The Senegalese authorities have introduced a new concept of selling fresh products at low prices as part of the country's plan to boost availability and encourage young people to return to agriculture, according to Xinhua News.
The initiators of this plan, known as Plan REVA, have successfully organised a first weekly market in Dakar to make fresh produce more accessible to the population.
Over two days, around 100 producers came to sell their products, including onions, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, melons and watermelons, at 30-40 per cent below market prices.
More than 90 per cent of the fruits and vegetables offered to consumers came from the seven farms set up across the country as part of Plan REVA.
From 2011, the authorities hope to set up some 100 such farms, with more monthly markets planned, before eventually being made weekly.
The markets are believed to be an effective way of solving the problem of supply, helping farmers to produce 12 months a year and providing jobs for young people.
