Senegal: the FAR project for women’s resilience to climate change

As climate change is increasingly felt on the African continent, a consortium of Canadian organizations decides to launch the “Resilient Women and Agriculture” (FAR) project in Senegal. The joint venture is made up of the Canadian Center for International Studies and Cooperation (Cela), the Development Cooperation Corporation (Socodevi) and the Ouranos organization, specializing in the development of climate change adaptation projects.

The FAR project was launched in Tambacounda, one of Senegal’s 14 administrative regions. The initiative will identify and implement the necessary adaptation measures, thus enabling 4,000 farmers (60% of whom are women) to increase their income and their resilience to the effects of climate change. Among the 4,000 farmers, 3,000 will be trained in innovative production practices adapted to climate change.

A project funded to the tune of 12.4 million euros

At least 400 people will also be trained in local governance for the territorial management of water. The implementation of the project will require an investment of 12.4 million euros, the equivalent of 8.13 billion CFA francs.

The FAR project thus joins other initiatives developed in this West African country to strengthen the resilience of farmers to climate change. In November 2020, the Senegalese government launched the second phase of the Climate Change and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (CCGIZC) project. The project, which will be implemented over four years, concerns the Petite Côte, the Saloum Delta and Casamance. It provides for the planting of trees to combat coastal erosion and dikes to prevent rising waters. To protect the anchorage areas during bad weather, breakwaters will also be built on risky coastlines.