Federation of NGOs of Senegal (FONGS)
A project to help the local population: The Federation of Senegalese NGOs (FONGS) plays various complementary roles. In order to compensate the absence of state’s assistance, it supports directly the economic activities of its members. In order to assure farmers a higher in come, it operates on three levels – production, manufacturing and marketing. When the state withdrew from the peanut sector by privatizing it, FONGS organized harvests and sale at remunerative prices for its members, while the majority of peanut producers were not paid by other operators.
Moreover, FONGS strives to represent the millions of farmers and make their voice heard in national and international political institutions. FONGS advocates in favour of family farming considering it should be taken into account in any development policy. Thanks to their efforts throughout the years this idea has been adopted in various official documents in the World Bank and also at the national level. Providing information and training for the farmers’ leaders is another FONGS’s priority. It is a crucial point because that way farmers become aware that they are part of a larger context and that they should participate in the decision-making process instead of merely accepting its results.
Actions which give results: Farmers organizations and family farming are now taken into account in Senegalese legislation, namely in the national law on agricultural policy.
As a result of public campaigns, the official peanut price has been fixed at a level profitable for producers.
Finally, FONGS created a decentralized financial system owned by farmers which allows them to finance their activities. As a result, several manufacturing units, mainly for dairy products, were constructed.
