Just over a decade ago, it seemed to Abdoulaye Wade that life was too precarious. Education was becoming a goal beyond his reach, and opportunities in his native village in Bonconto, Senegal were too limited. So he decided to try his luck at migrating to Europe. It was to be the beginning of a journey that didn’t turn out as he hoped.

Lacking cash for an attempt to make it to Europe in one go, he first worked in a restaurant in the eastern Senegalese town of Tambacounda for three years, saving up enough to embark on an epic journey through Mali, Benin, Nigeria, Chad and finally Libya. From there, he made several fruitless attempts to reach Europe by boat, but each time ended up facing harsh conditions in prison. In 2020, eight years after having left, he decided to return to Senegal.

Back in his home country, things started to change for Abdoulaye. He got married and started his own cattle fattening and market gardening business.

His return came just as FAO started a new project in Bonconto to help returning migrants reintegrate socio-economically. The project supports returnees and rural youth in communities prone to migration in starting their own agribusinesses by giving them training in farming and entrepreneurial skills and facilitating access to markets and finance.

As part of the initiative, FAO has helped returnees and prospective migrants form a single large association, advocated for their concerns to be addressed in local development plans and selected 120 young people for training and agribusiness incubation. With the support of a facilitator trained by FAO, Abdoulaye is currently working on the administrative formalities that will help him strengthen his business.

“I clearly have made a good start with my project. I am ready to work seriously so that, in the near future, I can employ young people in my project and convince them to stay in Senegal and succeed here,” says Abdoulaye.