The consumption of potatoes in Nigeria has doubled over the past decade. The potatoes, however, are often of poor quality and expensive. Important principles of cultivation are often not observed and a lack of storage facilities leads to high post-harvest losses.

Potatoes are perishable goods and subject to strong seasonal price fluctuations. Through the construction of 12 potato storage facilities, potato farmers are no longer subject to high price fluctuations, but can sell their harvest when prices are higher. This resulted in the increase of average income up to 50%. In cooperation with the ‘German Food Partnership’, 12 new varieties were introduced in Nigeria. In field tests, 3 of these varieties showed a good resistance against diseases as well as high harvest rates in both rain and dry season. The National Seed Council has officially registered the varieties which now can be officially cultivated in Nigeria. This has opened up new markets for the potato farmers. The potato association has also been linked with Shoprite, the supermarket chain, to enter into direct supply agreements, resulting in an increased revenue for farmers.

Together with our partner, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, SEDIN was able to train 922 National Youth Service Corpers (NYSC) in 12 states, covering all geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The corpers were all provided with training materials on financial literacy. After receiving these trainings, the corpers are able to conduct financial literacy awareness sessions and function as multipliers in the communities where they are placed for their service year. Through this, they raise the awareness for proper bookkeeping and the responsible handling of money by the target groups, which include farmers, traders, merchants and others. The creation of the Financial Inclusion Community Development Service ensures that Financial Literacy is institutionalized in the NYSC Scheme and guarantees that approximately 2000 corpers are trained on Financial Literacy every year.