Because of climate change, villagers are facing difficulties that affect their crops, their food and financial security and their quality of life. In this report, they talk about these difficulties: the lack of rain, the drought, the poor condition of the land, but also the roaming of animals, which can completely destroy crops.
“I grow rice and okra in the lowlands, and groundnuts and millet in fields outside the lowlands. I never sell my crops, I eat them with my family. Sometimes I sell a little dried okra to buy soap. Last year I had a lot of groundnuts, rice and okra. The animals sometimes devastate our fields.”
“My name is Fily Soucko and I come from Banzana. My garden is a long way from the village and I get up very early to come here. The place where we draw the water is also a bit far from the garden. We get our water from a well, and I’m 65, just imagine! We have to water the salad beds 3 times a day. We manage to carry out these small activities to support ourselves, but it’s mainly the lack of working materials that makes us tired. We can’t sit down.”
“My name is Salif Sidibé from Kayes Banzana. This year’s rainy season is looking good, unlike last year. It’s raining normally this year, and the okra (hibiscus exculentus) is growing well. Our big problem is the roaming animals that can destroy all our work in the blink of an eye. Although animals caught in the fields are sent to the village chief to pay a fine, the roaming animals have not stopped. That’s our problem today.”
“My name is Salimata Sangaré and I’m from Banzana Kayes. There’s been a lot of rain this year, and the crops are growing well, especially the millet and groundnuts, but the okra has had an attack of fungus. Our main problem is animals running at large. Every time, animals devastate our crops, and that’s a real problem. Otherwise, this year’s wintering is good. I’m glad you came to find out how we live here.”
“My name is Fanta Koné and I come from Banzana. Last year there was no rain, so we still had some groundnuts, but this year there was enough rain and we didn’t have any groundnuts. Where I come from, if you’ve had millet and no groundnuts, that’s a real problem. We don’t have a road to transport our crops and the animals that roam around destroy our fields, so our husbands have to come and look after our fields, that’s also a problem.”
“My name is Adama Sangaré, and I’ve been growing vegetables since the fence was built. I made a well, but unfortunately we came across a layer of rock in the well. I had to dynamite this layer of rock to get water. The water and forestry services gave me some cashew seedlings and I planted mango and guava trees myself. I water my trees throughout the dry season and during the winter months I go to the gold panning sites to collect money. If I have a little, I invest it all in my garden. I’ve had huge difficulties but I haven’t given up. Thank you for your questions.”
“My name is Fily Diakité and I live in Banzana. The place where I do the washing is about 2 km from the water point. If you don’t get to the water point early, you can’t get any water because the well is running dry. The pump has broken down and the well is dry. If the well has a bit of water, we wait and collect it to continue washing. That’s how we manage to get a bit of money to meet our needs.”
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