Since its birth in 2011, the Pan-African movement Nous sommes la solution (NSS) has never failed to meet its deadlines. The dates of October 15 (International Rural Women's Day) and October 16 (World Food Day) have been ticked off NSS's calendar. So, she didn't miss a beat on the 2024 dates, to ring in the mobilization that the rural women of The Gambia magnified. And they were not alone. The commemoration is often an international date for the movement. Arriving with their solutions, the women invited by Catalunya Gambia Foundation (CGF) came from Casamance, Ngaye Mékhé and other parts of Senegal. But also from Guinea Bissau, to magnify the roles they play in food. The theme was "The right to food for a better life and future". In front of them, local authorities representing the Gambian government.

The joint celebration of JIFR and JM allows NSS members to have, each year, a strong communion of actors, in order to be able to plead their causes well. Catalunya Gambia Foundation (CGF), the Fédération Paysanne de Guinée Bissau (Kafo), the Association des Jeunes Agriculteurs de la Casamance (AJAC) and the Union des Groupements de Producteurs de Mékhé (UGPM) were all mobilized this year. Gathered in Sérékunda Tallinding South, they sounded the annual reunion, following those of Ngaye Mékhé (Senegal, 2023) where rural women had celebrated to demonstrate that it is they who guarantee their community's food security, improve resistance to climate change and strengthen local economies.

For Ms Mariama Sonko, President of NSS, the changes awaited by the rural world are possible with women, "because peasant knowledge and know-how enable us to recover our food heritage and our food security, while preserving the environment". She is convinced that food sovereignty will only come from Africans themselves, who have a duty to "feed Africa through adapted peasant production systems that take into account the health of the African population and their living environment". His regrets stem from the fact that, despite pleas, governments have yet to break with policies that reduce dependency on agricultural inputs. It's also a dependence that holds consumers and citizens hostage to imported products, particularly those based on chemicals and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), most of which lead to the appearance of "new diseases".

With each edition, these women demonstrate that it is they who, beyond gender inequalities based on discriminatory laws and social norms, combined with a rapidly changing economic, technological and environmental landscape, find themselves prevented from realizing their full potential. Their status as rural women means that they lag far behind men and their urban peers. Nevertheless, the agriculture that motivates them remains the leading employment sector for women in developing countries and in rural areas. Yet the sector is largely informal, with little or no social protection.

For this year 2024, the WFD theme, proposed by Fao and celebrated on October 16, saw reflections on the subject by rural women from the We Are the Solution movement. Above all, they were an opportunity to show how hunger and malnutrition are exacerbated by prolonged crises resulting from a combination of conflict, extreme weather events and economic shocks. Agri-food systems as a whole are thus vulnerable to disasters and crises, particularly the effects of climate change. Worse still, they generate pollution, degrade soil, water and air, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.

By transforming agri-food systems, reminds Mamadou Danfakha, NSS program manager at Fahamu, "it is possible to mitigate climate change and support peaceful, resilient and inclusive livelihoods for all". He notes, "Unhealthy diets are the main cause of all forms of malnutrition (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity), which exist today in most countries, across all socio-economic classes." Yet today, notes the NSS coordinator, "too many people suffer from hunger and cannot afford healthy diets. The most vulnerable are often forced to fall back on staple or cheaper foods that may be unhealthy, while others suffer from the unavailability of fresh or varied foods, lack the information needed to choose a healthy diet, or simply opt for convenience."

During the two-day event in Serekunda, the women reflected on diversity, nutrition, affordability, accessibility and food security "for the good of all". The aim of these days was "to inform and sensitize participants and local authorities on the contribution of rural women to community development". Panels were organized on the theme of "the right to healthy food for a better life and future for local communities", and culinary competitions followed by tastings of dishes made from local produce. This, in addition to cultural events focusing on rural women and themes relating to JIFR and JMA. To cap off the Sérékunda event, there was an exhibition and sale of local processing products, as well as an exhibition and tasting of local products and dishes.

The Gambian authorities were strongly represented at these two days of mobilization and advocacy. These included Mr Mamadou Sabally, Presidential Adviser, Dr Saikou Sanyang, Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Papia Sanyang of the Directorate of Urban Agriculture, Mr Kebba Touray, Chairman of the Agricultural Commission of the Kanifing Municipal Council, and Mr Kinteh, Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Women's Affairs.