As part of the “Programme d’actions structurées des acteurs de la Lutte contre la Désertification” (PASS-LCD), CARI and its partners wish to highlight the women and men working daily to promote agroecology in the Sahel. These spokespersons for agroecology carry out advocacy work at different levels (national, regional, local) and work with local populations to encourage the emergence of agroecological practices and demonstrate their relevance in the fight against desertification.
Discover the first portraits of the Spokespeople for Agroecology, produced during the Regional Meeting on Agroecological Intensification held in Senegal from 11 to 13 September 2024.
Absa Mbodj, a rising figure in agro-ecology in West Africa
Absa Mbodj of the NGO Enda Pronat is one of the rising stars of agro-ecology in West Africa. Initially a graduate in agro-ecology and entrepreneurship and management, she then enriched her academic career with two degrees in English, demonstrating her international appeal. Drawing on her experience of rural Senegal and the African regional context, Absa Mbodj is convinced that “agro-ecology is the relevant, sustainable and appropriate response to the food challenges of our time”.
The young Senegalese began her career in 2015 as a trainee in charge of forest nursery production at Société de Culture Légumière (SCL). She then made her debut at Enda Pronat in 2021 as a field trainee in stakeholder mapping. She then became responsible for monitoring agronomic experiments, and then for the multi-stakeholder agroecology partnership, where she headed the secretariat of the Dynamique de la Transition agroécologique du Sénégal (DyTAES).
DyTAES is a network of stakeholders including producer and consumer organisations, the private sector, the government, research and civil society. It has equivalent bodies at local level, the Dynamiques pour une transition agroécologique locale (DyTAEL). Its work with these bodies has brought it into close contact with a wide range of players, strengthening its expertise in local and regional dynamics.
Absa Mbodj is frequently invited to national, regional and international meetings to discuss the work of Enda Pronat, DyTAES and DyTAEL. In May 2024, she took part in a meeting to analyse the action plan of the multi-stakeholder platform on peasant agro-ecology. This platform, was set up in 2017 in Mali to promote agroecology and carry out advocacy actions for policies favourable to peasant agroecology in Mali. At the meeting, Absa shared Senegal’s experience through DyTAES and DyTAEL. The discussions identified several avenues for collaboration, including visits to initiatives, the sharing of agro-ecological practices and the joint promotion of agro-ecological products on local markets.
Last June, she was invited to Germany to present Enda Pronat’s work on agroecology at the “Policies against Hunger” conference organised by the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung. She was able to argue for the adoption of agroecological practices in global food policies as solutions to food challenges.
At the end of the regional meeting on agroecology organised by CARI and Enda Pronat in Dakar, Absa expressed its satisfaction. She said that inspiring exchanges had taken place and connections had been forged, and that it was now up to all the players present to maintain this momentum and take concrete action.
The PASS-LCD project (2023-2026) is coordinated by CARI and funded by the Agence Française de Développement and the Fondation de France.
