Farmtok: Senegalese agro-influencers find likes can turn into sales

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00:00This is how this young farmer has boosted the sale of his mangoes.

00:06Mam Abou Diop is filming a TikTok video, hoping it will be a hit with his followers on social

00:12media.

00:13He's part of a new wave of agricultural entrepreneurs in West Africa who are using online platforms

00:19to sell but also to share their knowledge and make their mark in the key economic sector.

00:25Thanks to the videos I make, I've doubled or even tripled the number of customers I

00:31have.

00:33So for me, social media is something more.

00:36It's a very good marketing tool because at the beginning I used a marketing company but

00:41it didn't have any impact.

00:47Senegal's new government has prioritized attaining food sovereignty with the aim of creating

00:52more jobs in a country plagued by youth unemployment.

00:56Agriculture has been an underperforming sector and the country still imports around 70% of

01:01its food.

01:03For the young farmers, digital platforms offer new opportunities.

01:07Nogai Sen, who describes herself as an agri-influencer, manages fields for dozen clients, helping

01:13with land development.

01:15She shares videos offering tips on how to grow and harvest crops, install irrigation

01:20systems and manage farming projects.

01:23She found the majority of her clients through Instagram, where she now has over 3,000 followers.

01:30In general, the customers I work with I find on social networks.

01:34They contact me directly on Instagram, so I give them my number and then I visit their

01:38fields and now I help them with production.

01:42This innovation is still in its infancy but is quite fertile ground, with a growing population

01:47of social media users on the continent.

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