For three years, I have been keeping stocks of maize because the prices offered are too low and buyers are difficult to find. If I sell without recovering what I spent to produce it, how will I pay for the next season? But keeping it costs money too. The maize can deteriorate, and there is no guarantee that the price will rise. Meanwhile, my family still needs to eat.
I care for seven people, including my five children. I grow soybeans, maize and rice on 5.5 hectares. If you ask when I became a farmer, I would almost say: at birth. My parents grew crops and raised animals. I learned by working beside them, and I began farming more independently around the age of 19.
My parents worked without chemicals, using the strength of their arms. Over time, I learned to use fertilizers and pesticides, exchanging experiences with other farmers and trying things in my own fields. Almost all the work is still done by hand. My children help me most.
I also belong to a women farmers’ group. When officers from the Ministry of Agriculture give us practical advice, we go to one member’s field and apply it together. Then we move to the next woman’s field. That is how we share the work and learn from each other.
The dry season used to worry me a great deal. Farming slowed down, but the debts and household expenses did not. If the harvest had not sold well, I did not always know where the money for the next season’s supplies would come from.
With other women in the community, I helped form small tontine groups. A tontine is a rotating savings arrangement: we contribute money, and each member takes a turn receiving the amount collected. Our groups are particularly active during the dry season. I contribute about 5,000 CFA francs each week.
It is money we organize ourselves. We sometimes use microfinance institutions, but their loans come with interest. The tontine works better for us. When my turn comes to receive the money, I feel proud and happy. I can decide what to do with it.
I am proud that I have managed to diversify my activities.
Aissatou Orou Yo
I used these savings to start buying goods and reselling them at the local market. During the dry season, this becomes my main source of income. The profits are small, but they help pay for the family’s daily needs. The tontine money also helps me buy supplies for the next farming season.
What I am proud of is having built another activity alongside farming. I have learned to save a little at a time and use that money to do something more. When I am not working in the fields, I can trade. I worry less than before, and I have more room to make decisions for myself and my children.
I still need buyers who offer a fair price. We need suitable storage so that we lose less of what we harvest. Access to tractors would reduce the work that exhausts us, and reliable access to good farming supplies would help us prepare. Better storage, transport and markets would make it easier to earn a living from our fields.
I also want women farmers to be present where decisions are made. We know the work, and we have ideas about what would improve it. The tontine is something we have organized ourselves. It helps me meet today’s needs and prepare for another season. That gives me confidence to continue.
What this story shows
- A weekly savings contribution provides access to a larger sum that supports both a small trading business and preparations for the next farming season.
- Trading becomes her main source of income during the dry season, helping her manage household expenses when agricultural income is insufficient.
- Collective action takes two practical forms: sharing fieldwork and organizing access to money.
- Greater independence has reduced her worries, while market access, unstable prices, storage and physically demanding work remain unresolved.
What would make a difference
Fair prices, storage, tractors, and women where decisions are made.
