The first edition opened this Friday. This initiative by the local chamber of commerce aims to find markets for farmers' products facing difficulties in selling their goods. The event is organized by the Kaolack Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIAK) in partnership with the Agri Jeunes project. The theme: "Agriculture, Employment and Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities for Young People."

It was the Deputy Prefect of Kaolack, Étienne Antoine Lopy, who opened the event, emphasizing the importance of promoting this initiative nationwide to support stakeholders in the sector and create jobs. "The Kaolack experience is presented as a model to encourage chambers of commerce to support young people, women, and farmers, with the support of the State, within the framework of the development strategy and the fight against youth unemployment," he added. For his part, Ramdan Fall, agricultural technical advisor at the Kaolack Chamber of Commerce and head of the Keur Baka incubation center, addressed expectations such as the distribution of products locally to consumers, restaurants, and market operators. "We need strategies to secure purchase contracts so that these producers can sell their produce," he argued.

Furthermore, he also addressed the issues of youth integration, equipment, and especially the market problem, noting that while production is strong, agricultural producers struggle to find the necessary partners. He added that the advent of digitalization in commercial transactions means that "agricultural producers are not present in commercial channels because they lack access to digital technology."

The goal is to leverage technical training for young entrepreneurs on digitalization so they can showcase their products directly without even having to travel. According to Mr. Fall, this initiative deserves to be sustained and institutionalized, at least so that Kaolack can host a fair every weekend. Ms. Yaye Astou Sarr, Deputy Mayor in charge of training and representative of Mayor Serigne Mboup, expressed her pride in seeing young people and women investing in the processing of agricultural products, a sector full of economic opportunities and a potential driver of self-sufficiency for Senegal. She invited the young people of Kaolack to visit the local economic development office at the town hall to benefit from training and business formalization.