PADFA was launched in December 2011 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Agriculture and Development, and the Director of IFAD’s West and Central Africa Division. The project adopts a value chain approach to strengthen the link between agricultural production and demand for food, and between producers and consumers. Accordingly the project emphasizes production and commercialization, and processing capacity. This holistic approach will promote the improvement and diversification of products available on the market to meet consumer demand.

Building synergies between PADFA and the other projects under way in the area will be vital, in particular with the Rural Microfinance Development Support Project, which deals with setting up microcredit services that respond to the needs of producers, and the Roots and Tubers Market-Driven Development Programme which is fostering a market information system for food crops.

A second phase of this project has been financed PADFA II.