The future of agriculture in Africa is being written in Dakar. From August 31 to September 5, the Senegalese capital is hosting the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF). Considered the largest forum dedicated to agriculture and food systems on the continent, this international event brings together nearly 6,000 participants from diverse backgrounds. The Dakar edition has chosen to place youth at the heart of its agenda, under the theme: "African Youth Leading Collaboration, Innovation, and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation."

In addition to the plenary panels, a side event took place this Thursday, September 4. Organized by the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM), in partnership with IFAD and the INSURED program, it focused on reducing investment risks through agricultural risk management. This meeting gave the floor to several experts and practitioners, all mobilized around the theme: Reducing Investment Risks through Agricultural Risk Management.

Dr. Jean-Claude Bidogeza, a technical expert at PARM-IFAD, recalled his organization's integrated approach. "The specificity of the PARM approach, when analyzing agricultural risks, is a holistic approach that takes into account all agricultural risks that can affect the development of the agricultural sector or young entrepreneurs. So production risks, drought, flooding, devastating diseases, animal diseases, market risks, financial risks, risks of access to credit and repayment, institutional risks, political risks, political stability, macro risks... all these risks are analyzed in depth," he explained in his speech.

Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of going beyond simple diagnosis: "When you know that the risk already exists, it's better to manage it. And we go beyond that, we go deeper and we propose solutions that can help the different stakeholders better manage these risks."

The expert also shared his experience in Togo with a regional project. He explained that national measures, such as banning the export of certain agricultural commodities after a climate shock, can destabilize entire regional sectors. "This is something we've learned: we need to have a regional approach, always holistic and integrated in the analysis of agricultural risks. And that's extremely important to strengthen regional integration," he said.

The academic dimension of this roundtable was led by Dr. Ablaye Ngom, a lecturer and researcher at ISAE-UCAD. "ISAE-UCAD aims to establish a certificate in agricultural risk management. It's a short-term, much more flexible certificate that will train professionals who are operational in the field. And this is perfectly aligned with the Senegal 2025 vision, which aims for a prosperous, resilient, and inclusive society," he announced.

Continuing, he detailed the planned modules, which include agricultural insurance and access to finance, while emphasizing the need to co-construct the programs with farmers' organizations and professional centers. "In our existing programs, which are the university diploma in agriculture, the bachelor's degree in ecological and organic agriculture, and even the master's degree in agricultural consultancy which will start next year, all these programs were co-constructed with partners from the socio-economic sector," he said.

On the financial institutions side, Assane Faye, director of COOPEC-RESOPP, explained how his network of 37 rural cooperatives is already integrating this logic. "In our records, COOPEC has necessarily integrated the need to strengthen the skills of these producers, these farmers. So, this will be an opportunity to allow these targets to identify risk factors, to be able to evaluate them, study them, and also to see to what extent we can, with them, develop strategies for mitigating or managing these risks in general," he informed.

He described the innovations being implemented, including insurance based on satellite indices to cover rainfall-related risks. The institution is also seeking to remove the financial barriers that hinder young people's access to credit. On this subject, he stated that: "Our first priority will be to put in place mechanisms that remove these barriers and obstacles to enable these young people to access the solutions we offer."

To answer the question of guarantees, he presented a mechanism implemented by the institution: "We can cite Mentoring. It's a principle that allows young people who don't have sufficient guarantees to offer us a person who has experience and is willing to support them technically, a local support. And this support is valued in terms of guarantee."

Speaking to Seneweb, Dr. Jean-Claude Bidogeza recalled that agricultural risk management is based on three levels. "There are household risks, which occur frequently but cause little damage, and which can be managed through agronomic practices. There are risks that occur rarely but cause considerable damage, which can be managed by insurers. And finally, there are risks that neither households nor insurers can manage, which require government intervention through adaptation policies," he said.

Regarding Senegal, the expert gave his opinion on the adaptation policies already in place: "You have an agricultural insurance institution. You have an agricultural bank. These are government instruments that help to adapt. Here in Senegal, we were fortunate; there was an interministerial committee for agricultural risk management that was created by the government. It just needs support so that it can continue its meetings."