Improving produce from market gardening

«  Having personally visited this commune in Senegal, I could gauge the efforts of a population striving to organize in all areas: economy, health, education. Their determination to surmount the difficulties to remain in the country is well worth supporting.  »

Michel Blachon

The Senegalese town of Bakel is located near the borders of Mauritania and Mali, in the Tambacounda region.
Lying on the bank of the Senegal River, in the midst of rocky outcrops, it has an extremely hot and arid climate.
In the dry season, the volume of production of fruits and vegetables is no longer sufficient for the needs of the population, who too often suffer from malnutrition.

To boost agricultural income and feed the villagers, local producers must therefore be able to irrigate their crops during the dry season and produce throughout the year.

A deeply rooted project

Lothiandé, a local GIE (Economic Interest Group), leads a project launched in early 2007 to improve this situation. It consists in drilling a dozen wells over a three-year period to provide the farmers with the water resource they lack during the long hot months. Its members are familiar with the problem because they are all Senegalese engineers, well diggers and contractors.

Thanks to the 8 000 euros granted by the Veolia foundation, four wells will be drilled. The GIE Nafe will take charge of digging three other wells.