Oxfam's work in Senegal in depth

In Senegal, Oxfam's focus is on sustainable livelihoods, peace building and supporting private sector initiatives.

The context

Though Senegal has enjoyed strong economic growth over the last decade (5% annually on average), the positive effects of this expansion have not been distributed evenly.  Just over half of the Senegalese population have no formal employment and over 6.5 million people (out of a total population of 11.9 million) live below the poverty line.

In 2004, a peace accord was signed bringing an end to more than two decades of conflict between the government and rebel forces in the Casamance region of Senegal.

Senegal imports up to 70% of the food it needs to feed its people. The country has been severely affected by increased food prices and changing climatic conditions which has led to falling levels of rainfall, increased deforestation and ultimately reduced crop yields.   

How is Oxfam helping?

Oxfam has been working in Senegal since 1983.  Our early work concentrated on supporting national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community associations in rural areas.  We then moved into a second phase aiming to ‘develop an associative movement to alleviate poverty’, focusing on women and livelihoods in rural and urban areas, and linking community associations to national structures.

During the 2002 floods Oxfam provided emergency support to isolated farming communities in the north of the country. In 2005 the country programme was reviewed and a new strategic approach defined. Currently our projects are located in Saint-Louis and Matam in the north, Koulouck in the centre, Ziguinchor and Kolda in the south and in the capital Dakar where we are implementing our private sector projects.

ln Senegal food insecurity poverty and agriculture are very linked.  The agriculture sector has always been the main source of employment and food provider for the whole country.  For more than a decade the agricultural production has been low. Climate change variability and inappropriate water resource management have exacerbated this. Oxfam’s work aims to ensure that people have enough food. Our programme integrates the use of irrigated and non-irrigated crops, market gardening, and tree growing, livestock breeding and building local market places. We are helping local farmers to improve their production and gain access to markets to help them earn a better living. 

As in other parts of the world, women in Senegal are the hardest hit by poverty having generally had less access to education, health and economic opportunities than their male counterparts. Sub-standard wages, minimal training, lack of medical benefits and employment uncertainty in the informal sector all contribute to keeping women in poverty.

Oxfam is working with women’s groups to empower female entrepreneurs through strong self sustained businesses that generate not only good income for them but can also scale up over time to provide employment to 30-40% other women.

Oxfam provides the necessary financial and technical support to improve the quality and marketability of beneficiaries’ products, as well as providing a local outlet for the sale of their goods, thus providing a presence in the market and consequently increasing beneficiaries’ incomes.

Past conflicts have exacerbated small arms circulation in West African countries including Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and the Gambia.  Oxfam’s small arms work runs alongside governments’ efforts, and builds on the success of a 2006 pilot scheme which not only collected significant amounts of weapons but helped to raise general awareness  of the negative social and economic effects of small arms control. The project seeks to reinforce the message of the dangers of illicit arms and encourage people to voluntary give them up in exchange for the funding of micro-projects which benefit the community, improve services and generate income.

 

Last updated: December 2009