AGRECOL - AFRIQUE

(1) GENERAL PRESENTATION

Address:

Quartier Aiglon

BP 347, 10ème RIAOM près du service des Transports Routiers à Thiès

Thiés

Tel: +221 951 42 06, Fax: +221 951 53

Contact person: Dramé née Aminata Thiam

Email: agrecol@sentoo.sn

Homepage: www.agrecol-afrique.org

Background:

Various parts of Senegal are exposed to infertile soils. Degraded soils are mainly a result of erosion and the long cultivation of monocultures under the colonial period. Today, people regularly suffer from food shortages, especially in pre-harvest seasons. Also, as soils are heavily degraded, people and especially women have to work much more on the fields in order to obtain enough crop yields to feed their families. In light of this, the Senegalese NGO AGRECOL AFRIQUE dedicates their efforts towards promoting organic agricultural methods as well as fair-trade marketing strategies all of which are mainly focused on women.

The association AGRECOL was founded in 1983 in Germany with its aim to produce, systematize and disseminate information related to organic agriculture for the South. In the 1990s it became imperative to open a regional mission office as project partnerships and specific interventions had grown tremendously. This is when AGRECOL expanded to set up two further branches, one in Africa and one in the Andean region. In 2002, ARECOL Afrique was set up as a Senegalese NGO.

Mission :

AGRECOL AFRIQUE is an organization founded to promote the vision and practice of organic agriculture through formation, communication and marketing.

Sectors of Intervention :

AGRECOL AFRIQUE's efforts are based the compilation, systematization and dissemination about organic agriculture and marketing

(2) PROJECTS

The main project activities revolve around:

Capacity-building in organic agriculture and faire-trade marketing

For individual project information please visit www.agrecol-afrique.org

(3) COOPERATION WITH HILFSWERK AUSTRIA

AGRECOL Afrique has been working in close cooperation with Hilfswerk Austria since 2004, when Hilfswerk Austria initiated a project based on technical soil management and organic agriculture. Parallel to these activities, an organizational development process has been initiated with the project team as well as various local partner organizations. AGRECOl AFRIQUE and Hilfswerk Austria currently support, advice and cooperate with 1000 producers in the Thiès region (municipalities of Notto and Tassette) in sustainable soil protection and agricultural methods.