In the Casamance region, considered to be the breadbasket of Senegal, a strong voice is being raised in defense of women farmers: that of Mariama Sonko. She is the embodiment of resistance to industrial agriculture and a tireless campaigner for the rights of rural women.

Fille de paysans, Mariama a grandi au contact de la terre. Très jeune, elle commence à cultiver des légumes dans son village de Niaguis, où elle vit avec son mari. Rapidement, elle prend conscience des injustices subies par les femmes agricoles. Bien qu’elles soient les gardiennes des semences locales et qu’elles travaillent les terres, elles n’en ont aucun droit. C’est cette injustice qui l’a poussée à se battre pour leur reconnaissance et à préserver les secrets des semences traditionnelles.

In 2011, she co-founded the We are the solution (NSS), initially comprising 12 farmers' organizations in five African countries. Today, the network extends to eight countries (Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau) and brings together over 175,000 women through 800 organizations.

The movement was set up to counter the AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) initiative, launched in 2006 and focused on genetically modified seeds and chemical fertilizers. For Mariama Sonko, this model threatens the traditional know-how and livelihoods of thousands of women.

"This model destroys the seeds that women farmers have saved and protected for generations. This heritage is crumbling in the face of GMOs, and it's an injustice we can't accept", she explains. In this way, NSS has given women the courage to defend their way of life and their fundamental role: "They are the ones who feed families and carry the well-being of their communities."

Through NSS, Mariama campaigns for women's right to own land, and for the promotion of agroecology as a pillar of food autonomy. The aim," she says, "is to enable these women, who have put their knowledge at the service of humanity, to pass it on to future generations."

Seeds are their greatest treasure. "Industrial seeds may seem profitable in the short term, but they involve recurring costs. Farmers' seeds, on the other hand, not only improve yields, but are also more resistant to climate change." The movement is also investing in livestock breeding, to develop ecological methods and involve women to a greater extent.