To continue the strategy of implementing the "SustainSahel" project activities, dissemination days were organised from 06 to 16 May 2024 in the 39 beneficiary villages of the Niakhar in Senegal, in collaboration with the Work Packages 2, 3 and 8. The main objective was to enable the relay producers in each village to invite their neighbouring producers to a discussion in the form of a "tea-debate" to pass on the knowledge acquired about mulching technology during the last few years of the project period (2022-2023) and to share feedback, following the approach shown in Photo 1B. A total of 1,348 farmers attended, 69% of which were male and 31% female.
The presentations were facilitated by the use of posters designed within Work Package 8. Used as a visual communication medium, they describe all the stages involved in implementing the technology, its many advantages, its role in soil fertility, protection and restoration, and its contribution to improving potential yields and agricultural production.
Discussions revolved around the adoption of the technology during the coming agricultural season with the use of Guiera senegalensis and millet residues as mulch. It was also an opportunity for the producers to show their commitment, involvement and role in implementing the technology in their village.
The wide-ranging discussions provided positive feedback on the technologies. According to some producers who have tested them in demonstration plots or individual plots. They make it possible to :
- contribute to soil fertility,
- increase yields,
- increase biomass production,
- rapidly increase crop development,
- reduce weeds in the area spread, and
- retain soil moisture for longer.
These exchanges helped to strengthen social ties and encourage collaboration and the involvement of the relays in the project process. They also motivated 169 producers to volunteer to test the technology during the agricultural season.
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