A frail but dynamic figure busies herself around a cooking pot.
Satou plunges a large ladle into the stock. Then, repeating a centuries-old gesture, she carefully serves out a portion of rice onto a plate of tiep, the emblematic Senegalese dish made from seasoned fish and vegetables.
"My tiep is delicious, even more so because it was made with local rice that I grew myself. Tiep is much better with our local rice," says the mother of four with a satisfied smile.
Satou lives in Ndiaye Kounda, a village in the north-west of Senegal. She chairs the village's association of female rice growers. When her husband lost his job and fell ill five years ago, Satou had to take sole charge of the family. Growing and selling local rice helped her cover her household expenses - a huge relief.
Her journey to peace of mind was assisted by government policy.
As part of its rice self-sufficiency strategy, to ensure food security for local populations and combat poverty, Senegal has implemented the Food Security Support Project in the Louga, Matam, and Kaffrine Regions (PASA/LOUMAKAF).
The Senegalese authorities have benefited from the support of partners, including the African Development Bank and the Global Agriculture & Food Security Program (GAFSP).
Launched in 2014, the project has received $40 million from the GAFSP and $2.8 million in the form of a loan from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional loans window. In terms of agricultural infrastructure, the project has developed 2,500 hectares of rice fields, built five collection centers, and created around 40 farms on 390 hectares of irrigated land with 32 boreholes, along with 60 hectares of vegetable fields, as well as constructing 26 operational buildings.
In Ndiaye Kounda, implementing the project has led to better water management with the construction of a dam, capacity-building on rice-planting techniques and the provision of agricultural supplies and equipment.
Since it began, rice production from the association led by Satou has increased from 800 kilos to 3.2 tonnes per hectare. It is a real Godsend for the women, who can not only feed people who live in the village but also send some of their harvests to various markets in Senegal.
"Thanks to the local rice we are growing, I attended the International Agriculture Show in Dakar for the first time in my life! I'm really proud of that! Now, I can pay for my children to go to school, and I've even developed other income-generating activities thanks to the money I've earned from selling rice," explains Satou.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a partner of the African Development Bank Group, women living in rural areas represent almost 70 percent of the Senegalese workforce and provide 80 percent of the national food supply. Women like Satou are an essential pillar of the country's food supply.
About the GAFSP: The Global Agriculture & Food Security Program (GAFSP) was created in response to the global crisis in food prices in 2008-2009, following the commitment by the G8, meeting in Pittsburgh in September 2009, to mobilize up to USD 20 billion for agricultural development and food security. The aim of the GAFSP's Financial Intermediary Fund (grants) is to address the underfunding of national and regional strategic investment plans for agriculture and food security already developed by countries, thus contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to end poverty and hunger by 2030. The Bank currently has six active projects valued at USD 74.52 million at various stages of implementation (Central African Republic, Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Tanzania, and Senegal). Eight projects are currently being prepared, particularly for additional funding (Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Liberia, Senegal and Tanzania) for a total of USD 94.35 million. Projects were recently approved in Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau and should begin in the near future.
