Agroecology on stage

Problems identified

• · Soil degradation: salinisation, coastal erosion, depletion from chemical inputs and climate change.
• · Land access threatened by agribusiness, urbanisation, political/marabout malpractice, and cultural barriers (women, youth, ethnic groups).
• · Lack of financial means: agribusiness captures funding and contracts, better organised and legally equipped.
• · Severely insufficient access to productive bases (water, organic seeds, natural fertilisers).
• · Weak training and support: poorly distributed equipment, technical aid disconnected from a holistic agroecological vision.
• · Cattle theft, lack of pasture, sub-prefects and chiefs absent from the field, illegal slaughter for want of infrastructure.

Priority actions

• 01 Exchanges between CRAFS and DyTAEL/DyTAES to bridge legal and farming knowledge.
• 02 Co-building equipment needs with farming communities themselves, rather than top-down project logic.
• 03 Measured modernisation (water access, reduced drudgery) without dependence on patented green tech.
• 04 Slaughter chain oversight (trucks, restaurants) with a sanitary label and sanctions.
• 05 Effective enforcement of existing laws to protect small producers and herders.

Problems identified

• · Land grabbing and insecurity: private projects without consultation or fair compensation; sense of injustice among youth and women.
• · Failing deliberation procedures: opaque allocations driven by political and economic interests.
• · Limited knowledge of land rights, for lack of accessible information, legal aid and mediation.
• · Use conflicts and unclear boundaries between agricultural, forest, pastoral and urban zones.
• · Accelerated degradation of forests, water and soils under unchecked exploitation.
• · Land governance dominated by older male figures: women, youth and marginalised groups excluded.

Priority actions

• 01 Participatory land reform, integrating women, youth and customary authorities in decision-making.
• 02 Equip local councils with land planning tools (GIS, land-use plans, participatory databases).
• 03 Targeted reforestation (filaos, coconut palms, mangroves) on degraded coastal areas.
• 04 Active fight against marine sand extraction and promotion of alternative building materials.
• 05 Legal recognition of customary rights and support to women-led land initiatives.
• 06 Community awareness campaigns on land rights and advocacy to national authorities and funders.

Problems identified

• · Limited availability of agroecological products: no horticultural tradition comparable to the Niayes; fertile land captured by agribusiness for export.
• · Isolation and lack of processing and distribution infrastructure, heavy post-harvest losses.
• · Marketing difficulties and price swings: export surpluses dumped on local markets.
• · No marketing strategy or territorial valorisation; the "Bio Sénégal" label inaccessible and seen as top-down.
• · Weak consumer awareness; untapped potential among urban middle classes and expats.
• · Lack of training in growing techniques, planning, administration; limited access to organic inputs.
• · Invisibilisation of alternative markets and limited access to national markets.

Priority actions

• 01 Awareness campaigns on the value of agroecological products; fairs, storytelling, territorial marketing.
• 02 Alternative distribution networks and support for Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS).
• 03 Cooperative storage hubs (participatory cold rooms), processing cooperatives for youth and women.
• 04 Training for value-chain actors; online mapping of initiatives (e.g. ARTS atlas).
• 05 Advocacy to authorities and funders to back labels and structure value chains.

Problems identified

• · Overfishing by industrial vessels, sometimes foreign, near the coast, with insufficient oversight.
• · Coastal pollution: plastics, untreated wastewater, domestic and industrial discharge - a health threat to communities and women processors.
• · Biodiversity loss: vanishing mangroves, seagrass, reefs; worsened by sand extraction and uncontrolled urbanisation.
• · Precarious working conditions: aging gear, insufficient infrastructure (docks, sheds, water, electricity), near-zero safety at sea.
• · Fragmented groupings of fishers and processors, dependence on outside support, limited political weight.
• · Encroachment on landing beaches and drying areas by urbanisation, tourism and real-estate projects without consultation.

Priority actions

• 01 Advocacy paper for equitable marine resource governance; broader participation of small actors in decisions.
• 02 Awareness and capacity-building on good fishing practices; sanctions for illegal nets.
• 03 Regulation of fishmeal plants and promotion of plant-based alternatives for farmed fish feed.
• 04 Regulatory framework for the use of marine spaces; reinforced surveillance of protected and spawning areas.
• 05 Consultation framework between fishers and oil/gas operators; strict environmental standards.
• 06 Capacity-building for fish farmers and easier access to quality gear through subsidies.

Problems identified

• · Tourism policies seen as ill-suited, overly centralised; administrative burden discouraging local initiatives.
• · Pressure on environment and resources: climate change, poor waste management, limited water access.
• · Weak link between local producers and tourism businesses; local products poorly valorised.
• · Uneven sharing of economic benefits to the advantage of outside actors or unstructured informal sector.
• · Marginalised ecotourism: inland biodiversity-rich areas under-used, weak integration of local communities.
• · Underused natural and cultural heritage, growing homogenisation of the tourism offer.

Priority actions

• 01 Short circuits between agroecological producers and tourism businesses; quality labels for organic, artisanal and fair-trade products.
• 02 Tourism markets, festivals, culinary experiences and artisan shops to showcase local products.
• 03 Support for ecological stays (ecolodges, rural guesthouses), domestic and homestay tourism.
• 04 Waste management: awareness, sorting, recycling; reforestation (mangroves); protection of sensitive sites.
• 05 Decentralised tourism management; communities involved in designing offerings.
• 06 National Tourism Forum, awareness work with the ASPT, lighter procedures for ecotourism projects; exchanges with Costa Rica, Rwanda.