Daba Diouf is a wife and mother of 4 from Ndiadiane, Senegal. In Daba’s village, agriculture plays a pivotal role in the livelihood of the community. “Agriculture is the main source of life. It benefits our health and that of the family,” she says. However, ensuring a good crop can be incredibly challenging. For one, “the high cost of fertilizers and the unavailability on the market” means that Daba was unable to acquire fertilizer for her crops. Additionally, the seeds she had access to had poor germination rates, leading to large swaths of her field being left empty. These issues are common for farmers in Daba’s village, which is why her neighbor’s sudden success caught her attention.
“The neighbor’s fields which never had a good yield” were suddenly transformed one season, and Daba saw that “his yield [was] increasing more and more and he no longer [had] a food problem.” Anxious to find out what led to this sudden improvement, Daba visited the myAgro Village Entrepreneur who was working with her neighbor. Excited by the prospect of replicating her neighbor’s success, Daba signed up for a myAgro package of her own. By paying little by little, Daba was able to purchase the fertilizer and high-quality seeds she needed. She also learned more about proper plant spacing after attending one of myAgro’s agricultural trainings, leading to a healthier, more productive field.
“If I have a good harvest I sell a few bags to pay school fees, participate in ceremonies, and even buy clothes for the children.” Daba also used some of her additional earnings to invest in a poultry package through myAgro in order to “test a new breed of bird and increase [her] income. After storing enough food, we sell the rest to invest in breeding. I want to continue raising my own chickens to eat and sell for family support,” she says, hoping to one day save up enough to purchase a house for her family.
When one farmer succeeds, their neighbors take notice. Then before long, that success is multiplying within the village. Farmers like Daba across West Africa are improving their lives by partnering with myAgro. Through little by little layaway payments, high quality inputs, and advanced agricultural trainings, myAgro farmers are able to increase their harvests, ensure food security for their families, and invest in their own businesses in order to multiply their success.
