AfDB E-Wallet scheme targets three million farmers in Togo

In line with its agriculture transformation agenda for the continent, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is launching a digital payment project in Togo.

AGRIPME (Agri Porte Monnaie Electronique) will provide subsidies to farmers through electronic wallets provided by mobile network operators MOOV and TOGOCEL.

These operators will bear the cost of buying SIM cards; prefund a communication campaign; and establish call centres for customer support for AGRIPME as part of their corporate social responsibility.

More than 75, 000 farmers out of the 150, 000 small-scale farmers in the country have already been identified and registered for the programme.

Three million farmers who represent 70 per cent of the total population are targeted.

AfDB is working with the Ministries of Agriculture and Digital Economy in Togo in the project that will avail a $1.3 million subsidy for the farmers to buy inputs.

The Togolese Government is aiming to establish a secure database of small-scale farmers; and to digitize input acquisition and selection of input suppliers for the distribution of fertilizers.

Togo is one of the lowest users of farm inputs globally. Prior to the ongoing reforms in the country’s agricultural sector, it is approximated that only six kilograms of fertilizers per acre were used against the recommended 50 kilograms for good agricultural performance.

It is expected that this innovation will result in more than half of Togo’s population being recognized in the financial system, making them more attractive to financial institutions and improving their overall well-being.

AfDB supports a similar successful project in Liberia.