Women leaders from women's farmers' organizations from eight West African countries and 14 umbrella associations, gathered in Ziguinchor, to promote agroecology. These farmers' organizations from Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Senegal are calling on the authorities of their countries of origin and the authorities of Africa in general to support and assist in the promotion of agroecology to achieve food sovereignty.

 

According to the president of the pan-African movement We Are the Solution, if these authorities want food sovereignty as they claim, there must be a genuine and real promotion of agroecology. "Food sovereignty cannot be achieved without the promotion of agroecological practices," according to Mariama Sonko.

A practice based on the peasant know-how that African ancestors developed and which has brought them a lot of well-being, especially health and a healthy lifestyle. The head of the Association of Young Farmers of Casamance affirms that with this cultural and agricultural practice, the autonomy of African countries has a better chance of seeing the light of day and will allow the valorization of traditional African values. "The promotion of agroecology will allow us to move towards financial and seed autonomy, as well as environmental autonomy," declared Mariama Sonko.

The fourth gathering of these women's peasant organizations this year focuses on "agroecological horticultural cultivation techniques," explained the president of We Are the Solution. She explains that the choice of this theme is guided by the fact that they have noticed a cacophony in cultivation techniques. "People do not master the cultivation techniques that can allow us to preserve our ecosystem and make our production profitable," said Ms. Sonko.

 

For Tabara Ndiaye, coordinator of the Regional Agroecology Funds at the Global Agroecology Fund, a strong movement is needed to encourage the promotion of agroecology and build the capacity of stakeholders. "We cannot have a strong network, a strong movement, if the members are not strengthened, if the capacities of the members are not strengthened," she said. This starts at the grassroots, having producers at the grassroots level to achieve this agroecological movement, argued Tabara Ndiaye.