In Côte d’Ivoire, corn is a staple food for both humans and animals. This crop is particularly strategic as it employs over 150,000 producers organized into cooperatives. However, local plantations are often characterized by limited yields, due to an inadequate supply of nutrients and very low-yielding seeds, particularly among small-scale producers. Improving good farming practices is thus becoming a key issue for the country’s food security.
The Advans Côte d’Ivoire project, supported by Proparco to the value of 230,000 euros, focuses on the launch of a package financed by the microfinance institution for corn growers in the north and south of Côte d’Ivoire, including seeds, fertilizers and phytosanitary products, as well as a precise technical support protocol to significantly improve plantation yields. Proparco is providing an innovation bonus, enabling Advans to make the loans it subsequently grants to corn growers less risky.
This new financing to Advans CI is part of the FARM initiative announced by President Macron at the G7 Summit in March 2022: Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM).
“By working towards a more resilient economy, Advans Côte d’Ivoire’s project is perfectly in line with Proparco’s new strategy, Acting together for greater impact. We are proud to support this microfinance institution with the aim of strengthening the financial inclusion of agricultural SMEs in Africa. This program will enable them to increase the yield of their corn farms, a key cereal in the fight against food insecurity in West Africa, and is a fine illustration of the French FARM initiative”, declares Françoise Lombard, Managing Director of Proparco.
For Mariam DJIBO, Managing Director of Advans Côte d’Ivoire, “As a local financial institution, we have a duty to listen to the financing needs of entrepreneurs by implementing innovative mechanisms to target sectors considered as risky. We are delighted that Proparco has responded to our call without any hesitation and with flexibility, as have the input suppliers who are working with us on these pilot programs, SOLEVO, OCP and A2P, and above all BAYER WCA with a variety of hybrid seeds contributing to a significant increase in yields and therefore higher incomes for corn growers“.