Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Using Participatory Education and
Action Research for Health Risk
Reduction Amongst Farmers in
Dakar, Senegal
Nita Chaudhuri
1
I
NTRODUCTION
Senegal, a country of 11.4 million people which is among the poorest in the
world, is experiencing a rapid urbanization process, partly due to severe
drought in the hinterland. The capital city of Dakar has a population of 2.3
million inhabitants with an urban growth of 4 per cent per annum (Editions,
2000; UNDP, 2005). Among Dakar residents, lack of formal employment,
deterioration of existing urban infrastructure and lack of access to land,
finance and adequate shelter (UNCHS, 2001) have led people to urban
agriculture (UA) for both financial and food security reasons. Yet exploitation
of the Niayes (Figure 10.1), part of a productive green belt of land that
stretches through Dakar up the coast, has generated significant environmental
degradation, including soil infertility, deforestation, scarcity and salinity of
water, loss of biodiversity and waste accumulation. Farmers have responded
to problems of soil infertility with applications of wastewater, mineral and
organic fertilizers and also use pesticides to maximize production (Niang and
Gaye, 2004). The unique ecosystem of the Niayes is composed of sandy dunes
and depressions that are regularly flooded with groundwater from the very
high water table. The quantity and quality of groundwater is vulnerable in
this region because sandy mineral soils do not filter potential contaminants
such as pesticides and nitrates. In addition, the excessive pumping of
groundwater has caused saline water intrusion to occur, which has degraded
both groundwater and soil quality (Figure 10.2) (Gueye, 2005). Intense human
activity due to increasing population pressure has also severely affected the
