Senegal

SENEGAL - Wula Nafaa Senegal

Snapshot of Success Women's Coop in Rural Senegal Sees Fonio Profits Soar Wula Nafaa with the Senegalese Ministry of Environment has targeted the fonio market chain, and has been working with Koba Club to help achieve these two goals. Wula Nafaa helps Koba Club obtain fonio processing machines and remodel its workshops in order to increase processing efficiency and improve hygiene and quality of the product. In addition, Wula Nafaa has worked to stimulate national demand of fonio through a series of product demonstrations in various hospitals and the university in Dakar, as well as developing informal partnerships with various agro-industrial enterprises involved in marketing fonio.

Click here to view more in PDF

Senegal is the westernmost country on the African continent. Home to 12.5 million people (July '07 est.), the population continues to grow at a rate of 2.6% annually. The country's GDP is valued at $8.6 billion and is growing at an annual rate of 4.9% ('06 est.). In purchasing power parity, the per capita income is estimated at $1,800. An estimated 54% of the populations lives below the poverty line ('01 est.) and an estimated 40% of the population is literate. The country's main agricultural crops are peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, and green vegetables. Cattle, poultry, pigs and fish are also raised. Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa.

Current Project
Senegal Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Program - Wula Nafaa Sénégal (January 2003-January 2008)

Funding
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Partners
CLUSA is a sub-contractor to International Resources Group (IRG). Other project partners include Winrock International, USGS, private sector and local non-governmental organizations.

Project Goal
Contribute to poverty reduction and local sustainable development, while increasing revenues for rural producers and communities based on the empowerment of communities and local authorities in the promotion of decentralized, integrated, and participatory management of natural resources.

Clusa Objectives
CLUSA is advancing the sustainable, profitable and decentralized use and management of the agricultural and natural resource base in the Tambacounda, Kolda and Zinguinchor regions.

CLUSA's specific objectives are to:
(1) Strengthen local community capacity to assume responsibility for natural resource management (NRM) and thereby increase their access to and control of natural areas and profits derived from them;
(2) Test the application of policies and laws that enable communities to accrue these benefits.

Strategies
The project has four major components community benefits; community NRM rights and responsibilities; policy; and monitoring, evaluating, reporting, analysis (MERA). CLUSA is primarily responsible for the community benefits and rights and responsibility capacity building components.

CLUSA is fully engaged in bringing significant economic growth and other tangible benefits to local communities and to national accounts thereby increasing the importance of wealth as an incentive to sound natural resource management. Focusing on ten priority value chains (4 natural resource based products and 6 non-traditional agricultural products), CLUSA provides technical assistance to rural enterprises and group businesses in several key areas including: facilitating market access for these products, strengthening rural enterprises and producer group business capacity, and facilitating access to credit.

CLUSA is also helping communities understand and exercise their rights and responsibilities for managing local natural resources through the development of nationally mandated management plans and community recognized local conventions. CLUSA has facilitated the establishment of local committees to assist in the co-management of classified forests and collectively owned local forest areas. At the same time, CLUSA supports the process through training on forest monitoring techniques, understanding of local and national forest codes, and conflict resolution.

Impact (as of September 2006)

• Wula Nafaa's community benefits component has led to positive changes in the way natural resources are managed. Through September 2006, the program has seen an increase in revenues of over $665,339 since its inception.
• Communities report major injections of cash into the local economy from sale of non-traditional forest products.
The project has benefited low income segments of the population, namely women, youth and the elderly.
• Long-term relationships developed with several exporters including Setexpharm for laalo mbepp (gum) and Baobab Fruit Company for products derived from the baobab plant using low impact harvest techniques. Over $1.085 million worth of these products have been exported.
• As a result of the project, communities have established their own local NRM codes that include penalties and surveillance which have widespread community support (a significant departure from past practices).
• The strong anecdotal evidence of use of new harvesting practices and reduction in bush fires.
• Villagers report improved productivity, forest regeneration and return of some fauna and insects.