Amadou NDIAYE

Presentation

Agricultural Non-family Workers (Sourga) in Senegal River Valley

• Navetanat phenomenon:- Colonial system: Introduction of groundnut - Seasonal worker : Rainy season- In 1970s : Regression (Economic crisis and dry climat)

• Sourga phenomenon : Niayes Zone and Senegal River Valley (later 1990s) - Sourga in Niayes Zone : Seasonals workers

stay: Cold season paid as sharecropping

- Senegal River Valley : what about the phenomenom?

Objectives• General objective : Determine status,

relationships and perpectives of the Sourga in the Senegal River Valley

• Specifiques objectives : - Describe the Senegal Valley cropping system- Identify the type profile of Sourga in the River

Valley- Characterize the relationship between Sourga and

employer

Results (1/7): The Valley system of production (General system)

• The plots (Irrigation Facilities) : 102 525 ha in a potential of 240 000 ha en 2010

• 3 seasons of cropping: Rainy season (July-November) Cold season (November to February) and Warm season (February to June).

• Two types of productions : - Food production (rice and corn): Rainy /Warm season - Vegetable production: Cold season (tomato, onions),

Warm season (sweet potatoes), Rainy (watermelon and cabidge)

Results (2/7): The Valley system of production (farming system)

• Financing system - A founding bank system : tomato mainly - Divers sources of financing : Profit in the tomato, Livestock

commercialisation, Perdium, Migrant, Micro-finance system.

• Inputs: extension system (state, NGO) and weekly market• Commercialisation: informal marketing system (except

tomato)• Garanty : No agricultural insurance, No Fund of natural

disasters

Result (3/7): The sourga status (1/4) • Agand training: 18 to 45 old, No training • Origin : South side (peanut basin and casamance)

and neighboring countries (Gambia and 2 Guinea)• Stay : Seasonal (agricultural campaign) or Years • Housing : Rented room in village Huts built in the field• Activities and workload: Ploughing, Weeding,

Planting, Irrigation, Harvesting, Monitoring, Protection

Result (4/7): The sourga status (2/4)

Sourga as Permanently worker • Ratio : 3 sourga for a parcel of 0.5 ha• The remuneration of the sourga :

- in-kind : many forms of sharecropping- Cash: average 35000 FCFA/month

• Payment period: - End of the campaign - Cash advance

Result (5/7): The sourga status (3/4) Sourga Temporary workers for Points operations: - Rice: Herbicide treatment: 2 S/ha/ for day Caretaking of birds: 1 S/ha for a month Harvesting and Threshing: 10 S/day/ha- Onion: Transplanting: 25 S/ day Harvest: 22 S/ ha/day- Tomato: Transplanting: 14 S/ha/ day Harvest: 12 S (5 passages needed)

Result (6/7): The sourga status (3/4) Terms and conditions Activities Amounts

Per day and person The rice crop 2700 FCFA

Hoeing tomato

Transplanting (onion and tomato)

Operation point/ ha Transplanting (tomato and onion) 22000 F.CFA

Sarclo hoeing (tomato and onion) 25000 F.CFA

Sustainable operation/ha  

Weed control, irrigation, harvesting 145000 FCFA

Caretaking against birds 35000 FCFA/ha

Result (7/7): Sourga and employer relations : Informal contract

- Concerns: Time of work , start date and the end of the contract, Field activities, Producers commitments

- Benefits for the Sourga: Period of high intensity of labor / contract renegotiation after each campaign

- Problems for the sourga: Non-payment of the Sourga, Eternal working force, No Social security support

- Threatens: Availability of labor (student of Koranical schools), Proximity of big agribusiness

Discussions/ conclusion/ perspectives• Possibilty of production for any time of the year • Informal farming system with one consumption unit

(family) and several unit of production: NECESSITY of Recruiting Sourga for cropping

• Enermous employment potential : 588 000 sourga 98 000 Ha (without temporaries sourga)

• Salary amount: 35000 frs per month (without period of high labour intensity)

• But informal and no guaranted phenomenon

Discussions/ conclusion/perspectives• Medium term: improve employment with combinaison

of :- Professionalization of farmers- Formalization of farms - Involvement of the Labor Inspectorate (fomalisation of contract)

• Short term : allow sourga to defend their interests with- Good organization - and outreach • Straight away : Good knowledge of the phenomenon

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION