Meet Haddy. Aged 23, she is a vegetable farmer who lives with her husband in a small village in the Lower River Region of The Gambia.
After leaving school Haddy joined the village vegetable marketing group. Soon afterwards, she got married – and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This has severely affected her families economic and food security.
Between January and March this year, Haddy had the opportunity to attend a practical training course on market-oriented vegetable production, funded by the Welsh Government. Haddy is delighted to have had this opportunity and tells us that the training was “second to none in the country”.
The project introduced Haddy to some new techniques, such as making sunken vegetable beds during the dry season and raised beds during the rainy season. It also expanded her repertoire of vegetables, and now she is confident to grow onions, tomatoes and peppers. In her own back garden, she even carried out an experiment to compare chemical and organic pesticides – and found the organic version performed far better.
Although Haddy had received some horticultural training at school, this practical training course brought everything to life for her. The knowledge and skills she has now picked up have made her business more productive, giving her the potential to earn more money.
Context:
Funded by the Welsh Government, this project is supporting female vegetable producers and other rural livelihoods impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Haddy is just one of the 31,500 people this project has reached.