The village of Ndiayene Bagana in the Kaffrine region of Senegal is home to about 300 people. Lamine Segnane is in his first year as a Village Entrepreneur (VE) in Ndiayene Bagana. Prior to his role with myAgro, he held a salaried position in Dakar as a herder. He learned about this opportunity with myAgro and realized that he could make more money as a VE. He quickly outsourced his job in Dakar to a cousin and moved back to his village to take on the role of Village Entrepreneur.
One of the first things he did as a VE was visit one of the few farmers who were already planting with myAgro. Though myAgro had been in the village since 2014, only a handful of farmers had ever finished purchasing packages. He spoke with myAgro farmers and took photos of them and their harvests. When he started speaking with new farmers, he pointed to these early happy customers as proof of success. “I would say: ‘If you don’t believe me, ask this farmer. They will tell you about myAgro,’” said Lamine.
From there, he developed several strategies to increase farmer payment, such as grouping enrolled farmers and assigning them to a particular day of the week so he could easily communicate with them on their designated day. For example, farmers in the Monday group knew that they would hear from Lamine every Monday. This created consistency, so farmers knew when to expect to make a payment. He also started a WhatsApp group for all of his farmers. Farmers would often announce their payments in the WhatsApp group, which in turn encouraged others to make payments as well.
With these smart strategies, Lamine was able to enroll about 180 farmers and get 125 of them to complete paying for their packages. About half of those who purchased packages from Lamine are women. This is significant because often women have less access to agricultural land, financing tools, and high-quality inputs including fertilizer. By ensuring that he includes women farmers, Lamine is making a positive difference in his village.
Lamine is supported by Bineta Ba, a field coordinator who previously worked as a VE herself. In her several years with myAgro, Bineta has grown with the organization, consistently hitting her sales goals. She derives great satisfaction from helping her community and was drawn to myAgro because of the organization’s mission.
This past season, government seeds and fertilizer, which many farmers rely upon, never showed up. Without myAgro, many farmers would not have been able to afford seeds and fertilize; purchasing seeds and fertilizer on the open market would mean paying a large sum of money all at once, as opposed to myAgro’s little-by-little payment method.
One of the farmers from Ndiayene Bagana who has planted with myAgro, Fana Cissé, is part of a women’s saving circle. With her increased income, she was able to buy a goat and fund some home improvements. She was so pleased with myAgro that she encouraged other women in her savings circle to join myAgro, and so far 27 of them have enrolled. She is also expanding from planting a half hectare this year to two hectares next year, quadrupling the amount of land she will plant with myAgro.
Another myAgro farmer in Ndiayene Bagana is the Village Chief, Alioune Loum. He is integral to myAgro’s operation in the village and has planted several of his own peanut fields with myAgro. He encourages farmers to attend myAgro’s agricultural training and is a champion for the organization.
These are a few of the people who have found success with myAgro and we look forward to learning from Ndiayene Bagana as more farmers see an increase in their harvests and income with myAgro.
