Suspended waters

Climate change, over-pumping, chronic pollution... farmers in the Sahel are powerless to prevent the depletion of their precious water.

Extreme weather events

With climate change, extreme events (torrential rains, storms, hails, etc.) are becoming more intense and more frequent. Farmers must adapt to this increasingly threatening and uncertain context.

Chaotic rains

In a changing climate, rain-fed agriculture has to deal with increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns. In the pictures below, we can see three types of rainfed crops : peanut, millet (Ndiob, Senegal) and tomato (Limuru, Kenya).

Boreholes and motor pumps

Horticulture cannot do without water. In sub-Saharan Africa, vegetable farms depend on boreholes and motor pumps to capture groundwater. Pictures below show irrigation activities and infrastructures in the Niayes area (Sénégal).

Over-pumping

In Senegal, over-pumping has resulted in the depletion and salinisation of groundwater. More and more farmers are exploiting a limited water resource. Farmers have therefore to pump deeper and deeper to reach the groundwater.

Water pollution

In the vegetable production areas of Senegal, the use of fertilizers and pesticides causes pollution of surface and ground-waters. It results in the eutrophication and asphyxiation of watercourses as well as risks for human health.