ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

NDIANDA'S ECONOMY

The village economy is essentially based on agriculture, livestock breeding and small-scale trade.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is the village's primary source of income. People live mainly off their crops. Products grown include millet, groundnuts, sorghum, corn, beans, watermelons, sorrel ("Bissap") and a variety of vegetables.

Agriculture is essentially dependent on rainfall. The rainy season lasts around 3 months (July to September). There have been significant variations over the past decade. The irregularity of the rains, combined with the impoverishment of the soil, leads to a drop in harvests. As a result, Ndianda, like most villages in Senegal, has not been spared the rural exodus. In the past, young people would head for nearby towns during the dry season. Young girls are the most affected by the rural exodus. During the rainy season, most young people returned to help their parents in the fields. Today, many young people choose to move to the towns to earn an income and help their parents with the dwindling harvests. Irregular rainfall and lower harvests, combined with the high cost of living and rising living standards, have led to the development of off-season crops, including market gardening, to meet family needs.

 MARAÎCHAGE

Market gardening in the village is largely based on onions, but also on a variety of other vegetables, notably lettuces, tomatoes, chillies, eggplants, white cabbage, carrots, okra, squash, manioc, etc. The young people of Ndianda village are very active in market gardening. Young people in the village of Ndianda are very active in market gardening. However, they face a number of challenges, notably insufficient access to water and workable land, and the absence of modern watering techniques. Indeed, access to automatic watering could enable them to increase their harvests and consequently their income. It should also be noted that the sale of arable land by farmers to investors in recent years could further limit access to land for market gardening. AIDN is sensitive to the population's problems in this area and will work in the future to initiate agricultural projects for the benefit of the population.

LIVESTOCK

Livestock farming is an important part of the village economy. Livestock includes cattle, goats, pigs and poultry. Raising cows and goats, for example, can be seen as a way of saving. Not only does it enable you to keep your assets growing, it also gives you quick access to cash in an emergency. Livestock farming in the village is based on transhumance, a traditional or extensive system practiced in large areas during the rainy season. However, as elsewhere in Senegal, livestock farming in the village of Ndianda faces difficulties that slow its growth. These include rainfall uncertainties, high population growth and conflicts between herders and farmers, which limit cohabitation and grazing land. From year to year, natural resources (water and fodder) become increasingly scarce, and pastoral areas are reduced to ensure or continue the practice of livestock rearing as it is known in the village.

AIDN is considering projects to develop and facilitate livestock farming in the village. Possible avenues would be to provide breeders with improved digital breeding aids, and to set up support services for breeders (microcredit, local animal health care, access to land for modern breeding). Similarly, a very interesting line of development would be to help build a poultry farm to raise laying hens.

At the same time, the provision of infrastructure including buildings for housing cattle, goats and pigs, among others, would help to modernize livestock farming in the village. The introduction of new zootechnical techniques could improve the turnover of livestock farmers. AIDN will therefore be initiating livestock projects in consultation with the target population over the coming years.

SMALL-SCALE TRADE

To meet their daily expenses, the men and women of Ndianda resort to petty trade towards Joal-Fadiouth and the Nguéniène market. This trade involves agricultural products (millet, maize, sorghum, vegetables from seasonal crops, etc.), livestock or simply products from nature (monkey bread, baobab leaves, wood, straw, etc.). The type of products sold depends on gender. In general, women sell processed (e.g. couscous) or unprocessed (e.g. millet, groundnuts, vegetables) products, while men mainly sell wood and straw used for smoking fish in Joal. The services provided by the men with their horse-drawn carts are also an important source of income. These take the form of transporting fish from the port to the smoking ovens at Joal, or simply carrying passengers to the weekly market at Nguéniène (every Wednesday) or daily to Joal.

Some people are also interested in selling fish from the Joal fishing port. The carters or women involved in this small business (banabana) buy fish (sardinella for the most part) which they sell in the village of Ndianda or in the surrounding villages. Sometimes, the fish is preserved in ice overnight and sold fresh to customers at local markets. Thiebou dieun", our Senegalese national dish, is based on fish, rice and vegetables. It is prepared almost daily. Fish and vegetables are bought fresh at the small local market. Nevertheless, the village's small business lacks diversification, financing and wider outlets. AIDN will propose setting up an internal committee to work on drawing up a strategic document in consultation with the small traders. This document will serve as a basis for projects aimed at developing the private sector in the village of Ndianda. The association could, for example, initiate a local "Bana Bana" stock exchange system, through which selected people would benefit from training in the field of small-scale commerce.

CRAFT INDUSTRY

Ndianda has no industrial enterprises. It relies on a few construction craftsmen (mason, carpenter, etc.), as well as metal welders and carpenters, whose know-how is generally held by the "Laobés". The village craftsmen carry out most of the construction projects using local labour. Indeed, the construction of the AIDN multi-purpose hall was carried out by village craftsmen. Nevertheless, it is clear that the craft industry in the village suffers from problems linked to training, access to financial resources for the expansion of their services, their modernization, and even their opening up to the international market. In short, the local craft industry in the village needs innovations and campaigns to provide better training for artisans. Setting up a training center in the village could help artisans to develop and diversify their techniques, and give pride of place to their know-how.