This is La Guilde's site dedicated to solidarity projects. Make a donation to The Guild

Log in

Women's Economic Resilience through Market Gardening in Louanga, Togo

  • 2024 Winner

Dapaong Young Women's Association (AJFD)

Context

In northern Togo, the Sudanese climate severely limits the water supply for household consumption and agriculture, and the soils silt up the lowlands, destroying crops and homes. Because of these conditions, seasonal migration of men is significant, leaving women and children behind in the villages. In the predominantly agricultural Savanes region, the poverty rate exceeds 60%.

It is in this context that the AJFD association intervenes, in partnership with the Togolese association APDIF.

The women of Louanga, with the support of the authorities of the Tône 4 commune, approached them during International Women's Day in March 2022 to improve their income. Market gardening, practiced during the dry season, was identified as a promising activity, but it relies on seasonal wells that often collapse during the rainy season, forcing the women to rebuild them every year. A lack of suitable tools and limited knowledge of market gardening techniques were also noted.

  • In partnership with: Association for the Promotion of the Integral Development of Women - TOGO (APDIF)

Project objectives

To contribute to the reduction of women's poverty and the improvement of food and nutritional security for populations in a sustainable way

– Facilitate beneficiaries' access to a permanent water source for market gardening production within their area of activity

– To enable proper water management, site management, site security, and proper maintenance and upkeep of structures and equipment

– To enable beneficiaries to access inputs and small agricultural equipment for vegetable production

– To strengthen the beneficiaries' capacities in sustainable production and marketing techniques for vegetable crops in order to increase their income

Activities

  • Construction and equipping of a borehole with a solar pump, on the market gardening site
  • Construction of water tanks on the site, accompanied by irrigation materials and equipment.
  • Site development: clearing, stump removal, leveling and grading of the plot, dividing and allocating plots among the farmers
  • Purchase and supply of small equipment and market gardening kits
  • Training in sustainable agricultural techniques for vegetable production
  • A management committee has been established, which receives training on the management and maintenance of the facilities and equipment.
  • Training in financial education and administrative management of a cooperative
  • Construction of a storage facility and a drying area for market garden produce
  • Support for the registration and official recognition of the market gardening cooperative bringing together women

Direct beneficiaries

42 people, including 38 women and 4 men, engaged in market gardening activities in the village of Louanga, and who are part of the cooperative created as part of the project

Social networks

Website

Through its Microprojects division, the La Guilde association, in partnership with the French Development Agency, supports the implementation of microprojects in the service of sustainable development internationally.