Binta Ba is helping to lead a quiet green revolution in the fields of Mboro, where she lives. In this coastal region of Niayes, close to Senegal’s capital Dakar, she is training her fellow growers in agroecology, an integrated approach applying ecological and social concepts to sustainable agriculture, which turns a lot of conventional farming wisdom on its head.
The initiative is part of a long-term process supported by FAO and several governmental and non-governmental partners to promote reforms to the land tenure structures, traditionally based on customary law, that have dominated this West African nation.
As the implementation of the global Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) have filtered down to local level in this region, they have also catalysed a raft of interlinked moves for change. The project promotes a joint approach of land tenure security and land development. Its key points are not just agroecology, but also work on broader sustainable agricultural development and mitigating soil degradation.
Now in her fifties, Binta worked for many years as a merchant before using her savings to buy some land and turning to her passion for gardening to launch a new career. She started off using traditional methods to cultivate her fields, but the results were disappointing.
“Doing things in the conventional way, we thought we could save money, get our produce out quicker and take advantage of competitive prices. But when you take into account the amount of water and labour you need, the gradual loss of biodiversity around the fields and the rapid degradation of soils, you realize that intensive agriculture often costs more than the return on investment,” she says.
The dramatic change came after she was offered the chance to be one of 16 producers selected for a pilot using agroecological practices in the Niayes area. With the support of FAO and local nongovernment organization, Environment Development Action for the Natural Protection of Lands, or ENDA Pronat, Binta received seeds, irrigation equipment and fertilized trees. She was trained in practices such as composting and bokashi, a process for making food waste ferment using special bacterial inputs. Instead of using chemical fertilizer on her fields, these practices both helped to preserve biodiversity and prevent the soil from being overworked. They have also reduced the need for intensive labour on the crops, freeing up more time for Binta to pursue other activities.
Binta has already planted two hectares of land with organic potatoes and has built up a seed reserve for next season. She has already been contacted by other producers in her commune and beyond, wanting to be trained and to join the project to reduce the use of chemicals and increase the value of their lands. She has thus become a trainer of farmers spreading knowledge of agroecological practices in the Niayes area.