Impact story

In less than ten years, Tembédou et Fils, a Senegalese seed company, has gone from sales of 200 million FCFA (400,000 USD) to 2 billion FCFA (4 million USD) thanks to the support of CORAF. Tembédou et Fils was founded in 2006 by Aladji Tembédou. Thanks to CORAF's support in 2012, the company has moved from the purchase and resale of seeds to the production and multiplication of certified seeds. In addition to processing and exporting seeds to customers in West Africa, Tembédou et Fils also supplies fertilizers to farmers. Production and marketing of peanut, maize, sorghum, millet and rice seeds are at the heart of the Kaolack seed company. Kaolack is located some 200 kilometers from the Senegalese capital, Dakar. CORAF supported Tembédou et Fils through the West Africa Seed Program (WASP), a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). "CORAF trained us in seed legislation and good agricultural practices. Before the arrival of CORAF, we didn't have a good knowledge of cultivation techniques for seed multiplication", explains Mr. Djibril Diop, Director of Tembédou et Fils. "At the time, it wasn't easy to get access to certified seeds. Thanks to CORAF, we were able to access improved and certified seeds from the Institut sénégalais de recherche agricole." As part of WASP, the seed companies also received advice on how to draw up a business plan. By helping Tembédou et Fils to draw up a business plan, CORAF established a roadmap that has enabled the company to significantly expand its activities. "If we're at this level today It's thanks to the business plan we put in place with CORAF's support. The plan enabled us to obtain loans from banks." "Previously, banks and microfinance institutions were reluctant to offer us loans and credit." In 2018, Tembédou et Fils produced over 1,000 tons of peanut seed, 1,200 tons of corn and around 800 tons of millet. It farms over 1,200 hectares of land for seed production through contracts with local producers. The company employs five permanent staff, 18 non-permanent staff and 60 temporary staff. "Today, we earn much more than in the past thanks to the relatively larger market share we have," says Mr. Diop. The company recently embarked on a transformation process to diversify its activities. "We buy peanuts from other producers to process, shell, sort and export. We also have a small artisanal mill that can produce 30 to 40 tons of oil a day, which is not insignificant," said Mr. Diop. At present, Tembédou et Fils does not export its seeds outside Senegal. They intend to take advantage of harmonized regional seed regulations to export seeds to other West African countries in the near future.