TOGO – Togo seeks to raise US$8.4M (5 billion FCFA) to stimulate the production of fonio, the fifth most consumed cereal in the country, to 10,000 tonnes by 2028.

In Togo, cereals are the main consumed foods. Although corn is the main food crop followed by sorghum, millet, and rice, fonio, a tiny golden grain believed to be Africa’s oldest cultivated cereal is gaining importance in recent years.

According to the Directorate of Agricultural Statistics, Information, and Documentation (DSID), fonio’s production for the 2022-2023 agricultural campaign amounts to 4,471 tonnes at the national level, for an area of 5,200 hectares.

In a bid to meet the increasing demand, Togo First reports that the Togolese state has laid down a strategic plan to spearhead the country’s mission of boosting fonio production within five years.

“The overall goal is to double current production to reach at least 10,000 tons of quality paddy fonio, to meet both local and external demand by 2028,” indicates the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development,

According to the ministry, strategic axes at put in place including improving production capacities (Axis 1), support for processing (Axis 2), marketing (Axis 3), support for the organization and governance of the sector (Strategic Axis 4); and finally, coordination and monitoring-evaluation (strategic axis).

Togo to hit 500,000 tonnes of soybean annually by 2028

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of Fonio’s strategic plans, Togo has laid down a strategic plan, setting a new objective to boost the soybean annual target of 500,000 tonnes by 2028.

The long-term objective is to strengthen the country’s position as the leading exporter of organic soybeans to Europe.

According to the executives, for five years, this plan will emphasize key areas such as the development of local processing, the promotion of the export of organic soybeans, and the strengthening of human resources.

“We must reach an annual production of 500,000 tonnes by 2028. This will allow us to guarantee a maximum stock for local processing and to export the rest” explained Komlan Kadzakade, president of the interprofessional committee of the soybean sector.

Kadzakade highlighted that the focus on local processing and value addition aims to enable the country to leverage its competitive advantage in organic soybean production. 

In addition, he intimated that the move will not only contribute to increasing the incomes of farmers and actors in the sector but also to strengthening the country’s competitiveness in international markets.

The soybean sector in Togo has approximately 30,000 producers, 200 traders, and exporters, as well as around a hundred companies. Kadzakade, therefore, revealed that these new objectives are defined in the context of challenges and transformation in the sector, in particular with the development of transformation poles on the Adetikopé Industrial Platform.

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