For food sovereignty in Senegal, farmers demand a genuine consideration of their concerns and an evaluation of the programs and projects launched by the state in this sector.
At Saly (Mbour), on April 7 and 8, the National Council for Rural Consultation and Cooperation (CNCR), alongside IPAR, outlined the main lines of the strategy that should support the state’s drive for food sovereignty. On this occasion, peasant leaders and technicians from the fishing, livestock, and agriculture sectors made proposals to the state.
The proposals from the actors of agriculture:
- Evaluation of PNAR, PASAD, PRACAS projects;
- Water control, good land management, (facilitation, access to land), appropriate agricultural equipment;
- Introduction of agriculture and crop chains in areas or regions according to their abilities to adapt to the soil;
- Seed production by approved individuals who have experience;
- Providing farmers with data collection tools to produce statistics that correlate with the reality on the ground; Solutions recommended by livestock breeders:
- Solar pastoral wells to improve forage culture;
- Facilitating access for livestock farmers to financing and investment programs;
- Better involvement of actors in agroforestry and pastoral sector policies;
- Proposal of rational and feasible programs;
- Large-scale introduction of improved breeds in livestock;
- Strict application of laws against livestock theft; Actions proposed by the fishermen:
- Involvement of fishermen before any decisions affecting their sector;
- Ensuring compliance with standards for the protection of maritime resources;
- Banning the use of prohibited fishing nets, as they are contrary to good practices;
- Reviewing policy or investments on fish meal production;
These formulated positions will be shared at the decentralized level by the actors who participated in this national workshop (…) on the formulation of the Food Sovereignty strategy. This phase is also part of the roadmap proposed by the CNCR at the end of these meetings. Among other things, it calls for broad consultations on the food sovereignty strategy. With awareness campaigns and knowledge production to facilitate advocacy and the carrying of this struggle dear to the CNCR, to the peasants of Senegal, and to civil society actors, general framework.
Aliou Sambou BODIAN
UPA.DI National Volunteer at CNCR