Mariama Sonko: Defending agroecology and women's rights in West Africa

Agroecology

Jul 24 2020

Interview with Mariama Sonko: making the voice of women farmers in West Africa heard!

Mariama Sonko lives in Niaguiss, a village in southwest Senegal, Africa. She joined the movement in 1990 and has been supporting local farming knowledge and practices ever since. She has five children, and her own farm produce forms the basis of her family's diet. She is treasurer of her grassroots association AJAC Lukaal, national coordinator in Senegal and president of the international "We Are The Solution" movement. She fights for the human and socio-economic rights of women and young people.

What injustice are you most passionate about?

The emphasis on conventional agriculture, an agro-industrial policy imposed on us by multinationals, which is based on seductive theories but which in reality is fragile, dangerous and even destructive in its socio-economic and environmental impacts. This is to the detriment of family farming or agroecology, which has always supported food sovereignty in Africa.

What does your organization do?

We practice agroecology and family farming; we promote food sovereignty, farmers' seeds, biodiversity and the demand for equitable access to resources.

'We Are the Solution' grew out of a 2011 campaign for food sovereignty in Africa. In 2014, it became a rural women's movement. The movement works to promote peasant knowledge and practices, better agricultural governance by decision-makers and the valorization of African family farming production (agroecology and peasant seeds), which have always preserved food sovereignty in Africa.

The movement sought to strengthen the capacities of women leaders in the following areas:

Develop agro-ecological awareness.
Communicating the need for an agro-ecological and gender-based alternative.
Develop the institutional capacity of the organizations behind the movement.
Raise funds and mobilize resources.
Exchange agro-ecological experiences and share farmers' knowledge.
Building effective teams, developing everyday skills.
Creation of expert groups: farmers' seeds, soil, climate and nutrition.
Evaluation and follow-up of the movement.
Capacity-building for farmers' seed production systems.

How many organizations are there in your network?

Our network currently includes some 800 rural women's associations in seven West African countries (Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal).

What is your proudest achievement?

The support of the men we have brought to this rural women's movement because they understand the meaning and scope of our struggle, but also the effective management of WAS "We Are Solutions" by African rural women.

What are the major challenges facing food sovereignty in Africa?

Access to farmers' seeds (collection, creation of seed banks, multiplication, etc.).
Access to farmland (construction of dykes or dikes to reclaim land, and protection of farmland).
Rainwater management (rainwater harvesting through the creation or development of retention basins, irrigation, etc.).
Maintaining a healthy diet (awareness of the harmful effects of chemical agriculture).
The availability and accessibility of solar energy.
Transparent and inclusive governance of resources.

The dangers of industrial or conventional farming, which, in my opinion, is the main cause of the degradation of arable land, the disappearance of flora and fauna, the disappearance of many varieties of farmers' seeds, and the loss of cultural, social and environmental values.

How can activists be more effective in the fight against injustice?

They need to be well-informed, aware of the problems associated with agriculture. They must also be well structured, equipped and represented in all local, national and international meetings where agricultural or food issues are discussed.

They must be united and show solidarity, while serving as models for the implementation of good agroecological practices on our family farms and within our organizations.

How can activists be more effective in the fight against injustice?

They need to master the challenges and issues facing agriculture, and build their skills in innovative agro-ecology techniques.
They must not adopt the "every man for himself" principle, but rather develop solidarity and complementarity.
They must put their talents to work for everyone.
Young people need to understand that our health depends on the food we eat.
They need to master their environment, to identify with it, protect it and promote it.
They must have a mind open to abstract knowledge, with the intelligence of their hands and concrete creativity, linking the child to nature, to which he will always owe his survival, and awakening him to beauty and his responsibility towards life. For all this is essential to the elevation of their consciousness.

What will the success of the agroecology movement look like?

An Africa where farmers are involved in decision-making, and grow, process, consume and sell the products of African family farming, while preserving the environment for harmonious development.