Cet article a été initialement publié en français sur le site de CICODEV. / This article was originally posted in French on CICODEV’s website.
Dakar, May 20, 2024 – In developing the background analysis for the Stand for Her Land campaign, the National Alliance of Women and Land (ANFF) in Senegal, led by CICODEV Afrique, had reported on the existence of legal mechanisms and legal texts in favor of women’s land rights at the national level. These included the parity law and the circular N° 0989/5/2018 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Equipment. The latter granted quotas to women in order to reduce gender inequalities in agricultural activities. But in the follow-up, no progress had been made.
On May 15, 2024, the new Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock reissued circular N0989/5/2018 with the aim of monitoring the implementation of circular 0989. In preparation for the 2024-2025 agricultural season, the Minister, through this new through this new reminder circular n°00590, has instructed the follow-up of the implementation of the 2018 circular. He asks that women be allocated at least:
- 15% of new developments from surface water
- 20% of new developments from groundwater
- 20% of groundnut seeds
- 20% of rice seeds
- 15% tractors
- 20% tractor-drawn cultivation equipment
- 40% financing
This circular reflects the hopes of the women who make up the ANFF, and comes on the heels of strong advocacy for its implementation as part of the Stand for Her Land campaign. The campaign aims to reduce the gap between the legal framework and the reality on the ground in terms of women’s access to land. This advocacy was carried out during the celebration of International Women’s Day in Bayakh on March 8, 2024, where more than 200 women from the farming world demanded before the authorities the application of the 2018 circular to reduce gender inequalities in agricultural activities. The high-level panel organized by the World Bank and the German development agency GIZ was also an opportunity for ANFF to make a strong pledge for the application of the 2018 circular.
In Senegal, the issue of women’s land rights remains a major concern for sustainable development, given the context of sustainable natural resource management and poverty reduction. The action taken by the various stakeholders, including ANFF, is based on the general observation that women’s access to and control over land is notoriously weak, due to persistent inequalities and a socialization process that favors this discrimination. The negative impact of all these factors on the economic and social situation of women generates and consolidates the trend towards the feminization of poverty in this country.
The ANFF welcomes the recent decisions taken by the new authorities to improve land management. ANFF welcomes the initiative to suspend land tenure procedures in 18 high-risk areas of the country, and calls on the Head of State to go further with a land reform that takes into account the specific needs of vulnerable groups, particularly women and young people.