will do everything to make it work,’ says Dr Galiba.He has big ambitions because the emphasis on quality will increase the credibility of the farmers and this, he hopes, will encourage them to move into processing one day.
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