E-TIC: screening of film and debate in Guédé-Chantier, Senegal

Guede-Chantier, 9 October 2012. The screening of the film 'Agriculture of Tomorrow' took place in the Ecocommune of Guede-Chantier, Podor in the Fouta region of Senegal. This premiere of the film in Guédé is an integral part of a dialogue around good agricultural practices, fishing and herding.

Pesticides or integrated and biological farming methods? This is one of the fundamental questions. Scientific studies and evidence show that environmentally friendly farming practices do not only preserve the health of farmers, herders and fishermen but also the ecosystem and biodiversity of the land. As demonstrated by the IPMM (Integrated Production and Pest Management) of SAED (Société Nationale d’Aménagement et d’Exploitation des Terres du Delta du Fleuve Sénégal et des Vallées du Fleuve Sénégal et de la Falémé), if applied properly, integrated farming methods do not lead to any diminishing of yields. Instead, they allow the time to achieve results equal or superior to those of conventional farming.

The film is one of the concrete results of the project "E-TIC: Sahel InfoHubs' initiative  implemented by ICVolunteers, an organization that works in the field of communication in Senegal and Mali (Sahel), with Fund support of Fonds Francophone des Inforoutes and other partners, including the Commune of Guédé-Chantier and SIP (Système d'Information Populaire).

The E-ICT project aims to provide tools and training components in order for small farmers, herders and fishermen to better sell their products. Through the implementation of the web portal  www.agriguide.org and a series of training courses for field connectors (youth, women, community radio journalists), the E-TIC project aims to share knowledge relevant to a good farm management.

The E-TIC project works with a multimedia toolkit that includes documentaries, illustrated materials, field research and a series of training modules connected to information and communication technologies. The illustrated AgriGuide about good agricultural practices is also one of the concrete results of the project, which has recently become a program, integrating future collaborations.

The field connectors play a multidisciplinary role, establishing a link between farmers and new technologies. As shown in a decentralized field study (Guédé-Chantier, Meckhe, Mbam in Senegal and Sikasso, Ségou and Timbuktu in Mali), tools such as mobile phones and the radio play a vital role in disseminating information in local languages among populations.

Volunteering and active citizenship are fundamental elements of the approach, with a fruitful collaboration with institutions such as the National Civic Service of Senegal and its Agricultural Volunteers Program, active throughout Senegal. E-TIC trained a promotion of young volunteers who were subsequently deployed in rural communities in their localities throughout the country. These volunteers, in turn, become field connectors.

For more information, see: http://www.agriguide.org and http://www.icvolontaires.org