The income multiplier:

Vegetable Business Networks turn coordination into profit in West Africa

For many years, vegetable producers in West Africa faced the same challenges: accessing good-quality seeds, adopting more effective farming techniques, producing more with limited resources, and above all, finding reliable markets for their harvests. These obstacles slowed their progress, kept many families in precarious conditions, and limited opportunities to sustainably improve their livelihoods.

It was in this context that the SafeVeg project chose to act, with a clear ambition: to transform the lives of vegetable producers in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

Rather than providing temporary solutions, SafeVeg focused on sustainable changes that could strengthen producers’ autonomy and offer them better economic prospects. One of the project’s most significant actions was the establishment of Vegetable Business Networks (VBNs; in French: Réseaux d’Entreprises Maraîchères – REM). 

The project established 220 VBNs: 70 in Benin, 75 in Burkina Faso, and 75 in Mali. Through these VBNs, producers cultivated and commercialized key vegetables adapted to local market demand and agroecological conditions. In Benin, the main vegetables produced included pepper, okra, amaranth, eggplant, and tomato, while producers in Burkina Faso and Mali mainly focused on lettuce, pepper, cabbage, onion, and tomato. 

These VBNs created genuine linkages between producers, input suppliers, buyers, and technical support services. In other words, vegetable producers no longer worked alone, but within an organized network where participants could better access seeds, advice, financing, and commercial opportunities.

This change profoundly transformed the way they worked. The establishment of these VBNs improved stakeholder organization and generated results that were quickly visible. In just one year, farm incomes increased on average by 11.2% in Benin, 21.5% in Burkina Faso, and up to 43% in Mali.

However, the impact was not limited to income. Improvements were observed in beneficiaries’ knowledge of business plan development, as well as progress in access to credit, contract arrangements, and adoption of good agricultural practices. The effectiveness of this approach was striking: every dollar invested in establishing and supporting the VBNs generated approximately USD 40 in additional income for producers over a five-year period.

The second major SafeVeg intervention focused on access to quality seeds, a major challenge for many vegetable producers. Through the distribution of vegetable seed kits developed by the World Vegetable Center, the project enabled producers to discover and adopt improved varieties that were more productive and better suited to their needs.

In total, the project distributed more than 4,300 seed kits in Benin, 5,600 in Mali, and 4,000 in Burkina Faso, benefiting more than 14,000 producers across the region. When this distribution was accompanied by training in good agricultural practices and strengthened linkages with local seed companies, the results became even more visible. In Mali, for example, within approximately one year, this intervention increased vegetable crop diversity by 26.4%, adoption of good agricultural practices by 7.1%, the total value of vegetable production by 18%, and net farm income by 37.2%.

Ultimately, SafeVeg did not only support vegetable production: the project helped transform producers’ livelihoods and enabled them to turn their production into a more profitable business. As a result, many producers moved from subsistence agriculture to farming systems that were more profitable, better organized, and more resilient. Beyond the figures, it is above all more stable families, stronger farms, and rural communities better prepared for the future that today demonstrate the project’s real impact.

Story by Ogoudele Simon Codjo, WorldVeg.