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News 3 mins Read 28 Jan 2021

Empowerment through dairy value chain in Senegal – Kossam

  • EDFI AgriFI commits to invest the equivalent in West African CFA Franc (XOF) of EUR 600,000 to support Kossam, a subsidiary of La Laiterie du Berger in charge of milk collection in Northern Senegal.
  • EDFI AgriFI investment will enable Kossam to strengthen its milk supply chain by increasing the number of herders who are delivering milk and provide them with training, capacity building and access to services and  animal feed.

EDFI AgriFI (AgriFI), the Agriculture Financing Initiative funded by the EU will invest the equivalent in XOF (CFA-Franc) of EUR 600,000 in La Laiterie du Berger (LDB), a Senegalese dairy producer based in Richard Toll (Northern Senegal). EDFI AgriFI investment will support Kossam, a subsidiary of LDB in charge of the collection of milk from semi-nomadic livestock herders living along the Senegal river. The milk is then processed into dairy products (thiakry – a sweet millet couscous mixed with yoghurt – fresh milk and cream) at LDB’s factory in Richard Toll.

Kossam was created in 2019 as a subsidiary of LDB, who is also shareholder of this enterprise together with the cooperative regrouping the herders supplying milk. Kossam’s mission is to establish a milk value chain in Northern Senegal. The investment plan to be set up will be financed by a grant received by the Master Card Foundation and a loan from AgriFI. Kossam does not just buy milk from herders; it also provides them with capacity building and training to increase production and allows them to benefit from different services such as access to veterinary and animal feed.

Our role is to support the professionalization and the empowerment of our herders including women and of their Coop (local governance). This will lead to a strong and sustainable development of the dairy value chain and the territory.” expressed Bagoré Bathily, CEO of La Laiterie du Berger.

In addition to fostering the participation of farmers in setting up a milk value chain, the project also contributes to food security, rural development and local economic growth in the Sahelian region. Indeed, LDB employs more than 300 people and is the second biggest private employer in Richard Toll. It also ensures a steady revenue to around 1,000 herders and should increase this number between 2,500 and 4,000 by 2025.

“AgriFI’s investment should enable Kossam to increase the number of herders supplying milk and to improve their production but, more importantly, our project has the objective to empower farmers by participating in the governance of Kossam. This project also shows the catalytic effect of AgriFI’s investments in local currencies to develop local value chains” explained Dimitry Van Raemdonck, AgriFI Manager at EDFI Management Company.

Ms. Irène Mingasson, EU Ambassador in Senegal added: “This investment is a concrete implementation of the European Union’s External Investment Plan, which reflects our desire to mobilize private sector investment, particularly in Africa, to support a virtuous dynamic in favour of growth and creation of sustainable jobs. Supporting the dairy sector in Senegal in this way means participating in the country’s objective of moving towards food self-sufficiency by developing a strong national private sector. This funding will also strengthen the resilience of pastoralist communities and preserve their secular way of life, enabling them to live and succeed from the resources of their land. The European Union is therefore proud to contribute to this project. ”

More about the investment La Laiterie du Berger: https://edfimc.eu/project/la-laiterie-du-berger-kossam/

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 About La Laiterie du Berger

La Laiterie du Berger is a Senegalese family social business, created in 2006. Its mission is to collect fresh milk from local herders, to offer its consumers dairy products made from local milk, better known under the Dolima brand.

LDB is committed to building a stronger dairy sector with more productive livestock, and supplying the local market with healthy and accessible food while focusing on job creation and social impact.

About EDFI AgriFI:

EDFI AgriFI, the EU Agriculture Financing Initiative, is an impact investment facility funded by the European Union, with a mandate to unlock, accelerate and leverage sustainable investments in medium, small and micro agri-enterprises (MSME) that operate in developing countries, with a specific focus on smallholder’s inclusiveness. AgriFI is managed by EDFI Management Companyon behalf of the 15 European Development Finance Institutions (DFI).