Support Women Vegetable Cultivation in Gambia

Support Women Vegetable Garden Cultivation in Gambia

Summary

Seeds for Prosperity is a non-profit Gambian foundation raising funds to support rural Gambian women gardeners for the 2023-24 season. 100% of all donations will go to purchase seeds and fertilizer.

Background

Food security is a major challenge in The Gambia. The percentage of food insecure households has risen recently. This food insecurity is concentrated in rural areas, where an estimated 1 in 4 households are classified as food insecure. Malnutrition and stunting are still prevalent in the rural areas of the country.

Growing vegetables in village gardens is one of the key local activities that address the above problem. These gardens produce a range of vegetables that provide their households with nutritious food and are sold fresh in local markets. Over 90% of the farmers working in rural vegetable gardens in The Gambia are women. Gardens in rural areas are typically clustered together in a single location to facilitate access to water, labor sharing, and security.

However, the conditions in these rural gardens are challenging. The women constantly face significant shortages of essential inputs, including seeds and fertilizer. Local availability is often quite limited, and the quality of what little seed and fertilizer is available is often poor, further depressing yields. Recent inflation has made it even more difficult for these poor farmers to afford essential seeds and fertilizer, and they do not receive any support from the government. Vegetable gardening takes place in the cool dry season when there is no rain, making irrigation essential.

Meet Safi who lives in the village of Jendeh, deep in rural Gambia (picture below). Safi has her own plot in the village garden, which she depends on for household food consumption and income. As you can see in the picture, the garden does not have an irrigation system, so she is forced to water her vegetables manually. Without support to reduce the cost of seeds, she can only grow a few select vegetables, and with far lower yield.

Safi’s story can be said of many other women in Rural Gambia.

Where the Money Goes

Seeds for Prosperity is a non-profit Gambian foundation that helps farmers in these rural horticultural gardens to have access to essential inputs. We focus on seeds, fertilizer and solar-powered irrigation systems. Last year, we assisted 62 villages with vegetable seeds, and 25 villages with fertilizers, which directly benefited 15,000 farmers. If the target contribution for 2023 is reached, we hope to reach 80 villages, which will benefit up to 20,000 farmers. The funds will go towards seeds purchased mainly for onions, lettuce, cabbage, tomato, pepper and eggplant.

Seeds for Prosperity is a lean organization that does not divert donations to any overhead costs. All (100%) of the contributions received will go exclusively towards subsidizing the purchase of seeds for these rural horticultural gardens and assist them with sustainable irrigation. None (0%) will go towards overhead or administrative cost. This policy was observed in our successful 2022 fundraising.

Please donate and contribute to improving food security. As they say, when you help a rural woman, you help a family.

Visit our website and learn more about our activities:

htttps://seeds4prosperity.org