Delegates of the Council of the EU witness transformation of Senegalese oyster sector at Néma Bah farm
Toubacouta, Senegal – 20 June 2024 – In the middle of the Néma Bah oyster farm, Gnima Diouf was busy with the latest adjustments. Together with her colleagues, this young lady, an oyster farmer and Secretary General of the ‘Yoni Diofor’ Economic Interest Group (EIG), was preparing for the visit of a European delegation organized by Belgium, which is presiding the Council of the European Union from January to June 2024.
“It is an honour,” said Gnima Diouf, referring to the fact that the farm in the village of Toubacouta in the Saloum River Delta in southern Senegal has been chosen to host the EU delegates on 31 May 2024. It helps to explain why the oyster farmers of Toubacouta are still smiling, although the biological rest period is approaching and all fishing activity will be prohibited.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its programme FISH4ACP, accompanied about fifty delegates from Working Parties on Development Cooperation and International Partnerships (CODEV) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) to the Néma Bah oyster farm.
This farm is one of the FISH4ACP’s pilot sites for oyster spat collection and growth in Senegal. It is operated by the "Yoni Diofor" EIG of the women of Toubacouta. Oyster farming is a traditional activity involving more than 80 percent of the young women in the village.
The oyster sector in Senegal is one of twelve value chains supported by FISH4ACP, an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Music and oyster tasting on the agenda
Music, freshly baked and grilled oysters, tea and a large table were the ingredients for success. Delegates boarded a canoe with the female oyster farmers to visit the farm. “We wanted to see what these women were working on, and, more especially, what it meant to them. We discovered how well organized they are and their entrepreneurial spirit," said Katrien Meersman, Chair of the ACP Working Party under the Belgian Presidency.
“The women of Néma Bah are a shining example of how FISH4ACP can change lives and livelihoods,” said Raschad Al-Khafaji, Director of FAO's Liaison Office in Brussels, who expressed his appreciation to the women for their hospitality.
As for the oyster farmers, they saw the benefits of the FISH4ACP activities as soon as the project began. "Before, 75 kg of fresh oyster in the shell would yield only one kg of boiled oysters. This would sell for FCFA 5 000 (USD 8). With FISH4ACP, which installed the oyster bags for us, things have changed a lot," Gnima Diouf explained.
"Every two months, we collect spat and put it into the bags,” she says. “In a single bag, we can have up to 10 dozen spat, or 120 oysters. The oysters grow better in the bags and they look nicer too. This allows us to sell them fresh on the market and get a better price."
"The women of Néma Bah are currently laying the groundwork for their socio-economic empowerment by modernizing their activity, and selling oysters that have a better health and nutritional quality," said Amy Collé Gaye, FISH4ACP's national professional officer in Senegal.
She emphasized: "Stronger social cohesion and active participation in the National Network of Stakeholders in the Oyster Value Chain in Senegal, a multi-stakeholder partnership implemented by FISH4ACP, also serve as a means for exchange and consultation among stakeholders in the value chain.”
At the end of the visit, Gnima and her colleagues said they hoped to reap new opportunities. Gnima comments: “All we want is to improve our working conditions and the oyster bags make this much easier for us. We hope this visit will encourage the EU to become more invested in community development.”