CATALYZING VITAL SHIFTS

From Chemical Farming to Agroecological Model Farm

Thiès, Senegal. The country's third largest city resembles a mini-Dakar: narrow streets of cement and unfinished buildings buzz with street vendors, unlicensed motorcycles, and corner cafés mainly selling Western food. While Dakar's coastline enjoys a fresh sea breeze in the dry season, Thiès is engulfed in crushing heat that tastes like sand and smells like gasoline. But weather aside, the area is a marketplace of innovation and ideas, and a testing ground regenerative farming methods like agroecology, the region being one of the country's top producers of groundnuts.  

Beyond its bustling streets, the surrounding farms and communities face mounting challenges. The land stretches dry and exhausted, battered by years of chemical fertilizer use that promised high yields but left the soil less fertile and less able to retain water. Harvests have become more vulnerable to the torrential rains of l'hivernage—the rainy season in Senegal that stretches from June to September. At the same time, changing and unpredictable weather worsens dry spells and makes farming increasingly difficult.

For years, Mohammed followed the conventional path. He relied on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, watching each season demand more costly inputs while delivering less in return, severely impacting his livelihood and ability to support his family.

Things changed when he met with Agrecol Afrique, our local partner in Senegal. Seeing his potential as a producer near the city, they worked with Mohammed to restore his soil and prepare his land to handle downpours of rain as well as periods of intense heat and drought.

Through hands-on training, they introduced agroecological techniques he could adapt to his land and needs. Improved compost replaced synthetic fertilizers. Crop rotation and intercropping gradually restored diversity and soil health. Zai pits helped retain water. Seed coating with biological stimulants—a technique Agrecol Afrique learned through a learning exchange visit organized by Groundswell International to Andhra Pradesh, India in 2023—protected crops and catalyzed soil biology.

The shift wasn't instant, but the results were undeniable. Mohammed's yields stabilized, then grew. His appetite for learning drove his success, as he patiently monitored what worked and adapted his approach to the changing climate. 

Today, Mohammed's land is thriving. Rows of cauliflower, onions, and red peppers flourish alongside fruit trees. His income has increased by 40%, thanks to diversified crops and new market connections facilitated by Agrecol Afrique. And his success hasn't gone unnoticed. As he and other ‘champions’ share their experience, more farmers in Thiès are transitioning from conventional farming to agroecology—with his brother and father among the first to follow his lead. 

Mohammed's impact goes beyond his farm. He has transformed his land into a model farm—a space where agronomy students now come to study agroecology. On weekends, he mentors young people, sharing the benefits and challenges of transitioning away from chemicals. A true innovator, he thrives on testing and adapting new techniques and sharing what he has learned with others. In his own words:

Images 1, 4, and 5 ©Agrecol Afrique

FROM ONE FARMER TO MANY

Community Learning Exchanges for Collective Resilience

As we’ve seen with Mohammed, successful agroecological farmers inspire others to follow their lead. Across our network, we amplify this process with community learning exchanges, which play a pivotal role in connecting farmers from different backgrounds to share knowledge and spread solutions. 

In 2024, farmers and community leaders from Guatemala and Honduras gathered during a week-long exchange in southern Honduras to share successful agroecological practices, focusing on solutions to promote food sovereignty in the Dry Corridor.

Organized with our partner Asociación de Comités Ecológicos del Sur de Honduras (ACESH), the exchange welcomed representatives from our other Central American partners—Qachuu Aloom and AGRIDIVI in Guatemala, and Vecinos Honduras—creating a platform for farmers to learn from one another and adapt successful practices to their local contexts. 

Key strategies discussed included grain reserves, seed banks, and local market systems, with a strong emphasis on gender equity and women’s leadership as guardians of grain and seeds for food sovereignty. Farmers learned from one another’s experiences, like the use of airtight clay containers and underground storage in Guatemala, which inspired Honduran farmers to improve their own seed-saving practices. 

Food sovereignty is essential for ensuring that communities have control over what they grow, eat, and trade—reducing dependence on external markets and industrial supply chains, and protecting cultural traditions and biodiversity. 

The exchange also highlighted how local markets and barter systems can play a crucial role in strengthening food security. In Honduras, community-led grain reserves are connected to local markets, allowing farmers to see firsthand how these systems reduce reliance on external supply chains while reinforcing local economies.

Youth played a central role too. Vecinos Honduras presented their mentorship programs, entrepreneurship workshops, and our Youth Storyteller Program—initiatives that help young people stay connected to the land, strengthen local agriculture, and prevent youth migration. Across the network, partners are working together to continue empowering youth to lead agroecology initiatives for their communities.

As climate and economic pressures intensify, our role in nurturing these grassroots initiatives is central to scaling agroecology through cooperation, farmer-led innovation, and community-driven solutions.

Through knowledge exchange and coordinated action, the 223 communities we support in the Dry Corridor are increasingly empowered to sustain, adapt, and expand successful agroecological initiatives to strengthen local food sovereignty, giving them vital alternatives as they navigate the challenges posed by the worsening political climate in the U.S.

BUILDING SYNERGY

Bringing Academia, Governments and Women Farmers Together

Real, sustainable change in agriculture requires academia, governments, farmers, and local organizations to join forces to support the agroecological transition. This process bridges local knowledge with global challenges, nurturing multi-level transformation that meets farmers’ aspirations while laying the groundwork for broader systems change. 

Bihar in India and eastern Nepal share significant climate-related challenges—irregular rainfall, droughts, and floods disrupt growing seasons, while soil degradation from over-reliance on chemical fertilizers threatens livelihoods and food security. In such conditions, the successful practices from one region can offer valuable solutions to others, provided communities and key stakeholders work together. 

A powerful example of such cross-country collaboration happened during a learning exchange visit in India last year.

In partnership with Preservation and Proliferation of Rural Resources and Nature (PRAN), our partner in Bihar, India, we facilitated an exchange that brought together agricultural experts and government officials from Nepal with Indian women farmers in Bihar. Participants included senior agricultural leaders, government representatives, and our South Asia Regional Coordinator, Navaraj Upadhyay.

Together, they visited women farmer groups in Bihar to observe and discuss agroecological innovations and explore how these practices could be adapted to the context of Nepal. 

Women farmers shared their personal stories of how transitioning to agroecology has increased their income, financial independence, and social inclusion. They directly engaged with government officials and academic leaders, advocating for the impact agroecology has had on their lives and communities. In the fields, participants saw firsthand how practices like locally-made biological seed treatments and SRI (System of Root Intensification) helped regenerate soil and increase crop yields–up to 2.8 times higher than conventional methods in some areas. 

Inspired by the success stories and lessons from the field visits in Bihar, Nepalese academics and policymakers are seeking to strengthen the agroecological transition in Nepal by: 

• Integrating agroecology into national research programs: Tribhuvan University has launched a research program in Nepal to test and refine regenerative farming techniques, paving the way for innovative, bottom-up and sustainable solutions in the region. 
• Enacting local government support: Local municipalities have started including agroecology principles in their policy plans for farmers. Nepalese policy makers have organized training sessions on natural farming and allocated a dedicated budget to promote it. This is creating a more supportive environment for Nepalese farmers, ensuring they can access essential resources to succeed.  
• Spreading knowledge across regions: We have started working with universities to create a robust framework for agroecology education and outreach programs in Nepal and India, including developing a curriculum for postgraduate university students. 

This exchange has laid the foundation for continued collaboration among academia, PRAN, Groundswell International, Nepalese NGO partners, and local governments, an essential step to achieving widespread impact and creating a robust framework for sustainable agricultural development in South Asia and beyond.