Most subsistence farmers in Senegal rely on rain-fed agriculture to feed their families, but with only one rainy season per year, climate change is dramatically impacting the reliability of Senegal’s growing season.
DIG’s program is based in Ziguinchor, the capital of the Casamance region in the south. In this peri-urban area, most of our participants are farming for the first time, many defying the odds of cultivating healthy gardens in sandy soil and salt water flats.
DIG’s first seeds as an organization were planted in Senegal from 2006-2008. New partnerships took us to East and Central Africa where we spent a decade refining our model. In 2019 DIG returned to Senegal through a collaboration with Rise Against Hunger, the University of Washington-Senegal Research Collaboration, and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Fann.
In our return, our goal has been to deliver DIG’s nutrition-sensitive agriculture program to young mothers, people living with HIV, undernourished children, and other uniquely vulnerable groups in the Casamance region. Here, we have been rolling-out our program through the public healthcare infrastructure.
DIG has developed demonstration and teaching gardens at health clinics and direct to community groups all of which focus on three objectives; improving nutritional wellbeing, economic opportunity, and food security.
“My home garden connects me with my community. My house became a local market and people come there to purchase vegetables. It makes me well known. Some neighbors don’t have money to purchase the vegetable and I sometimes give them free for their household. This act strengthens our social relationship. I also trained some women in gardening and the community has experienced an increased interest in gardening.”
~ Dianke Camara, DIG Farmer
Salam Sawadogo joined DIG in 2013 as a Project Lead in his home country, Burkina Faso. He holds a Masters Degree in Agronomy, Project Management, Environmental Management, and Sustainable Development. Salam is one of only a few West Africans who have received a Master Trainer Certificate from the Farmer Field Schools (FAO). Salam brings over 16 years of experience in supporting community food systems and working with farmers. He has led several programs including Regional Coordinator for the FAO, leading their Agro-pastoral and Climate Change Adaption Field School Program, Regional natural resource Manager for an USAID program, consulting as a post-harvest specialist for AGRA program, and leading a Multisectoral team for Action Against Hunger. In his free time, Salam enjoys spending time with his wife and his two children.
Growing up just north of Ziguinchor, Seckou’s family are rice, bean and peanut farmers. After finishing school, he worked in Dakar but longed to return to the Casamance and returned to Ziguinchor with his wife and daughter. Since he is not formally trained in agriculture, he appreciates all of the training DIG offers to the community, both formal and on the job.
Anais is a native of the city of Ziguinchor and has been working with health clinics gardens in the city since 2006. She enjoys working with the women and young people as part of her work as a facilitator with DIG and is respected for her knowledge and passion for vegetable garden. She is a mother of two girls.
Born and raised in the Casamance, Félix has a love of gardening and has been working in the community garden north of Ziguinchor in the town of Tabi where he was first introduced to DIG. In addition to his work as a trainer with DIG, he manages a half hectare garden of his own growing a wide variety of vegetables for sale and personal consumption.
A native of Ziguinchor, Souleymane is fluent in Diola, Wolof, and Mandinka which allows him to communicate with a great variety of community members. He was trained in sustainable agricultural techniques in 2019 before joining DIG in 2020.
Cherif is from Ziguinchor but has been working in the north of Senegal where he was in the Senegalese Army. After that he worked for five years at the Grand Domaine du Senegal, a large fruit and vegetable producer, where he was in charge of the composting operation. After recently moving to Ziguinchor, he joined DIG. He is married with 3 young boys.
Sadio is passionate about agriculture. He has studied agricultural management, agricultural business and economics, and animal and plant production through the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research. He did an internship in poultry farming, market gardening, and argroforestry at a regional teaching farm. Sadio also has a degree in Political Science and International Relations and like to put his IT skills to use.
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Sensorial Handicap Cooporation
APRAN-SDP (Association pour la Promotion Rurale de l'arrondissement de Nyassia- Solidarité-Developpement-Paix)
Ministry of Agriculture/Ziguinchor Région
AJDK: Association des jeunes pour le Développement de Kande
