Bignona department · July 2024

Mapping of agroecological initiatives

Thirty-eight initiatives surveyed across thirteen communes: who leads them, on which links of the value chain, with what motivations, what impacts and what obstacles.

The Bignona department in Casamance rests on farming, fishing and livestock. Under climate and socio-economic pressure, agroecological initiatives are emerging there; identifying who acts, where and how is the purpose of this diagnostic.

This diagnostic, carried out in February 2024 by an ARTS team (IPAR, ENDA PRONAT, UNIB), rests on qualitative semi-structured interviews, focus groups and direct observations with initiative leaders. An agroecological initiative is defined collectively with the DyTAEL Bignona as "any activity of training, production, processing, marketing, transport, consumption, waste valorisation, governance or local knowledge valorisation that promotes sustainable agriculture, local consumption and the agroecological transition".

Thirty-eight initiatives were identified: Women's Promotion Groups (GPF), Economic Interest Groups (GIE), training schools, individual initiatives, associations, cooperatives. The resulting map cross-cuts territorial distribution, gender, value chains, SWOT, land tenure, practices and food habits.

Main writing: Anta Faye and Sidy Tounkara (IPAR). Contributor: Lise Hélène Landrin (UNIB).

Download the full report (PDF, 69 p.) ↓

Initiatives surveyed

Communes studied

71%

Men-led

29%

Women-led

3.49 ha

Average area

Cultivated area: 104.65 ha total · from 0.25 ha to 9 ha · plus two large forest zones (93 and 220 ha).

Territorial distribution

Thirteen communes, uneven dynamics

Thionck Essyl alone accounts for nearly a third of all surveyed initiatives, driven by strong community mobilisation and a network of 13 technical and 6 financial partners. At the other end of the spectrum, Kafountine, Koubalan, Sindian and Djibidione are under-supported.

01 Thionck Essyl

11
02 Kataba 1

4
03 Diouloulou

4
04 Tenghory

4
05 Ouonck

3
06 Oulampane

2
07 Kafountine

2
08 Bignona

2
09 Diégoune

1
10 Sindian

1
11 Djibidione

1
12 Koubalan

1
13 Niamone

1

Total: 37 initiatives

Thionck Essyl · 11 initiatives

Varied market gardening, fish farming, beekeeping, medicinal plants.

Kataba 1 · 4 initiatives

Market gardening, livestock (pigs, poultry), processing of forest fruits (madd, ditakh).

Diouloulou · 4 initiatives

Citrus processing (orange, mandarin, grapefruit), mango, millet, maize.

Tenghory · 4 initiatives

Market gardening and fruit production, processing capacity.

Ouonck · 3 initiatives

Fruit and forest crops (mango, cashew, madd, ditakh), livestock.

Oulampane · 2 initiatives

Market crops: hibiscus, tomato, bitter eggplant.

Value chain

Which links are invested in?

Marketing and production dominate. Processing and training remain under-invested, although they determine where added value is created and skills are built.

92%

Marketing

Most widely invested in: large markets, on-farm sales, address books, cooperatives, local shops.

79%

Production

Market gardening (26 initiatives), rice, cereals, pulses, fruit trees (16), seed production.

45%

Training

Crucial for building local skills and autonomy - but the least represented link.

37%

Processing

Juices, jams, beeswax soaps, composite flours, local couscous. An advanced way to capture added value.

Triggering factors

Five families of motivations

The triggers are many and interconnected: economic autonomy, response to the Casamance crisis, putting training into practice, ecosystem protection, family solidarity.

Food and economic autonomy

Diversifying incomes, vegetable access, livestock/gardening integration, response to youth unemployment (notably via the COSPE Certitude Jeune project for repatriated migrants).

Socio-political motivations

Response to the Casamance crisis (since 1982): initiatives like the AJAC Kalounaye GIE union restoring peace through community talks and small village gardens.

Training received

Putting into practice what was learned at the technical agricultural school and UASZ. Response to local problems (e.g. post-harvest losses of mango and madd).

Environment and natural resources

Mangrove reforestation, fight against marine desertification, sustainable land management, sustainable oyster harvesting.

Family and community development

Family support, fight against rural exodus and emigration; widows farming plots left by their husbands; families settling youth through land development.

Impacts

What the initiatives change

Four dimensions stand out: food, incomes, communities, environment. The testimonies link these levels together.

On household food

· Improved nutritional quality through household market gardening.
· More diverse diets: new vegetables accessible without traveling to Bignona town.
· Lower rice intake during the mango season: children turn to fresh fruit.

On household incomes

· Diversification: moving from single crops (groundnut, rice) to combinations with nursery and gardening.
· Easier day-to-day management: CFA 1,500 to 2,000 generated regularly through the nursery (testimony ID11).
· Greater saving capacity for cultural and religious events; reinvestment in new orchards.
· Contribution to family expenses: school fees, healthcare, clothing.

On communities

· Easier access to healthy products: gardening, processed goods, fresh fish.
· Stronger community ties within and across villages.
· Resource security and fair sharing of benefits among producers, women, youth and the council.
· Hands-on training and youth employment.
· Pull effect: successes draw back those who had left for Dakar and inspire other villages.
· Conflict reduction and social regulation: resource sharing, inclusion, cooperation, better living conditions.
· Regional recognition: products sold in neighbouring regions strengthen local pride.

