Senegal - Agro-sylvo-pastoral social protection regime

Since 2003, STEP in Senegal supports the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives in Senegal (UNCAS) in the setting up of healthcare micro-insurance schemes. This partnership aims to identify the schemes of health insurance organized on the base of cooperative regional unions. A first experience started in 2003 in Mboro, the pilot zone, with the UGPM (l’Union des Groupements de producteurs Maraîchers). A second experience has also been set up in the region of Diourbel with URCAD.

These experiences show that it is hard to consider such an extension of social protection as contemplated in SNPS through the promotion of community based micro-insurance. This report is in particular at the origin of the project of the shared management platform.

At the same time, in the framework of Agro-Sylvo-Partoral Orientation Law (2003 LOASP), STEP in Senegal participated in the setting up of an agro-sylvo-pastorale social protection regime.

This project is carried out by a group of actors:

• The State through various ministries: Ministry of Public Service, Labour, Employment and Professional Organizations, Ministry of Agriculture and Hydraulics and its Direction of Analysis, Forecast and Statistics (DAPS), Ministry of Health and Medical Prevention;
• Professional agricultural organizations represented by the National Officer of Cooperation and Consultation of the rural populations (CNCR) as well as responsible officers of various country federations (FONGS, UNCAS, FENAGIE) and ASPRODEB;
• ILO through STEP-Senegal programme;
• MSA (Agricultural Social Mutual insurance system);
• CRSP association.

According to the definition held in LOASP, the target population includes all the people engaged in agrarian business such as: farmers, breeders, foresters, fishermen, rural artisans, etc. This definition is not confused with the group of people living in rural areas and integrates those people engaged in these activities in urban zones. The target population of this protection system would then represent about five million people.