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Degradation of the Niayes region: Farmers' organizations point to the effects of climate change and urbanization

Auteur: Cheikh CAMARA, Correspondant à Thiès

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Dégradation de la zone des Niayes : Les Organisations paysannes pointent du doigt l'effet du changement climatique et de l'urbanisation

“We call on all stakeholders to save the Niayes. The time has come to mobilize massively for the preservation of the Niayes.” This cry of distress comes from peasant leaders, women, and youth from peasant organizations and agricultural producers operating in the Niayes area, who are meeting in Thiès for two days for a zonal consultation workshop with grassroots stakeholders as part of the process of developing a peasant strategy for agroecology and organic agriculture.

A meeting under the theme: "For a resilience of the Niayes in the face of the climate emergency: The voice of producers", on the occasion of which the farmers' organizations of the Niayes zone note an alarming evolution of the climate in Senegal marked by: "the profound disruption of crop cycles and the unpredictability of rainfall"; "the marked rise in temperatures which directly impacts the health of livestock and the productivity of crops" and "the scarcity of productive water resources, essential to our life systems".

“This observation shows that climate change is no longer a threat, but an imposed reality,” emphasizes Ibrahima Seck, coordinator of Fenab (National Federation for Organic Agriculture). According to him, the natural heritage constituted by the diversity of strategic natural resources in the Niayes region, including human resources (producers, traders), natural resources (water, horticulture, land), and financial resources (income, decentralized financial systems), is subject to critical hazards such as rising temperatures, wind erosion, flooding, marine pollution, decreased rainfall, bushfires, and land pressure.

Mr. Seck and his colleagues note, after analyzing our resources, "a critical fragility of our production systems: "water stress is increasing with the lowering of the water table and pollution, making access to water increasingly expensive and uncertain for market gardening", "erosion, rampant salinization and the loss of organic fertility are permanently compromising yields", "dependence on imported chemical inputs weakens the resilience of family farms to climate shocks" and "pressure on natural resources fuels conflicts over use".

They consider the Niayes region not just an agricultural area, but a central pillar of the Senegalese economy: it provides approximately 60% of the national horticultural production. The Niayes contribute significantly to the agricultural GDP and provide income for thousands of family farms. They are also convinced that grassroots agroecological production systems are capable of ensuring and maintaining local food security and sovereignty, ecosystem services for rural well-being, and biodiversity conservation.

Farmers' organizations welcome the Senegalese government's commitment to including sustainable agricultural development in its National Development Strategy (SND 2025-2029), particularly in its third strategic axis (Sustainable Planning and Development). They assert that an agroecological transition is the most effective solution for overcoming the environmental challenges facing the agricultural, forestry, livestock, and fisheries sectors. This agroecological transition can and must address the socioeconomic needs of family farms.

Considering the growing climate challenges and the urgent need to move forward on a national agroecological transition strategy, farmers' organizations commit to: "strengthening our contribution to the transformation of family farms towards sustainable, diversified and sustainable production in quantity and quality"; "guaranteeing social mobilization in monitoring the resources of the Niayes"; "ensuring a citizen contribution to the development of the Niayes with an emphasis on youth and women's employment".

The degradation of the Niayes region due to climate change and urbanization directly threatens the country's economic growth and social stability. Therefore, farmers' organizations are calling on the State to: officially declare the Niayes as an area exclusively dedicated to agriculture and horticulture, and to include this provision in land-use planning policies; and to secure land tenure with strict protection to prevent its development from destroying the last natural defenses against climate change.

Also to: regulate the exploitation of its resources, particularly mineral resources; allocate a specific market gardening quota on water; develop a policy for the preservation of micro-ecosystems within the area; consider the context of climate change as an opportunity to capture funds to stimulate the economy by making them accessible.

To the CNCR and other organizations: to monitor and follow the national process of developing the national agroecology transition strategy for better participation of farmers' organizations; to take into account the specificity of the Niayes area in the orientations of the farmers' strategy; to support and strengthen the capacities of farmers' organizations in accessing green climate funds and other dedicated funds; to develop a roadmap on an influence strategy to guarantee the integration of farmers' proposals into the national strategy.

Auteur: Cheikh CAMARA, Correspondant à Thiès
Publié le: Vendredi 02 Janvier 2026

Commentaires (7)

  • image
    changement climatique il y a 4 heures
    nos "spécialistes" viennent d'inventer l'eau chaude , malgré que l'eau chaude au robinet est une denrée rare dans nos bleds arriérés. Braves agriculteurs et paysans, il suffirait que vos lamentations arrivent aux oreilles de ceux qui vous négligent, vous vendent des intrants, semences pourris. que les maires ne détournent pas l'argent des semences.
  • image
    le grand bêtisier .... il y a 4 heures
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  • image
    Ousmanefall il y a 4 heures
    J ai ete tres ravi a la vue de ce reportage qui vient en son heure.En effet presque toutes les terres jadis utilisees en agriculture ont disparues dans la zone de Rufisque.Des lors lintensification des poches ou domaines agroecologiques s impose dans le departement de Rufisque et la zone des Niayes ou on assiste a un debut de boulimie fonciere.Ces journee de Thied viennent ont des lors une importance pour la relance de nos activites pouvant aller meme jusqu a la creation d un parti ecologique qui regroupera toutes ces associations qui ont du reste un objectif commun.
  • image
    GR il y a 3 heures
    Encore une fois et pas des moindres, nous alertons sur le fait que les agricultures de la zone des niayes réclament aux DGID de Thiés , de Dakar et de Louga des initiatives administratives concretes, platformes digitales et autres moyens pour permettre l'obtention d'un bail ou titre foncier.
  • image
    K il y a 2 heures
    L’Etat doit interdire le bétonnage de cette zone , si on y prends pas garde les lobby vont racheter les champs à vils prix pour en faire des terrains à construire et bientôt nos légumes viendront du Maroc ou ailleurs
  • image
    Dionne il y a 2 heures
    Il existe il me semble une loi votée sous l ancien régime pour protéger la zone des niayes. Merci de vérifier. Le cas échéant, travailler à vulgariser ladite loi et décourager le bétonnage de la zone des niayes dont nous gratifier notre divin créateur.
    Le Ministère de l Agriculture et tous les acteurs du secteur agricole doivent porter ce combat dans le cadre de la quête de notre souveraineté alimentaire, mais aussi , et surtout pour la sécurité alimentaire du Sénégal sans oublier notre devoir de penser à la préservation des intérêts de nos chers enfants futures générations.
  • image
    Ellis il y a 1 heure
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    and would like to know where u got this from. thank youhttps://go2delphi.com/?URL=https://my-pet-extra.store/

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