On the environment

· Sustainable mangrove ecosystem management through reforestation.
· Sustainable forest management through community conventions and awareness.
· Soil restoration through compost from farm waste.
· Reduced reliance on industrial foods and better wastewater management.

Practices

What happens in the field

Composting, mulching, biopesticides, zaï pits, agroforestry: agroecological practices are applied unevenly across initiatives.

01 Composting - the most common fertilisation practice.
02 Mulching and straw vegetation cover.
03 Preventive biopesticides and organic amendments.
04 Zaï planting pits for water and fertility conservation.
05 Drip irrigation (still limited).
06 Bio-charcoal production from fruit waste.
07 Mangrove reforestation in degraded coastal areas.
08 Sustainable oyster harvesting.
09 Agroforestry: combining gardening, fruit nurseries and livestock.

SWOT analysis

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

A strategic tool to assess the resilience of the local agroecological fabric and to design fit-for-context strategies.

Strengths

· Diversified income sources.
· Available family labour.
· Substantial arable land area.
· Effective preventive biopesticides and organic amendments.
· Ability to seek funding.
· Mastery of agricultural and technical knowledge.
· Community engagement and solidarity.

Weaknesses

· Limited financial means, difficulty accessing credit.
· Lack of training and technical support.
· Soil salinisation, bush fires.
· Roaming livestock, cattle theft, herder/farmer conflicts.
· Difficult access to large markets; no cold storage.
· No modern irrigation, fencing, or logistics.
· No policy to add value to local agricultural products.

Opportunities

· Growing number of agroecology projects in the area.
· Cashew availability for processing.
· Presence of processing GIEs (cooperatives).
· Soil fertility in the South.
· Technical schools, Bignona institute, University of Ziguinchor for training.
· Demand for technical and financial support outstrips supply.
· Growing awareness of agroecology's importance.

Threats

· Land conflicts between villagers and between producers and herders.
· Women's lack of land access.
· Soil salinisation and rainfall scarcity.
· Profit-driven private investors.
· Biodiversity loss, disappearance of local varieties.
· Excessive logging.
· Regional insecurity, lack of basic infrastructure.

Gender and land

The blind spot of the initiatives

Under-representation of women, patriarchal norms of land access, collective workaround strategies: a central issue in the diagnostic.

01
Of the 38 initiatives surveyed, only 11 are led by women (29%). More than half of these women (7) receive neither financial nor technical support.
02
82.86% of land is acquired by free means (inheritance, gifts, family intermediation). Buying land remains rare (17.14%), with a slight predominance of women - a sign of the economic and cultural constraints they face.
03
Testimony ID16: "The deliberation is made out to the landowner, usually a man. My father left us a lot of land but it cannot belong to me - it belongs to my younger brother, who can decide to lend me a plot, but it will never be in my name."
04
Women's Promotion Groups (GPF) are emerging as an effective workaround: collective municipal land allocations, stronger bargaining power, advocacy for land reform.

Food habits

Rice, and the seasons

The signature dishes - Kaldou, Etodjé, Fiteuf, Boulabé, Pépéssou, Pembem - all share rice as their common base. They are dressed with local vegetables (tomato, onion, hibiscus, pepper), palm oil, groundnut, lemon and fish, depending on the season. During the rainy season, when women market gardeners switch to rice and cashew harvest, vegetable shortages drive imports from the Niayes region.

Recommendations

Six levers for what follows

Drawn from the diagnostic, these recommendations guide public policy and the action of technical and financial partners.

01
Target support towards processing and training - the least represented links - to capture more value and ease change.
02
Balance the spread of technical and financial partners across communes: Kafountine, Koubalan, Sindian and Djibidione are critically under-supported compared with Thionck Essyl or Diouloulou.
03
Roll out Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM): rainwater harvesting, water point rehabilitation, community management.
04
Specifically support women initiative-leaders with financial and technical assistance, and advocate for inclusive land reform.
05
Strengthen community conventions for forest resource management (madd, ditakh, palm oil, baobab fruit) and extend management committees to communes without them.
06
Promote inclusive, transparent financial management: unilateral methods (28.5%) and the absence of a treasury (3.6%) should give way to self-managed funds.

Conclusion

A fabric of initiatives still to consolidate

The agroecological initiatives of the Bignona department face significant challenges and opportunities alike. The diversity of practices reflects a strong community commitment. But more work is needed to harmonise practices and natural-resource management strategies across the 13 communes. Strengthening rests on the harmonious integration of agroecological practices, efficient natural-resource management, and the consolidation of local initiatives backed by enabling public policy.

Team

Survey and writing

Main authors

Anta Faye (IPAR)
Sidy Tounkara (IPAR)

Contributor

Lise Hélène Landrin (UNIB)

Field team

Sidy Tounkara (IPAR)
Anta Faye (IPAR)
Younoussa Guèye (ENDA PRONAT)
Selbé Faye (ENDA PRONAT)
Papa Ousmane Diallo (ENDA PRONAT)
Joan Bastide (UNIB)
Patrick Bottazzi (UNIB)

To cite this document: ARTS CONSORTIUM, 2024, Diagnostic of Sustainable Food Systems in the Bignona Department. Mapping of agroecological initiatives, July 2024.

From mapping to action

These 38 initiatives feed the online atlas of agroecological initiatives. They also underpinned the artistic residency and DyTAEL advocacy in July 2025, and the Bignona 2045 territorial foresight.

Explore the initiatives map → Bignona artistic residency